Ingenieurwissenschaften und zugeordnete Tätigkeiten
Filtern
Erscheinungsjahr
- 2017 (2) (entfernen)
Dokumenttyp
Sprache
- Englisch (2)
Schlagworte
- Irradiation (2) (entfernen)
Discoloration Effects of High-Dose gamma-Irradiation and Long-Term Thermal Aging of (U) HMW-PE
(2017)
Two polyethylene types with ultra-high (UHMWPE) and high molecular weight (HMW-PE) used as neutron radiation shielding materials in casks for radioactive waste were irradiated with doses up to 600 kGy using a 60Co gammasource. Subsequently, thermal aging at 125∘C was applied for up to one year. Degradation effects in the materials were characterized using colorimetry, UV-Visspectroscopy, IR spectroscopy, and DSC. Both materials exhibited a yellowing upon irradiation.The discoloration of UHMW-PE disappeared again after thermal aging.Therefore, the yellowing is assumed to originate fromannealable color centers in the formof free radicals that are trapped in the crystalline regions of the polymer and recombine at elevated temperatures. For the antioxidantcontaining HMWPE, yellowing was observed after both irradiation and thermal aging. The color change was correlated mainly to decomposition products of the antioxidant in addition to trapped radicals as in UHMW-PE. Additionally, black spots appeared after thermal aging of HMW-PE.
In this paper, we demonstrate the effects of radiation exposures of polymeric materials with UV-A 340 nm lamps (ISO 4892-3, Type 1A) at -10 °C in comparison to an irradiation at +50 °C using a Global UV Test 200 fluorescent lamp device from Weiss Umwelttechnik GmbH, which incorporates an active cooling appliance. While the effects at -10 °C actually are lower than at + 50°C their extent was clearly beyond expectations.