Develop Eco-adaptive Cruise Control Systems
Project Title
Develop Eco-adaptive Cruise Control Systems
University
Virginia Tech
Principal Investigator
Hesham Rakha, Ph.D
Director of the Center for Sustainable Mobility at the Virginia Tech Transportation Institute, Virginia Tech
Kyoungho Ahn, Ph.D.
Center for Sustainable Mobility Sr. Research Associate, Virginia Tech
PI Contact Information
Funding Sources and Amounts Provided
US Department of Transportation — $75,000
Virginia Tech — $75,000
Total Project Cost
$150,000
Agency ID or Contract Number
DTRT12GUTC17
Start Date
1/1/12
End Date
12/31/14
Description of Research Project
The first effort presents the results of a field experiment that was designed to compare manual driving, conventional cruise control (CCC) driving, and Eco-cruise control (ECC) driving with regard to fuel economy. The field experiment was conducted on five test vehicles along a section of Interstate 81 that was comprised of ±4% uphill and downhill grade sections. Using an Onboard Diagnostic II reader, instantaneous fuel consumption rates and other driving parameters were collected with and without the CCC system enabled. The collected data were compared with regard to fuel economy, throttle control, and travel time.
A second effort investigates the feasibility of Eco-lanes applications along a section of Interstate 66 in Northern Virginia. In Eco-lanes, drivers are required to operate the vehicle at recommended or variable speed limits to reduce transportation energy consumption and improve vehicle mobility. The study focuses its efforts on evaluating various Eco-lanes algorithms and speed harmonization (SPD-HARM) applications using the INTEGRATION microscopic traffic simulation software. The study demonstrates that the proposed Eco-lanes system can significantly improve fuel efficiency and air quality while reducing average vehicle travel time and total delay.
Implementation of Research Outcomes
Impacts and Benefits of the Project
The results demonstrate that CCC enhances vehicle fuel economy by 3.3 percent on average relative to manual driving, however this difference was not found to be statistically significant at a 5 percent significance level. The results demonstrate that CCC driving is more efficient on downhill versus uphill sections. In addition, the study demonstrates that an ECC system can produce fuel savings ranging between 8 and 16 percent with increases in travel times ranging between 3 and 6 percent. These benefits appear to be largest for heavier vehicles (SUVs).
For this case study, the Eco-lanes system reduces delay, fuel consumption, HC, CO, and CO2 emissions by 23%, 4.5%, 3.1%, 3.4%, and 4.6%, respectively, compared with the base case scenario. The study also examines the feasibility of a predictive Eco-lanes system and demonstrates that a predictive Eco-lanes system can improve the performance of the original Eco-lanes system. Furthermore, this study demonstrates that optimum throttle levels and optimum eco-speed limits can significantly improve Eco-lanes system performance. Finally, the study demonstrates that SPD-HARM across all vehicles and lanes reduces the system delay, fuel consumption, HC, CO, NOx, and CO2 emissions by 7.6%, 6.3%, 23.9%, 26.1%, 17.2%, and 4.4%, respectively, compared to the base case scenario.
Papers
- Saerens B., Rakha H., Diehl M., Van den Bulck E. (2013), "Eco-Cruise Control for Passenger Vehicles: Methodology," Transportation Research Part D: Transport and Environment, Vol. 19, pp. 20-27.
- Saerens, B., Rakha, H., Ahn, K., and Van den Bulck, E. (2013), "Assessment of Alternative Polynomial Fuel Consumption Models for use in ITS Applications," Journal of Intelligent Transportation Systems: Technology, Planning, and Operations, DOI:10.1080/15472450.2013.764801.
- Park S., Rakha H., Ahn K., and Moran K. (2013), “Fuel Economy Impacts of Manual, Conventional Cruise Control, and Predictive Eco-Cruise Control Driving,” International Journal of Transportation Science and Technology, Vol. 2, no. 3, pp. 227-242.
- Ahn K. and Rakha H. (2014), "Eco-Lanes Applications: Preliminary Testing and Evaluation," Presented at the 93rd Transportation Research Board Annual Meeting, Washington DC, January 12-16, CD-ROM [Paper # 14-3784].
Web Links
Final Report: VT_TranLIVE_Final_Eco-Driving
Keywords
- Eco-cruise control
- eco-driving
- fuel-efficient vehicle control