Polyvinylidene fluoride - a polymer as transducer material

Polyvinylidene fluoride or PVDF is a flexible, thin piezo film and long chain semicrystalline polymer containing repeated of CH/sub 2/ - CH/sub 2/. In order to obtain desired piezoelectric properties PVDF is poled by subjecting it to high electric field. In poled PVDF piezoelectric constants have different values for each axis and one constant per axis. PVDF polymer exhibits generator and motor action. Usually 1000 A /sup o/ thick vacuum-deposited aluminum electrodes are formed on both sides of the sheet. Polymer material of PVDF can be used as a sensing element with temperature range of -40 /sup 0/ C to 100 /sup 0/C and a frequency range of 10/sup -3/ to 10/sup -9/ Hz. This paper includes as experimental observation of exciting aluminium open-ended tube at its resonance using PVDF transducer and maintained in this condition using phase lock loop or PLL. The tube is free to resonate when 9-micrometer thin polyvinylidene fluoride transducer is energized. It is observed that a film of such material can easily be used to produced the requisite vibrations in the tube. (author)