Processibility, Thermo-Mechanical Properties, and Radiation Hardness of Polyurethane and Silicone Resins

Different polyurethanes (PURs) and silicone for potential use in particle accelerators and detectors have been characterized in the uncured state, after curing, and after exposure to ionizing irradiation in ambient air and in liquid helium. The viscosity evolution during processing was measured with a rheometer. Dynamic mechanical analysis (DMA) and Shore A hardness measurements were applied to detect irradiation-induced crosslinking and chain scission effects. Uniaxial tensile and flexural tests under ambient and cryogenic conditions have been performed to assess changes in mechanical strength, elongation at break, and elastic properties. The initial viscosity of 550 cP at 25 °C of the uncured PUR RE700-4 polyol and RE106 isocyanate system for protective encapsulation is sufficiently low for impregnation of small magnet coils, but the pot life of about 30 min is too short for impregnation of large magnet coils. The cured RE700-4 system has outstanding mechanical properties at 77 K (flexural strength, impact strength, and fracture toughness). When RE700-4 is exposed to ionizing radiation, chain scission and cross-linking occur at a similar rate. In the other casting systems, irradiation-induced changes are cross-linking dominated, as manifested by an increase of the rubbery shear modulus (<i>G'_rubbery</i>), the ambient temperature Young's modulus (<i>E_RT</i>), and the Shore A hardness. Cross-linking rates are strongly reduced when irradiation occurs in liquid helium. The irradiation effect on mechanical properties can be strongly dependent on the testing temperature. The RT mechanical strength and strain at fracture of the cross-linking silicone is drastically decreased after 1.6 MGy, whereas its 77 K strain at fracture has almost doubled. In addition, 77 K elastic moduli are similar for all pure resins and only slightly affected by irradiation.