Screen printed electrostatic concentrator with origami-inspired design for low-cost radon detection

Abstract

There is an increasing awareness of the dangers posed by elevated radon concentration in indoor spaces. This has led to demand for improved measurement solutions which enable low-cost, accurate, and practical measurement of radon concentration. In this work, the use of screen printing to fabricate an electrostatic concentrator for radon detection is demonstrated. An origami-inspired design enables the use of printed electronics as a manufacturing technology with a resulting reduction in component cost and weight. A new metric for such electrostatic concentrators known as the ‘active volume’ was defined, taking into account the time of flight to the sensor and residence time of the radon progeny. This metric was utilised in a genetic algorithm in order to optimise the concentrator design, resulting in a 62% improvement in radon progeny concentration, enabling more rapid and accurate understanding of radon risk.