Experimental evaluation of Heavy Duty Vehicle speed patterns in urban and port areas and estimation of their fuel consumption and exhaust emissions

Exhaust emissions and fuel consumption of Heavy Duty Vehicles (HDVs) in urban and port areas were evaluated through a dedicated investigation. The HDV fleet composition and traffic driving from highways to the maritime port of Genoa and crossing the city were analysed. Typical urban trips linking highway exits to port gates and HDV mission profiles within the port area were defined. A validation was performed through on-board instrumentation to record HDV instantaneous speeds in urban and port zones. A statistical procedure enabled the building-up of representative speed patterns. High contrasts and specific driving conditions were observed in the port area. Representative speed profiles were then used to simulate fuel consumption and emissions for HDVs, using the Passenger car and Heavy duty Emission Model (PHEM). Complementary estimations were derived from Copert and HBEFA methodologies, allowing the comparison of different calculation approaches and scales. Finally, PHEM was implemented to assess the performances of EGR or SCR systems for NO_X reduction in urban driving and at very low speeds.The method and results of the investigation are presented. Fuel consumption and pollutant emission estimation through different methodologies are discussed, as well as the necessity of characterizing very local driving conditions for appropriate assessment.     

深度模拟器液压系统仿真研究

介绍了深度模拟器总体结构及工作原理,针对深度模拟器控制系统中PID算法及其相关参数进行了仿真研究。以深度模拟器液压系统为模型,利用AMESim仿真软件工具,对整个液压系统进行了仿真分析并对系统各元器件的参数进行了优化,为深度模拟器的进一步研究提供了理论基础。     

多车道高速公路出口开口段安全特性分析

为研究不同断面形式下的多车道高速公路出口影响区开口长度及流量与交通安全的关系，针对2种断面形式的高速公路出口，分别设计了3种不同的开口长度，结合3种不同流量条件设计了18个不同的驾驶模拟场景。实验招募30名被试者开展模拟驾驶实验，提取不同开口长度及流量条件下各断面形式高速公路出口的车辆行驶轨迹、换道间隙的选择、减速度、最小 TTC (Time to Collision)等驾驶行为特性参数，综合分析基于驾驶行为数据对不同开口长度的行车风险。结果表明：两种断面形式下，开口长度对于车辆在开口段上的换道点选择存在显著影响；两种断面形式下，1500 m的开口长度能够满足绝大多数驾驶人的换道需求；在换道间隙选择中，大都集中在5~6 s，分离式断面下的开口长度对于低于临界间隙的换道间隙出现的频次具有显著影响；流量及开口长度对于最大减速度及TTC最小值和分布位置均不存在显著性影响，但分离式断面下的最大减速度和最小TTC相较于整体式断面更小；此外，整体式断面中内侧3车道的行车风险低于分离式断面，分离式断面中外侧车道的行车风险低于整体式断面。     

Mental models of driving and speed: biases,choices and reality

This paper provides a review of research performed by Svenson with colleagues and others work on mental models and their practical implications. Mental models describe how people perceive and think about the world including covariances and relationships between different variables, such as driving speed and time. Research on mental models has detected the time-saving bias [Svenson, O. (1970). A functional measurement approach to intuitive estimation as exemplified by estimated time savings. Journal of Experimental Psychology, 86, 204–210]. It means that drivers relatively overestimate the time that can be saved by increasing speed from an already high speed, for example, 90–130?km/h, and underestimate the time that can be saved by increasing speed from a low speed, for example, 30–45?km/h. In congruence with this finding, mean speed judgments and perceptions of mean speeds are also biased and higher speeds given too much weight and low speeds too little weight in comparison with objective reality. Replacing or adding a new speedometer in the car showing min per km eliminated or weakened the time-saving bias. Information about braking distances at different speeds did not improve overoptimistic judgments of braking capacity, but information about collision speed with an object suddenly appearing on the road did improve judgments of braking capacity. This is relevant to drivers, politicians and traffic regulators.     

Field tests of a dynamic green driving strategy based on inter-vehicle communication

This paper presents the design and results for field tests regarding the environmental benefits in stop-and-go traffic of an algorithmic green driving strategy based on inter-vehicle communication (IVC), which was proposed in Yang and Jin (2014). The green driving strategy dynamically calculates advisory speed limits for vehicles equipped with IVC devices so as to smooth their speed profiles and reduce their emissions and fuel consumption. For the field tests, we develop a smartphone-based IVC system, in which vehicles’ speeds and locations are collected by GPS and accelerometer sensors embedded in smartphones, and communications among vehicles are enabled by specially designed smartphone applications, a central server, and 4G cellular networks. Six field tests are carried out on an uninterrupted ring road under slow or fast stop-and-go traffic conditions. We compare the performances of three alternatives: no green driving, heuristic green driving, and the IVC-based algorithmic green driving. Results show that heuristic green driving has better smoothing and environmental effects than no green driving, but the IVC-based algorithmic green driving outperforms both. In the future, we are interested in field tests under more realistic traffic conditions.     

