Tensile strength of fiber reinforced plastics at 77K irradiated by various radiation sources

摘要

The influence of radiation damage on the mechanical properties of fiber reinforced plastics (FRPs), which are considered as candidate materials for the insulation of superconducting magnets for nuclear fusion reactors, has been investigated. Different types of FRPs (epoxies, bismaleimides; two- and three-dimensional reinforcement structures with E-, S-, or T-glass fibers) has been included in the test program. Three aspects of our present results will be discussed in detail. The first is related to an assessment of the tensile strength and its radiation dependence under the influence of strongly varying radiation conditions. The second aspect refers to low temperature ((approx)5 K) reactor irradiation of selected materials. In this case, identical sets of tensile test samples were transferred into the tensile testing machine, one without warming-up to room temperature and the other after an annealing cycle to room temperature. Finally, a comparison between the radiation response of different materials is made. It turns out that the three-dimensionally reinforced bismaleimide shows the smallest degradation of its tensile properties under all irradiation conditions.