Evaluation of the doses to aircrew members taking into consideration the aircraft structures Original Research Article

The radiation field originated by the interactions of primary galactic cosmic rays in the atmosphere has been investigated using the FLUKA code. From the calculated differential fluence distributions in particle energy and direction, the values of effective and ambient dose equivalent rates have been derived as a function of vertical cut-off, altitude and deceleration potential. A mathematical model of an aircraft has been developed using the combinatorial geometry package of FLUKA. The irradiation of the mathematical model in the cosmic ray environment has been simulated at 10.7 km of altitude using the calculated fluence distributions at the polar region for a deceleration potential of 465 MV. Effective dose rate and ambient dose equivalent rate have been determined inside the aircraft at several locations along the fuselage. A significant shielding effect from the aircraft structures has been observed in the middle section of the passenger cabin.