Mike Staines

Profile

Mike Staines is a senior research scientist, and an experienced project and science leader.

His specialities include:

• AC loss in superconductors and HTS transformer physics
• measurement of transport and magnetic loss of HTS superconductors at power frequency in the form of wire, Roebel cable and windings
• conductor stability and heat transfer in liquid nitrogen
• cryostat and current lead development
• experimental systems and data acquisition
• design and construction of PC based data acquisition systems using LabVIEW.

Mike is also experienced in the magnetic alignment of materials and of powdered crystalline materials to form uniaxial or biaxial aligned material in bulk or thick film form. This patented technique is applicable to nominally non-magnetic paramagnetic and diamagnetic materials.

Other research has included:

• synthesis of ceramic superconductors
• synthesis of Y-123, Y-247, Y-124 superconductors, characterisation using X-ray diffraction and thermal analysis
• acoustic emission
• acoustic emission measurements used to monitor phase changes and microcracking during heat treatment of ceramic samples
• elastic properties of materials
• strain-modulated reflectance spectroscopy
• IR spectroscopy of cuprate superconductors.

Mike is experienced in the use of ultrasonic composite oscillator techniques for measuring the elastic properties and internal friction of materials at cryogenic and elevated temperatures. He also uses spherical indentation techniques with mechanical testing machines to measure (with submicron resolution) the elastic and plastic deformation of a range of materials, which have included dental enamel and fruit.