A Radiation Shielding Code for Spacecraft and its Validation (original) (raw)
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Radiation Measurements, 2006
Spectra of secondary particles produced by nucleus-nucleus interactions and heavy-ion interactions in the extended targets of interest for space research were calculated using the Monte Carlo code SHIELD-HIT. This code simulates the interactions of hadrons and atomic nuclei of arbitrary charge and mass number (Z, A) with complex extended targets in a wide energy range, from 10 GeV/u down to 1 MeV/u, and to thermal energies in the case of neutrons. Inelastic nuclear reactions in SHIELD-HIT are simulated using the Russian models of nuclear reactions. The total reaction cross sections evaluated by these models are discussed for proton and carbon interactions with different nuclei in a wide energy range. Production of secondary neutrons and charged secondary particles from the thick targets of lead, water and PMMA irradiated by 4 He, 12 C and 28 Si ions of different energies was calculated and compared with the experimental data. The results obtained by SHIELD-HIT are in reasonable agreement with experiments and are promising for further applications in space research.
Shielding from Space Radiations
1998
This Final Progress Report for NCC-1-178 presents the details of the engineering development of an analytical/computational solution to the heavy ion transport equation in terms of a multi-layer Green's function formalism as applied to the Small Spacecraft Technology Initiative (SSTI) program. The mathematical developments are recasted into a series of efficient computer codes for space applications. The efficiency of applied algorithms is accomplished by a nonperturbative technique of extending the Green's function over the solution domain. The codes may also be applied to the accelerator boundary conditions to allow code validation in laboratory experiments. Correlations with experiments for the isotopic version of the code with 59 and 80 isotopes present for a two layers target material in water has been verified.
NASA radiation protection research for exploration missions
2006
The HZETRN code was used in recent trade studies for renewed lunar exploration and currently used in engineering development of the next generation of space vehicles habitats and EVA equipment A new version of the HZETRN code capable of simulating high charge and energy HZE and light-ions with either laboratory or space boundary conditions with enhanced neutron and light-ion propagation is under development Atomic and nuclear model requirements to support that development will be discussed Such engineering design codes require establishing validation processes using laboratory ion beams and space flight measurements in realistic geometries We discuss limitations of code validation due to the currently available data and recommend priorities for new data sets
Health Physics, 2008
Shielding is the only practical countermeasure for the exposure to cosmic radiation during space travel. It is well known that light, hydrogenated materials, such as water and polyethylene, provide the best shielding against space radiation. Kevlar and Nextel are two materials of great interest for spacecraft shielding because of their known ability to protect human space infrastructures from meteoroids and debris. We measured the response to simulated heavy-ion cosmic radiation of these shielding materials and compared it to polyethylene, Lucite (PMMA), and aluminum. As proxy to galactic nuclei we used 1 GeV n ؊1 iron or titanium ions. Both physics and biology tests were performed. The results show that Kevlar, which is rich in carbon atoms (about 50% in number), is an excellent space radiation shielding material. Physics tests show that its effectiveness is close (80 -90%) to that of polyethylene, and biology data suggest that it can reduce the chromosomal damage more efficiently than PMMA. Nextel is less efficient as a radiation shield, and the expected reduction on dose is roughly half that provided by the same mass of polyethylene. Both Kevlar and Nextel are more effective than aluminum in the attenuation of heavy-ion dose. Health Phys. 94(3):242-247; 2008
Advances in space radiation shielding codes
Journal of Radiation Research
Space / Radiation / High-energy ions Early space radiation shield code development relied on Monte Carlo methods and made important contributions to the space program. Monte Carlo methods have resorted to restricted one-dimensional problems leading to imperfect representation of appropriate boundary conditions. Even so, intensive computational requirements resulted and shield evaluation was made near the end of the design process. Resolving shielding issues usually had a negative impact on the design. Improved spacecraft shield design requires early entry of radiation constraints into the design process to maximize performance and minimize costs. As a result, we have been investigating high-speed computational procedures to allow shield analysis from the preliminary concept to the final design. For the last few decades, we have pursued deterministic solutions of the Boltzmann equation allowing field mapping within the International Space Station (ISS) in tens of minutes using standard Finite Element Method (FEM) geometry common to engineering design methods. A single ray trace in such geometry requires 14 milliseconds and limits application of Monte Carlo methods to such engineering models. A potential means of improving the Monte Carlo efficiency in coupling to spacecraft geometry is given.
