Analysis of the impact of maximum platoon size of CAVs on mixed traffic flow: An analytical and simulation method

Abstract

This paper analyzes the characteristics of mixed traffic flow with maximum platoon size of connected automated vehicles (CAVs) based on analytical and simulation methods. First, we discuss the car-following and headway types of mixed traffic flows with human-driven vehicles (HDVs), connected human-driven vehicles (CHVs), automated vehicles (AVs), and CAVs. Second, the probability distribution of the CAVs platoon size is derived based on the Markov chain model. Subsequently, the capacity model and stability condition of mixed traffic flow are proposed based on the probability distribution of the CAVs platoon size, and some characteristics of the influence of the maximum platoon size on traffic capacity and stability are analyzed. A numerical experiment based on car-following models was conducted to investigate the effect of the maximum platoon size on capacity, stability, safety, fuel consumption, and emission of mixed traffic flow. The results show that (1) the capacity of mixed traffic flow increases with the maximum platoon size of CAVs; (2) the stability of mixed traffic flow deteriorates with the increase in the maximum platoon size of CAVs; (3) the safety risk of vehicles in mixed traffic flow increases with the maximum platoon size of CAVs; (4) the fuel consumption and emissions (e.g., CO, HC, and NOx) increase with the maximum platoon size of CAVs. This indicates that the larger maximum platoon size can only improve traffic capacity, which is not conducive to the stability, safety, fuel consumption, and emissions of mixed traffic flow.