Effect of cumulated dose on hydrogen emission from polyethylene irradiated under oxidative atmosphere using gamma rays and ion beams

This work reports the effect of very high doses, up to 10MGy, on the H2 emission from high density polyethylene (HDPE) irradiated with gamma rays and ion beams, in the presence of oxygen. This was obtained through a two-step procedure. First, HDPE films were pre-aged, at different doses, using either gamma rays or ion beams. In the second step, the pre-aged samples were irradiated in closed glass ampoules for gas quantification, using the same beam type as for pre-ageing.