In this paper, we propose the METANET with service station (METANET-s) model, a second-order macro-scopic traffic model that, compared to the classical METANET, incorporates the dynamics of service stations on highways. Specifically, we employ the (so-called) store-and-forward links to model the stop of vehicles and the possible queue forming in the process of merging back into the highway mainstream. We explore the capability of the METANET-s to capture well both traffic back propagation and capacity drops, which are typically caused by the presence of vehicles joining again the mainstream traffic from the service station. Therefore, capturing these effects is crucial to improving the model's predictive capabilities. Finally, we perform a comparative analysis with the Cell Transmission Model with service station (CTM-s), showcasing that the METANET-s describes the traffic evolution much better than its first-order counterpart.

In this article, we consider a dc microgrid composed of distributed generation units (DGUs) trading energy among each other, where the energy price depends on the total current generated by all the DGUs. We then use a Cournot aggregative game to describe the self-interested interaction among the DGUs, where each DGU aims at minimizing the deviation with respect to the given reference signals and maximizing the revenue from the sale of the generated power. Thus, we design a fully distributed continuous-time equilibrium-seeking algorithm to compute the generalized Nash equilibrium (GNE) of the game. We interconnect the designed decision-making algorithm with the dynamics of the microgrid in a passive way, and, by leveraging passivity theory, we prove the convergence of the closed-loop system trajectory to a feasible operating point that is also a Nash equilibrium of the collective aggregative game. Finally, we present extensive simulation results that validate the proposed distributed optimal control scheme, showing excellent performance.

This paper analyzes how the presence of service stations on highways affects traffic congestion. We focus on the problem of optimally designing a service station to achieve beneficial effects in terms of total traffic congestion and peak traffic reduction. We propose a genetic algorithm based on the recently proposed Cell Transmission Model with service station (CTM-s), that efficiently describes the dynamics of a service station. Then, we leverage the algorithm to train a neural network capable of solving the same problem, avoiding to implement the CTM-s. Finally, we validate the performance of our algorithms by using real data from Dutch highways.

In this letter, our objective is to explore how two well-known projection dynamics can be used as dynamic controllers for stabilization of nonlinear systems. Combining the properties of projection operators, Lyapunov stability theory and LaSalle's theorem, we confirm that the projection dynamics on the feasible set and tangent cone are Krasovskii passive. To show the effectiveness of the proposed approach, we use the projection dynamics on the tangent cone for stabilizing boost converters in a DC microgrid while satisfying predefined input constraints.

This paper studies the capacity drops phenomena on a macroscopic, first-order model for freeway traffic. In particular, we focus on the effect that a Service Station (ST) has on the mainstream traffic evolution. We propose a modified formulation of the Cell Transmission Model with service station (CTM-s) that considers this important phenomenon, and use a micro-simulation based on Aimsun Next to identify the model parameters via a structured identification procedure. Finally, we validate the ability of the CTM-s with capacity drops to better describe the traffic evolution with respect to the classical formulation.

In this paper we propose an original distributed control framework for DC microgrids. We first formulate the (optimal) control objectives as an aggregative game suitable for the energy trading market. Then, based on duality, we analyze the equivalent distributed optimal condition for the proposed aggregative game and design a distributed control scheme to solve it. By interconnecting the DC microgrid and the designed distributed control system in a power preserving way, we steer the DC microgrid's state to the desired optimal equilibrium, satisfying a predefined set of local and coupling constraints. Finally, based on singular perturbation system theory, we analyze the convergence of the closed-loop system. The simulation results show excellent performance of the proposed control framework.

In this paper, we propose a novel model that describes how the traffic evolution on a highway stretch is affected by the presence of a service station. The presented model enhances the classical Cell Transmission Model (CTM) dynamics by adding the dynamics associated with the service stations, where the vehicles may stop before merging back in the main stream. We name it Cell Transmission Model with service station (CTM-s). We discuss its flexibility in describing different complex scenarios where multiple stations are characterized by different drivers' average stopping times corresponding to different services. The model has been developed to help designing control strategies aimed to decrease traffic congestion. Thus, we discuss how classical control schemes can interact with the proposed CTM-s. Finally, we demonstrate the proposed model through numerical simulations and assess the effects of service stations on traffic evolution, which appear to be beneficial especially for relatively short congested periods.

Understanding how to effectively control an epidemic spreading on a network is a problem of paramount importance for the scientific community. The ongoing COVID-19 pandemic has highlighted the need for policies that mitigate the spread, without relying on pharmaceutical interventions. These policies typically entail lockdowns and mobility restrictions, having thus nonnegligible socio-economic consequences for the population. We focus on the problem of finding the optimum policies that "flatten the epidemic curve"while limiting the negative consequences for the society, and formulate it as a nonlinear control problem over a finite prediction horizon. We utilize the model predictive control theory to design a strategy to effectively control the disease, balancing safety and normalcy. An explicit formalization of the control scheme is provided for the susceptible-infected-susceptible epidemic model over a network. Its performance and flexibility are demonstrated by means of numerical simulations.

We consider the charge scheduling coordination of a fleet of plug-in electric vehicles, developing a hybrid decision-making framework for efficient and profitable usage of the distribution grid. Each charging dynamics, affected by the aggregate behavior of the whole fleet, is modelled as an inter-dependent, mixed-logical-dynamical system. The coordination problem is formalized as a generalized mixed-integer aggregative potential game, and solved via semi-decentralized implementation of a sequential best-response algorithm that leads to an approximated equilibrium of the game.