Engineering topics
Publications and source records attributed to Furey, Michael.
To develop and specify a design for a cost-effective, high-resolution x-ray spectrometer and its x-ray lenses is the goal of this proposal. Optimized polycarpellary lenses will be fabricated, characterized and implemented in the spectrometer. Based on the results a system analysis is performed and verified in a feasibility study.
This is a Phase I feasibility study to evaluate the accuracy and the speed for measuring particle hygroscopic growth using the water-based aerosol mobility imaging system already developed between Aerosol Dynamics Inc. and Brookhaven National Laboratory (BNL). One of the key parameters determining the impact of atmospheric aerosols on global climate is aerosol hygroscopicity, or uptake of water as a function of relative humidity. To date there is no rapid means of making this measurement over the range of particle sizes and humidity values of importance. This project aims to fill this need.
This project will develop and design a prototype for an advanced spectro-polarimeter, which measures the polarization of light at various wavelengths. This spectro-polarimeter will combine the functionality of both spectrometer and polarimeter in one compact, lightweight and inexpensive device. Unlike devices on market today, this device allows for simultaneous, real-time measurements of fast biological processes. This advance in spectro-polarimeters can be applied in the chemical, medical and biological fields to research new drugs, control dynamics of drugs in blood, and improve medical diagnosis by enabling the study of tissue structure, cellular and sub-cellular structures of proteins and DNA. This project will also help develop other applications for such devices as imaging, identification of targets embedded in dense scattering media, and biochemical sensing.
The objective of this project, by BNL and PVI, is to develop radiation-modified materials like titanium, nickel, aluminum, steel, refractory metals and alloys by implanting them with ions. Ion implantation radically improves strength & friction resistance. The focus will be on components of products like jet engines & windmills. Example: implanting windmill parts subject to friction may greatly reduce operating costs. Currently, electric power from wind is a factor of 1.5 more costly than coal due to labor costs [frequent lubrication of parts involves stopping a windmill & opening its nacelle (enclosures)]. A 50% friction reduction through ion implantation of parts will reduce the need for lubricants and make wind-generated electricity cheaper than fossil fuel. Major PVI role is adapting laboratory experimental results into commercially viable industrial processes and marketing them.
High magnetic fields approaching 25 T are needed for significant advances in the physics reach of colliders for high energy physics. Large Hadron Collider (LHC) at CERN needs very high field magnets for planned energy and luminosity upgrades. The envisioned Muon Collider needs such magnets in several areas of the machine. High Temperature Superconductors (HTS) currently offer the best chance of producing hybrid magnets for these applications because HTS has a significantly higher critical current density than any other superconductor at high fields.)
Lithium-ion batteries are the preferred energy storage devices for portable electronics and are playing an even more important role in large-scale applications, such as electrical vehicles and grid storage. Developing new materials for these demanding applications requires a better understanding of how electrode materials function and why they fail by tracking electrochemical reactions in working electrodes. Many of the currently available synchrotron x-ray techniques are well suited to in-situ studies of structural changes in bulk electrodes, but are limited by spatial resolution. In collaboration with Hummingbird Scientific, we will use their existing liquid-flow holder platform for electrochemistry for simultaneous electron imaging, diffraction and spectroscopy, to perform in situ electrochemical studies. With this configuration of the design, we will be able to make the real time nanoelectrochemistry measurements of the specially designed electrodes in a real battery environment, and study the lithium reaction kinetics of individual nanoparticles. The results will yield new insights into intercalation reactions, and guide the development of new battery electrodes. In addition, the unique approach of studying individual nanoparticles in real time will be broadly applicable to a variety of energy-storage materials, including grid-scale storage.
BNL and Gamma Medical Technologies (GMT) will jointly develop a compact three-dimensional (3-D) gamma camera capable of localizing cancerous tumors within the prostate gland. The new gamma-ray camera will consist of pixilated cadmium-zinc-telluride (CZT) detector arrays, which will be flip-chip bonded to a suitable substrate. Application specific integrated circuits (ASIC) will also be developed to read out the electronic signals from the pixels. The detector/ASIC coupled to a multi-view collimator would be integrated into a small probe capable of imaging shaped radioactive phantoms to simulate the presence of cancerous tumors within the prostate gland.
The purpose of the CRADA is to enable superconducting magnetic energy storage (SMES) for grid-level applications by developing a cost competitive, high energy-storage density, ultra-high field SMES coil using 2G HTS wire in combination with a flexible new modular power electronics interface capable of connection to medium voltage distribution networks.
The goal of the project is to synthesize([ 11 C]RWJ393059, a carbon-11 labeled antagonist for the histamine H3 receptor, using a procedure developed by Johnson and Johnson chemists. and to evaluate the pharmacokinetics and specificity of this radiotracer for the histamine H3 receptor in the baboon model using the ECAT HR+ PET scanner at Brookhaven.
The conversion of carbon dioxide to liquid fuels would significantly improve the global carbon balance by producing carbon neutral fuel. Two approaches to this are to convert CO2 directly to alcohols, or to produce syngas (CO + H2) which can be used to produce hydrocarbon fuels using the Fischer-Tropsch process. The team of Physical Sciences, Inc. (PSI) and Brookhaven National Lab (BNL) proposes to develop a heterogeneous catalyst based upon successful Re(bpy)Cl(CO)3 homogeneous catalysts for CO2 reduction by incorporating them into a porous Metal Organic Framework (MOF) structure at the cathode surface.