Effect of Electron Beam Irradiation on Tensile Strength of Polypropylene

Abstract

In this paper, the effects of the intensity of electron beam and the variation with time after irradiation of electron beam on the tensile strength of the polypropylene (PP), which is widely used as medicine containers, were investigated. PP with and without colorants were used first and samples irradiated under various intensity of EB. A tensile test on the irradiated samples with elapsed time after the irradiation of the electron beam was carried out. The effects of those factors on the tensile strength were discussed. The following results were obtained ;(1) The tensile strength of PP decreased due to the influence of the electron beam irradiation, however the rate of the decrease in strength was small compared with the original one. Furthermore, the rate of the decrease in strength was very small owing to the variation with time after the EB irradiation.(2) The tensile rupture strength of PP increased and the rupture strain owing to the influence of the electron beam irradiation compared with the original one. In addition, these rupture strength increased and the rupture strain decreased along with time after the irradiation of the electron beam.(3) The tensile rupture strain energy of PP decreased owing to the influence of the electron beam irradiation compared with the original one. In addition, the strain energy decreases with time after the irradiation of the electron beam. Moreover, the strength characteristics of PP with colorants received greater influence of electron beam compared with the one without colorants.