Radiation Processing Technology

• Radiation processing is a technology of effecting useful changes in physical properties of the materials or components using ionizing radiation.
• This radiation is a sufficiently high energy to cause ionization of atoms or molecules in materials. In addition, it creates free radicals by breaking of chemical bond without the transferring of electrons and therefore without developing electrical charges.
• These free radicals are highly reactive and are the source of many of desirable changes induced by radiation.
• Several factors have led to a great broadening of the range of radiation application in industrial use as well as to a proliferation of installation.

Among the factors are:

• Availability of powerful electron beam accelerator with a low unit radiation cost.
• Use of a very large gamma radiation sources.
• Better understanding of the chemistry involved.
• Increasing cost of energy required for competitive processes.

Applications today are included:

• Cross linking of wire & cable insulation perhaps is the best known and most widely application, that using radiation process, the radiation cross linking improves the stress crack, abrasion & deformation resistance, service temperature and resistance to the reaction of fluid.
• Imparting the shrink memory property in heat shrinkable plastics
• Cross linking of tubing and plastic components to improve properties as in wire & cable application.