Characterization of the Monotonic Uniaxial and Biaxial Mechanical Response of Polyvinylidene Fluoride (PVDF) Films

In this study, we investigate the monotonic deformational response of Polyvinylidene fluoride (PVDF). Monotonic uniaxial and biaxial experiments are conducted and deformations are monitored using non-contact speckle monitoring method. The mechanical response of PVDF is observed to exhibit finite strains which are also anisotropic in nature. A hyper-elastic finite deformation transversely isotropic model is used to model the biaxial response of PVDF. Experimental data was shown to fit well with the proposed model. The model parameters obtained from biaxial tests were used to capture uniaxial response in two orthogonal directions and the ability of the model to predict any arbitrary mechanical response is assessed.