Deformation and Strength Properties of a Gamma-Irradiated Plasticized Binder Based on Low-Molecular-Weight Polydiene Urethane Rubbers

Abstract

The effect of gamma-radiation doses of 50, 100, and 150 kGy on the deformation and strength properties of a plasticized binder based on low-molecular-weight polydiene urethane rubbers of the PDI-3B brand has been studied. To assess changes in the strength of the plasticized binder depending on the dose of gamma irradiation, the fracture energies were calculated at temperatures of 223, 295, and 323 K. At these test temperatures, the conditional stress increased and deformation slightly decreased depending on the dose of gamma irradiation compared with those of the original sample. Sharp changes in the deformation and strength characteristics occurred at a test temperature of 223 K; the strength of the irradiated samples increased by a factor of more than 4, and the deformation decreased slightly compared to that of the original sample. This trend persisted with an increase in the test temperature, but the difference was almost halved. Such an effect of gamma irradiation on the test material can be explained by the prevalence of crosslinking over degradation.