Estimativa da taxa de dose de radiação em tripulantes de aeronaves utilizando o método Monte Carlo

• Ano de defesa: 2017
• Autor(a) principal: Alves, Matheus Carvalho
• Orientador(a): Carvalho Júnior, Albérico Blohem de
• Tipo de documento: Tese
• Tipo de acesso: Acesso aberto
• Idioma: por
• Programa de Pós-Graduação: Pós-Graduação em Física
• Palavras-chave em Português: Física; Radiação; Dosimetria; Aeronaves; Simulador sentado; Simulador de mulher grávida; Dosimetria de tripulantes; Taxa de dose no feto; Simulação Monte Carlo
• Palavras-chave em Inglês: Sitting phantom; Pregnant phantom; Aircrew dosimetry; Fetus dose rate; Monte Carlo simulation
• Área do conhecimento CNPq: CIENCIAS EXATAS E DA TERRA::FISICA
• Link de acesso: http://ri.ufs.br/jspui/handle/riufs/7156

Aircraft crew members are exposed to cosmic rays of galactic and solar origin and secondary radiations produced due to interaction of primary cosmic rays with the atmosphere. Thus, it is necessary to estimate the dose that aircrew members receive and to evaluate the risks associated with their exposure. Radiation exposure scenarios were elaborated in computational scope in order to provide conversion coefficients (CCs) that relate measurable quantities (fluence) with limiting quantities (such as the effective dose). Knowing the particle fluence rate in a specific altitude, latitude and longitude, it is possible to determine the effective dose rate using these CC's. Aircraft crews are usually in sitting posture when exposed to cosmic radiation at altitudes of common flights. There are no studies in the literature using anthropomorphic phantoms in the sitting posture to calculate the effective dose rate at flight altitudes. In this study, effective dose per fluence conversion coefficients were calculated using the MCNPX code and the male and female UFH/NCI hybrid anthropomorphic phantoms in standing and sitting postures. Conversion coefficients were obtained in the isotropic irradiation geometry. CCs were calculated for neutrons, protons, photons, electrons, and positrons sources, which are the particles that most contribute to the dose at flight altitudes. The effective dose rate was calculated from the effective dose per fluence conversion coefficients and the fluence rate spectrum obtained by the EXPACS data package. The effective dose rate was also obtained using the fluence rate spectrum calculated by the MCNP6 software. The differences between the effective dose rate calculated for the phantom in the standing and sitting posture are less than 1%, showing that the posture does not contribute considerably to the dose of aircrew members. However, the dose rate calculated using the UFH/NCI phantom in the standing posture are 7 to 12 % higher than the dose rate obtained from the EXPACS package (which uses reference phantoms of ICRP 110) and are very close to experimental values of dose equivalent presented in other studies. Thus, the calculation of the effective dose rate using the UFH/NCI phantoms presents conservative results compared to those calculated using the ICRP reference phantoms and close to values obtained experimentally. The aim of this study was also estimate the dose to the fetus of pregnant crewmembers in a common flight. To estimate the dose to the fetus, CCs were calculated in the isotropic geometry for neutrons, protons, photons, electrons, positrons, and muons using a pregnant woman phantom and the MCNPX code. The dose rate was obtained from the conversion coefficients of equivalent dose per fluence and the fluence rate of cosmic radiation at an altitude of 12.3 km and under typical conditions of a flight from Vancouver to Frankfurt, whose average flight time is 9 hours. The results indicate that the equivalent dose to the fetus can exceeds the ICRP recommended fetal dose limit of 1 mSv after 6 or 7 round trips flights between Vancouver and Frankfurt.