Graphite-enhanced foam cement-based materials: Mechanical properties, pore structure and electromagnetic wave absorption performance

Abstract

To reduce the environmental pollution caused by electromagnetic waves (EMW), graphite-enhanced foam cement-based electromagnetic wave-absorbing materials were prepared. The effects of hydration products and pore structure on the mechanical strength and microstructure have been investigated. The results show that at a graphite content of 10 wt%, resulting in a reduction in pore size and concentration within 400μm. This led to improved material compactness, resulting in an increase in compressive strength of 32.01 % and 29.13 % for 3-day and 28-day foamed concrete, along with a 35.40 % and 29.27 % increase in flexural strength. For the 10 mm thick foamed concrete, the reflection loss is −24.08 dB with an effective absorption bandwidth of 0.466 GHz (3.762–4.228 GHz). The impedance matching increased by 129 %, moving from 8.3 to 10 mm up range to 6.1–10 mm, while the frequency range increased by 61.35 %, moving from 3.37 to 5 GHz up range to 2.37–5 GHz, compared to the control group.