An Insight into the Rate Dependent Viscoelastic Behaviour of PVDF

An Insight into the Rate Dependent Viscoelastic Behaviour of PVDF | Research Square window.SnipcartSettings = { analytics: { enabled: false } }; (function() { var accessVector = localStorage.getItem('access_vector') || ''; window.dataLayer = window.dataLayer || []; if (accessVector) { window.dataLayer.push({ user: { profile: { profileInfo: { snid: accessVector } } } }); } })(); (function(w,d,s,l,i){w[l]=w[l]||[];w[l].push({'gtm.start':new Date().getTime(),event:'gtm.js'});var f=d.getElementsByTagName(s)[0],j=d.createElement(s),dl=l!='dataLayer'?'&l='+l:'';j.async=true;j.src='https://www.googletagmanager.com/gtm.js?id='+i+dl;f.parentNode.insertBefore(j,f);})(window,document,'script','dataLayer','GTM-K279D39R'); Browse Preprints In Review Journals COVID-19 Preprints AJE Video Bytes Research Tools Research Promotion AJE Professional Editing AJE Rubriq About Preprint Platform In Review Editorial Policies Our Team Advisory Board Help Center Sign In Submit a Preprint Cite Share Download PDF Research Article An Insight into the Rate Dependent Viscoelastic Behaviour of PVDF Arthanareeswaran Shubha, Sachin Varma, Payel Bandyopadhyay This is a preprint; it has not been peer reviewed by a journal. https://doi.org/ 10.21203/rs.3.rs-8522389/v1 This work is licensed under a CC BY 4.0 License Status: Posted Version 1 posted You are reading this latest preprint version Abstract Polyvinylidene fluoride (PVDF) is widely used in soft piezoelectric devices, where mechanical stability plays a critical role in long-term performance. In this work, the rate-dependent elastic and viscoelastic behaviour of pristine PVDF films is investigated using nanoindentation. Experiments are carried out at room temperature with a maximum load of 30 mN using four different loading times (5, 10, 15, and 20 s), corresponding to loading rates of 6, 3, 2, and 1.5 mN/s, while maintaining a constant holding time of 10 s. The results show a clear loading-rate dependence, with the elastic modulus and hardness increasing by approximately 14.7% and 11.7%, respectively, as the loading rate increases. Creep compliance data obtained from the indentation hold segment are analysed using the three-element Standard Linear Solid (Kelvin–Voigt form) and the four-element Burger model to extract the viscoelastic parameters. Comparative analysis reveals that the instantaneous elastic modulus (E₁) remains independent of loading rate in both models, whereas the delayed elastic modulus (E₂) decreases with increasing loading rate by ~ 31% in the SLS–K.V model and ~ 40% in the Burger model. Furthermore, the viscous parameters show significant rate sensitivity, with η₁ decreasing by ~ 57% and η₂ reducing to nearly half of its initial value at higher loading rates in both models. These results highlight the pronounced rate-dependent viscoelastic response of PVDF and provide insights relevant to the mechanical reliability of PVDF-based piezoelectric devices. Polyvinylidene fluoride (PVDF) Nanoindentation Viscoelasticity Creep behaviour Burger model Loading rate sensitivity Full Text Additional Declarations No competing interests reported. Cite Share Download PDF Status: Posted Version 1 posted You are reading this latest preprint version Research Square lets you share your work early, gain feedback from the community, and start making changes to your manuscript prior to peer review in a journal. As a division of Research Square Company, we’re committed to making research communication faster, fairer, and more useful. We do this by developing innovative software and high