Calibration of a PVDF sensor and its application to laser propulsion experiments

A polyvinylidene fluoride (PVDF) pressure sensor was designed and two equivalent measurement circuits were introduced. The dynamic sensitivity of the PVDF pressure sensor was calibrated by using a split Hopkinson pressure bar system. Results shows that the dynamic sensitivity coefficients have only small discrepancy in the cases of different parallel resistances and all the calibration results are very close to that given by manufacture. But the larger the parallel resistance, the longer the rise time of the pulsed thrust gained by the test system. Obviously, selecting smaller parallel resistances is an effective way to obtain more authentic signals.