Density viscous continuum traffic flow model

A new traffic flow model called density viscous continuum model is developed to describe traffic more reasonably. The two delay time scales are taken into consideration, differing from the model proposed by Xue and Dai [Phys. Rev. E 68 (2003) 066123]. Moreover the relative density is added to the motion equation from which the viscous term can be derived, so we obtain the macroscopic continuum model from microscopic car following model successfully. The condition for stable traffic flow is derived. Nonlinear analysis shows that the density fluctuation in traffic flow induces density waves. Near the onset of instability, a small disturbance could lead to solitons determined by the Korteweg-de-Vries (KdV) equation, and the soliton solution is derived. The results show that local cluster effects can be obtained from the new model and are consistent with the diverse nonlinear dynamical phenomena observed in the freeway traffic. (c) 2006 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.