Study on compressive resistance creep and recovery of flexible pressure sensitive material based on carbon black filled silicone rubber composite

The changes in the electrical resistance of flexible pressure sensitive material based on carbon black filled silicone rubber composite during compressive creep and recovery are researched. The relation between the instantaneous increment (decrement) of the pressure and the instantaneous increment of the resistance of the composite is monotonically increasing. The resistance decreases over time after the composite is loaded to a constant pressure or unloaded to zero-pressure. The experimental data for the relative resistances during compressive creep and recovery are fitted. The final steady relative resistance in the process of compressive creep (recovery) decreases with the increase of the instantaneous pressure increment (decrement). The experimental phenomena are explained qualitatively by analyzing the changes in effective conductive paths of the composite. (C) 2010 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.