Corona-induced partial discharges, internal charge separation and electromechanical transducer properties in cellular polymer films

Recently, porous or cellular polymer films have received a lot of interest as materials for sensor and actuator applications. Films of cellular polypropylene have shown superior electromechanical thickness response when compared to conventional non-porous piezoelectric polymer materials. The electromechanical effect in cellular films originates from electrical discharges across internal gas-filled cells during preparation. The resulting charge separation is different from the charge-separation and dipole-orientation processes in non-cellular piezoelectric films. The aim of this work is to study the relationship between the partial discharges inside the cellular PP and its piezoelectric response. The focus is on the physical effects in the film at the threshold voltage that leads to a piezoelectric response. We studied the effects of charging voltage and charging time on partial discharges, surface potential and piezoelectric coefficient for a few cellular-film grades with different thicknesses. Also, the visible electroluminescence from numerous spots across the film surface during corona charging has been studied.