The Influence of Local Strain Distribution on the Effective Electrical Resistance of Carbon Black Filled Natural Rubber
Open Access
- 22 July 2021
- Vol. 13 (15), 2411
- https://doi.org/10.3390/polym13152411
Abstract
A monotonous relation between strain and measured electric resistance is highly appreciated in stretchable elastomer sensors. In real-life application the voids or technological holes of strained samples often induce non-homogeneous local strain. The present article focused on studying the effect of non-homogeneous local strain on measured direct current (DC) effective electric resistance (EER) on samples of natural rubber (NR), reinforced with 50, 60 and 70 phr of carbon black (CB). Samples were imparted geometrical inhomogeneities to obtain varied local strains. The resulting strain distribution was analyzed using Digital Image Correlation (DIC). EER exhibited a well-detectable influence of locations of inhomogeneities. Expectedly, the EER globally decreased with an increase in CB loading, but showed a steady increase as a function of strain for 50 and 60 phr over the complete testing protocol. Interestingly, for 70 phr of CB, under the same testing conditions, an alternating trend in EER was encountered. This newly observed behavior was explained through a novel hypothesis—“current propagation mode switching phenomenon”. Finally, experimentally measured EERs were compared with the calculated ones, obtained by summing the global current flow through a diversity of strain dependent resistive domains.Funding Information
- Ministerstvo Školství, Mládeže a Tělovýchovy (DKRVO (RP/CPS/2020/004))
This publication has 24 references indexed in Scilit:
- Transfer function and working principle of a pressure/temperature sensor based on carbon black/silicone rubber compositesJournal of Applied Polymer Science, 2015
- Extension of anisotropic effective medium theory to account for an arbitrary number of inclusion typesJournal of Applied Physics, 2015
- Strain-Induced Crystallization of Natural Rubber and Cross-Link Densities HeterogeneitiesMacromolecules, 2014
- Analysis of Dynamic Crack Propagation in Elastomers by Simultaneous Tensile- and Pure-Shear-Mode TestingPublished by Springer Science and Business Media LLC ,2013
- Piezoresistive polymer composites based on EPDM and MWNTs for strain sensing applicationse-Polymers, 2010
- Piezoresistivity of silicone‐rubber/carbon black composites excited by Ac electrical fieldJournal of Applied Polymer Science, 2009
- Effective Local Deformation in Stretched Filled RubberMacromolecules, 2003
- Flocculation of carbon black in filled rubber compounds. I. Flocculation occurring in unvulcanized compounds during annealing at elevated temperaturesJournal of Applied Polymer Science, 1995
- Conductivity of inhomogeneous materials represented by discrete resistor networksJournal of Applied Physics, 1986
- Effective medium models for the optical properties of inhomogeneous materialsApplied Optics, 1981