Negative piezoresistivity in continuous carbon fiber epoxy-matrix composite

The negative and positive piezoresistivity in continuous carbon fiber epoxy-matrix composite has been clarified. The negative piezoresistivity associated with the increase of the through-thickness resistivity upon longitudinal tension and decrease in the through-thickness resistivity upon longitudinal compression is practically attractive for strain sensing and is attributed to the decrease in the degree of contact between fibers of adjacent laminae upon longitudinal tension. This effect is stronger, more reversible and less prone to causing minor damage for the tension case than the compression case. The positive piezoresistivity associated with the longitudinal resistivity increasing upon longitudinal tension is negligibly weak, if any, independent of the number of laminae. The previously reported negative piezoresistivity associated with the longitudinal resistivity decreasing upon longitudinal tension does not occur for a commercially manufactured composite in which the fibers are well aligned.