Optimization of the Position of the CR-39 Polycarbonate Sheet Inside the Solid State Track Detector “Measuring Device” Through Computational Fluid Dynamics Technique

Abstract

The “measuring device” is one of the most reliable, efficient and economic indoor radon dosimeters that exist. This device was developed by the Proyecto de Aplicaciones de la Dosimetria (PAD) at the Physics Institute of UNAM (IF-UNAM) and consists of a transparent rigid plastic cup, a CR-39 polycarbonate sheet and a standard size metal clip that is used to hold the polycarbonate in the center of the cup. The cup is wrapped and covered with a low-density polyurethane protector in order to prevent the detector from being irradiated by ionizing particles found in the environment. In this work, an analysis was carried out that allowed to understand how the radon concentration on the polycarbonate sheet varies when its height is changed with respect to the base of the plastic cup, in order to understand what position increase the probability of interaction between radon and the surface of the detector. For the development of this work, four computational simulations were performed with the technique called Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD). The results shows that as the CR-39 is positioned more closed to the base of the cup, the probability of interaction of the radon and the detector increase. Based on these results it is concluded that, when there is a limit in the time in which a measuring device can be placed in the zone where it is desired to quantify indoor radon, it is recommended to collocated the CR-39 at 1 cm with respect to the base of the cup.