The effect of reinforcement of alumina matrix composites by ZrB₂ and FeSiAl inclusions on the dielectric property at microwave frequencies

Abstract

In this paper, two composites ZrB₂/Al₂O₃ and FeSiAl/Al₂O₃ were characterized using the Transmission/Reflection characterization technique. The volume contents of ZrB₂ and FeSiAl inclusions in these composites vary between 0 and 15%. The results obtained indicate that the percentage of the inclusions in the composites effectively improves the dielectric property. The comparison of the effect of ZrB₂ and FeSiAl inclusions on the dielectric properties of these composites confirms that reinforcing these composites with FeSiAl particles results in better dielectric properties. Furthermore, these results indicate that the dielectric property of the two composites studied decreases progressively with increasing frequency in the X band. This frequency dependence of the dielectric property of the composites studied is very important and shows that the composites studied are good candidates for microwave absorption applications in the X-band and for antenna design. Additionally, a comparison between the numerical results obtained in this work and the experimental results published in the literature reveals a close agreement, validating the reliability of the study's findings.

Keywords

• composite materials
• alumina matrix composites
• complex permittivity
• rectangular waveguide
• transmission/reflection (t/r)
• finite element method
• zrb₂
• fesial
• x-band