A Bi-Sheath Fiber Sensor for Giant Tensile and Torsional Displacements

Abstract

Current research about resistive sensors is rarely focusing on improving the strain range and linearity of resistance–strain dependence. In this paper, a bi-sheath buckled structure is designed containing buckled carbon nanotube sheets and buckled rubber on rubber fiber. Strain decrease results in increasing buckle contact by the rubber interlayer and a large decrease in resistance. The resulting strain sensor can be reversibly stretched to 600%, undergoing a linear resistance increase as large as 102% for 0–200% strain and 160% for 200–600% strain. This strain sensor shows high linearity, fast response time, high resolution, excellent stability, and almost no hysteresis.