ISSN 0567-7718

ACTA MECHANICA SINICA, Vol.20, No.l, February 2004

The Chinese Society of Theoretical and Applied Mechanics
Chinese Journal of Mechanics Press, Beijing, China
Allerton Press, INC., New York, U.S.A.

ANALYSIS

OF THE STRUCTURAL
TO SPEED
GRADIENT
J I A N G Rui ( ~

PROPERTIES
OF THE
SOLUTIONS
TRAFFIC
FLOW
MODEL*
~)

W U Qingsong (~N$'a~) t

(School of Engineering Science, University of Science and Technology of China, Hefei 230026, China)
A B S T R A C T : In this paper, we carry out an analysis of the structural properties of the solutions
to the speed gradient (SG) traffic flow model. Under the condition that the relaxation effect can be
neglected, it is shown that a 1-shock or a 1-rarefaction is associated with the first characteristic, but on
the other hand, a contact discontinuity rather than a 2-shock or a 2-rarefaction is associated with the
second characteristic. Since the existence of a 2-shock or 2-rarefaction violates the physical mechanism
of the traffic flow, the SG model is more reasonable. If the relaxation effect cannot be neglected, it is
somewhat difficult to carry out the analytical analysis and the numerical simulation results should be
obtained.
K E Y W O R D S : traffic flow, rarefaction, contact discontinuity, relaxation term, structure of solutions

1 INTRODUCTION
Since an efficient traffic system is very important
to modern industrialized countries, it is necessary to
model the traffic flow more realistically. Since the
1950s, researchers have proposed various kinds of traffic flow models. Traditionally, these models are classified into two types: microscopic ones and macroscopic
ones. The former simulate the motion of every vehicle
while the latter concentrate on the collective behavior of vehicles. For this reason, macroscopic models
are more suitable for reM-time simulations, short-term
traffic predictions, developing and controlling on-line
speed-control systems and evaluating average travel
time, fuel consumption, and vehicle emissions, etc.
The development of macroscopic traffic flow
models began with the LWR model presented by
Lighthill and W h i t h a m [1] and Richards [2], later
other researchers have proposed several high-order
models [3~6]. However, there exist some problems in
these models, for example, the characteristic speed
and wrong way travel problem etc. [7]. Consequently,
the controversy on the macroscopic models is a
hotspot in the field.

Recently the authors of the present p a p e r have

developed a speed gradient (SG) model for traffic
flow Is,9]. This new model comprises a continuum
equation

ok

0(ku)

0-t +

- 0

(1)

and a dynamics equation

Ou + u ~ x _ ue(k) - u
Ou
T
+ co

(2)

where k is the traffic density, u the space mean speed,

x and t are the space and time, respectively, Ue (k) an
equilibrium relationship between the speed and the
traffic density; T the relaxation time, co the propagation speed of a small disturbance. Equation (1)
indicates that the number of vehicles on the road is
in conservation. The left hand-side of Eq.(2) is the
acceleration of vehicles. The first t e r m on the right
hand-side of Eq.(2) is the relaxation term, representing the process that driver adjusts the speed of the
vehicle to an equilibrium one, the second t e r m is the
anticipation term, representing the process t h a t driver
reacts to the traffic ahead.

Received 21 November 2002, revised 17 April 2003

* The project supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (10272101)
r E-maih qswu@ustc.edu.cn

Vol.20, No.1

Jiang R & Wu QS: Structural Properties of the Solutions to SG model

The parameters T, Co ar~ usually obtained from

a field calibration. Generally T is in the range (5~30)s
and co is approximately 1 0 m / s . As for Ue, different
expressions are proposed, including the linear and the
nonlinear functions.

The relaxation t e r m is a non-homogeneous term,

which makes it difficult to carry out the analysis for
the SG model. Fortunately, recent empirical observations show that the relaxation effect may be neglected
under certain conditions* . In this paper, we mainly
discuss this type of solutions to the SG model without
the relaxation term. Under the conditions t h a t the relaxation effect cannot be neglected, the solutions are
to be obtained through a numerical simulation.
2

STRUCTURE

OF SHOCK

SOLUTIONS

In this section we study the structural properties

of shock solutions with co being assumed constant.
We need to choose a particular conservation form for
dynamics Eq.(2) because it is not derived from a conservation law. Although weak solutions from different integral forms of the same equation are equivalent
in smooth regions of solutions but they have different shock velocities at the shock discontinuity. Thus,
choosing a different conservation form for Eq.(2) results in different solutions. Nevertheless, the structural properties of the solutions are invariant under
different conservative forms in the sense t h a t the solution of a Riemann problem always comprises shocks
and rarefaction waves with similar features, therefore
we can select the most simple form in the analysis as
follows