quality services for the global research community. Our growing team is made up of researchers and industry professionals working together to solve the most critical problems facing scientific publishing. Also discoverable on Platform About Our Team In Review Editorial Policies Advisory Board Help Center Resources Author Services Accessibility API Access RSS feed Manage Cookie Preferences © Research Square 2026 | ISSN 2693-5015 (online) Privacy Policy Terms of Service Do Not Sell My Personal Information {"props":{"pageProps":{"initialData":{"identity":"rs-8522389","acceptedTermsAndConditions":true,"allowDirectSubmit":true,"archivedVersions":[],"articleType":"Research Article","associatedPublications":[],"authors":[{"id":582018474,"identity":"9cdd8043-2e00-47e0-b70b-87a5449705fe","order_by":0,"name":"Arthanareeswaran Shubha","email":"","orcid":"","institution":"SRM Institute of Science and Technology","correspondingAuthor":false,"prefix":"","firstName":"Arthanareeswaran","middleName":"","lastName":"Shubha","suffix":""},{"id":582018475,"identity":"333f8b0e-a7b3-4873-acd7-8a6e15cd2450","order_by":1,"name":"Sachin Varma","email":"","orcid":"","institution":"SRM Institute of Science and Technology","correspondingAuthor":false,"prefix":"","firstName":"Sachin","middleName":"","lastName":"Varma","suffix":""},{"id":582018476,"identity":"9a6d8669-5055-498b-8994-0cafcee2e061","order_by":2,"name":"Payel Bandyopadhyay","email":"data:image/png;base64,iVBORw0KGgoAAAANSUhEUgAAAZAAAAAyAQMAAABI0h/eAAAABlBMVEX///8AAABVwtN+AAAACXBIWXMAAA7EAAAOxAGVKw4bAAAA5ElEQVRIie2OoQrCUBSGzzDMZr0w9g5XBg5BtlfxMNCyZjEOhGsRoyj4ELMtHliwDK3CykQwGSYWm15cstxpE7xf+DkH/g9+AI3mVzlGPZlGBFVWhxqMBlWZvlDS6iD4oO+aWbvAZO+7i3RyK6Fnx9QQhUrpzkKHY5bjOkfBCAZOTMaUqxROYYehyPvMQiGHpSgVwZTK/uLeUex8qUxKgscHyiHsAAoylhZGchjVK93lecQwC1AqgmU8cFZpjeK2gk15TTw5bHgqx2PPnm+nZ/UwaPK3F6Ch6r86ZlFT0Wg0mr/nCZ7tUh8wm3mQAAAAAElFTkSuQmCC","orcid":"","institution":"SRM Institute of Science and Technology","correspondingAuthor":true,"prefix":"","firstName":"Payel","middleName":"","lastName":"Bandyopadhyay","suffix":""}],"badges":[],"createdAt":"2026-01-05 14:23:39","currentVersionCode":1,"declarations":"","doi":"10.21203/rs.3.rs-8522389/v1","doiUrl":"https://doi.org/10.21203/rs.3.rs-8522389/v1","draftVersion":[],"editorialEvents":[],"editorialNote":"","failedWorkflow":false,"files":[{"id":102723788,"identity":"7de078dd-b0ab-4580-8957-3e696cb214a2","added_by":"auto","created_at":"2026-02-15 23:54:11","extension":"pdf","order_by":1,"title":"","display":"","copyAsset":false,"role":"manuscript-pdf","size":830514,"visible":true,"origin":"","legend":"","description":"","filename":"A.SHUBHA.pdf","url":"https://assets-eu.researchsquare.com/files/rs-8522389/v1_covered_9a1844db-051b-4d8f-ab36-a62966e3485c.pdf"}],"financialInterests":"No competing interests reported.","formattedTitle":"An Insight into the Rate Dependent Viscoelastic Behaviour of PVDF","fulltext":[],"fulltextSource":"","fullText":"","funders":[],"hasAdminPriorityOnWorkflow":false,"hasManuscriptDocX":false,"hasOptedInToPreprint":true,"hasPassedJournalQc":"","hasAnyPriority":false,"hideJournal":true,"highlight":"","institution":"","isAcceptedByJournal":false,"isAuthorSuppliedPdf":true,"isDeskRejected":"","isHiddenFromSearch":false,"isInQc":false,"isInWorkflow":false,"isPdf":true,"isPdfUpToDate":true,"isWithdrawnOrRetracted":false,"journal":{"display":true,"email":"[email protected]","identity":"researchsquare","isNatureJournal":false,"hasQc":true,"allowDirectSubmit":true,"externalIdentity":"","sideBox":"","snPcode":"","submissionUrl":"/submission","title":"Research