Study of the effect of low-dose gamma radiation on the surface properties of silicone rubber materials

The effect of cosmic ray irradiation on the surface properties of silicone rubber insulators at high altitude is rarely reported. Aiming at the problem that the influence of cosmic rays on silicone rubber umbrella skirt materials at high altitude is not known, this paper carries out low-dose gamma-ray irradiation test of HTV silicone rubber materials and its surface property test. The dose of gamma-ray irradiation test was set at 0-9 kGy, and the performance tests included scanning electron microscopy, dispersive spectroscopy, Fourier infrared spectroscopy, hydrophobicity and hardness tests. The results showed that the holes and cracks on the surface of the specimen increased significantly after the irradiation dose exceeded 5 kGy; after irradiation, the relative atomic number of the element Al increased, while the other elements remained almost unchanged; analyzed by infrared spectroscopy, the Si-O-Si content on the surface of the silicone rubber increased and then decreased with the increase of the irradiation dose, and the Si-CH4 content also increased and then decreased with the increase of the gamma-ray irradiation dose; and finally, the Finally, the change rule of static contact angle is not obvious after low-dose gamma irradiation, and the hardness becomes larger. The results of this study can provide a reference for the operation and maintenance of silicone rubber insulators at high altitude.