To solve different problems related to the radiation stability of polymeric articles
and purposeful radiation-induced modifications of polymeric materials, the effect of
low dose of gamma irradiation on some mechanical properties, at room temperature
and in the presence of oxygen, on blends of high density polyethylene (HDPE) and
high impact polystyrene (HIPS) has been studied.
Thermal – mechanical mixing was used to prepare binary polymeric blends from
(HDPE / HIPS) with different compositional ratios, i.e. (100/0, 90/10, 80/20) using
single screw extruder. The exposure of these blends to dose of Cs-137 gamma
radiation at 0.2 kGy improves the mechanical properties. Scanning electron
microscopy (SEM) has been used to investigate the effect of gamma irradiation on the
surface morphology of the polymer material. It is noticed that after the radiation
treatment; tensile strength, modulus of elasticity and hardness of used (HDPE/HIPS) at
all blends ratio have been increased due to partial cross linking.
Keywords: Gamma irradiation; Polymers; Mechanical properties.
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