Title: Estimation of service life of polymer composite in nuclear environment for shielding application

Abstract

When one puts a product into service, the ability to predict its lifetime or failure rate would be highly beneficial. The composite part should be tested in real time and in environments similar to those in which the part will be exposed. For applications, such as space applications, in radiation environment, it is expected to have about 20 to 30 years durability. In case of polymer composites, the reactive intermediates like free radicals present in the polymers are capable of initiating chemical reactions resulting in scission and cross-linking on irradiation. It may result in failure of material under application. The decomposition study has been carried out to predict the stability of developed materials under ionizing radiation conditions. The lifetime estimated for all developed material is found around 20 to 45 years at 50°C which is desired for a device under a nuclear environment. Accurate predictions are highly dependent on the testing methodology, the type and form of the composite used, and the processing history. Here we have discussed a thermal decomposition method to predict the life span of polymers.