Effectiveness of Polymer Composites as Radiation Shield against Galactic Cosmic Rays

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dc.contributor.advisorBayazitoglu, Yildizen_US
dc.creatorYang, Dengen_US
dc.date.accessioned2019-05-17T18:53:37Zen_US
dc.date.available2020-05-01T05:01:09Zen_US
dc.date.created2019-05en_US
dc.date.issued2019-04-19en_US
dc.date.submittedMay 2019en_US
dc.date.updated2019-05-17T18:53:37Zen_US
dc.description.abstractCurrently spacecraft uses aluminum alloys for primary structures which do not provide sufficient radiation protection for both the spacecraft electronics and for the astronauts in cislunar space. This thesis evaluates the shielding effectiveness of several types of polymer composite materials against Galactic Cosmic Rays (GCRs). Because the galactic cosmic rays consist of high energy particles and produce neutrons while interacting with shielding materials, the purpose of this thesis is to assess new shielding materials that could be used to protect spacecraft electronics and the astronauts against both primary and secondary radiation. New type of composite shielding materials which are metal-doped polyacetylene with hydrogen are studied. Since the metal doped polyacetylene have large molecules, they are proposed to be ideal hydrogen storage materials for shielding purposes. The MULASSIS which is a one-dimensional Monte Carlo transport code is used for the dose equivalent calculations. This transport code demonstrated that the shielding effectiveness of the proposed materials in this thesis are better when compared with the currently used ones. In addition, the fluence analysis shows that Ti-decorated cis-polyacetylene with hydrogen content produces less neutrons when it interacts with GCR radiation and thus it naturally becomes very effective shielding material.en_US
dc.embargo.terms2020-05-01en_US
dc.format.mimetypeapplication/pdfen_US
dc.identifier.citationYang, Deng. "Effectiveness of Polymer Composites as Radiation Shield against Galactic Cosmic Rays." (2019) Master’s Thesis, Rice University. <a href="https://hdl.handle.net/1911/105966">https://hdl.handle.net/1911/105966</a>.en_US
dc.identifier.urihttps://hdl.handle.net/1911/105966en_US
dc.language.isoengen_US
dc.rightsCopyright is held by the author, unless otherwise indicated. Permission to reuse, publish, or reproduce the work beyond the bounds of fair use or other exemptions to copyright law must be obtained from the copyright holder.en_US
dc.subjectGalactic Cosmic Raysen_US
dc.subjectPolymer Compositesen_US
dc.titleEffectiveness of Polymer Composites as Radiation Shield against Galactic Cosmic Raysen_US
dc.typeThesisen_US
dc.type.materialTexten_US
thesis.degree.departmentMechanical Engineeringen_US
thesis.degree.disciplineEngineeringen_US
thesis.degree.grantorRice Universityen_US
thesis.degree.levelMastersen_US
thesis.degree.nameMaster of Scienceen_US
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