Electroelastic effect in oriented polyvinylidene fluoride

The influence of a DC electric field on mechanical properties of a film of oriented polyvinylidene fluoride (PVDF) was studied experimentally. The dynamic mechanical analysis and measurements of the spectrum of creep rates revealed changes in the elastic modulus, mechanical loss tangent, and creep rate at the application to the film of an electric field with the strength $\sim$1 MV/m. Herewith the elastic modulus increases irrespective of the field orientation relative to the direction of the film macroscopic polarization, which demonstrates the existence of a nonlinear electroelastic effect in PVDF.