Electrically conductive coating materials, electrically conductive coating systems, and methods including the same

An electrically conductive coating material for coating an electrically conductive base layer, the electrically conductive coating material comprising:

• a liquid dielectric configured to be applied to the electrically conductive base layer to define a dielectric layer that extends across the electrically conductive base layer and has an average thickness;
• and
• a plurality of electrically conductive elements suspended within the liquid dielectric, wherein each of the plurality of electrically conductive elements:
• (i) is defined by an elongate body that has a nonlinear conformation;
• and
• (ii) is shaped such that, regardless of an orientation of a given electrically conductive element of the plurality of electrically conductive elements within the dielectric layer, the given electrically conductive element extends across at least 80% of the average thickness of the dielectric layer.

A method of forming an electrically conductive coating system, the method comprising:

• applying an electrically conductive coating material to an electrically conductive base layer;
• and
• curing the electrically conductive coating material to define the electrically conductive coating system;
• wherein the electrically conductive coating material includes a liquid dielectric;
• wherein, subsequent to the curing, the liquid dielectric defines a dielectric layer that extends across the electrically conductive base layer and has an average thickness;
• wherein a plurality of electrically conductive elements is suspended within the liquid dielectric during the applying and embedded within the dielectric layer subsequent to the curing;
• and
• wherein each of the plurality of electrically conductive elements is defined by an elongate body that has a nonlinear conformation and is shaped such that, regardless of an orientation of a given electrically conductive element of the plurality of electrically conductive elements within the dielectric layer, the given electrically conductive element extends across at least 80% of the average thickness of the dielectric layer.