Ultrasensitive strain sensors of multiwalled carbon nanotube/epoxy nanocomposite using dielectric loss tangent

Abstract

In this work, the dielectric loss tangent (tan δ) of a series of strain sensors, fabricated from an epoxy nanocomposite with multi-wall carbon nanotube (MWCNT) content varying at 1 wt. % – 5 wt. %, was characterized experimentally. The effects of four parameters including frequency, strain of nanocomposite, MWCNT content, and loading voltage were investigated extensively. Moreover, an alternative current gauge factor KAC was developed. The largest value of KAC was found to be 256 for the nanocomposite strain sensor with 1 wt. % MWCNT content at 0.6% tensile strain, which indicates the ultra-sensitivity of the present strain sensor.