Nonlinear density wave and energy consumption investigation of traffic flow on a curved road

A new car-following model is proposed based on the full velocity difference model (FVDM) taking the influence of the friction coefficient and the road curvature into account. Through the control theory, the stability conditions are obtained, and by using nonlinear analysis, the time-dependent Ginzburg–Landau (TDGL) equation and the modified Korteweg–de Vries (mKdV) equation are derived. Furthermore, the connection between TDGL and mKdV equations is also given. The numerical simulation is consistent with the theoretical analysis. The evolution of a traffic jam and the corresponding energy consumption are explored. The numerical results show that the control scheme is effective not only to suppress the traffic jam but also to reduce the energy consumption.