A model-based predictive traffic control approach for the reduction of emissions

Reference:
S. Zegeye, B. De Schutter, H. Hellendoorn, and E. Breunesse, "A model-based predictive traffic control approach for the reduction of emissions," Proceedings of the 10th TRAIL Congress 2008 - TRAIL in Perspective - Selected Papers, Rotterdam, The Netherlands, 11 pp., Oct. 2008.

Abstract:
The main objective of this paper is to illustrate the applicability and potential advantages of model-based traffic control for the reduction of emissions. We investigate the impact of a model-based control strategy on emissions and traffic flow using model predictive control (MPC). We consider reduction of emissions and total time spent (TTS). The MPC controller is based on a car-following traffic flow model and an average-speed-based emission model. Moreover, we illustrate that a control strategy, that only addresses the improvement of traffic flow does not necessarily guarantee improvement in the level of emissions. We demonstrate that a traffic control strategy (such as MPC) addressing emissions and total time spent can result in a balanced reduction of emissions and total time spent. Using simulation, we analyse the effects of different weighting combinations on the different emission gases of traffic flow and the TTS. We illustrate with a simulation example that the proposed traffic control approach can reduce both emissions and TTS. Simulation results show 11.1% reduction in average time spent, and 37.55% reduction in total average emission levels.