Epcard
Encyclopedia
EPCARD is a software program that calculates radiation exposure
of aircrews. The software code is based on the FLUKA
transport code. EPCARD allows calculation of a simulated dose from most important components of penetrating cosmic radiation on any aviation route and for any flight profile at altitudes from 5 to 25 km.
Epcard helps airlines monitor radiation exposure, and comply with regulations relating to this area.
, German Research Center for Environmental Health (former GSF - National Research Center for Environmet and Health) with support from the European Commission
and University of Siegen, Germany.
(German Aviation Authority; LBA, Federal Office for Aviation) and the Physikalisch-Technische Bundesanstalt
(National Metrology Institute; PTB) granted official approval for EPCARD version 3.34 in December 2003. EPCARD.Net Professional version 5.4.3 was approved for official use for aircrew dose assessment by LBA and PTB in April 2010.
Radiation exposure
The term radiation exposure commonly has several uses:* Absorption of high-energy ionizing radiation by an object. In living beings a high absorbed dose can lead to radiation poisoning.* Absorption by an object of non-ionizing radiation...
of aircrews. The software code is based on the FLUKA
FLUKA
FLUKA is a fully integrated Monte Carlo simulation package for the interaction and transport of particles and nuclei in matter....
transport code. EPCARD allows calculation of a simulated dose from most important components of penetrating cosmic radiation on any aviation route and for any flight profile at altitudes from 5 to 25 km.
Epcard helps airlines monitor radiation exposure, and comply with regulations relating to this area.
Development
This software package was developed by scientists of the Institute of Radiation Protection of the Helmholtz Zentrum MünchenHelmholtz Zentrum München
The Helmholtz Zentrum München is a member of the Helmholtz Association of German Research Centres and is responsible for studying environmental health issues. Founded in 1964, it is a joint project of the Federal Ministry of Education and Research and Bavaria's Finance Ministry...
, German Research Center for Environmental Health (former GSF - National Research Center for Environmet and Health) with support from the European Commission
European Commission
The European Commission is the executive body of the European Union. The body is responsible for proposing legislation, implementing decisions, upholding the Union's treaties and the general day-to-day running of the Union....
and University of Siegen, Germany.
Simulation of radiation exposure
The EPCARD program virtually simulates a flight (with time resolution of 1 min) in the “quasi-real” radiation field of cosmic secondary particles. It is based on the energy spectra of neutrons, protons, photons, electrons, positrons, muons, and pions, calculated by means of the FLUKA Monte Carlo code at various altitudes in the Earth’s atmosphere down to sea level, for all possible physical parameters of solar activity and geomagnetic shielding conditions. A large scale set of “fluence-to-dose” conversion coefficients is employed, to calculate dose quantities (in units of microSievert) in terms of ambient dose equivalent, H*(10), and effective dose, E. EPCARD.Net is based on the same physical algorithms as the EPCARD program, but is currently ready to process some extended physical parameters giving more precise information about flight route doses. EPCARD.Net is a completely new code which can be run on many systems such as Microsoft Windows NT/2K/XP/Vista (using both .Net and Mono runtime platform) or ‘UNIX kernel type’ operating systems like Linux, Mac OS X or Solaris (using the Mono runtime platform).Approval
The Luftfahrt-BundesamtLuftfahrt-Bundesamt
The Luftfahrt-Bundesamt is the national civil aviation authority of Germany headquartered in Braunschweig...
(German Aviation Authority; LBA, Federal Office for Aviation) and the Physikalisch-Technische Bundesanstalt
Physikalisch-Technische Bundesanstalt
The Physikalisch-Technische Bundesanstalt is based in Braunschweig and Berlin. It is the national institute for natural and engineering sciences and the highest technical authority for metrology and physical safety engineering in Germany....
(National Metrology Institute; PTB) granted official approval for EPCARD version 3.34 in December 2003. EPCARD.Net Professional version 5.4.3 was approved for official use for aircrew dose assessment by LBA and PTB in April 2010.