{rfName}
De

Indexed in

License and use

Citations

17

Altmetrics

Analysis of institutional authors

Ruvira, BCorresponding AuthorGarcía-Fayos, BAuthorJuste, BAuthorArnal, JmAuthorVerdú, GAuthor

Share

Publications
>
Article

Determination of the radon diffusion coefficient of thin polyethene and aluminium foils used as single or multilayer configuration barriers

Publicated to:Radiation Physics And Chemistry. 200 110329- - 2022-11-01 200(), DOI: 10.1016/j.radphyschem.2022.110329

Authors: Ruvira, Beatriz; Garcia-Fayos, Beatriz; Juste, Belen; Miguel Arnal, Jose; Verdu, Gumersindo

Affiliations

Abstract

Radon is a radioactive noble gas exhaled from the soil that can reach high concentrations in enclosed spaces. As elevated concentrations cause serious health problems, legislation has been put in place in many countries to regulate the limit concentration and even establish mitigation techniques. One of the most effective techniques for new buildings is the installation of radon barriers. The most important parameter determining whether the barrier is adequate to protect against radon is the diffusion coefficient, whose measurement methodology is standardized in ISO/TS 11665-13:2017. This work applies a previously tested modification of this standard to calculate the radon diffusion coefficient of different materials used as single or multilayer form barriers. Given that there are wasted laminated materials, composed of polymeric materials and aluminium, which are difficult to recycle, a preliminary study of the possible effectiveness of these materials as radon barriers will be carried out using these materials separately or in combination. The materials to be tested are 10-mu m sheets of polyethene (PE) and 15-mu m sheets of aluminium (Al), testing in each case one, two and three layers of each material. In addition, combinations of the two materials, i.e., PE-Al-PE and PE-Al-PE-Al-PE, are also studied. The diffusion coefficients obtained vary around 2.10(-12) m(2)/s for PE and around 1.10(-13) m(2)/s in the case of Al. The combination of both materials improved results obtained for single-materials barriers giving a diffusion coefficient between 10(-13) and 10(-14) m(2)/s. Radon reductions achieved range from 70 to 87.5% for PE to more than 98% for Al and the materials combinations. The excellent radon shielding capacity of aluminium is observed, which grows with increasing material thickness. Furthermore, it can be stated that the use of multilayer materials of different nature is very effective in reducing the radon concentration reaching an enclosed space and the use of aluminium in some of the layers is essential to achieve a more significant shielding effect.

Keywords

AluminiumAluminumArticleConcentration (parameter)Diffusion barriersDiffusion coefficientElevated concentrationsEnclosed spacesMeasurement/methodologyMitigation techniquesMultilayer configurationMultilayersPolyethenePolyethylenePolymerRadioactive noble gasRadonRadon barrierRadon diffusion coefficientRecyclingShieldingSingle configurationThickness

Quality index

Bibliometric impact. Analysis of the contribution and dissemination channel

The work has been published in the journal Radiation Physics And Chemistry due to its progression and the good impact it has achieved in recent years, according to the agency WoS (JCR), it has become a reference in its field. In the year of publication of the work, 2022, it was in position 3/34, thus managing to position itself as a Q1 (Primer Cuartil), in the category Nuclear Science & Technology. Notably, the journal is positioned above the 90th percentile.

From a relative perspective, and based on the normalized impact indicator calculated from World Citations from Scopus Elsevier, it yields a value for the Field-Weighted Citation Impact from the Scopus agency: 1.41, which indicates that, compared to works in the same discipline and in the same year of publication, it ranks as a work cited above average. (source consulted: ESI Nov 14, 2024)

This information is reinforced by other indicators of the same type, which, although dynamic over time and dependent on the set of average global citations at the time of their calculation, consistently position the work at some point among the top 50% most cited in its field:

  • Field Citation Ratio (FCR) from Dimensions: 4.93 (source consulted: Dimensions Jun 2025)

Specifically, and according to different indexing agencies, this work has accumulated citations as of 2025-06-07, the following number of citations:

  • WoS: 8
  • Scopus: 9

Impact and social visibility

From the perspective of influence or social adoption, and based on metrics associated with mentions and interactions provided by agencies specializing in calculating the so-called "Alternative or Social Metrics," we can highlight as of 2025-06-07:

  • The use, from an academic perspective evidenced by the Altmetric agency indicator referring to aggregations made by the personal bibliographic manager Mendeley, gives us a total of: 19.
  • The use of this contribution in bookmarks, code forks, additions to favorite lists for recurrent reading, as well as general views, indicates that someone is using the publication as a basis for their current work. This may be a notable indicator of future more formal and academic citations. This claim is supported by the result of the "Capture" indicator, which yields a total of: 17 (PlumX).

With a more dissemination-oriented intent and targeting more general audiences, we can observe other more global scores such as:

  • The Total Score from Altmetric: 3.5.
  • The number of mentions on the social network X (formerly Twitter): 1 (Altmetric).

It is essential to present evidence supporting full alignment with institutional principles and guidelines on Open Science and the Conservation and Dissemination of Intellectual Heritage. A clear example of this is:

  • The work has been submitted to a journal whose editorial policy allows open Open Access publication.

Leadership analysis of institutional authors

There is a significant leadership presence as some of the institution’s authors appear as the first or last signer, detailed as follows: First Author (Ruvira Quintana, Beatriz) and Last Author (Verdú Martín, Gumersindo Jesús).

the author responsible for correspondence tasks has been Ruvira Quintana, Beatriz.