Cooperative On-Ramp Merging Control Model for Mixed Traffic on Multi-Lane Freeways

This paper proposes a hierarchical model for cooperative on-ramp merging control (CORMC) in mixed traffic with both connected automated vehicles (CAVs) and connected human-driven vehicles (CHVs). The upper-layer of the CORMC model employs an anticipatory position searching (APS) algorithm to determine the anticipatory positions at which merging vehicles (MVs) should merge from the on-ramp lane to the adjacent mainline lane, and to assign cooperative vehicles (CVs) for each MV. A collaborative utility choice (CUC) model is presented to determine the optimal maneuver of CVs to create proper gaps for MVs. The driver compliance rate is introduced to account for CHVs’ unwillingness to follow the instructions given by the CUC model. The lower-layer comprises a cooperative merging control (CMC) model that ensures safe and smooth merging execution for MVs. Longitudinal and lane changing models are developed for mainline vehicles to facilitate an efficient and safe merging process. Simulation results show that the performance benefits of the CUC model are marginal when the CHV compliance rate is relatively low. However, the performance improvement is significant at higher compliance rates (
$>$
50%). Furthermore, the CORMC model has the potential to increase merging and mainline throughput by over 75% at sufficiently high CAV penetration rates. Comparison of three control strategies shows that the APS algorithm plays an important role in the CORMC model. A comparison with the Simulation of Urban Mobility (SUMO) indicates that the CORMC model significantly mitigates the propagation of congestion waves across varying levels of CAV penetration and on-ramp flow rates.