Piezoelectric PVDF Elements and Systems for Mechanical Engineering Applications

This paper deals with a review of potential technical applications of piezoelectric polymer systems for Industry 4.0 applications. Polyvinylidene difluoride (PVDF) is a highly non-reactive thermoplastic fluoropolymer produced by the polymerization of vinylidene difluoride. Copolymers of PVDF with beta phase could be used in piezoelectric and triboelectric applications which are presented in this paper. PVDF is a candidate for harvesters and sensors that cannot be realized with piezoceramics or single crystals. Both technical applications for sensing and energy harvesting are presented in this paper. These technologies could be useful in mechanical engineering applications like a strain sensor, strain energy harvesting, vibration energy harvester, load sensing and triboelectric sensors/generators. The opportunity for future usage in Industry 4.0 devices is outlined and experimental results of individual systems are presented.