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The response of a spherical tissue-equivalent proportional counter to 56-Fe particles from 200-1000 MeV/nucleon

Journal Article · · Radiation Research
OSTI ID:838526

The radiation environment aboard the space shuttle and the International Space Station includes high-Z and high-energy (HZE) particles that are part of the galactic cosmic radiation (GCR) spectrum. Iron-56 is considered to be one of the most biologically important parts of the GCR spectrum. Tissue-equivalent proportional counters (TEPC) are used as active dosimeters on manned space flights. These TEPC's are further used to determine average quality factor for each space mission. A TEPC simulating a 1 micron diameter sphere of tissue was exposed as part of a particle spectrometer to iron-56 at energies from 200-1000 MeV/nucleon. The response of TEPC in terms of frequency-averaged lineal energy, dose-averaged lineal energy, as well as energy deposited at different impact parameters through detector was determined for six different incident energies of iron-56 in this energy range. Calculations determined that charged particle equilibrium was achieved for each of the six experiments. Energy depositions at different impact parameters were calculated using a radial dose distribution model and the results compared to experimental data.

Research Organization:
Ernest Orlando Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, Berkeley, CA (US)
Sponsoring Organization:
USDOE; National Aeronautics and Space Administration Grants L14230C and H31909D, National Science Foundation Grant INT-9910062, National Institute of Radiological Sciences Japan
DOE Contract Number:
AC03-76SF00098
OSTI ID:
838526
Report Number(s):
LBNL--48876
Journal Information:
Radiation Research, Journal Name: Radiation Research Journal Issue: 3 Vol. 157
Country of Publication:
United States
Language:
English