Estimation of NOx and O3 reduction by dissipating traffic waves

Current research directions indicate that vehicles with autonomous capabilities will increase in traffic contexts. Starting from data analyzed in previous works, this paper shows the benefits due to the traffic control exerted by a unique autonomous vehicle circulating on a ring track with more than 20 human-driven vehicles. Considering different traffic experiments with high stop-and-go waves and using a general microscopic model for emissions, it is first proved that emission reduces of about 25%. Then, concentrations for pollutants at street level are found by solving numerically a system of differential equations with source terms derived from the emission model. The results outline that ozone and nitrogen oxides can decrease, depending on the analyzed experiment, of about 10% and 30%, respectively. Such findings suggest possible management strategies for traffic control, with emphasis on the environmental impact for vehicular flows.