AVIDOS--a software package for European accredited aviation dosimetry

Abstract

AVIDOS is a computer code used for the dose assessment of aircraft crew exposed to cosmic radiation. The code employs a multiparameter model built upon simulations of cosmic radiation exposure done using the FLUKA Monte Carlo code. AVIDOS calculates both ambient dose equivalent H*(10) and effective dose E for flight routes over the whole world at typically used altitudes and for the full range of solar activity. The dose assessment procedure using AVIDOS is accredited by the Austrian office for accreditation according to European regulations and is valid in the whole Europe. AVIDOS took part in an international comparison of different codes assessing radiation exposure of aircraft crew where a fully satisfactory agreement between codes has been found. An online version of AVIDOS with user friendly interface is accessible to public under the internet address: http://avidos.healthphysics.at.

Radiation measurements onboard aircraft in the South Atlantic region

“…It is should be emphasized that the missions were dedicated to this study with rigorous monitoring, which allowed a rigorous evaluation in this geographic region that is subject to the possible effects of the SAA. The experimental results, when compared to the estimates obtained using the computer code CARI-6 [11], EPCARD [11], EXPACS [22,23] for the dose rate in estimative FP missions and the codes AVIDOS [24], CARI6 and PCAIRE [25] for accumulated dose estimation in the route for RM, show that the computational estimates present a good agreement with the measurements considering the typical and acceptable uncertainties. In measurements at a fixed point at different distances from the SAA center (Fig 10), it was observed that there was no observable systematic effect, confirming that there is not influence of the SAA on the radiation dose at flight altitude, at least in calm solar and magnetospheric conditions.…”

“…The codes used were CARI-6 [11], EPCARD [11], EXPACS [22,23] for the dose rate estimative in FP missions, the codes AVIDOS [24], CARI-6 and PCAIRE [25] for the route accumulated dose estimation for RM, and the code QARM [24] for the neutron/non-neutron ratio estimative.…”

Services for Space Mission Support Within The ESA Space Situational Awareness Space Weather Service Network

“…The mission of the Solar Weather Expert Service Centre (S-ESC) is to provide and develop the functionalities, capabilities and expertise in the domain of Solar Weather that are needed within the ESA SSA SWE Network to achieve as a collaborative enterprise its mission of demonstrating and assessing the influences of Space Weather and informing and supporting end-users through the provision of accurate, reliable and timely products and (pre) operational services, tailored to their requirements [4][5][6][7][8][9][10][11][12][13][14][15].…”

“…Upper panel: GLE alert service provided by the University of Athens [12]. Lower panel: Radiation exposure estimation at aircraft altitude (AVIDOS) provided by Seibersdorf Laboratories [13]. Courtesy of the ESA SWE Portal (http://swe.ssa.esa.int/ space radiation).…”

Assessment of the Radiation Environment at Commercial Jet‐Flight Altitudes During GLE 72 on 10 September 2017 Using Neutron Monitor Data

“…Assessment of the radiation exposure, henceforth exposure, at typical flight altitudes is an important topic in the field of space weather (e.g., Baker, ; Latocha et al, ; Lilensten & Bornarel, ; Mertens, ; Mertens et al, , and references therein). Individual accumulated doses of the cockpit and cabin crew are monitored, and crew members are regarded as occupational workers (EURATOM, ; ICRP, ).…”