Square","twitterHandle":"researchsquare","acdcEnabled":true,"dfaEnabled":false,"editorialSystem":"","reportingPortfolio":"","inReviewEnabled":false,"inReviewRevisionsEnabled":true},"keywords":"Polyvinylidene fluoride (PVDF), Nanoindentation, Viscoelasticity, Creep behaviour, Burger model, Loading rate sensitivity","lastPublishedDoi":"10.21203/rs.3.rs-8522389/v1","lastPublishedDoiUrl":"https://doi.org/10.21203/rs.3.rs-8522389/v1","license":{"name":"CC BY 4.0","url":"https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/"},"manuscriptAbstract":"\u003cp\u003ePolyvinylidene fluoride (PVDF) is widely used in soft piezoelectric devices, where mechanical stability plays a critical role in long-term performance. In this work, the rate-dependent elastic and viscoelastic behaviour of pristine PVDF films is investigated using nanoindentation. Experiments are carried out at room temperature with a maximum load of 30 mN using four different loading times (5, 10, 15, and 20 s), corresponding to loading rates of 6, 3, 2, and 1.5 mN/s, while maintaining a constant holding time of 10 s. The results show a clear loading-rate dependence, with the elastic modulus and hardness increasing by approximately 14.7% and 11.7%, respectively, as the loading rate increases. Creep compliance data obtained from the indentation hold segment are analysed using the three-element Standard Linear Solid (Kelvin\u0026ndash;Voigt form) and the four-element Burger model to extract the viscoelastic parameters. Comparative analysis reveals that the instantaneous elastic modulus (E₁) remains independent of loading rate in both models, whereas the delayed elastic modulus (E₂) decreases with increasing loading rate by ~\u0026thinsp;31% in the SLS\u0026ndash;K.V model and ~\u0026thinsp;40% in the Burger model. Furthermore, the viscous parameters show significant rate sensitivity, with η₁ decreasing by ~\u0026thinsp;57% and η₂ reducing to nearly half of its initial value at higher loading rates in both models. These results highlight the pronounced rate-dependent viscoelastic response of PVDF and provide insights relevant to the mechanical reliability of PVDF-based piezoelectric devices.\u003c/p\u003e","manuscriptTitle":"An Insight into the Rate Dependent Viscoelastic Behaviour of PVDF","msid":"","msnumber":"","nonDraftVersions":[{"code":1,"date":"2026-01-30 19:31:59","doi":"10.21203/rs.3.rs-8522389/v1","editorialEvents":[{"type":"communityComments","content":0}],"status":"published","journal":{"display":true,"email":"[email protected]","identity":"researchsquare","isNatureJournal":false,"hasQc":true,"allowDirectSubmit":true,"externalIdentity":"","sideBox":"","snPcode":"","submissionUrl":"/submission","title":"Research Square","twitterHandle":"researchsquare","acdcEnabled":true,"dfaEnabled":false,"editorialSystem":"","reportingPortfolio":"","inReviewEnabled":false,"inReviewRevisionsEnabled":true}}],"origin":"","ownerIdentity":"95c14f40-0b82-4d9c-879e-919f7efd6ad2","owner":[],"postedDate":"January 30th, 2026","published":true,"recentEditorialEvents":[],"rejectedJournal":[],"revision":"","amendment":"","status":"posted","subjectAreas":[],"tags":[],"updatedAt":"2026-02-15T23:53:54+00:00","versionOfRecord":[],"versionCreatedAt":"2026-01-30 19:31:59","video":"","vorDoi":"","vorDoiUrl":"","workflowStages":[]},"version":"v1","identity":"rs-8522389","journalConfig":"researchsquare"},"__N_SSP":true},"page":"/article/[identity]/[[...version]]","query":{"redirect":"/article/rs-8522389","identity":"rs-8522389","version":["v1"]},"buildId":"XKTyCvWXoU3ODBz1xrDgd","isFallback":false,"isExperimentalCompile":false,"dynamicIds":[84888],"gssp":true,"scriptLoader":[]}