A piezoresistive flounder element based on conductive polymer composite

•A piezoresistive element with flounder structure is designed to simplify the structure and improve the softness of the element.•The piezoresistive mechanism of flounder element is explained based on the theories on tunneling effect and effective conductive path.•The feasibility of using flounder element to measure pressure is verified by studying the piezoresistivity of the flounder element. To optimize the structure of the piezoresistive sensor based on conductive polymer composite, a prototype of the flounder element is designed and investigated. The two electrodes of the flounder element are located on the same surface of the piezoresistive composite sheet. This feature simplifies the structure of the element. Furthermore, the electrodes are placed in the marginal position of the piezoresistive composite sheet, and the area of them is far less than that of the piezoresistive composite sheet. This feature improves the softness of the element. The experimental data show that the electrical resistance of the flounder element changes regularly with the external pressure during compression. The results verify the feasibility to use the flounder element to realize the pressure measurement.