SENSITIVE LOW Z STRAIN GAGE

THIS ACTIVITY WILL INVESTIGATE THE USE OF PVDF FILM FOR USE AS A LOW Z STRAIN GAGE. THE PVDF MATERIAL IS AN ORDER OF MAGNITUDE MORE SENSITIVE THAN PZT AS A PIEZOELECTRIC MATERIAL AND HAS AN ATOMIC NUMBER MUCH LOWER (LOW Z) THAN PRESENT RESISTIVE STRAIN GAGE MATERIALS. THEREFORE, PVDF AS A STRAIN GAGE WILL BE CAPABLE OF MEASURING MUCH LOWER LEVELS OF STRAIN THAN PRESENT GAGING TECHNIQUES, AND WILL BE CAPABLE OF MAKING THESE MEASUREMENTS IN HIGH DOSE SHINE THROUGH AREAS OF SPECIMENS TESTED UNDERGROUND. INCLUDED IN THIS EFFORT WILL BE FEASIBILITY STUDIES, GAGE ANALYSIS, FABRICATE SAMPLE GAGES, GAGE VERIFICATION AND CALIBRATION IN LABORATORY, AND SELECTION OF CANDIDATE GAGES FOR FURTHER VALIDATION IN PHASE II AGT AND UGT EFFORTS.