Nonlinear Dynamics of Car-Following Model Induced by Time Delay and Other Parameters

Chapter 9 explores the bistable solution induced by bifurcation and presents the corresponding bistable traffic mode by studying the subcritical Hopf bifurcation when the driver’s reaction delay is near its critical value. The research is conducted when other parameters such as sensitivity coefficient and inter-vehicle distance are fixed, with only driver’s reaction delay being allowed to vary near the critical value. The study finds that the mechanisms of stability switch of uniform flow are dependent on the road length as well as the sensitivity coefficient of the driver. Therefore, this chapter proposes to analyze the dynamic behaviour induced by the bifurcation and the corresponding traffic modes under the joint influence of driver’s reaction time delay and road length/sensitivity coefficient.