Elastomeric composites exhibit significant shifts in the orientation of their reinforcements under large deformations, altering their electrical conductivity. This piezoresistive property is exploited in applications such as wearable technology, human-machine interfaces, energy harvesting, and soft robotics. This research employs two methodologies.
A computational framework employing finite element methods is used to analyse mechanical behaviour under finite deformations, employing single-field and three-field mixed formulations. Simulations of extreme deformation numerical examples validate the developed finite element codes. A novel procedure for incorporating the plane stress condition for general hyperelastic models is introduced. The plane stress model is used for analysing elastomeric composites, where admissible boundary conditions are implemented using pixel meshing techniques, assessing fibre orientation impact.
An analytical model, based on Eshelby’s equivalent inclusion method, is used to predict electrical conductivity considering electron tunnelling and conductive network formation. This model accounts for fibre orientation and distribution, with rigorous validation against experimental data.