Analytical analysis of the effect of maximum platoon size of connected and automated vehicles

The maximum platoon size is a critical parameter in connected and automated vehicle (CAV) platoon configuration. However, the effect of platoon size on the transportation system has not been well-studied. This paper unveils the effect of maximum CAV platoon size in terms of road capacity and traffic flow stability. Specifically, the analytical formulations of the capacity and flow stability are developed considering the maximum platoon size. Simulations are conducted to verify the developed theoretical models. For capacity analysis, both the analytical and simulation results indicate that a larger maximum platoon size can help increase the capacity. However, the increment becomes smaller with the increase of maximum platoon size. For flow stability analysis, the theoretical analysis and microscopic simulation show that smaller maximum platoon size leads to greater traffic flow stabilization. In addition, analysis shows that improvements in capacity and traffic stability are more profound when CAV penetration and platooning intensity are high.