The influence of EB-crosslinking on barrier properties of HDPE–mica composites

✍ Scribed by Anders Södergård; Kenneth Ekman; Bengt Stenlund; Ann-Catherine Lassas

• Publisher: John Wiley and Sons
• Year: 1996
• Tongue: English
• Weight: 511 KB
• Volume: 59
• Category: Article
• ISSN: 0021-8995
• DOI: 10.1002/(sici)1097-4628(19960314)59:11<1709::aid-app6>3.0.co;2-s

✦ Synopsis

High-density polyethylene (HDPE) was compounded with untreated and surface-treated mica (10,20,40 wt %) and composites were injection-molded. The composites were radiation crosslinked (100, 300, 700 kGy) and hydrocarbon permeability, tensile impact strength, and tensile strength at 25 and 80°C of the composites were examined. The permeability of HDPE decreased from 7 to 3.6 g/(d X m2) by compounding the polymer with 20 wt % mica, and the permeability was additionally reduced to 1.3 g/(d X m2) by irradiation of the compounds (700 kGy). When surface-treated mica was used, the permeability of the composite furthermore decreased to about 1.0 g/(d X m'). Upon irradiation, the E modulus measured at 25°C increased 5% when the dose was 300 kGy. At 8OoC, the corresponding increase was 40%. The tensile impact strength of an unfilled polymer increased more than three times by an irradiation dose of 700 kGy, and for a polymer with 10 wt % mica, the tensile impact strength was twice the level of an unirradiated composite.