Microwave absorption and bending properties of three‐dimensional gradient honeycomb woven composites

Abstract

To avoid the narrow absorption bandwidth and delamination in uniform honeycomb composites, three-dimensional (3D) gradient honeycomb composites were prepared through a vacuum-assisted resin transfer molding (VARTM) process. The 3D gradient honeycomb woven composite (3D GHWC) was made by using 3D gradient woven fabric with basalt and carbon fibers as reinforcement and epoxy resin mixed with carbon black and carbonyl iron powder as the matrix. For further optimization of the effective absorbing bandwidth and/or reflection loss (RL), especially at a specific incident angle, the type of absorbing agent and gradient honeycomb structure could be altered in the weaving process. The minimum RL value achieved by the 3D GHWC with 18.5-mm thickness is À47 dB in the C band at a 30 incident angle using an Agilent vector network analyzer. In addition, the bending strength of the 3D GHWC with 18.5-mm thickness reaches 101.7 MPa by a universal testing machine, which suggests excellent mechanical properties and ultra-strong environmental adaptability of the 3D GHWC material. This work offers an adjustable method for the fabrication of microwave absorption (MA) composites, showing potential prospects in civilian and military MA applications. K E Y W O R D S3-dimensional reinforcement, carbon fibers, magnetic properties, mechanical properties, vacuum infusion | INTRODUCTIONWireless technology has rapidly developed in the era of the interconnection of all things. The extensive application of smart wearable devices, intelligent electronic products, and fifth-generation (5G) wireless telecommunication have brought abundant convenience via intelligent living but have also caused significant negative impact on human health and device stability due to electromagnetic radiation and electromagnetic interference. [1][2][3] Due to the large thickness, high density, and obvious defects in absorption strength and absorption bandwidth of traditional microwaveabsorbing materials, [4,5] a gradient microwave-absorbing

Nanometer-Sized Carbon Black and Fe3O4 Nanoparticles Incorporated into Polyamide-66 Composite Fibers and Woven into Three-Dimensional Fabrics for Electromagnetic Absorption

“…3D (three-dimensional) woven fabrics have been considered structurally robust 20,21 and are expected to serve as wearable EM-wave absorption fabric due to the tailorable 3D structures. 22 For instance, Zhang et al fabricated a 3D gradient honeycomb-woven composite (3D GHWC) using basalt and carbon fibers as reinforcement and the carbon blackcarbonyl iron powder-modified epoxy as the resin matrix. The average bending strength of these 3D GHWC reached 101.7 MPa, and the microwave absorption performance was −47 dB at a thickness of 18.5 mm.…”

“…For instance, Zhang et al fabricated a 3D gradient honeycomb-woven composite (3D GHWC) using basalt and carbon fibers as reinforcement and the carbon black-carbonyl iron powder-modified epoxy as the resin matrix. The average bending strength of these 3D GHWC reached 101.7 MPa, and the microwave absorption performance was −47 dB at a thickness of 18.5 mm . However, the trade-off between rigid bulk EM-wave absorber and wearable fabric substrate still hindered its application in smart wearable electronics; it remains challenging to optimize versatile functions, i.e., impedance matching with fabric substrate, EM-wave absorption, and wearability (good mechanical strength, flexibility, and air permeability), in a functional fabric.…”

Mechanical and Electromagnetic Wave Absorption Performance of Carbonyl Iron Powder-Modified Nonwoven Materials

“…Another EOG/CIP composite with 0.5 wt.% EOG and 72 wt.% CIP and a thickness of 1.33 mm reached an RL min of −69.27 dB at 15 GHz with an EAB of 6.47 GHz. Furthermore, CIP and other nanomaterials have been incorporated into special three-dimensional structures, such as gradient structures, honeycomb structures, topological structures, foam structures, multilayer structures, biomimetic structures, and vertically oriented structures, to enhance electromagnetic absorption performance [16][17][18][19][20][21][22][23][24][25][26][27][28]. Honeycomb structure absorbing composites are a significant research focus in this regard.…”

Flexible and customizable three-dimensional woven fabrics using dielectric- magnetic coupled polyamide-66 composite fibers for efficient and controllable electromagnetic wave absorption

“…To overcome the above structural weakness of the common 2D MA fabrics, numbers of 3D woven fabrics have been reported that are structurally strong and lightweight [24][25][26] and can serve as the enhanced MA absorbers due to the established 3D microwave absorbing networks within those fabrics [27,28]. For instance, Zhang et al fabricated a series of 3D gradient honeycomb woven composites (3D GHWC) with the basalt and carbon fibers as reinforcement and the carbon black-carbonyl iron powder-modified epoxy as the resin matrix.…”

“…For instance, Zhang et al fabricated a series of 3D gradient honeycomb woven composites (3D GHWC) with the basalt and carbon fibers as reinforcement and the carbon black-carbonyl iron powder-modified epoxy as the resin matrix. The average bending strength of these 3D GHWC reaches 101.7 MPa and the optimal RL min value is -47 dB in the C band for a 18.5 mm thick 3D GHWC specimen tested using an Agilent vector network analyzer at the incident angle of 30° [27]. In addition, Xie et al reported the MA properties of the gypsum filled 3D woven fabric composites with the CB particles (0-3 wt.%) as the microwave absorbent.…”