Tensile and dynamic mechanical behaviour of polymer blends based on PVDF

This work reports on tensile property measurements and a dynamic mechanical study of polymer blends, varying in composition and obtained from three conventional polymers: polyvinylidene fluoride (PVDF), polyvinyl acetate (PVA) and polymethyl methacrylate (PMMA). It is the aim of this research to demonstrate that polymer systems with potentially good pyro-piezoelectric properties are capable of obviating the difficulties which arise from the use of ceramic materials, which have been traditionally employed to achieve pyro-piezoelectric materials, i.e. materials capable of adopting complex shapes, which possess good mechanical properties and which, in addition, are inexpensive. All these are prerequisites for the determination of their pyro-piezoelectric properties. The results obtained from measurements of these properties are interpreted in terms of component compatibility in the different blends, as component behaviour is well known to play an important role in the properties of the end-product. (C) 1997 Elsevier Science Ltd.