Analysis of a modified two-lane lattice model by considering the density difference effect

In this paper, a modified lattice hydrodynamic model of traffic flow is proposed by considering the density difference between leading and following lattice for two-lane system. The effect of density difference on the stability of traffic flow is examined through linear stability analysis and shown that the density difference term can significantly enlarge the stability region on the phase diagram. To describe the phase transition of traffic flow, the Burgers equation and mKdV equation near the critical point are derived through nonlinear analysis. To verify the theoretical findings, numerical simulation is conducted which confirms that traffic jam can be suppressed efficiently by considering the density difference effect in the modified lattice model for two-lane traffic. (C) 2013 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.