Energy Conservation Through Enhanced Traffic Signal Responsiveness
Tsai-Yun Liao and Randy B. Machemehl, University of Texas at Austin, June 1995, 64 pp.
Traditional traffic system management objectives are based on operational efficiency, including capacity, delay reduction, and safety. Generally, criteria for evaluating the effectiveness of signalized intersections are: minimization of total or stopped delay and numbers of stops, minimizing fuel consumption, cost-efficiency, and trade-offs of these factors.
Fuel consumption is an important traffic control criterion. A new fuel consumption model called the Analytical Fuel Consumption Model is proposed in this research based on queuing model concepts and different vehicle operational states. The model, aiming to include the impact of traffic characteristics, fuel consumption rates, and control variables, includes different vehicle operational states describing operations on three intersection elements: inbound approach, intersection itself, and outbound approach. For each element, vehicle operational states are described in three signal cycle stages.
Numerical experiments are conducted to calibrate fuel consumption rates of the new model for different traffic volumes and cycle lengths. Results show consistency with those of the TEXAS simulation model.
Results for both fuel consumption and delay minimization show that short cycle time lengths are preferred in low volume cases, and likewise, long cycle lengths are preferred in high volume cases.
Keywords: Fuel Consumption, Minimization, Analytical Fuel Consumption Model, Signal Cycle Length, Signalized Intersection, Stopped Delay, Red Time, Green Time, Queue, Vehicle Speed, Outbound Approach
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