Mechanical, electrical, and thermal properties of irradiated low-density polyethylene by electron beam

The effect of electron-beam (EB) irradiation on the mechanical, electrical, and thermal properties of low-density polyethylene (LDPE) was studied The LDPE was irradiated by using 3 MeV EB machine at doses ranging from 25 to 250 kGy in air at room temperature and analyzed for mechanical, thermal, and electrical properties. It was revealed by differential scanning calorimetry analysis that the crystallinity of the EB-radiated LDPE decreased slightly as verified by a marginal reduction in the densities, enthalpy, and melting points. Thermogravimetric analysis test showed that the thermal degradation of LDPE improved by increasing irradiation. The results obtained from both gel content and hot set tests, indicating whether the applicable LDPE has been properly cross-linked or not, showed that under the EB irradiation conditions employed, the cross-linking of the LDPE samples occur mainly in the amorphous region, and the cross-linking density at each irradiation dose depends almost on the amorphous portions of the LDPE. A significant improvement in the tensile strength of the neat LDPE samples was obtained upon EB up to 250 kGy with a concomitant decline in elongation at break. The results on the electrical properties revealed that the surface resistance, volume resistivity, and dielectric strength of the LDPE increase with irradiation dose and reaches a maximum at a 250 kGy irradiation dose. No considerable change of breakdown voltage, dielectric constant, and dielectric loss factor were observed with increasing irradiation dose. The enhancement in the heat deformation, hardness, and thermal aging properties of LDPE upon EB irradiation, suggests that irradiated LDPE is more thermally and mechanically stable than virgin LDPE.