The weaving section length optimization based on the optimal velocity car-following model and symmetric lane-changing rule

The aim of the paper is to study the effect of the weaving section length on traffic flow operating under the different traffic demand. The paper uses the optimal velocity car-following model and symmetric lane-changing rule to simulate traffic flow operating in the weaving section, and calculate the headway and average speed under the different weaving section length. The results show that there is a critical value for the weaving section length. When the weaving section length is less than a critical value, the space headway significantly increase and the speed significantly decrease. When the weaving section length is larger than the critical value, the increased weaving section length has little improvement of traffic flow performance. The study proposes the critical value for the weaving section length of city expressway. Lastly, the paper analyzed the trajectory of traffic flow in the phase space of speed and space headway.