Browsing by Author "van Straten, Armandt"

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    Operational concept for connected and autonomous vehicles in an urban environment
    (Stellenbosch : Stellenbosch University, 2023-01) van Straten, Armandt; Andersen, Simen Johann; Stellenbosch University. Faculty of Engineering. Dept. of Civil Engineering.
    ENGLISH ABSTRACT: Technology has shown great potential in improving the daily lives of people around the world. This also applies to the way people and goods are transported, which could be very different in coming future, especially with the emergence of Autonomous Vehicles (AVs). AVs can significantly alter how people and goods are transported, as they offer the possibility of Connected and Autonomous Vehicles (CAVs) that can communicate with other vehicles and roadside infrastructure. A future where all the vehicles on the road are autonomous is not that far-fetched and with the rapid development of AV technologies that future could be soon. Before AVs can be implemented with any hope of success, it is important to try to predict how they would behave and perform on the road network, and what the potential advantages and disadvantages could be when they are finally implemented. The implementation of AVs must be sufficiently planned, such that all the potential benefits provided by AVs are fully realised. This is particularly important for developing countries like South Africa. For developing countries, the implementation of AVs could be a distinct possibility, since developed countries are already implementing AVs to a degree. However, the implantation of AVs in developing countries will require significantly more preparation if they hope to keep up with the technological advancements occurring worldwide. This study attempts to act as preparation for the future when AVs are eventually implemented in South Africa. What is investigated is how AVs and CAVs perform in an urban environment. A section of the road network in Stellenbosch, South Africa, was used. This road network section contained a lot of different traffic control systems. Using an already calibrated PTV VISUM macroscopic model of the Stellenbosch road network, a smaller macroscopic model was generated by sectioning the desired study area out of the entire network. This created a smaller PTV VISUM macroscopic model of just the desired network section. Using the export and import functionality between PTV VISUM and PTV VISSIM, a final microscopic model was generated which was used to evaluate the performance of the AVs and CAVs. Four levels of autonomous behaviour were evaluated with the microscopic model to assess the relative improvements that each of these levels provided to the road network’s performance at various penetration rates. Specific focus was also placed on CAVs, investigating how robust CAVs are to changes in traffic volumes. The results obtained in this study, over a variety of network performance indicators, showed that AVs, and CAVs, are effective in improving the network’s performance. Additionally, CAVs are robust when it came to handling changes in traffic volumes. CAVs appeared to improve the network’s capability to cope with increased traffic volumes. However, AVs' performance is significantly dependent on their penetration rate.