Performance evaluation of electron beam irradiated SIR-EPDM blends

In cable manufacturing industries, electron beam radiation is widely used to improve the performance of the polymeric materials. To analyze the effect of electron beam irradiation on the novel blends of SIR-EPDM of different composition, they were exposed to three different doses of electron beam irradiation 50, 150 and 250 kGy. The electrical properties like Volume Resistivity (VRY) and Surface Resistivity (SRY) of the SIR-EPDM blends were found as per ASTM/IEC standards. Also the mechanical properties such as Tensile Strength (TS), Elongation at Break (EB) and Hardness (H) of the SIR-EPDM blends were determined as per ASTM/IEC standards. This paper evaluates the changes in performance of various compositions of electron beam irradiated SIR-EPDM blends. The electrical properties of EPDM rich blends were found to improve for most of the doses of electron beam irradiation. Also considerable improvements in tensile strength have been noticed in some blends for certain doses of electron beam irradiation.