Optimization of Lateral Position of Autonomous Trucks
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2018-11-01
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Abstract:The introduction of autonomous and connected trucks (ACTs) is expected to result in drastic changes in operational characteristics of freight shipments, which may in turn have significant impacts on efficiency, safety, energy consumption, and infrastructure durability. One such change is the formation of truck platoons. Truck platoons will become more feasible and practical with the intelligent technologies existing in ACTs that enable the connection among vehicles and between vehicles and infrastructure. Some reported and expected benefits of platooning are reducing congestion, braking/accelerating, and improving fuel efficiency. Yet, such platooning operations may accelerate the damage accumulation within pavement structures due to the trucks’ similar lateral positions (i.e., wheel wander) within the lane. Therefore, this study develops a platooning-control strategy for a fleet of ACTs such that trucks’ lateral shifts within a lane can be explicitly optimized to minimize damage to the pavement, thus significantly reducing maintenance and rehabilitation costs. The efficacy of the proposed strategy was demonstrated through a case study. The results showed that the cost of platooning can be reduced by approximately $0.5 million/mi, depending on the platoon size, pavement thickness, and traffic.
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