摘要 |
A process for manufacturing a sealant coated heat recoverable polymeric article is disclosed. The process includes the steps of extruding at least two different polymeric materials to form a unitary shaped article and thereafter exposing the shaped article to a source of ionizing radiation to thereby cross-link one of the polymeric materials and convert the other polymeric material into a tacky sealant. The article may be rendered dimensionally heat recoverable by either: (a) deforming the article into a different shape at a temperature below the crystalline melt temperature of the cross-linkable material and then exposing the deformed article to a source of ionizing radiation or alternatively, (b) subsequent to an irradiation step, heating the article to about the crystalline melt temperature of the cross-linked material, distorting the article, and then cooling the article while maintaining it in the distorted shape to a temperature below the crystalline melt temperature; thereby by either method rendering the cross-linked portion of the article recoverable toward its original shape upon subsequent heating.
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