Research Projects

Following the Indian government's initiatives, there has been significant adoption of electric vehicles in India. It is predicted that 50% of vehicles in India will be electric by 2030, and this number will increase by 90% in 2050. However, it is well known that the EVs' physical and kinematic characteristics are different from that of the internal combustion engine vehicles (ICVs). The EVs are smaller, heavier, and have a lower rated speed, but, they produce more acceleration from a standstill and can decelerate faster than the ICVs. These factors can significantly influence the fundamental diagram parameters such as jam density, wave speed, free-flow speed, etc., affecting the traffic flow and congestion on roadways. Towards addressing these issues, the research aims to evaluate the effect of EVs on traffic flow under different penetration rates and evaluate the effect of EV lanes on road capacity using a macroscopic approach. The specific objectives envisioned are: • Evaluate the effect of the mix of E-cars (and E-bikes) and ICVs on link capacity under different penetration rates • Evaluate the performance of dedicated E-bike only lanes, E-car only lanes, and generalized EV lanes (for both classes) • Investigate the fundamental diagram properties under different penetration rates with and without EV Lanes • Validate the above findings using microsimulation. First, the physical and kinematic properties of the EVs and ICVs are translated into fundamental diagram parameters for each vehicle class. Then, phase diagrams will be derived to investigate the traffic dynamics under mixed traffic conditions with various scenarios of vehicle class combinations of IC-cars, IC-bikes, E-cars, and IC-bikes. Expressions for individual vehicle classes' and stream flows and speeds will be derived and a comparison of the stream and individual vehicle class flows and speeds under various scenarios will be made to understand the effect of EVs on traffic flow. Next, the dedicated EV lanes will be evaluated by considering different EV Lanes policies of whether the E-bikes only, E-cars only, or both EV classes are allowed on the EV lanes. The EV lane policy, EV and non-EV fundamental diagram parameters, and mixed traffic interactions are used to derive revised phase diagrams for assessing the roadway capacity for different penetration rates. Next, the smoothness of fundamental diagrams will be investigated to study the impact of composition, EV Lanes policy, and vehicle characteristics. Finally, the microscopic characteristics of EVs will be used in the microsimulation to validate the regimes, their properties, and insights obtained from other objectives. The focus will be on validating the fundamental diagrams' features and boundary values. The primary outcomes of this research deal with guiding the planning of infrastructure-related activities and potential guidelines regarding the installation and operation of EV lanes.

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