Award year: 2019
Category: Other Award
Awarding organization: 8th International Conference on Carbon NanoParticle based Composites
Title of the poster: Fabrication, characterization and modelling of triple hierarchic structural PET/CB/TPU composite fibers for strain sensing
In this study a triple layered coaxial fibre structure is fabricated for strain sensor applications. The core consists of melt spun poly (ethylene terephthalate) (PET) where in a subsequent step carbon black (CB) particles were coated onto the surface of the PET fibre to build the conductive pathways by a dissolving-coating method. For the outer protective sheath a thermoplastic polyurethane (TPU) with a thickness of about 7 μm was generated using a layer-by-layer assembly technique.
In comparison to PET/CB electrospun fibres as reported in the literature (Chinese Journal of Polymer Science, 2015, 33, 1234-1244), the novel triple hierarchic PET/CB/TPU composite fibres exhibit a doubled modulus and more than ten times of tensile strength, as well as a specific wide sensing range. The fabrication process can be directly used in the textile industry for the production of wearable and flexible sensors due to its efficacy and low cost. Moreover, a model based on tunnelling theory was modified based on the actual experimental data, utilizing only two adjustable parameters. The simplified model precisely describes the relative change of resistance upon the applied strain, and thus offers an effective approach towards a quantitative analysis of strain sensors.