REFLECT – Research flight of EURADOS and CRREAT: Intercomparison of various radiation dosimeters onboard aircraft

Aircraft crew are one of the groups of radiation workers which receive the highest annual exposure to ionizing radiation. Validation of computer codes used routinely for calculation of the exposure due to cosmic radiation and the observation of nonpredictable changes in the level of the exposure due to solar energetic particles, requires continuous measurements onboard aircraft. Appropriate calibration of suitable instruments is crucial, however, for the very complex atmospheric radiation field there is no single reference field covering all particles and energies involved. Further intercomparisons of measurements of different instruments under real flight conditions are therefore indispensable. In November 2017, the REFLECT (REsearch FLight of EURADOS and CRREAT) was carried out. With a payload comprising more than 20 different instruments, REFLECT represents the largest campaign of this type ever performed. The instruments flown included those already proven for routine dosimetry onboard aircraft such as the Liulin Si-diode spectrometer and tissue equivalent proportional counters, as well as newly developed detectors and instruments with the potential to be used for onboard aircraft measurements in the future. This flight enabled acquisition of dosimetric data under well-defined conditions onboard aircraft and comparison of new instruments with those routinely used. As expected, dosimeters routinely used for onboard aircraft dosimetry and for verification of calculated doses such as a tissue equivalent proportional counter or a silicon detector device like Liulin agreed reasonable with each other as well as with model calculations. Conventional neutron rem counters underestimated neutron ambient dose equivalent, while extended-range neutron rem counters provided results comparable to routinely used instruments. Although the responses of some instruments, not primarily intended for the use in a very complex mixed radiation field such as onboard aircraft, were as somehow expected to be different, the verification of their suitability was one of the objectives of the REFLECT. This campaign comprised a single short flight. For further testing of instruments, additional flights as well as comparison at appropriate reference fields are envisaged. The REFLECT provided valuable experience and feedback for validation of calculated aviation doses

Analysis of extreme Solar events during long-term measurements on board of aircrafts

Extreme Solar events can rapidly change radiation field in atmosphere of the Earth. These events are hardly predictable; calculations of their effects are at the beginning. One of the applicable methods is direct measurement by means of the active detector long-term placed on board of the aircraft. Results of semiconductor spectrodosimeter Liulin are discussed in this contribution. Liulin was repeatedly placed on board of aircraft during years 2001, 2002, 2005 and 2006. One GLE and several Forbush decreases have been registered during this period

Fragmentation from heavy ion beams in HIMAC BIO room calculated with PHITS and measured with Liulin

The Heavy Ion Medical Accelerator in Chiba (HIMAC), at the National Institutes for Quantum and Radiological Science and Technology, is not only an excellent cancer-treatment facility but also a facility to perform experiments related to radiation therapy, space radiation protection and basic nuclear physics. HIMAC BIO is an irradiation room used for experiments related to both radiobiology and physics. When performing such experiments, it is essential to know the experimental setup, as well as the beam characteristics, in details. The advantage of HIMAC BIO is that both narrow and broad parallel heavy ion beams (up to. 10 cm), with flat circular profile at the isocenter, can be used for experiments. Such beam is obtained by using scatterers, ridge filters, beam degraders, etc., similar to what is used during radiation therapy. However, these components decrease the energies of the primary beams and are sources of secondary particles. To be able to draw correct conclusions from the experimental results, and to be able to compare the measurements with simulations, it is crucial to know the real energy of the primary ions and the detailed beam composition at the location of the biological samples and the physical detectors. The energies of the primary ions are calculated from Bragg curve measurements with a Markus ionization chamber before each experiment. However, the exact beam composition including the fluence and energies of the secondary fragments and neutrons are usually unknown. The purpose ofdetailed information about the components in the beam line at the HIMAC BIO room to facilitate accurate particle and heavy ion transport simulations of the beam characteristics. The main sources of secondary particles have been investigated, and the beam composition was calculated with the 3-dimensional general purpose Monte Carlo this paper is to provide PHITS and compared with measurements using a Liulin exposed to various monoenergetic and SOBP heavy ion beams

K vlastnostem spektrometru energie deponovane v Si-detektoru

Contribution presents new method of interpretation of MDU's energy deposition spectra as ambient dose equivalent

Calculation of solid-state track-etched detectors response in 290 MeV/u and 400 MeV/u C-12 ion beams using Geant4

<p>Poster presented on International Workshop on Monte Carlo Techniques in Medical Physics, Quebec City, June 17-20th 2014.</p