Title:

Comparison of Radiation Transport Code Calculations of Lunar Albedo Radiation

Speaker:

Dr. John Brittingham

Affiliation:

Georgia Tech Research Institute

When:

Thursday, November 12, 2020 at 11:00:00 AM   Add to Calendar

Where:

Room https://bluejeans.com/428364596

Host:

Dr. Nolan Hertel
nh9@gatech.edu

Abstract

The space radiation environment presents a significant obstacle for the future human exploration of space due to its impacts on crew members and electronics. NASAs Artemis project endeavors to return astronauts to the moon during the coming decade; however, the radiation environment near the lunar surface has not been fully characterized and could have significant implications for long term missions. Additionally, a better understanding of lunar surface radiation may provide valuable insight into the composition of lunar regolith. Because the moon is not protected by an appreciable magnetic field or atmosphere, galactic cosmic radiation GCR and solar energetic particles SEP impinge the lunar surface and are scattered or induce secondary radiation particles, which can then escape the lunar surface as albedo radiation. Laboratory experiments duplicating the GCR spectrum are difficult to perform and expensive due to the wide range of particle identities and energies present in the GCR spectrum. Consequently, radiation transport codes are frequently used to study the wide range of geometries, energies, and particles in space that cannot be easily reproduced in the laboratory. Multiple, well-validated radiation transport codes have been used extensively to simulate the space radiation environment, including MCNP6, PHITS, Geant4, FLUKA, and HETC HEDS. The present study uses these five radiation transport codes to simulate lunar albedo radiation induced by the GCR spectrum and provides a comparison of the calculations in order to identify and understand similarities and differences among the codes with respect to lunar albedo radiation.

Biography

John Brittingham is a Principal Research Engineer with Georgia Tech Research Institute GTRI. He works in the Advanced Warfighting Technologies Division, which is part of the Advanced Concepts Laboratory. John earned his Ph.D. in nuclear engineering from the University of Tennessee, where his research focused on Monte Carlo simulations of space radiation transport. His other academic degrees include a B.S. in physics from Yale University, an M.B.A. from Webster University, and a Juris Doctor from the University of Memphis. Prior to joining GTRI, John served in the United States Navy as a Submarine Officer and practiced law focusing primarily on the regulation of nuclear energy.