Title: Longitudinal motion control for vehicle platooning in mixed traffic based on virtual mass-spring-damper theory

Authors: Luo Jiang; Jie Ji; Yue Ren; Hong Wang

Addresses: College of Engineering and Technology, Southwest University, Chongqing, 400715, China ' College of Engineering and Technology, Southwest University, Chongqing, 400715, China ' College of Engineering and Technology, Southwest University, Chongqing, 400715, China ' School of Vehicle and Mobility, Tsinghua University, Beijing, 100084, China

Abstract: This paper proposes a novel control method based on the virtual mass-spring-damper (MSD) theory to improve the platoon's system safety in mixed traffic flows consisting of connected and automated vehicles (CAVs) and human-driven vehicles (HDVs). To validate the proposed control method, two kinds of mixed platoons composed of five CAVs and one HDV are modelled and simulated by using CarSim and Matlab/Simulink. The simulation results demonstrate that when the HDV is at the head of the platoon, the maximum spacing error is 1.73 m; while the HDV is in the middle of the platoon, it increases to 3.59 m. Meanwhile, the inter-vehicle spacing errors do not amplify as they propagate along the platoon. Therefore, by selecting the appropriate stiffness constants and damping coefficients of the virtual MSD system according to platoon forms, the proposed control method can effectively ensure the stability and improve the safety of the mixed vehicular platoon.

Keywords: vehicular platoons; MSD; mass-spring-damper system; longitudinal motion control; connected and automated vehicle; human-driven vehicle; mixed traffic; string stability; traffic safety.

DOI: 10.1504/IJVD.2020.115061

International Journal of Vehicle Design, 2020 Vol.83 No.2/3/4, pp.195 - 217

Received: 08 May 2020
Accepted: 21 Oct 2020
Published online: 17 May 2021 *

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