Chapter 15 - Carbon fiber-reinforced polymer-metal wire mesh hybrid composite for EMI shielding

Abstract

Electromagnetic interference (EMI) plays a vital role in most of the electronic components. It serves as the major factor in influencing the life of those components. It is detrimental and can damage the efficiency of the system as a whole. Effective methods are employed by researchers to shield this EMI thereby eliminating the problems associated with it. One such method is to develop materials that have better shielding effectiveness. Most appropriately, some of the metal and alloys that possess good electrical conductivity and better shielding effectiveness are used for such applications. In the recent past, researchers have tried using carbon-based materials and some conductive polymers for EMI shielding. Carbon fiber-reinforced polymers are among carbon-based materials integrated with polymers that are used in such applications. The disadvantages of using such material are low electrical conductivity and below-par shielding efficiency. Hence a novel method of integrating metals inside carbon fiber-reinforced polymers (CFRPs) in the form of wire mesh has been studied and presented. Using metals such as stainless steel, copper, and nickel as hybrid reinforcements is one of the options, and employing various combinations of such materials is another option that has been tried. Different types of weaves are also taken into account while characterizing those materials. Results showed that adding a metal wire mesh to CFRPs improved shielding effectiveness. It is also encouraging to note that metallurgical properties and mechanical properties of such hybrid combinations are better compared to plain fiber-reinforced polymers.