A new electromechanical effect in discontinuous-filament elastomer-matrix composites

A new electromechanical effect in which the volume electrical resistivity decreased upon tensile loading and increased upon unloading was observed in elastomer- (silicone-) matrix composites with a discontinuous and randomly oriented nickel filament filler. The effect is probably due to the increase in filament alignment upon tensile loading. It allows tensile strain sensing. However, filament - matrix interface degradation caused the resistivity to increase irreversibly and the electromechanical effect to diminish as cycling progressed beyond the first 10 - 30 cycles.