Vehicle Engineering and Smart Mobility

Tennessee Tech University’s College of Engineering performs government- and private-sector research and leads workforce development grants in the future of transportation, including EV battery technology, EV charging networks, connected and autonomous vehicles, aerospace propulsion, manufacturing and materials, and cybersecurity.

Current related research programs include:

Second-life Battery in Mobile EV Charging Application for Rural Transportation (SMART)

• Sponsor: U.S. Department of Energy
• Funding: $4.5 million
• SMART will develop four cost-effective mobile charging stations (MCSs) leveraging second-life EV batteries—which cost 70-75% less than new battery storage systems—that are integrated seamlessly into existing charging networks to build the first resilient, affordable, and sustainable rural EV infrastructure at large scale for multiple states. Principal Investigator: Pingen Chen, Ph.D., associate professor of mechanical engineering

Rural Reimagined: Building an EV Ecosystem and Green Economy for Transforming Lives in Economically Distressed Appalachia 

• Sponsor: U.S. Department of Energy
• Funding: $4 million, total cost $8 million
• Under Tennessee Tech’s Rural Reimagined initiative, more than 50 partners from five states will provide clean and affordable mobility options to underserved communities by developing needed charging infrastructure and adopting/demonstrating various cost-effective electric vehicles. Principal Investigator: Pingen Chen, Ph.D., associate professor of mechanical engineering

Cybersecurity for Autonomous Ground Vehicle: Towards Hardware in the Loop Simulation for Autonomous Vehicles’ Cybersecurity

• Sponsor: Applied Research Associates
• Funding: $2.6 million
• This project addresses critical issues in potential sensor attacks to enhance infrastructure safety for autonomous vehicles as well as develop an Autonomous Vehicle Security Research Lab for sustained research in this area. Principal Investigator: Syed Hasan, Ph.D., professor of mechanical engineering

Public-Private Partnership to Promote Efficient, Resilient and Secure Manufacturing and Workforce Development

• Sponsor: U.S. Department of Energy
• Funding: $2.3 million
• Through Tennessee Tech’s Industrial Training and Assessment Center, this program assists small and medium-sized manufacturers to become more energy efficient and reduce carbon emissions and trains the next generation of energy engineers. Since its inception in 2006, the ITAC has conducted over 315 energy assessments and saved industry $112.6 million in implemented persistent cost savings. This represents a savings of 0.8 million metric tons of CO2 greenhouse gases. Principal Investigator: Ethan Languri, Ph.D., associate professor of mechanical engineering.

CarbonLess Electric AviatioN (CLEAN)

• Sponsor: NASA
• Funding: $8 million
• This project aims to help solve a major challenge in aviation—creating zero-emission commercial aircraft by 2050. The team is developing a preliminary design for an electrified, 150-passenger aircraft that uses an ammonia-based integrated propulsion, power, and thermal management system. The research focuses on investigating, designing, and testing several components and subsystems required for a zero-emissions commercial passenger aircraft. With unique testing capabilities for solid oxide fuel cell combustor (SOFCC) with a turbogenerator (TG) power generation technology, the team can simulate flight conditions including changes in pressure and power demand, and efficient thermal management. Principal Investigator: Rory Roberts, Ph.D., professor of mechanical engineering.