An improved rapid performance analysis model for solenoidal magnetic radiation shields
Year: 2026
Type: article
Abstract: • An improved mass and dose estimation model for solenoidal magnetic radiation shields is presented and validated against a Monte Carlo simulation. • The model is used to rapidly evaluate the trade space of shield designs across key design variables. • Mass-optimal designs for a range of dose targets are identified and shown to greatly outperform passive shields in some cases. Astronauts participating in deep-space exploration missions will be exposed to significantly greater amounts of radiation than is typically encountered on Earth or in low Earth orbit (LEO), which poses significant risks to crew health and mission safety. Active magnetic radiation shields based on the Lorentz deflection of charged particles have the potential to reduce astronaut doses with lower mass costs than passive shielding techniques. Typically, active shielding performance is evaluated using high-fidelity Monte Carlo simulations, which are too computationally expensive to evaluate an entire trade space of shield designs. A rapid, semi-analytical model based on the High Charge and Energy Transport code (HZETRN) developed in 2015 provided an alternative method by which to evaluate the performance of solenoidal shields. However, various simplifying assumptions made in the original model have limited its accuracy, and therefore require evaluation and correction. In this work, a number of aspects of the original semi-analytical model are updated and validated by Monte Carlo simulation, then used to recharacterize the design trade space of solenoidal magnetic shields. The updated model predicts improved performance for weaker shields as compared to the original model, but greatly diminished performance for strong shields with bending powers greater than 20 T-m. Overall, the results indicate that magnetic shields enable significant mass savings over passive shields for mission scenarios where the requisite dose reduction is greater than about 60% relative to free space, which includes most exploration missions longer than one year with significant time spent outside LEO.
Source: Advances in Space Research
Institution: University of Colorado Boulder
Language: English
Subfield: Materials Chemistry
Field: Materials Science
Domain: Physical Sciences
Open Access status: hybrid
Estimated APC paid: $2,780
OpenAlex ID: W7128485015