Impact of Partial Penetrations of Connected and Automated Vehicles on Fuel Consumption and Traffic Flow

This article addresses the problem of analyzing the effects of partial penetrations of optimally coordinated connected and automated vehicles (CAVs) on fuel consumption and travel time under low, medium, and heavy traffic volumes. We develop a microscopic simulation framework to enhance our understanding of the interactions between human-driven vehicles and CAVs in a merging on-ramp scenario. We show that fuel consumption is adversely affected for medium and high traffic while benefits are realized for travel time under the same traffic conditions. We also show that higher penetrations of CAVs contribute to more stable traffic patterns.