Quality factor of secondary cosmic radiation at flight altitudes.

Dosimetry at aviation altitudes requires instruments that are able to measure the dose contributions of all field components. Tissue-equivalent proportional counters (TEPCs) are well suited for this task. From the measured lineal energy distribution, the absorbed dose and the dose equivalent can be obtained. The ratio of both quantities is named the quality factor, which is a measure of the biological effectiveness of the radiation field. The results of this work show that the mean quality factors obtained by using a TEPC are independent of the altitude, at least at altitudes between flight level (FL) 300 and FL 400, but show a significant dependence on the vertical cutoff rigidity. From a numerical simulation of the radiation field inside an aircraft, the influence of the aircraft structure can be shown.