El.2c0.]
0]
ku

F(U) =

The set of model equations of Eqs. (1) and (2) has

two characteristic speeds: A1 = u - Co and A2 = u.
This enables the model not to produce a characteristic speed greater t h a n the macroscopic traffic speed.
Thus, it means that vehicles are anisotropic and there
will not be the wrong way problem.
Since Eqs.(1) and (2) are hyperbolic in nature,
it is expected t h a t there will be shock solutions or
rarefaction solutions under certain boundary/initial
conditions. In this paper, we study the structural
properties of shock and rarefaction solutions to the
SG model.

107

B(U) =

ue(k)

- u

T
Neglecting the relaxation term, Eq.(3) turns into

Ut + F ( U ) x = 0

(4)

Because two characteristic fields exist in the SG

model, two kinds of shocks can be obtained from
Eq.(4): 1-shock and 2-shock. A 1-shock is a shock
associated with the first characteristic and satisfies
the Lax entropy condition [m]

)~l(Ur) ~ 8 ~ ,~l(Vl)

is

8 ~_ ) ~ 2 ( U r )

r :

re

(5)

res.ts

l,r

the densities or speeds at the location to the left (upstream)/right (downstream)of the shock or the rarefaction. Similarly, a 2-shock is a shock associated
with the second characteristic and observes the Lax
entropy condition
,~2(Ur) < 8 < ~2(U/)

8 _~ , ~ I ( U I )

(6)

Both kinds of shocks satisfy the R-H j u m p condition

s -

klU l -- k r U r
kl -

k~

(7)

co~

(s)

For the 1-shock, from Eq.(5), we have

~tr -- CO ~ 8 ~ ~t1 -- CO

8 ~ Ur

i.e.
s < ur < uz
F(U)x = B(U)
where

(9)

(3)

Substituting Eq.(9) into Eqs.(7) and (8), the 1-shock

is determined as

* Based on the empirical observations, Kerner[ 1~ suggested t h a t there might not exist the unique fundamental diagram in the
congested traffic region. This implies t h a t the relaxation effect may be neglected in the region.

108

ACTA MECHANICA SINICA

2004
k,

H1 : uv

m Ul - -

kr

2(kl - kr)co
kl + k~

s = ~ ( ~ + ~,)

co <

<

u,

(10)
kl

......

'

kl _< k~
For the 2-shock, from Eq.(6), we have
u~ _< s _< ul

s _> uz - Co

(11)

F r o m Eq.(7), we have

tL, ~ ~ r
U l -- U r

s = ut + k~ ul - u~ - u ~ + k ~ _ _
kl - k~

k~

(12)

E q u a t i o n (12) means t h a t it is required to satisfy

s < ul and s ~ u~ simultaneously, or s _ ul and
s > u~ simultaneously. T h u s from E q s . ( l l ) and (12),
it is easy to get
H2:

s=ur=uz

(a) k, > k~

.....

contact discontinuity

~ (k.,~.) ,
(kl'L~l)

~ . . .

'

k~

(13)

i.e., the 2-shock reduces to a contact discontinuity.

T h a t is, different densities can move with the same
speed. It is obvious t h a t for a contact shock, the R-H
j u m p condition (8) is not suitable.
From the above analysis, it can be seen t h a t if
ul > u~ for an initial discontinuity (U1, U r ) , the two
states U1 and U~ m u s t be connected by a 1-shock
and a contact discontinuity, i.e., the initial discontinuity splits into three fan regions (kl, ul), (k,, u , )
and (k~, u~) as shown in Fig.t. F r o m Eq.(13), we have
u , = u,. Substituting u , into Eq.(10), k, can be determined. According to whether k, > k~ or k, < k,.,
one can obtain two different cases as shown in Fig.2
(the d o t t e d line denotes the initial condition).
1-shock

;: . . . .

kz

Ul

~176

(b) k. <

Fig.2 The two different splits of the initial

discontinuity under condition uz > uT

3 STRUCTURE

OF RAREFACTION

SOLU-

TIONS

(k,, u~)

Next we s t u d y rarefaction waves.

characteristics satisfy

~1,2(u~) < ~l,2(ur)

Fig.I= The initial discontinuity (Ul, U~) splits

into three fan regions under the condition of uz > u~

If the two

(14)

there will exist two families of s m o o t h solutions,

called, respectively, the 1-rarefaction wave and the
2-rarefaction wave. It has been proved t h a t the dependence of the s m o o t h solution of Eq.(4) on (x, t) is