Analysis of volatility in driving regimes extracted from basic safety messages transmitted between connected vehicles

Driving volatility captures the extent of speed variations when a vehicle is being driven. Extreme longitudinal variations signify hard acceleration or braking. Warnings and alerts given to drivers can reduce such volatility potentially improving safety, energy use, and emissions. This study develops a fundamental understanding of instantaneous driving decisions, needed for hazard anticipation and notification systems, and distinguishes normal from anomalous driving. In this study, driving task is divided into distinct yet unobserved regimes. The research issue is to characterize and quantify these regimes in typical driving cycles and the associated volatility of each regime, explore when the regimes change and the key correlates associated with each regime. Using Basic Safety Message (BSM) data from the Safety Pilot Model Deployment in Ann Arbor, Michigan, two- and three-regime Dynamic Markov switching models are estimated for several trips undertaken on various roadway types. While thousands of instrumented vehicles with vehicle to vehicle (V2V) and vehicle to infrastructure (V2I) communication systems are being tested, nearly 1.4 million records of BSMs, from 184 trips undertaken by 71 instrumented vehicles are analyzed in this study. Then even more detailed analysis of 43 randomly chosen trips (N = 714,340 BSM records) that were undertaken on various roadway types is conducted. The results indicate that acceleration and deceleration are two distinct regimes, and as compared to acceleration, drivers decelerate at higher rates, and braking is significantly more volatile than acceleration. Different correlations of the two regimes with instantaneous driving contexts are explored. With a more generic three-regime model specification, the results reveal high-rate acceleration, high-rate deceleration, and cruise/constant as the three distinct regimes that characterize a typical driving cycle. Moreover, given in a high-rate regime, drivers’ on-average tend to decelerate at a higher rate than their rate of acceleration. Importantly, compared to cruise/constant regime, drivers’ instantaneous driving decisions are more volatile both in “high-rate” acceleration as well as “high-rate” deceleration regime. The study contributes to analyzing volatility in short-term driving decisions, and how changes in driving regimes can be mapped to a combination of local traffic states surrounding the vehicle.     

How to Use Driving Simulators Properly: Impacts of Human Sensory and Perceptual Capabilities on Visual Fidelity

Fidelity has been a critical concern of researchers throughout the history of driving simulation. Understanding the limits of a driving simulation system is a prerequisite for conducting valid driving simulator studies. This paper proposes a novel and interdisciplinary methodology to ensure validity of studies using driving simulators (primarily for traffic control devices and other object detection tasks) based on the visual limits of human sensory and perceptual capabilities, and the characteristics of raster graphics. This methodology decomposes the perceptual issues of a stimulus into perceptual issues of different visual properties like luminance, hue, or text of the stimulus. By systematically analyzing the mechanism of human vision in driving simulators, the perceptual principle is proposed to ensure perceivable visual details in human-in-the-loop driving simulation systems. Additionally, the graphic principle is proposed to ensure perceivable features of a target object in the virtual driving environment. Both principles quantify the minimum requirements of visual fidelity with two measurements: angular resolution and matrix dimensions. The enriched results from existing pertinent studies are analyzed and organized to yield support of both principles. This research focuses on the minimum requirements for four factors; namely the visual acuity of drivers, the specifications of display systems, the configurations of graphics systems, and the design of virtual scenarios, as well as the relationship among all these factors to assess the visual fidelity in driving simulation systems. Within the realm of human perception, this work can provide criteria for proper design, calibration, and usage of driving simulators.     

Socially optimal electric driving range of plug-in hybrid electric vehicles

This study determines the optimal electric driving range of plug-in hybrid electric vehicles (PHEVs) that minimizes the daily cost borne by the society when using this technology. An optimization framework is developed and applied to datasets representing the US market. Results indicate that the optimal range is 16 miles with an average social cost of $3.19 per day when exclusively charging at home, compared to $3.27 per day of driving a conventional vehicle. The optimal range is found to be sensitive to the cost of battery packs and the price of gasoline. When workplace charging is available, the optimal electric driving range surprisingly increases from 16 to 22 miles, as larger batteries would allow drivers to better take advantage of the charging opportunities to achieve longer electrified travel distances, yielding social cost savings. If workplace charging is available, the optimal density is to deploy a workplace charger for every 3.66 vehicles. Moreover, the diversification of the battery size, i.e., introducing a pair and triple of electric driving ranges to the market, could further decrease the average societal cost per PHEV by 7.45% and 11.5% respectively.     

面向智能车辆的现役道路设施行驶适应性研究综述

为了总结面向智能车辆的现役道路设施行驶适应性，即现役道路基础设施承载智能车辆行驶的适宜程度，阐述自主智能驾驶定义与驾驶自动化等级分类，在此基础上剖析不同等级间的人机功能差异，并分别从感知层、感知-决策层、决策-控制层探讨与道路设计要素相关联的人机功能差异，通过归纳总结智能车辆与道路几何要素、路面性能及其他道路要素(如道路标线)的相互作用机制研究，从道路工程角度及其他道路要素方面回顾该领域的研究现状，指出存在的问题和未来发展方向。研究结果表明：相比传统车辆，配置高等级自动驾驶系统的智能车辆对现役道路设施行驶适应性最高，主动安全系统次之，而驾驶辅助及有条件自动驾驶系统适应性不足。而目前研究主要问题包括：难以归纳、标定不同驾驶自动化等级间的人机功能差异及其对于道路设计参数的需求设计值；测试道路场景条件过于理想，考虑的驾驶自动化等级单一，试验规模和样本有限；道路几何、路面性能以及道路标志、标线等道路要素与智能车辆间的相互作用机制研究不足，缺乏与不同道路场景相匹配的智能车辆驾驶特征数据的获取手段。因此建议：重视并推动与道路设计要素相关联的关键人机功能差异指标信息共享；联合高保真且可交互的道路场景、高精度感知传感器物理模型、车辆动力学模型及微观交通流模型，利用测试场景自动化生成、极限工况场景搜寻与泛化等技术开展智能驾驶虚拟测试，突破现有研究的深度和广度；探索反映不同等级智能车辆的道路行驶适应性特征指标与评价标准，精准、有效地评估预测复杂道路场景及不利道路条件下的行驶适应性。