Wideband Electromagnetic Shielding Using Wire-mesh-mounted Chiral Particle Array in Concrete Composite Materials

Abstract

This paper proposes a structure for concrete composite materials that effectively attenuates transmitted power through the composite slab across a wide frequency range. The proposed structure is practical for electromagnetic interference shielding applications. To assess its effectiveness, the proposed structure has been compared with two other structures: a traditional wire mesh used in reinforced composites and an array of helices, a cutting-edge technique for manufacturing lightweight concretes with significant improvements in shielding properties. The comparison among full-wave simulation results indicates that the proposed method leverages the benefits of both techniques. It achieves a shielding effectiveness exceeding 30 dB from low frequencies up to 8.5 GHz and beyond 55 dB from low frequencies up to 4 GHz. Furthermore, an experimental measurement was conducted to validate the full-wave simulation results. An experimental sample was fabricated according to the simulated proposed structure, and the measured shielding effectiveness confirmed the composite's capability in wideband electromagnetic shielding. Theoretically, the proposed structure can enhance the concrete's mechanical characteristics while improving its shielding effectiveness, making it suitable for designing ultra-high-performance concretes.

Keywords

• composite materials
• electromagnetic interference shielding
• helical additives
• planar arrays
• wideband shielding
• wire mesh