A Distributed Control Strategy for Highway Merge Zone Based on Virtual Rotation

The merging problem in the highway merge zone has been a research focus in the field of transportation for a long time. The rise of Connected and Automated Vehicles (CAVs) provides the potential to improve traffic flow efficiency, alleviate congestion and handle safety issues. However, existing two-dimensional merging strategies are facing challenges such as high computational complexity and the inevitable traffic oscillations during merging, which hinder the stability of traffic flow and fail to meet the dynamic requirements of merging control. To address these issues, this study proposes a distributed control strategy for CAVs in highway merge scenarios. Firstly, a virtual rotation method is designed to transform the merging problem of two different lanes into a car-following problem of a virtual platoon, and a virtual leader vehicle is introduced, to reduce computational complexity and determine vehicle sequencing. Based on this method, a Spring Cooperative Merging System (SCMS) is developed. It uses spring characteristics to regulate the longitudinal motion states of vehicles. Virtual spring forces are employed to adjust the vehicle distance and speed instantaneously, aiming to achieve an ideal traffic flow. To further enhance the study’s authenticity, the impact of input saturation constraints is also considered. Finally, simulations are conducted via SUMO. The results show that the proposed control strategy exhibits convergence, as the total elastic energy approaches zero over time. This can demonstrate the effectiveness of the method, so that it is possible to improve the stability and efficiency of merging in the highway merge zone and provide theoretical insights for future practical applications.