Radiation effect of neutrons in a reactor on polyurethane

The radiation effect of neutrons in a reactor on polyurethane was studied. The gases produced by irradiated samples were analyzed by gas chromatography, and the dynamic mechanical and compression properties of the samples were also studied. The positron annihilation lifetime of irradiated samples was measured at room temperature in vacuum. The experimental results indicate that gas chromatography is a powerful tool to quantitatively analyze the gas products from neutron-irradiated polyurethane and characterizes the chemical changes in the sample. And the changes in microstructure determined from the PAL correlate well with the measurements of the mechanical properties by dynamic mechanical analysis (DMA).