Epcard

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EPCARD is a computer program of the European Union for the calculation of cosmic rays in the field of aviation .

EPCARD is the abbreviation for " E uropean P rogram package for the C alculation of A viation R oute D ose". With EPCARD you can calculate the dose that is caused by the most important components of cosmic radiation for any flight route and flight profile at altitudes between 5 and 25 kilometers.

The program was developed by scientists from the Institute for Radiation Protection at the Helmholtz Zentrum München , the German Research Center for Health and Environment (formerly GSF - Research Center for Environment and Health), with the support of the European Commission ( Transport Department ) and the University of Siegen .

Calculation bases

EPCARD simulates the actual radiation field for a specific flight (with a temporal resolution of one minute) that is caused by secondary particles of the primary cosmic rays hitting the earth. It is based on energy spectra of neutrons , protons , photons , electrons and positrons , muons and pions , which were calculated with the Monte Carlo simulation program FLUKA for different heights above sea level down to sea level. All relevant physical parameters such as the extent of solar activity and the shielding by the earth's magnetic field are taken into account. An extensive database with so-called fluence-to-dose conversion factors is used to calculate the ambient dose equivalent (H * (10)) and the effective dose (E) in the unit mSv from the simulated particle energy spectra.

Admission

In December 2003, the Luftfahrt-Bundesamt (LBA) and the Physikalisch-Technische Bundesanstalt (PTB) granted EPCARD version 3.34 official approval for calculating the dose from cosmic radiation from flying personnel. On November 15, 2005, a program for flying personnel was approved by the LBA for the first time. In April 2010 the EPCARD.Net Professional Version 5.4.3 was officially approved by the LBA and the PTB for the calculation of the dose from cosmic rays for flying personnel.

technology

EPCARD.NET is based on the same physical algorithms as EPCARD version 3.34, but allows a more precise calculation of flight route doses on the basis of a more precise description of the physical processes involved. EPCARD.NET was reprogrammed and can use of .NET - or mono - runtime environments with many modern operating systems can be used. These include z. B. Microsoft Windows NT / 2K / XP / Vista or Unixoide systems such. B. Linux , Mac OS X or Solaris .

Comparisons of calculated values ​​and values ​​measured in aircraft show good agreement.

use

The software users include large German airlines such as Lufthansa , Condor , LTU and the international aviation service provider ASISTIM GmbH.

A simplified version of EPCARD is available on the EPCARD website, with which dose calculations can be carried out for any flight free of charge.

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ - ( Memento of the original from April 26, 2011 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / www.helmholtz-muenchen.de
  2. ^ Information from the Luftfahrt-Bundesamt , as of November 15, 2005, accessed on June 5, 2016
  3. ↑ - ( Memento of the original from August 12, 2010 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was automatically inserted and not yet checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / www.helmholtz-muenchen.de
  4. ↑ Vergara JC, Román RD: The implementation of cosmic radiation monitoring in routine flight operation of IBERIA airline of Spain: 1 y of experience of in-flight permanent monitoring . In: Radiat Prot Dosimetry . 136, No. 4, 2009, pp. 291-6. doi : 10.1093 / rpd / ncp131 . PMID 19617239 .
  5. ↑ http://www.asistim.com/flight-operation/cosmic-radiation-reporting/ Cosmic Radiation Reporting on the website of ASISTIM GmbH , accessed on February 18, 2015.
  6. ↑ Customers ( Memento of the original from November 14, 2010 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was automatically inserted and not yet checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. on the website of the Helmholtzzentrum München, accessed on August 18, 2010  @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / www.helmholtz-muenchen.de
  7. ↑ Online version

literature

  • Mares, V., Maczka, T., Leuthold, G. Rühm, W.,. Air crew dosimetry with a new version of EPCARD, Radiat. Prot. Dosim. (2009), Vol. 136, No. 4, pp. 262-266.
  • Mares, V., Leuthold, G., 2007. Altitude-dependent dose conversion coefficients in EPCARD. Radiate. Prot. Dosim. 126, 581-584.
  • Mares, V., Roesler, S. and screw, H., 2004. Averaged particle dose conversion factors in air crew dosimetry. Radiate. Prot. Dosim. 110, 371-376.
  • Roesler, S., Heinrich, W. and screw, H .: Monte Carlo calculation of the radiation field at aircraft altitudes. Radiate. Prot. Dosim. 98, 4, 2002, pp. 367-388
  • Screw, H., Leuthold, G., Heinrich, W., Roesler, S., Mares, V. and screw, G .: EPCARD - European program package for the calculation of aviation route doses, User's manual. GSF National Research Center, Neuherberg, Germany (2002). ISSN  0721-1694 . GSF report 08/02
  • Pelliccioni, M. Overview of fluence-to-effective dose and fluence-to-ambient dose equivalent conversion coefficients for high energy radiation calculated using FLUKA code. Radiate. Prot. Dosim. 88 (4), pp. 279-297,2000.
  • Screw, H., Heinrich, W., Leuthold, G., Mares, V., and Roesler, S .: Aviation route dose calculation and its numerical basis. Proc. 10th International Congress of the International Radiation Protection Association, Hiroshima, Japan. T-4-4, P-1a-45 (2000) 1-9