Radiation processed polymer products

Overall project cost – £294 541
CNCP contribution – £200 000
Jobs created – 34
Of whom, former weapons employees – 19

The processing of polymers with radiation opens up unique and almost unlimited possibilities. The changes brought about can range from total destruction to deep three dimensional polymerisation, which can offer the customer characteristics which cannot be produced by any other means.

One such technology was employed in a CNCP project concerned with the production of heat modifiable polymer tubes. Such a tube can, for example, be fitted around a wire core, in place of a soldered joint, or around any other object. When heated, the tube then shrinks, attaching itself tightly to the surface of the object which it surrounds, adopting its shape exactly and creating a strong hermetic seal.

Products treated in this way can be used as covering material, to provide protective insulation and protection against corrosion, or for the decorative properties. Their excellent performance characteristics and variety of possible applications mean that they can be used in a wide range of areas.

The project was initiated in 2005 in the course of a meeting between the General Director of the Rosatom facility MAYAK, Vitaly Sadovnikov and a CNCP delegation. A contract for grant funding was signed early in 2006. A new company, the “Urals factory for polymer technologies – Mayak”, was set up to implement the project. Already in the first year, the volume of output increased several times. A final audit and evaluation conducted in 2009 showed that the beneficiaries had, despite the economic crisis, exceeded their contractual obligations both in terms of the number of jobs created and in terms of sustainable business activity.

In June 2009, the CNCP Steering Group endorsed an Outline Proposal for a project to extend activities in Mayak to include the production of heat-shrinkable sleeves.