Improvement of the Electrical Insulating Property of Polypropylene by Electron Beam Irradiation

Abstract

Currently, polypropylene is widely used as an electrical insulator. The electrical insulating property of polypropylene can prevent a short circuit. It maximizes safety in many places, especially nuclear power plants, where this is a primary concern. This research studied the effect of electron beam irradiation on the measured capacitance of polypropylene as electrical insulation is inversely proportional to the capacitance. The irradiation was performed using an 8, 10 ,12 and 14 Mev electron beam with radiation doses at 50, 100, 150, 200 and 300 kGy. The results showed that the measured capacitance of polypropylene was substantially altered depending on the energy level of the electron beam and the radiation dose, with the capacitance ranging from 13.513 ± 0.617 pF to 19.865 ± 1.220 pF with the polypropylene sowing optimum measured capacitance when irradiated by 10 MeV electron beam at 200 kGy. Thus, this result indicated that the dielectric constant of polypropylene had been reduced by approximately 30%. As a result, electron beam irradiation can be used to improve the electrical insulating property of polypropylene since electron beam irradiation causes changes in chemicals and their internal structure. Its improved insulation makes the resulting product widely applicable in industrial applications.