3D flexible, conductive and wearable fabric strain sensors

3D fabrics are flexible and wearable substrates for making functional apparels and relevant medical equipments with many distinguished qualities. This paper proposes an easily-fabricated method for 3D fabric pressure sensor based on carbon black coated 3D textile fabrics. The as-made sensor is flexible, conductive and stable even after many times of cyclic compressions. It can measure external pressure ranging from 0 to 33kPa. During the compression process of the sensor, its electrical resistance would decrease due to conductive structure deformation. The sensor has the potential to transfer pressure information into the change of electrical resistance of the sensor, which is more easily acquirable and readable. This property of the sensor can find promising applications in many fields.