"IGF::OT::IGF" SMALL BUSINESS AS&M (ANALYTICAL SERVICES&MATERIALS) RADIATION MODELING 2. PURPOSE, OBJECTIVE, AND BACKGROUND OF WORK TO BE PERFORMED: THE FIRST OBJECTIVE IS TO MODEL AND DEVELOP AN OPTIMIZED SYSTEM OF HYBRID ACTIVE-PASSIVE RADIATION SHIELDING. THE SECOND OBJECTIVE IS TO USE A GENETIC ALGORITHMS (GAS) TOOLKIT COUPLED WITH WELL-DEVELOPED RADIATION TRANSPORT CODES IN A PROCESS THAT MIMICS EVOLUTION AND NATURAL SELECTION TO OBTAIN OPTIMUM SHIELDING CONFIGURATIONS. 3. DESCRIPTION OF THE WORK TO BE PERFORMED: THE CONTRACTOR SHALL PERFORM THE FOLLOWING BASIC, INNOVATIVE RESEARCH REQUIREMENTS: 3.1 TASK 1: THE FIRST TASK IS TO MODEL AND DEVELOP AN OPTIMIZED SYSTEM OF HYBRID ACTIVE-PASSIVE RADIATION SHIELDING. CURRENTLY, THERE IS NO CLEAR-CUT SOLUTION TO SHIELDING HUMANS FROM GCR (GALACTIC COSMIC RADIATION) DURING LONG DURATION SPACE TRAVEL (MORE THAN 6 MONTHS FROM EARTH TO MARS, ONE WAY) AND DURING PLANETARY STAYS FOR EXPLORATION. TWO DIFFERENT APPROACHES EXIST: (1) CHOOSE THE RIGHT PASSIVE MATERIALS COMBINATIONS TO SLOW DOWN THE GCR AND THE SECONDARIES ARISING OUT OF THE INTERACTIONS OF THE GCR WITH INTERVENING MATTER; OR (2) USE ACTIVE MAGNETIC FIELDS TO DEFLECT THE GCR. THESE TWO APPROACHES HAVE LIMITATIONS, NECESSITATING A NEW APPROACH LIKE THE PROPOSED HYBRID SHIELDING. IN THE NEW HYBRID SHIELD APPROACH, THE GCR IS BENT BY THE MAGNETIC FIELD, AND INSTEAD OF TRAVELING IN A STRAIGHT PATH IT BENDS AND TAKES A LONGER PATH, THUS REQUIRING REDUCED MASS OF THE PASSIVE SHIELD COMPONENT. THE PASSIVE SHIELDING REDUCES THE SPEED OF THE INCOMING PARTICLES AND THEREBY REDUCES THE REQUIRED MAGNETIC FIELD INTENSITY AND THEREFORE REDUCES THE POWER REQUIREMENTS OF THE ACTIVE SHIELD COMPONENT. THE COMBINED EFFECTS OF INCREASED PATH LENGTH AND REDUCED PARTICLE SPEED ARE TWO CRITICAL CONTROLLING FACTORS FOR REALIZING IMPROVED SHIELDING EFFECTIVENESS. THE CONTRACTOR SHALL USE THEIR UNIFIED PROCESS MANAGEMENT SYSTEM FOR COMPUTATIONAL FLUID DYNAMICS (DEVELOPED UNDER SBIR PHASE II CONTRACT NAS1-99028) AND THEIR AS&M-DEVELOPED BASIC SHIELD SIMULATION PROGRAM BUILT ON AN UNDERLYING LAYER OF THE GEANT (GEOMETRY AND TRACKING) 4 PHYSICS CODE IN A 3-D RADIAL GRAPHICAL SIMULATION. THE CONTRACTOR SHALL MODEL THE RADIATION DOSE EQUIVALENT TO HUMAN PHANTOMS. THE CONTRACTOR SHALL USE A SYSTEMATIC APPROACH, WITH THE BEST AND VALIDATED SIMULATION TOOLS TO DEVELOP AND DOWN-SELECT VIABLE CONCEPTS, IN ORDER TO MITIGATE THE RISKS. THE EFFORT AIMS TO DEVELOP A SERIES OF SIMULATIONS PROVIDING FOR ANALYSES OF SHIELDING SYSTEMS IN SUFFICIENTLY REALISTIC DETAIL TO ENABLE COMPREHENSIVE UNDERSTANDING OF THE BENEFITS PROVIDED AND THE RELATIVE MERITS OF VARIOUS OPTIMIZATIONS. GIVEN THAT THE PROPOSED SIMULATION ENGINE USES A MONTE CARLO APPROACH, IT IS GENERALLY BEST INITIALLY TO GO WITH THE SIMPLEST CONFIGURATION THAT MEETS REQUIREMENTS SO THAT STABLE STATISTICAL RESULTS CAN BE ACHIEVED MORE EASILY AND WITH LESS COMPUTATIONAL TIME. IN LATER STEPS OF THE OPTIMIZATION, IT MAY BE NECESSARY TO INVEST THE REQUIRED TIME TO ENSURE THAT THE PHYSICAL PROCESSES ARE ACCURATELY IMPLEMENTED, SO THAT ALL THE IMPORTANT FEATURES ARE CORRECTLY MODELED IN ORDER TO GET ACCURATE AND MEANINGFUL SIMULATIONS. THE POTENTIAL PAYOFF IS HIGH BECAUSE THE RESULTING HYBRID ACTIVE-PASSIVE SHIELD CONCEPT COULD ENABLE LONG DURATION SPACE TRAVEL AND SPACE EXPLORATION FOR HUMANS. THE DELIVERABLES FOR THIS TASK ARE COLOR POWERPOINT PRESENTATION SLIDES DESCRIBING THE APPROACHES TAKEN AND THE RESULTS OBTAINED. THE CONTRACTOR SHALL PREPARE TWO SETS OF POWERPOINT SLIDES, ONE SET SHORTLY AFTER COMMENCEMENT OF THE WORK AND THE SECOND SET TOWARD THE COMPLETION OF THE WORK. 3.2 TASK 2: THE SECOND TASK IS TO USE A GENETIC ALGORITHMS (GAS) TOOLKIT COUPLED WITH WELL-DEVELOPED RADIATION TRANSPORT CODES IN A PROCESS THAT MIMICS EVOLUTION AND NATURAL SELECTION TO OBTAIN AND DELIVER TO NASA THE OPTIMUM SHIELDING CONFIGURATIONS. SPECIFICALLY, THE TOOLKIT WILL ENABLE, IN AN AUTOMATED FASHION: CREATING COM