Properties of HDPE after radiation cross-linking

Abstract

Radiation processing involves the use of natural or manmade sources of high energy radiation on an industrial scale. The principle of radiation processing is the ability of high energy radiation to produce reactive cations, anions and free radicals in materials. The industrial applications of the radiation processing of plastics and composites include polymerization, cross-linking, degradation and grafting. Radiation processing mainly involves the use of either electron beams from electron accelerators or gamma radiation from Cobalt-60 sources. The HDPE high density polyethylene tested showed significant changes of temperature stability and mechanical properties after irradiation. From this pointof-view, new applications could also be seen in areas with service temperatures higher than their former melting point. The comparison of the temperature stability and mechanical properties of irradiated and non irradiated HDPE is presented in this paper.