Investigation of The Shielding Properties of Hydrides as a Shielding Material for Space Radiation Protection Using Geant 4 Montecarlo Simulation

Abstract

Space radiation environment is composed of energetic particles which can deliver harmful doses of radiation that may lead to acute  radiation sickness and even death for insufficiently shielded crew members. The process of space radiation shielding can play a key role  in reducing the radiation encountered in deep space. This research investigated the shielding effectiveness of NH3BH3, LiAlH4, PE, NH3,  NaBH4, and MgH2 as a function of stopping power. It also calculated the absorbed dose of the materials when exposed to 28Si ions with  energy levels of 1 GeV, and 2 GeV using Geant4 Monte Carlo Simulation. The energy levels are around the peak of the Galactic Cosmic  Rays (GCR) energy spectrum. The attenuation of the incident particle is very high in materials with large hydrogen fraction. NH3BH3  having a hydrogen concentration of 19.63% provides good shielding effectiveness in the stopping power and the dose deposition  parameter which makes it a better shielding material than the conventional material PE and other hydrides