PRODUCED BY TRIBOELECTRIC FORCES

HIGH VOLTAGES CAN BE DEVELOPED ON MATERIALS SUBJECT TO TRIBOELECTRIC FORCES. CONSEQUENTLY, THE CAPABILITY OF MEASURING THE POTENTIAL OF HAZARDOUS SPARKS WHEN CHARGED SURFACES COME IN CONTACT WITH EACH OTHER IS NEEDED. A MEASUREMENT APPROACH BASED ON AN OPTICAL FIBER SENSOR TECHNIQUE WHICH WILL CHARACTERIZE THE SURFACE CHARGE DENSITYAND POTENTIAL OF A NONCONDUCTING FILM IS PROPOSED TO MEET THIS NEED. THIS TECHNIQUE WILL UTILIZE A PIEZOELECTRIC FILMCOATED ON THE SURFACE OF AN OPTICAL FIBER AND THE EFFECT WHICH AN ELECTROSTATIC FIELD HAS ON SUCH PIEZOELECTRIC MATERIAL. A PHASE CHANGE DETECTION TECHNIQUE WHICH UTILIZESINTERFEROMETRY WILL PROVIDE FOR HIGHLY SENSITIVE MEASUREMENTS. IN ADDITION TO THE MEASUREMENT OF THE MAGNITUDE OF THE POTENTIAL FOR A SPARK, THIS TECHNIQUE WILL ALLOW STUDIES OF THE SURFACE CHARGE BUILDUP AND DECAY CHARACTERISTICS ON PLASTIC FILMS. THIS WOULD BE HIGHLY USEFUL INFORMATION IN DEVELOPING SURFACE TREATMENTS AND THE PREVENTION OF SPARK HAZARDS. THE OBJECTIVE OF PHASE I OF THIS STUDY IS THE VERIFICATION OF THE FEASIBILITY OF DEVELOPING THIS MEASUREMENT TOOL. LABORATORY TESTING AND A DETERMINATION OF THE LIMITATIONS OF THIS TECHNIQUE WILL BE ESTABLISHED.