The results of cosmic radiation in-flight TEPC measurements during the CAATER flight campaign and comparison with simulation

Abstract

The European-Commission-supported project DOSMAX (Dosimetry of Aircrew Exposure to Radiation During Solar Maximum) was aimed at measuring aircrew exposure to cosmic radiation on-board the aircraft during solar maximum. During a dedicated international comparison mission (Co-ordinated Access to Aircraft for Transnational Environmental Research; CAATER) different measurement techniques have been compared by six European institutes (Results of the CAATER Mission, DOSMAX Meeting, Dublin, June 2004). In this paper, we present the tissue-equivalent proportional counter (TEPC) measurements carried out by ARC Seibersdorf research (ARCS), Austria, and Institut de Radioprotection et de Sûreté Nucléaire (IRSN), France, together with a comparison with simulation results under the same conditions. The whole flight campaign consists of four different in-flight investigations performed at two different geographical positions at 12.2 km (FL 400) and 9.8 km (FL 320). One location was chosen above Rome (42 degrees North, 12 degrees East), Italy, for high cut-off rigidity (6.4 GV) and the second above Aalborg (57 degrees North, 10 degrees East), Denmark, for low cut-off rigidity (1.8 GV). The TEPC measurements are presented in terms of absorbed dose and ambient dose equivalent as well as microdosimetric spectra as a function of lineal energy. For the same conditions of the CAATER flights the response of the TEPC has also been simulated by using the Monte Carlo Transport Code FLUKA (version 2003). The results from simulations are compared with measurements and they show a reasonable agreement.

Global real-time dose measurements using the Automated Radiation Measurements for Aerospace Safety (ARMAS) system

“…This method has provided a wealth of data related to the aviation radiation environment and has made important contributions to model validations of the radiation field at altitude, especially for human tissue damage. A large number of measurements used for postflight analysis have been made using Tissue Equivalent Proportional Counters (TEPCs) under GCR background conditions and not during major space weather SEP events [Dyer et al, 1990;Beck et al, 1999;Kyllönen et al, 2001;European Commission Radiation Protection 140, 2004;Getley et al, 2005;Beck et al, 2005;Latocha et al, 2007;Meier et al, 2009;Beck et al, 2009;Dyer et al, 2009;Hands and Dyer, 2009;Getley et al, 2010;Gersey et al, 2012;Tobiska et al, 2014aTobiska et al, , 2014bTobiska et al, , 2015. Some of the measurements have included neutron flux and dose equivalent measurements with solid-state detectors Hands and Dyer, 2009;Ploc et al, 2013;Lee et al, 2015].…”

Monte Carlo simulation of mini TEPC microdosimetric spectra: Influence of low energy electrons

“…An exhaustive description of the transport capabilities of these codes is beyond the purpose of this work and can be found in Fassò et al (2003) and Fassò et al (2005). Detailed descriptions of the numerical set up with the FLUKA code to simulate the response of a TEPC and the evaluation the relation between different quantities used in radiation protection in photon, neutron and also complex radiation fields are given in previous papers (Rollet et al, 2004(Rollet et al, , 2006Latocha, 2007;Rollet et al, 2007). In this paper, the FLUKA code version 2008 is used for all the presented simulated results.…”

Short‐term variation of cosmic radiation measured by aircraft under constant flight conditions

“…This experiment aimed to compare the radiation doses measured by different detectors. To reduce the statistical uncertainty, seven detectors were installed in an aircraft under constant flight conditions and the radiation was measured at 12192 m and 9753.6 m. To observe the effect of cutoff rigidity on radiation dose, researchers measured the radiation intercepted during four flights (in total) above Aalborg, Denmark (57°N, 10°E), and Rome, Italy (42°N, 12°E) [ Lillhök et al ., ; Latocha et al ., ]. However, although the CAATER campaign yielded meaningful data, four flights are insufficient for observing the temporal changes in cosmic radiation.…”