Degradation of Nylon 6,6 Fire-Suppression Casing from Plutonium Glove Boxes Under Alpha and Neutron Irradiation

Nylon 6,6 tensile specimens, conforming to the casing for self-contained fire extinguisher systems, have been irradiated using both an accelerator He⁺⁺ ion beam and a 5-Ci PuBe neutron source to model the radiation damage these systems would likely incur over a lifetime of operation within glove boxes. Following irradiation, these samples were mechanically tested using standard practices as described in ASTM D638. The results of the He⁺⁺ study indicate that the tensile strength of the nylon specimens undergoes some slight (<10%) degradation while other properties of the samples, such as elongation and tangent modulus, appear to fluctuate with increasing dose levels. The He⁺⁺-irradiated specimens also have a noticeable level of discoloration corresponding to increasing levels of dose. The neutron-irradiated samples show a higher degree of mechanical degradation than the He⁺⁺-irradiated samples.