Study of the characterization of crosslinking polyethylene foam by irradiation process with electron beam

The polyethylene foams are widely used. Their main applications are used for both home appliances to medical equipment. Beside that, they have applications in building and automotive industries. The foam properties depend on the density and its cellular structure, that is, the amount of open and closed cells, of the distribution and size of them. The methods of the crosslinking polyethylene foam production are classified in two types, according to the crosslinking method. One method is based on the chemical crosslinking, which utilizes peroxide as crosslinking agent. In the other method, the crosslinking is induced by electron beam radiation. The foams obtained from the crosslinking polyethylene by irradiation process presented a smooth and the homogeneous surface, and are formed basically by closed cells. The aim of this study was to apply the ionizing radiation from electron beam to crosslink low density polyethylene (LDPE), to obtain foams. Their morphological, thermal and mechanical properties were studied to evaluate the obtained samples. The samples of low density polyethylene (0,946 g/cm3), containing 5% of azodicarbonamide (ADCA), as expander agent, were irradiated with electron beam with doses of 10, 20, 30, 40, 50, 60, 80 and 100 kGy. After the irradiation, these LDPE samples were put into an oven to obtain the foams. It was determined the crosslinking degree of the foams. Some samples were also thermally aged. The mechanical performance of the foams samples was evaluated by means of the tensile strength, compression, hardness, permanent deformation by compression and resilience. It was also carried out thermogravimetry and scanning electron microscopy (SEM). The results have shown that, in the interval of radiation doses studied, that the tensile strength increases with the increase of the crosslinking degree. The compression resistance results obtained from with samples with to radiation dose of 40 kGy showed significant decreasing. The resilience measurements have shown only little variations. According to the morphological analysis it can be concluded that foams with radiation dose of 30 kGy have closed cellular structure more homogeneous and smooth morphology. (author)