Dataset for "Thick shielding against galactic cosmic radiation: a Monte Carlo study with focus on the role of secondary neutrons" ; publication in 'Space Weather' journal
Description
Data Files as supplementary data for an article in the Journal Space Weather Title (submitted to the journal 22.12.2021) : "Thick shielding against galactic cosmic radiation: a Monte Carlo study with focus on the role of secondary neutrons" Authors: Felix Horst, Daria Boscolo, Marco Durante, Francesca Luoni, Christoph Schuy, Uli Weber (all from GSI Darmstadt) Most of the data were calculated by FLUKA MC simulation. See also description readme.txt. Abstract of the article (submitted to the journal 22.12.2021) : The exposure to galactic cosmic radiation (GCR) is a major health concern for astronauts. Manned missions with durations of several years are foreseen in future space exploration projects such as permanent habitats on the Moon and flights to Mars. This aim requires elaborate space radiation shielding concepts and a proper understanding of the underlying radiation physics and radiobiology as well as their interplay. In the present work, Monte Carlo simulations to assess the performance of different materials (polyethylene, aluminum, Moon regolith) as thick shields (up to 400 g/cm2) against GCR were conducted using the FLUKA code. Absorbed dose, dose equivalent and the mean quality factor at 1 cm depth in the ICRU sphere as a function of shielding thickness were calculated in a spherical shell configuration for both solar minimum and solar maximum GCR conditions. Large differences were observed in the performance of the studied materials as thick GCR shields. Special attention was payed to the build-up and moderation of secondary neutrons. A method to reduce the neutron contributions to ambient dose equivalent by means of a two-layer shielding combination is proposed. The present study can be useful for considerations on thick shielding of Moon or Mars habitats built from local regolith