Verification of Response of Neutron Monitor for In-Flight Neutron Dosimetry

Abstract

In this work, we present the results of verification of special neutron monitoring equipment for use in aircrew dosimetry inside aircraft. The equipment was precalibrated with conventional neutron sources in a National Standard Laboratory of the Institute for Radioprotection and Dosimetry (IRD, Brazil) and verified in a Cosmic Energy Reference Field (CERF), a special field from CERN (Centre Européan de Recherche Nucléaire), a facility that reproduces the shape of neutron field encountered in the atmosphere at aircraft altitudes. The equipment consists of a special neutron probe from Thermo Scientific with response up to 5 GeV neutrons and was verified with respect to ambient dose equivalent rate linearity and angular incidence. The results show the adequacy of the equipment for this type of measurement and the feasibility to use conventional neutron sources to calibrate this specific equipment, in the absence of access to the CERF field.