Exploring phase transitions and chaotic jams in a curved road lattice model with flow difference and overtaking effects

Shuhong Yang, Dongxue Xia and Chuan Tian

Physica A: Statistical Mechanics and its Applications, 2025, vol. 675, issue C

Abstract: While flow difference is pivotal for stabilizing traffic and mitigating congestion, it has often been overlooked in curved-road traffic flow studies. To address this, we propose an improved lattice traffic flow model incorporating flow difference information, specifically for curved roads with an overtaking mechanism. Through linear stability analysis, we derive the model’s stability criterion, revealing how overtaking probability and flow difference interact to stabilize curved-road traffic flow. When stability conditions are violated, nonlinear analysis near the critical point uncovers traffic congestion phase transitions, yielding the existence conditions for the mKdV equation and its density wave solutions. Key findings show that at low overtaking ratios (satisfying mKdV equation conditions), curved-road congestion forms kink-antikink wave densities, with flow difference significantly alleviating congestion. When the overtaking ratio exceeds a threshold, although flow difference’s stabilizing effect diminishes, it still moderates traffic dynamics, with congestion evolution exhibiting both kink-antikink wave structures and chaotic characteristics. Numerical simulations validate the theoretical derivations, confirming the model’s correctness and flow difference’s efficacy in real-world traffic scenarios.

Keywords: Chaos; Lattice Model; Flow difference; Overtaking Effect; Curve roads (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2025
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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:eee:phsmap:v:675:y:2025:i:c:s037843712500473x

DOI: 10.1016/j.physa.2025.130821

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