Study of effects of gamma irradiation on Tuffak polycarbonate track detector by thermogravimetry

Effects induced by gamma irradiation in the dose range of 0-10 Mrad on Tuffak polycarbonate track detector films have been studied by thermogravimetry (TG) technique. The samples were irradiated with 60Co γ-rays for doses of 3 Mrad, 5 Mrad and 10 Mrad. The TG studies indicate that unirradiated and the gamma irradiated sample degrade in two steps. The kinetics of the two steps of degradation were also evaluated from the TG curves. Irradiation enhances the degradation rate and the effect increases further with increasing radiation dose. The activation energy values calculated for all the steps decrease on irradiation. (author)