Exploring the radiation shielding properties of boron nitride blocks with various thicknesses
Presentation Type
Poster Presentation
In Person or Zoom Presentation
In-Person
Campus
Daytona Beach
Status
Student
Faculty/Staff Department
Physical Sciences
Student Year and Major
2028 Spaceflight Operations
Presentation Description/Abstract
On long-duration space missions, shielding provided on spacecraft cannot fully block all ionizing radiation particles and can lose effectiveness over time due to material degradation. Galactic cosmic rays (GCR) and solar particle events (SPE) are the most common threats to astronauts, with personnel being exposed to ~70 mSv within six months. To combat this issue, many space professionals are concerned with exploring radiation shielding technology that is affordable, reusable, and will protect astronauts from SPEs and GCRs while inside the spacecraft. Companies like StemRad have proposed using wearable designs, such as vests, to provide additional protection on top of spacecraft shielding to parts of the body that are more susceptible to the harmful effects of radiation exposure, such as the torso and organs. To assist in the designing of such technology, our team is developing a Geiger counter using Arduino and a Geiger-Muller (G-M) tube. When exposed to ionizing radiation, the G-M tube sends a signal to the Arduino program that calculates the number of counts per minute. The counts per minute value is then converted into radiation absorbed dose (Rad) values. With this device, we will be testing 4mm and 5mm thick boron carbide blocks for their ability to block alpha, beta, and gamma radiation particles. Future applications of this research will delve into testing different fabrics to compose a new material that can be used for intra-vehicular activity spacesuit design.
Keywords
Radiation, Shielding, Materials, Composites, Geiger Counter, HAZMAT
Exploring the radiation shielding properties of boron nitride blocks with various thicknesses
On long-duration space missions, shielding provided on spacecraft cannot fully block all ionizing radiation particles and can lose effectiveness over time due to material degradation. Galactic cosmic rays (GCR) and solar particle events (SPE) are the most common threats to astronauts, with personnel being exposed to ~70 mSv within six months. To combat this issue, many space professionals are concerned with exploring radiation shielding technology that is affordable, reusable, and will protect astronauts from SPEs and GCRs while inside the spacecraft. Companies like StemRad have proposed using wearable designs, such as vests, to provide additional protection on top of spacecraft shielding to parts of the body that are more susceptible to the harmful effects of radiation exposure, such as the torso and organs. To assist in the designing of such technology, our team is developing a Geiger counter using Arduino and a Geiger-Muller (G-M) tube. When exposed to ionizing radiation, the G-M tube sends a signal to the Arduino program that calculates the number of counts per minute. The counts per minute value is then converted into radiation absorbed dose (Rad) values. With this device, we will be testing 4mm and 5mm thick boron carbide blocks for their ability to block alpha, beta, and gamma radiation particles. Future applications of this research will delve into testing different fabrics to compose a new material that can be used for intra-vehicular activity spacesuit design.