Energy savings and emissions reduction of BEVs at an isolated complex intersection

Abstract

Improving urban dwellers quality of life requires mitigating traffic congestion, minimizing waiting delays, and reducing fuel wastage and associated toxic air pollutants. Battery-electric vehicles (BEVs) are envisioned as the best option, thanks to zero exhaust emissions and regenerative braking. BEVs can be human-driven or autonomous and will co-exist with internal combustion engine vehicles (ICEVs) for years. BEVs can help at complex intersections where traffic is saturated. However, their benefits can be reduced by poor intersection management (IM) strategies that coordinate mixed traffic configurations inefficiently. This paper studies energy savings and emissions reduction using BEVs mixed with human-driven ICEVs under eight relevant IM approaches. It shows that adding BEVs has impacts on throughput, energy consumption, waiting delays, and tail-pipe emissions that depend on the specific IM approach used. Thus, this study provides the information needed to support an optimal choice of IM approaches considering the emerging trend towards electrical mobility.