Simulation and Design of Optimized Three-Layer Radiation Shielding to Protect Electronic Boards of Satellite Revolving in Geostationary Earth Orbit (GEO) Orbit against Proton Beams

Abstract

The safety of electronic components used in aerospace systems against cosmic rays is one of the most important requirements in their design and construction (especially satellites). In this work, by calculating the dose caused by proton beams in geostationary Earth orbit (GEO) orbit using the MCNPX Monte Carlo code and the MULLASSIS code, the effect of different structures in the protection of cosmic rays has been evaluated. A multi-layer radiation shield composed of aluminum, water and polyethylene was designed and its performance was compared with shielding made of aluminum alone. The results show that the absorbed dose by the simulated protective layers has increased by 35.3% and 44.1% for two-layer (aluminum, polyethylene) and three-layer (aluminum, water, polyethylene) protection respectively, and it is effective in the protection of electronic components. In addition to that, by replacing the multi-layer shield instead of the conventional aluminum shield, the mass reduction percentage will be 38.88 and 39.69, respectively, for the two-layer and three-layer shield compared to the aluminum shield.