Question

question about techniques to detect radioactive material
Scenario:
Radioactive material, Cs-137, might be attached to air-borne particles. There
is a need to determine in real-time the number of air-borne particles per unit volume and total activity of the particles per unit volume. The air-borne particles are expected to have diameters in the range of 1 um to 100um.

The task is to provide a conceptual design for an instrument to estimate in nominally real-time the concentration of air-borne particles, the overall activity of the air-borne particles per unit volume, the pressure across an air filter, the relative humidity, the air flow rate, and the volume that is being sampled. In addition, it is required to investigate PID control of a heated volume. The surface of this volume might be treated with a proprietary detection material that requires a well-defined temperature for operation.

The instrument will be employed in or around a plenum of cross-sectional area of 0.3m^2, with an air flow rate in the range of 100 l/s to 500 l/s. The plenum contains a 4 inch deep air filter rated as MERV-13, such as an AmAir 1300.

Please dont shun my question from math section, theres lots of math in this too =[

Answer 1

Don't know the answer, just interested in the subject :P

Answer 2

Summary of what what needs to be done by instrument:

-Estimate in nominally real-time the concentration of air-borne particles
-Activity of airborne particles per unit volume ( I think this covers stuff like detection of the radioactive states its currently, how much excitation / energy being released in set volume)
- the pressure across an air filter, the relative humidity, the air flow rate, and the volume that is being sampled.
-investigate PID control of a heated volume. The surface of this volume might be treated with a proprietary detection material that requires a well-defined temperature for operation.

Answer 3

Just looking for some ideas, nothing too concrete yet

Answer 4

Half life is 30.17 years

Answer 5

for CS137?

Answer 6

Here's the Wikipedia link
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Caesium-137
Then again the half life might not even be necessary for this problem

Answer 7

no it is

Answer 8

i was gonna look into those details later

Answer 9

i need all the stages of its decay

Answer 10

My environmental analysis professor would do something like this haha, so I actually know a little of what you're talking about

Answer 11

dan then go to that wikipedia link

Answer 12

because the all have a differenemmision that will be measured by the instrument and the concentration of energy of emmisions will help me determine the activation going on and stuff

Answer 13

I am not on that part yet, still in beginning stages need basic ideas on how to do some basic stuff like

Answer 14

pressure measurements and flowrate of our volume

Answer 15

Then this problem seems REALLY complicated

Answer 16

ya im just starting now planning on doing it today lol xD

Answer 17

what i do need to work on before tomorrow night is a basic plan on how i go about solving this, the idea part is due tmr but the main project isnt due till a month

Answer 18

wow everyone left - guess I'll leave too

Answer 19

HI PK! help me!

Answer 20

with that beautiful face of yours

Answer 21

sry wolf im around, i gotta do some research for this stuff too

Answer 22

dis is naht a math questun. pls ask sumwhere else.
Just kidding - I have no idea.

Answer 23

aye no worries