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Effect of moisture content on the 222Rn mass exhalation rates for different grain-size samples of red brick and cement mortar used in Qena city, Egypt

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Abstract

Four different grain size fractions (0.2–0.5, 0.5–1, 1–1.8, 1.8–2 mm) of red brick and cement mortar samples at different moisture (0%, 5%, 10%, 15%, 20%) content relative to the sample mass were subjected to measuring their 222Rn mass exhalation rates using Alpha-Guard radon monitor, PQ 2000 PRO. The results indicated an inverse proportion between the exhalation rate and the particles size. For all studied grain size fractions, the change of the moisture content clearly affected the 222Rn mass exhalation rates. The exhalation rate reached its maximum value, which is two times higher than its value for the dry sample, by increasing the moisture content from 0 to 15% for red brick and from 0 to 5% for cement mortar, respectively. The current study results showed good agreement with those reported in the literature.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Physics Department, Faculty of Science, South Valley University, Qena, 83523, Egypt

    Khaled Salahel Din & Nagwa Saad

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  1. Khaled Salahel Din
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  2. Nagwa Saad
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Correspondence to Khaled Salahel Din.

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Salahel Din, K., Saad, N. Effect of moisture content on the 222Rn mass exhalation rates for different grain-size samples of red brick and cement mortar used in Qena city, Egypt. J Radioanal Nucl Chem 331, 833–839 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10967-021-08165-1

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