Vol.20, No.1

Jiang R & Wu QS: Structural Properties of the Solutions to SG model

in the form ~ = x/t. Substituting U(~) into Eq.(4)

and taking derivatives with respect to (x, t) yields

which yields
= o

or

(OF - ( I ) U ~ = 0

(15)

where OF = OF(U)/OU, I is the two-dimensional

identity matrix. If U~ r 0, then Eq.(15) means t h a t
U~ is an eigenvector of the J a c o b i a n OF and { is the
corresponding eigenvalue. Since OF has two sets of
eigenvatues and eigenvectors, there are two families of
s m o o t h solutions. T h e first family corresponds to the
),l-characteristic and the second family corresponds
to the A2-characteristic.
First we s t u d y the first family, where ~ = A1Substituting ~ = )u into Eq.(15) yields

i.e., just like the 2-shock, the 2-rarefaction also reduces to a c o n t a c t discontinuity.
Thus, we m a y conclude t h a t if uz __<u~ for an initial discontinuity (Ul, U~), the two states Ul and U r
must be connected by a 1-rarefaction and a contact
discontinuity as shown in Fig.3. F r o m Eq.(26), we
have u , = ur. Substituting u , into Eq,(20), k, is determined. According to w h e t h e r k, > kr or k, < k~,
one can obtains two different cases as shown in Fig.4
(the d o t t e d line denotes initial condition).
1-rarefaction
9

u~

,
'.

which leads to

9
".

contact discontinuity

.
',

",

"..'..'..'..

."

(k.,

9 .:.:....

(u - A1)k~ + ku~ = 0

(17a)

(u - co - A1)u~ = 0

(175)

..

(k,.,
9..

Substituting A1 = u - co into Eqs.(17a) and (17b),

we can see t h a t Eq.(17b) is always satisfied. From
Eq.(17a), we have
,kl - u
- k

--

--

-co
k

(18)

Therefore
du
dk

--

-co
- k

.::...

u~
k~

(25)

Integrating Eq.(25), the 2-rarefaction is determined as

R2: u=ul
(26)

-~U~ + OFU~ = 0

u - co - )h

109

,
o

Fig.3 The initial discontinuity (Uf, U~)

splits into three fan regions under
condition ul < u~
kl

<

(19)

Integrating Eq.(19), it can be seen t h a t the 1rarefaction should obey

RI:

ur-ul=c01nkl-c01nk~

(20)

k.i
..l

k~

For the 1-rarefaction, from Eq.(14), one must have

Mr

)~l(Ul) < )~I(U~)

(21)

ut < u~

(22)

kl > kr

(23)

i.e.

Consequently

Similarly, for the

Eq.(15) we have

2-rarefaction

u -- co - A2

waves,

from

(a) k. > kr

ue

Fig.4 The two different splits of initial discontinuity under condition ul < u~

2004

ACTA MECHANICA SINICA

ii0

k1
IV

.%
..../ \

III

"~1,ul)

u = ul

_. "N~(k*, ~*)

k~

I (k,.,""ur)

HI~

II

/.1 r,

(a)

IV

~/i

(b) k, < k,,

II

Fig.4 The two different splits of initial

discontinuity under condition ut <
u~ (continued)

(b)

DISCUSSIONS

In sections 2 and 3, we have analyzed the structural properties of the solutions to the SG model without the relaxation term. The analysis shows that in
the SG model, there exists a 1-shock, a 1-rarefaction
and a contact discontinuity without a 2-shock and 2rarefaction. Any initial Riemann discontinuity always
splits into three fan regions, and the right state can
be connected to the left state either by a 1-shock and
a contact discontinuity or by a 1-rarefaction and a
contact discontinuity. When Ul > u~, it is a 1-shock
and when ul < ur, it is a 1-rarefaction.
We show the solutions in the phase space (k, u)
in Fig.5. The phase space is partitioned into four regions I, II, Ill, IV. When the right state (kr, Ur) falls

into the four regions as shown in Figs.5(a),(b),(c),(d),

and in (b), (c), (d), the symbols (k~,ul), (k., u.)
and (k,., u~) are omitted, we obtain the density-space
and velocity-space distribution as in Figs.2(a),(b) and
4(a), (b). For instance, if (k~, u,.) fails into region
I, the right state connects to the left state by a 1shock and a contact discontinuity, and the intermediate state is (k., u.). Since k. > k,., one can obtain
the x - k , x - u plot similar to Fig.2(a). Note that the H1
and R1 curves in Fig.5 is just a sketch curve, the exact form of which should have obtained from Eqs.(10)
and (20).

