Effects of Gamma Radiation Doses on the AC Electrical Properties of Epoxy Reinforced with Nano-Silica Composites

Paper published by Batool Abusaleh (University of Jordan), Ziad M. Elimat (Al-Balqa’ Applied University), Ruba Alzubi (Jordan Atomic Energy Commision), and Hassan K. Juwhari (University of Jordan).

This paper reports the effects of the gamma radiation on the ac electrical properties of epoxy nano-silica composite sheets of average thickness 3 mm. The epoxy was initially reinforced with different nano-silica concentrations (0, 5, 10 and 15) by weight %. Later, the epoxy nano-silica composite sheets were exposed to different gamma radiation dosages (1, 3, and 5) kGy, and the data were analyzed before and after the gamma-irradiation. The results showed that the ac electrical properties of the gamma irradiated epoxy nano-silica sheets are different from the non-irradiated ones, and vary with gamma radiation dosages. Also, it was found that there were significant changes in the impedance, dielectric constant, dielectric loss, and the ac electrical conductivity values of the epoxy nano-silica composites after irradiation. Moreover, it is found that the ac electrical conductivity and dielectric constant of the tested sheets were enhanced as exposing the samples to gamma radiation eventually caused more free electrons to be released inside the epoxy composites. As such, the ac electrical properties including the impedance, dielectric constant, dielectric loss, and electrical conductivity values of these nano-composites were registered, discussed, and compared before and after the gamma-irradiation. Finally, it was concluded that the ac electrical properties marginally increased with increasing the dosage of the gamma irradiation.

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