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Aging of elastomer O-rings and PE neutron shielding materials for radioactive waste containers
(2021)
Our institution BAM in Berlin, Germany is concerned with research and testing of materials in the context of safety in chemistry and technology. Our working group is involved in the licensing procedures of casks for radioactive waste. Besides, we’re doing research on aging and lifetime prediction of elastomer O-rings and investigate degradation and thermal expansion of PE neutron shielding materials.
Two polyethylene types with ultra high (UHMWPE) and high molecular weight (HMWPE), which are used as neutron radiation shielding materials in storage casks for radioactive waste, were subjected to gamma irradiation doses up to 600 kGy and subsequent thermal ageing at 125 °C for up to one year. One material was a medical grade UHMWPE and the other a HMWPE containing an antioxidant. Degradation effects in the materials were characterized using colorimetry, UV-Vis spectroscopy, MIR and FTIR measurements, DSC and, in the case of HMWPE, insoluble content determination. Both materials exhibited a yellowing upon irradiation. The discoloration of UHMWPE disappeared again after thermal ageing, which is why it was attributed to annealable color centers in the form of free radicals entrapped in the crystalline regions of the polymer that recombine during thermal ageing. Furthermore, oxidation species were observed with MIR and FTIR spectroscopy. For HMWPE, the yellowing occurred during both irradiation and thermal ageing and was correlated to antioxidant decomposition. Additionally, black spots were observed after thermal ageing of HMWPE that were attributed to reaction products of antioxidant derivatives and catalyst residues. While only little evidence of oxidation species was found in the light material parts, oxidation is expected to concentrate in the black spots as the catalyst residue promotes hydroperoxide decomposition and thus radical formation that initiate polymer oxidation