John Conley (Mechanical Engineering)
About DOE Fellow
John Conley is an undergraduate student pursuing a Bachelor of Science degree in mechanical engineering and a minor in physics at Florida International University (FIU), with his expected graduation date being fall 2017. After completing his degree in mechanical engineering, John plans on pursuing a master’s degree. Before becoming a DOE Fellow, John worked in HVAC for four years installing, repairing, and servicing mainly residential air conditioning units. John’s professional interests include HVAC, energy efficiency, and mechanical design.
DOE Related Research and Projects
John is a DOE Fellow for the DOE-FIU Science and Technology Workforce Development Program, and is currently working with the asynchronous pulsing system (APS) project mentored by Mr. Amer Awwad, M.S., P.E. , and Mr. Jairo Crespo. One of the most frequent tasks at Department of Energy (DOE) sites is the pumping of high-level waste (HLW) between storage tanks, and a common obstacle is the plugging of the pipelines. Commercial technologies that have been utilized at these sites have not met the standards of DOE because they are cost-ineffective as well as unreliable; this is where FIU’s research objectives take effect. Multiple pipeline unplugging technologies have been developed as part of FIU’s research objectives, one being the APS. The APS is based on the idea of creating pressure waves in the pipeline filled with water from both ends of the blocked section in order to dislodge the blocking material via forces created by the pressure waves. The waves are generated asynchronously in order to break the mechanical bonds between the blockage and the pipe walls as a result of the vibration caused by the unsteady forces created by the waves.
John has been tasked with assisting in the installation and repairs of the pressure fittings and sensors utilized in the execution of the pressure measurement trials. He is also responsible for assisting in the support of other DOE projects, from the fabrication of setups in the machine shop, to reconfiguring current labs to facilitate the projects.