Research on anti-irradiation properties of PDMS/MWCNT composite force-sensitive structure

Abstract

This study aimed to design a polydimethylsiloxane multi-walled carbon nanotube composite force-sensitive structure. Five composite materials with different volume fractions of carbon nanotubes were prepared, and the microscopic morphology of the samples recorded. Conductive pathways were formed inside the composite materials. The force-sensitive performance was verified through tensile experiments on the material. The sample with a content of 3 vol. % had a sensitivity of up to 165, which was good for detecting small strains. The samples were irradiated with 60Co-γ rays, and the irradiation doses were 5, 10, 20, 50, and 100 kGy. After irradiation with the highest dose of 100 kGy, the sensitivity of the sample with a content of 3 vol. % was reduced to 125. The samples exposed to different irradiation doses were stretched and released 3000 times to verify the repeatability of the force sensitive characteristics; almost no difference was found in the resistance strain results of the sample. Experiments showed that the designed composite force-sensitive structure had high sensitivity, good repeatability, and good resistance to gamma radiation.