Novel approaches for accurately measuring radon exhalation rate and mechanism interpreted by numerical simulation

• Published in: Journal of hazardous materials 2024-04, Vol.468, p.133865-133865, Article 133865
• Main Authors: Xia, Ming, Ye, Yongjun, Zhou, Ning
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Accumulation chamber; Improved measurement; Numerical simulation; Radon exhalation rate
• ISSN: 0304-3894; 1873-3336
• DOI: 10.1016/j.jhazmat.2024.133865

Measurements of radon exhalation rate using traditional methods can be affected by back-diffusion or differential pressure in the accumulation chamber, resulting in deviations between the measured and the true values. To obtain an accurate radon exhalation rate for evaluation of radon-risk regions, two novel approaches of measurements based on traditional methods were proposed. Repeated experiments were implemented on a self-designed stainless cylindrical vessel filled with uranium tailings sand. The measured radon exhalation rates on average were 0.51 ± 0.02 and 0.52 ± 0.02 Bq m−2 s−1 for the two proposed methods, with 0.02% and 0.04%, respectively, deviations from the theoretical value. In addition, numerical techniques were employed to interpret the defects of traditional methods and mechanisms of proposed approaches to measure accurate values. Two novel approaches have significantly reduced the impact of back diffusion and differential pressure inside the chamber and consumed less time. [Display omitted] •The defects of traditional closed-loop and flow-through methods were identified.•Two novel approaches for accurate measurements were proposed and validated.•The mechanisms of the proposed approaches were revealed by numerical simulations.