Abstract
The effect of simultaneous thermal and gamma irradiation ageing on the mechanical and physicochemical
properties of industrial EPDM was investigated. Accelerated ageing, covering a wide range of dose rates, doses
and temperatures, was preformed in stagnant air on EPDM polymer samples extracted from the cables in use in
the Belgian nuclear power plants. The mechanical properties, ultimate tensile stress and elongation at break, are
found to exhibit the strong dependence on the dose, ageing temperature and dose rate. The thermal
decomposition of aged polymer is observed to be the dose dependent when thermogravimetry test is performed
under air atmosphere. No dose dependence is observed when thermal decomposition is performed under
nitrogen atmosphere. The thermal decomposition rates are found to fully mimic the reduction of elongation at
break for all dose rates and ageing temperatures. This effect is argued to be the result of thermal and radiation
mediated oxidation degradation process.
Details
Original language | English |
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Pages (from-to) | 8-12 |
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Number of pages | 5 |
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Journal | Radiation Physics and Chemistry |
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Volume | 132 |
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DOIs | |
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Publication status | Published - 12 Oct 2016 |
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