Dose-rate effects on the radiation-induced oxidation of electric cable used in nuclear power plants

✍ Scribed by A.B. Reynolds; R.M. Bell; N.M.N. Bryson; T.E. Doyle; M.B. Hall; L.R. Mason; L. Quintric; P.L. Terwilliger

• Publisher: Elsevier Science
• Year: 1995
• Tongue: English
• Weight: 694 KB
• Volume: 45
• Category: Article
• ISSN: 0969-806X
• DOI: 10.1016/0969-806x(94)e0003-2

✦ Synopsis

Dose-rate effects were measured for typical ethylene propylene rubber (EPR) and crosslinked polyethylene (XLPE) electric cable used in nuclear power plants. The radiation source was the 6oCo Irradiation Facility at the University of Virginia. Dose rates were varied from 5 Gy/h to 2500 Gy/h. It was found that there is little or no dose-rate effect at low doses for four of the five EPR cable products tested from 2500 Gy/h down to dose rates of 5 Gy/h but perhaps a small dose-rate effect at high doses for dose rates above 340 Gy/h. A small dose-rate exists for the fifth EPR above 340 Gy/h at all doses.

A dose-rate effect exists above 40 Gy/h for two of the three XLPE cable products tested, but there is no dose-rate for these XLPE's between 40 Gy/h and 5 Gy/h. These results indicate that the dose-rate effects observed are due to oxygen diffusion effects during heterogeneous aging and suggest that there is no dose-rate effect for either EPR or XLPE during homogeneous aging.