Modeling Microscopic Car-Following Strategy of Mixed Traffic to Identify Optimal Platoon Configurations for Multiobjective Decision-Making

Abstract

Microscopic detail of complex vehicle interactions in mixed traffic, involving manual driving system (MDS) and automated driving system (ADS), is imperative in determining the extent of response by ADS vehicles in the connected automated vehicle (CAV) environment. In this context, this paper proposes a naïve microscopic car-following strategy for a mixed traffic stream in CAV settings and specified shifts in traffic mobility, safety, and environmental features. Additionally, this study explores the influences of platoon properties (i.e., intra-platoon headway, inter-platoon headway, and maximum platoon length) on traffic stream characteristics. Different combinations of MDS and ADS vehicles are simulated in order to understand the variations of improvements induced by ADS vehicles in a traffic stream. Simulation results reveal that grouping ADS vehicles at the front of traffic stream to apply Cooperative Adaptive Cruise Control (CACC) based car-following model will generate maximum mobility benefits for upstream vehicles. Both mobility and environmental improvements can be realized by forming long, closely spaced ADS vehicles at the cost of reduced safety. To achieve balanced mobility, safety, and environmental advantages from mixed traffic environment, dynamically optimized platoon configurations should be determined at varying traffic conditions and ADS market penetrations.

Stability and Environmental Analysis of Mixed Traffic Flow – Using the Markov Probabilistic Theory

“…To better realize this expected potential boost provided by CAV to the traffic, the mixed traffic flow is desired to exhibit string-stable behaviour [14][15][16][17][18]. Many studies have been carried out for theoretically investigating the stability of the homogeneous traffic flow, which only contains HVs or CAVs, [3,[19][20][21][22]. In addition, many scholars have also carried out theoretical analyses on the stability performance of various CAV market penetration under mixed traffic environment [23,24].…”

“…Thus, the vehicles under the CAV environment tend to form a platoon-based driving pattern. In recent years, many scholars have carried out extensive research on platoon control of CAVs under advanced communications [2][3][4][5]. They point out that when the market penetration rate of CAVs is high enough, the CAV platoon has the potential to mitigate traffic congestion, increase road throughput, and reduce energy consumption through reasonable control.…”

A Macroscopic Model of Heterogeneous Traffic Flow Based on the Safety Potential Field Theory

“…Investigating the characteristics of such kind of mixed traffic flow is a novel research area in recent years. Many scholars have carried out many studies on mixed traffic flow from microscopic, mesoscopic, and macroscopic perspectives [10][11][12][13]. Additionaly, many studies have analyzed the potential application prospect of mixed traffic flow in different scenarios [16][17][18][19][20][21].…”

Analysis of V2V Messages for Car-Following Behavior with the Traffic Jerk Effect

“…As the basis of microscopic tra c ow, the car-following model [1,2] is used to describe the motion characteristics of a vehicle that follows another vehicle. is situation is the most common driving behavior in single-lane tra c ow [3][4][5].…”