Research Investigation of Deformation Characteristics of Thin Polymer Films at Different Doses of Electron Irradiation

Abstract

The study of the deformation characteristics of thin polymer films has established 2 stages of increasing strain with increasing stress: the first stage in the elastic region is slow linear; the second stage is sharply exponential. The dependence of deformation (ε) on stress (σ) in polytetrafluoroethylene at various exposure doses has been experimentally investigated. Irradiation of the fluoroplastic films under study with electrons doses of 1, 3, 5, 7, and 10 kGy leads to significant changes in their mechanical properties, while the samples lose their plasticity and begin to break at a lower strain, which is associated with the formation of nanodefects in the structure of the material. A significant decrease in elongation is observed compared with unirradiated material. The reason for this is the degradation of the main chains of the fluoroplastic. With an increase in the absorbed dose, the Young's modulus increases exponentially, which is associated with a decrease in the distance between atoms in the structure of the sample. The resulting effect can be used in industry. The curves obtained for both non-irradiated and irradiated material are satisfactorily described in the exponential model.