Spada: a project to study the effectiveness of shielding materials in space
… SOCIETÀ ITALIANA DI …, 2008
The SPADA (SPAce Dosimetry for Astronauts) project is a part of an extensive teamwork that aims to optimize shielding solutions against space radiation. Shielding is indeed an irreplaceable tool to reduce exposure of crews of future Moon and Mars missions. We concentrated our studies on two flexible materials, Kevlar R and Nextel R , because of their ability to protect human space infrastructures from micrometeoroids. We measured radiation hardness of these shielding materials and compared to polyethylene, generally acknowledged as the most effective space radiation shield with practical applications in spacecraft. Both flight test (on the International Space Station and on the Russian FOTON M3 rocket), with passive dosimeters and accelerator-based experiments have been performed. Accelerator tests using high-energy Fe ions have demonstrated that Kevlar is almost as effective as polyethylene in shielding heavy ions, while Nextel is a poor shield against high-charge and -energy particles. Preliminary results from spaceflight, however, show that for the radiation environment in low-Earth orbit, dominated by trapped protons, thin shields of Kevlar and Nextel provide limited reduction.
Shielding experiments with high-energy heavy ions for spaceflight applications
New Journal of Physics, 2008
Mitigation of radiation exposures received by astronauts on deepspace missions must be considered in the design of future spacecraft. The galactic cosmic rays (GCR) include high-energy heavy ions, many of which have ranges that exceed the depth of shielding that can be launched in realistic scenarios. Some of these ions are highly ionizing (producing a high dose per particle) and for some biological endpoints are more damaging per unit dose than sparsely ionizing radiation. The principal physical mechanism by which the dose and dose equivalent delivered by these particles can be reduced is nuclear fragmentation, the result of inelastic collisions between nuclei in the hull of the spacecraft and/or other materials. These interactions break the incident ions into lighter, less ionizing and less biologically effective particles. We have previously reported the tests of shielding effectiveness using many materials in a 1 GeV nucleon −1 56 Fe beam, and also reported results using a single polyethylene (CH 2) target in a variety of beam ions and energies up to 1 GeV nucleon −1. An important, but tentative, conclusion of those studies was that the average behavior of heavy ions in the GCR would be better simulated by heavy beams at energies above 1 GeV nucleon −1. Following up on that work, we report new results using beams of 12 C, 28 Si and 56 Fe, each at three energies, 3, 5 and 10 GeV nucleon −1 , on carbon, polyethylene, aluminium and iron targets.
Issues in Space Radiation Protection
Health Physics, 1995
When shielding from cosmic heavy ions, one is faced with limited knowledge about the physical properties and biological responses of these radiations. Herein, the current status of space shielding technology and its impact on radiation health is discussed in terms of conventional protection practice and a test biological response model. The impact of biological response on optimum materials selection for cosmic ray shielding is presented in terms of the transmission characteristics of the shield material. Although liquid hydrogen is an optimum shield material, evaluation of the effectiveness of polymeric structural materials must await improvement in our knowledge of both the biological response and the nuclear processes. Health Phys. 68(1):50-58; 1995
Physical basis of radiation protection in space travel
Reviews of Modern Physics, 2011
The health risks of space radiation are arguably the most serious challenge to space exploration, possibly preventing these missions due to safety concerns or increasing their costs to amounts beyond what would be acceptable. Radiation in space is substantially different from Earth: highenergy (E) and charge (Z) particles (HZE) provide the main contribution to the equivalent dose in deep space, whereas rays and low-energy particles are major contributors on Earth. This difference causes a high uncertainty on the estimated radiation health risk (including cancer and noncancer effects), and makes protection extremely difficult. In fact, shielding is very difficult in space: the very high energy of the cosmic rays and the severe mass constraints in spaceflight represent a serious hindrance to effective shielding. Here the physical basis of space radiation protection is described, including the most recent achievements in space radiation transport codes and shielding approaches. Although deterministic and Monte Carlo transport codes can now describe well the interaction of cosmic rays with matter, more accurate double-differential nuclear cross sections are needed to improve the codes. Energy deposition in biological molecules and related effects should also be developed to achieve accurate risk models for long-term exploratory missions. Passive shielding can be effective for solar particle events; however, it is limited for galactic cosmic rays (GCR). Active shielding would have to overcome challenging technical hurdles to protect against GCR. Thus, improved risk assessment and genetic and biomedical approaches are a more likely solution to GCR radiation protection issues.