Date of Award:

5-2012

Document Type:

Thesis

Degree Name:

Master of Science (MS)

Department:

Civil and Environmental Engineering

Committee Chair(s)

Kevin P. Heaslip

Committee

Kevin P. Heaslip

Committee

Anthony Chen

Committee

Joseph Caliendo

Abstract

Automated electric transportation has the potential to revolutionize the way people move by providing unparalleled benefits to human health and safety, economic independence, and quality of life. It is a system where vehicles with no emissions control themselves as they cooperatively move people from point “A” to point “B.” Vehicle automation aims to eliminate human error from the task of driving, making the roads safer and leaving drivers able to perform other tasks as they desire while they travel. Also, through wireless in-motion electric power transfer, the gas tank may finally be completely excluded from vehicles without sacrificing freedoms in range or mobility. This feat will aid in the elimination of traffic related air pollution as well as our nation’s dependence on foreign oil. Other benefits affecting quality of life may also include reduced traffic congestion and roadway inefficiency.

However, despite the many benefits anticipated by this new system of transportation, a framework upon which it can be built is yet to be developed. This research provides a portion of that framework by specifying a logical transition strategy for moving from today’s transportation system to this future automated and electric transportation system. Yet its chief purpose is to evaluate the operational parameters where AET will be feasible from a transportation operations point of view. This evaluation is accomplished by performing lane capacity analyses of the freeway, as well as focusing on the merging maneuvers at freeway interchange locations.

Through the use of the logic presented in this thesis, freeway traffic operations can remain unaffected by vehicles entering freeway traffic flow, allowing automated freeway lanes the ability to quadruple their capacity. It is the hope of this research to aid in identifying the requirements and quantifying the potential impacts of an automated electric transportation system

Checksum

6ab7e11864075ae221c4749428f6865f

Comments

This work made publicly available electronically on December 21, 2012.

Download

Share

COinS

Copyright for this work is retained by the student. If you have any questions regarding the inclusion of this work in the Digital Commons, please email us at .