Radiation crosslinking of polymeric electrical insulation

Research on the effects of ionizing radiation on plastics has been underway for at least the past two decades. This work initially was followed carefully by industry, but only limited commercial development resulted, due mainly to the relatively high costs of radiation processing. Hence for a time interest sagged. There remain, however, some applications to which radiation processing is particularly well suited, such as the curing of organic coatings, the finishing of textiles, and the improvement of electrical insulation. In these, the use of radiation allows the replacement of high-temperature curing cycles with a room temperature operation; resulting in easier process control and freedom from problems of overcure or thermal degradation. Much of the recent work has been done in these areas, and this, together with decreased equipment costs, is resulting in steadily increasing commercial use.