Effectiveness of Multi-Layered Radiation Shields Constructed from Polyethylene and Metal Hydrides Using HZETRN and OLTARIS for space applications

TL;DR

This study evaluates the radiation shielding effectiveness of multilayer polyethylene and lithium hydride materials for deep space missions, using HZETRN and OLTARIS simulation tools, highlighting lithium hydride's superior performance.

Contribution

It introduces a novel multilayer shielding approach combining polyethylene and lithium hydride, assessed with advanced simulation tools for space radiation protection.

Findings

Lithium hydride outperforms other metal hydrides as a radiation shield.

Simulation results from HZETRN and OLTARIS are consistent.

Multilayer polyethylene and lithium hydride effectively reduce space radiation exposure.

Abstract

A major challenge for extended human spaceflights in deep space is the dangerous exposure to space radiation. In previous studies aluminium has been used as a multilayer shielding material in GCR space radiation environment with high dose equivalent. To further reduce the dose equivalent, shielding effectiveness of various metal hydrides in GCR free space environment is investigated using HZETRN2015 (High charge (Z) & Energy TRaNsport) and OLTARIS (On-Line Tool for the Assessment of Radiation In Space) in this work. Metal hydride materials are chosen because of their capacity to store hydrogen. Among these materials, lithium hydride has demonstrated superior effectiveness as a radiation shield. Given this, the potential of a multilayer shield composed of polyethylene and lithium hydride is also being explored considering the tensile strength certain varieties of polyethylene like UHMWPE (Ultra High Molecular Weight Poly-Ethylene) can provide. The results from HZETRN2015 and OLTARIS transport codes are compared and found in agreement.