Electromagnetic shielding performance of copper wire/carbon fiber fabric reinforced composite materials

In order to enhance the electromagnetic (EM) shielding performance of carbon fiber composites, copper meshes were combined with carbon fiber fabric to design and fabricate eight types of copper wire/carbon fiber (Cu/C) fabric composite materials. Characterization and analysis of the conductivity and electromagnetic shielding performance of the Cu/C fabric composite materials were conducted. The results demonstrated that the number of layers of carbon fiber fabric had a significant impact on the EM shielding performance of the composite materials. Furthermore, the plain weave copper mesh composite exhibited higher EM shielding performance compared to the square plain weave and twill weave copper mesh composites. The optimal SE of the samples occurs in different frequency ranges at different densities. For the low-frequency range, the 60-mesh copper wire exhibits the best SE, while the 40-mesh copper wire demonstrates better SE for the high-frequency range. Additionally, the bonding of the copper mesh with the resin is also a potential factor influencing the electromagnetic shielding performance of the material. These findings provide valuable insights for the future design of electromagnetic shielding composite materials.