IV

t/ ~/i

II

(c)

.....R1
III ~

IV
.

u = ul

HI~I

(d)
Fig.5 The solutions in the phase space
On analyzing the nonequilibrium macroscopic
traffic flow models, Zhang [12] pointed out that the
model allows the existence of a 2-shock and a 2rarefaction. Due to the fact that a 2-shock always
travels faster than the vehicles on both sides of it, and

Vol,20, No.1

Jiang R & Wu QS: Structural Properties of the Solutions to SG model

the vehicular speeds on b o t h sides of a 2-rarefaction

wave fan are smaller t h a n the speeds of the characteristics t h a t form the rarefaction wave fan, a nonphysical mechanism comes into action. For a 2-shock,
vehicles enter the shock front from downstream and
speed up immediately after the shock passes them, as
if they were pushed to accelerate by u p s t r e a m vehicles. For a 2-rarefaction, instead of driving into the
fan and speeding up, vehicles are pulled into the fan
and slow down as the fan sweeps through them. These
nonphysical phenomena were caused by the existence
of the characteristic speed greater t h a n the macroscopic flow speed.
In the SG model, there is no the characteristic
speed greater than the macroscopic flow speed, as is
more realistic. Theoretically, no nonphysical mechanism is involved. Above analysis indicates t h a t the SG
model does not exhibit a 2-shock and a 2-rarefaction,
which further verifies the reasonability of the model.
It also should be noted that the contact discontinuity m a y be helpful to us for better understanding
the synchronized traffic (ST). As reported by Kerner
and Rehborn [13], the ST has three subtypes: (i) b o t h
nearly stationary and homogeneous states, (ii) states
with the average speed being nearly a stationary one,
but the density noticeably changed, and (iii) essentially nonstationary and nonhomogeneous states. Although the researchers have reproduced the homogeneous congested traffic (HCT) and oscillatory congested traffic ( O C T ) which may be attributed to ST of
types (i) and (iii) [14'151, the ST of type (ii) has seldom
been revealed. Since traffic flows of different densities
can move with the same speed in the presence of the
contact discontinuity, the contact discontinuity may
be the origin of the ST of type (ii). Further investigations will be provided in future work.
Our results can describe such realistic traffic behaviors as given below. When the drivers encounter
a congestion (i.e., ul > u~), they slow down to travel
at the congestion speed (i.e., u. = u~.) but sometimes
leave a bigger gap between them t h a n that of the initially congested traffic (i.e., k. < k,.), and they adopt
a wait-and-see attitude and are in no hurry to close
the wider gaps (see Fig.2(b)).
Under the situation that the relaxation effect
cannot be neglected, Eqs.(1) and (2) become complex
and the analytical analysis appears difficult. For such
purpose, the numerical simulation is adopted.
In a recent paper, this issue has been investigated [16]. We summarize the main results as follows.
(i) Due to the relaxation term, the discontinuity does

IIi

not split into a 1-shock (or 1-rarefaction) and a contact discontinuity, which may imply that the contact
discontinuity is smoothed out by the relaxation effect.
(ii) A stable traveling p a t t e r n or an unstable traffic
structure appears instead.
5

CONCLUSIONS

In this paper, we have analyzed the structural

properties of the solutions to the SG traffic flow
model. Firstly, we analyze the structure of the solutions to the SG model without the relaxation term.
For the case, a 1-shock or a 1-rarefaction is associated with the first characteristic and a contact discontinuity rather t h a n a 2-shock or a 2-rarefaction is
associated with the second characteristic. Any initial
Riemann discontinuity always splits into three fan regions, and the right state can be connected to the left
state either by a I-shock and a contact discontinuity or by a i-rarefaction and a contact discontinuity.
When ul > ur, a 1-shock arises and when ul < u,., a
i-rarefaction arises. Since the existence of a 2-shock
or a 2-rarefaction violates the physical mechanism of
traffic flow, the analysis further verifies that the SG
model is more reasonable. Furthermore, the possible
relation between the contact discontinuity and the ST
of type (ii) has been explored.
The structure of the solutions to the SG model
with the relaxation term has been discussed. It is
pointed out t h a t the relaxation effect has smoothed
out the contact discontinuity, and a stable traveling
pattern or an unstable traffic structure appears instead of the 1-shock (or 1-rarefaction) and the contact
discontinuity.
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