GROUND-BASED SIMULATIONS OF COSMIC-RAY HEAVY-ION INTERACTIONS IN SPACECRAFT AND PLANETARY HABITAT SHIELDING MATERIALS

This paper surveys some recent accelerator-based measurements of the n uclear fragmentation of high energy nuclei in shielding and tissue-equ ivalent materials. These data are needed to make accurate predictions of the radiation field produced at depth in spacecraft and planetary h abitat shielding materials and in the human body by heavy charged part icles in the galactic cosmic radiation. Projectile-target combinations include 1 GeV/nucleon Fe-56 incident on aluminum and graphite and 600 MeV/nucleon Fe-56 and 290 MeV/nucleon C-12 On polyethylene. We presen t examples of the dependence of fragmentation on material type and thi ckness, of a comparison between data and a fragmentation model, and of multiple fragments produced dong the beam axis. (C) 1998 Published by Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.