Modeling of Loose Contamination Scenarios to Predict the Amount of Contamination Removed

The objective of this research is to evaluate the influence of the factors identified by the Johnson, Kendall and Robert’s theory that affect the strength of the detachment force necessary to remove a particle of contaminant from a surface, and the roughness of the surface in which the contaminant is present, on predicting the efficiency of removal of loose contamination. Two methods were used to reach this objective: the first method consisted of quantifying the contamination by weight and the second method of quantifying the contamination by counting alpha and gamma particles. As a result, it was determined that for particles of 5 μm, the interaction between contaminant-wipe and contaminant-surface were significant. However, for particles between 37-149 μm, the contaminant-surface interaction was the only significant interaction affecting the amount of contamination removed. The results obtained were already used at a contaminated site, confirming the prediction of contamination removed