US/French Joint Research Program regarding the behavior of polymer base materials subjected to beta radiation. Volume 1. Phase-1 normalization results

As part of the ongoing multi-year joint NRC/CEA international cooperative test program to investigate the dose-damage equivalence of gamma and beta radiation on polymer base materials, dosimetry and ethylene-propylene rubber (EPR) specimens were exchanged, irradiated, and evaluated for property changes at research facilities in the US (Sandia National Laboratories) and France (Compagnie ORIS Industrie). The purpose of this Phase-1 test series was to normalize and cross-correlate the results obtained by one research center to the other, in terms of exposure (1.0 MeV accelerated electrons and /sup 60/Co gammas) and postirradiation testing (ultimate elongation and tensile strength, hardness, and density) techniques. The dosimetry and material specimen results indicate good agreement between the two countries regarding the exposure conditions and postirradiation evaluation techniques employed

Nuclear qualification results obtained: the CEA and NRC-CEA cooperative research programs

SIGLEAvailable from CEN Saclay, Service de Documentation, 91191 - Gif-sur-Yvette Cedex (France) / INIST-CNRS - Institut de l'Information Scientifique et TechniqueFRFranc

US/French joint research program regarding the behavior of polymer base materials subjected to beta radiation: Volume 2, Phase-2a screening tests: (Final report)

As part of the ongoing joint NRC/CEA cooperative test program to investigate the relative effectiveness of beta and gamma irradiation to produce damage in polymer base materials, ethylene propylene rubber (EPR) specimens, in slab geometry, were exposed to Cobalt-60 gamma rays and accelerator produced electron beams. Specimens were irradiated and evaluated at research facilities in the US (Sandia National Laboratories) and France (Compagnie ORIS Industrie). These tests included several electron beam energies, sample thicknesses, exposure doses, and dose rates. Based on changes in the tensile properties, of the test specimens, results of these studies suggest that material damage resulting from electron and gamma irradiations can be correlated on the basis of absorbed radiation dose