Self-polarized electrospun polyvinylidene fluoride (PVDF) nanofiber for sensing applications

This study aimed at synthesizing a self-polarized electrospun PVDF which eliminates a need for the post treatment process. In addition, the feasibility of using an electrospun PVDF sensor for both active and passive sensing applications has been studied. The pitch-catch approach was considered for an active sensing approach while an acoustic emission monitoring was used as a passive method. Moreover, the experimental program involved studying the several parameters such as the transmitted signal amplitude, frequency and the distance on the received signal by PVDF sensor. The PVDF sensor was found to be effective in detecting the pulsed and continuous generated Lamb wave. The results indicate that the PVDF device is efficient in detecting the transmitted signal from 1 to 100 kHz, but less efficient either at a low-frequency range (< 1 kHz) or the higher range of frequency (> 100 kHz). The results clearly indicate that the sensor can detect different magnitudes of surface acoustic waves propagating on the surface.