The cooperative platoon of multiple trucks with definite proximity has the
potential to enhance traffic safety, improve roadway capacity, and reduce fuel
consumption of the platoon. To investigate the truck platooning performance in a
real-world environment, two Peterbilt class-8 trucks equipped with cooperative
truck platooning systems (CTPS) were deployed to conduct the first-of-its-kind
on-road commercial trial in Canada. A total of 41 CTPS trips were carried out on
Alberta Highway 2 between Calgary and Edmonton during the winter season in 2022,
25 of which were platooning trips with 3 to 5 sec time gaps. The platooning
trips were performed at ambient temperatures from −24 to 8°C, and the total
truck weights ranged from 16 to 39 tons. The experimental results show that the
average time gap error was 0.8 sec for all the platooning trips, and the trips
with the commanded time gap of 5 sec generally had the highest variations. The
average number of disengagements increased when the time gap rose from 3 to 5
sec, and the average engagement distance of all platooning trips was 1.92 km. In
the review of the platooning effect on the powertrain system, it was observed
that fluctuations in the follower truck’s engine power were generally larger
compared to those of the lead truck. Furthermore, when trucks performed
platooning on the flat road segments, the follower truck saved fuel; however, on
the road segments with grade changes, the freight transportation specific fuel
consumption (kg/(ton·100 km)) of the follower truck increased. Moreover, the
freight transportation specific fuel consumption of the follower truck was 25.8%
more than that of the lead truck when cut-ins and cut-outs occurred. Test
results show that the frequency of cut-ins increased from 1.6 to 5 times per
hour when time gap increased from 3 to 5 sec. Overall, beyond successful and
safe commercial truck platooning operations during the cold winter season, no
substantial benefit of fuel saving was observed in the investigated
platform.
