Traffic operation for longer battery life of connected automated vehicles in signal-free networks

Coordinating the movement of Connected Automated Vehicles (CAVs) can significantly improve traffic operations at signal-free intersections. However, we show there is a tradeoff between the operational capacity and the battery loss of CAVs at intersections. This research aims to enhance the battery life of CAVs with the minimum impact on operational capacity. To this end, we develop a stochastic model for the battery-capacity loss of CAV platoons at signal-free intersections. We account for the stochasticity in traffic operations at intersections by considering a probability distribution for the operational error in synchronizing the arrival and departure of consecutive platoons in crossing directions. We then balance the tradeoff between the battery-capacity loss rate and intersection capacity by optimizing the platoon size, traffic speed, and marginal gap length at a macroscopic scale. The numerical results of the research show that adjusting the macro-level control variables can improve CAVs' battery life by 27.6% at the cost of a 3.5% reduction from the maximum capacity.

Automated summary

This research explores the tradeoff between the operational capacity and battery loss of CAVs at signal-free intersections. By developing a stochastic model, the study takes into account the probability distribution of operational error in synchronizing CAV platoons at intersections. It proposes optimizing platoon size, traffic speed, and marginal gap length to balance the tradeoff between battery capacity loss and intersection capacity.