Radiochemical ageing of epoxy coating for nuclear plants

The degradation of an epoxy-amine network exposed to gamma irradiation in oxygen atmosphere has been studied by using a variety of analytical methods, including infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), differential scanning calorimetry (DSC), and sol-gel analysis. Results show that the oxidation of epoxy systems grows with the irradiation dose. Hydroperoxides, which are species resulting from oxidation, were identified and quantified by DSC. As indicated by the sol-gel analysis, the mechanism of degradation of chain scission seems to be predominant over crosslinking. The modifications induced by irradiation reflect in a greater capacity of water absorption.