Application of Mechanical Waves Induced by Piezofilms to Marine Fouling Prevention

The complete set of equations for describing the mechanical and electrical behavior of a piezoelectric medium is given. From these equations, the electromechanical equations describing the dynamical behavior of PVDFS and their mounting plate are derived. The electromechanical equations are used to explain antifouling process with the PVDFs as actuators. The transverse displacement is calculated using the electromechanical equations and compared with the experimental results. A comparison of the transverse displacement of the plate as a function of the applied PVDF voltage with the corresponding experimental case shows a good agreement. First, the optimal acceleration necessary for the antifouling marine prevention is found to be approximately 0.2 g by optical spectroscopy. Second, the activation energy and cycle of the PVDF actuators are determined.