Improving Electromagnetic Shielding Ability of Plaster-Based Composites by Addition of Carbon Fibers

Abstract

The size of electromagnetic shielding in plaster composites by the means of different volume fractions of carbon fibers was studied in this paper. Conventional types of plaster, which are commonly used in industry, that is, cement, lime, gypsum, and lime cement (Thermo UM), were the base materials of the created composites. The fundamental idea of improving the electromagnetic shielding properties was verified based on a numerical simulation conducted by means of electromagnetic module in Comsol Multiphysics. The carbon microfibers with the above-critical length of 8 mm were added as the reinforcing and simultaneously shielding element into the plaster samples. From the viewpoint of the mechanical properties, fibers shorter than the critical length do not provide sufficient reinforcement. The samples were created at three different volume fractions of the dispersion and one without any reinforcement for the possibilities of their mutual comparison. The results of the carried measurement show that the electromagnetic shielding in the plaster composite grows with the increase of fiber content within the tested ratio proportionately. Also, the dependency of shielding ability on the inner material moisture has been studied. Any measureable influence of the moisture content on to the total shielding effect has not been found. Only in the lime plaster reinforced with fibers, the increased moisture could significantly decrease the shielding effect.