Variable speed limit control method of freeway merging area in a car-truck mixed heterogeneous traffic environment

Yongsheng Chen, Guozhu Cheng, Fengwei Meng and Wenzhi Wang

Physica A: Statistical Mechanics and its Applications, 2025, vol. 676, issue C

Abstract: To alleviate traffic congestion and enhance safety in freeway merging areas under car-truck mixed heterogeneous traffic environment, this study proposes a variable speed limit (VSL) control method. First, a lane-level cell transmission model (CTM) is developed to predict traffic states, accounting for four distinct vehicle types: human-driven cars (HCs), human-driven trucks (HTs), connected autonomous cars (CACs), and connected autonomous trucks (CATs). Second, a collision risk prediction model for the merging area is constructed uses traffic simulation data through count model fitting. An optimal VSL control function is formulated to enhance traffic efficiency and safety. This function and CTM are then integrated into a model predictive control (MPC) framework, establishing a comprehensive VSL control method. Finally, simulations conducted using Python and SUMO verify the effectiveness of the proposed method. The results show that, compared with the no-control scenario, the VSL method significantly reduces total travel time (TTT) and collision risk (TCR) at the macroscopic level. At the microscopic level, it increases the average speed and reduces travel delay, time-exposed time-to-collision (TET), and time-integrated time-to-collision (TIT), thereby further validating the effectiveness of the method. The proposed research framework offers theoretical insights and technical guidance for future freeway traffic management in a car-truck mixed heterogeneous traffic environment.

Keywords: Intelligent transportation system; Variable speed limit control; Merging area; Car-truck mixed heterogeneous traffic flow; Model predictive control (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2025
References: Add references at CitEc
Citations:

Downloads: (external link)
http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S037843712500528X
Full text for ScienceDirect subscribers only. Journal offers the option of making the article available online on Science direct for a fee of $3,000

Related works:
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:eee:phsmap:v:676:y:2025:i:c:s037843712500528x

DOI: 10.1016/j.physa.2025.130876

Access Statistics for this article

Physica A: Statistical Mechanics and its Applications is currently edited by K. A. Dawson, J. O. Indekeu, H.E. Stanley and C. Tsallis

More articles in Physica A: Statistical Mechanics and its Applications from Elsevier
Bibliographic data for series maintained by Catherine Liu ().