Macroscopic evaluation of traffic flow in view of connected and autonomous vehicles: A simulation-based approach

The macroscopic evaluation of road traffic characteristics is vital as they will alter significantly with the emergence of Connected and Autonomous Vehicles (CAVs). The macroscopic second-order traffic flow models are emerging as essential tools to observe the evolutionary dynamics of traffic flow. These models are significantly improved to describe the dynamics of traffic flow in view of Human-Driven Vehicles (HDVs). However, proficient macroscopic second-order traffic flow models are indispensable in comprehending and elucidating the descriptions of traffic flow dynamics, particularly in the view of evolving CAVs. Therefore, we propose a macroscopic second-order traffic model that distinguishes CAVs from HDVs by meticulously considering their distinct driving characteristics. The proposed model incorporates lengthways between the vehicles, and the reaction time of the CAVs, and is evaluated on a 20,000 m ring road. The findings show that with smaller lengthways and reaction times of CAVs, traffic evolves quickly during transitions. An increase in average traffic velocity is observed as the reaction time is significantly small. It has been demonstrated that CAVs can significantly limit variations in velocity resulting in smoother flow operations.