Effects of a damaged composite face to the electromagnetic wave transmission characteristics of low-observable radomes

E-glass/epoxy composites and aramid/epoxy composites are suitable materials for EM (electromagnetic) transmission systems because they have low dielectric constants, particularly good for the construction of radomes. The low-observable radome not only selectively transmits the EM wave to antenna systems, but also protects the internal antenna system from external impacts.     

Design of the hybrid composite face with electromagnetic wave transmission characteristics of low-observable radomes

The faces of low-observable radomes constructed with sandwich structures are usually made of glass fiber or aramid fiber composites due to their high specific strength and compatibility of stealth characteristics. In this work, a hybrid composite face composed of both E-glass/epoxy and aramid/epoxy composites for low-observable radomes was designed to exploit the better characteristics of both composites. Three design methods, including the characteristic medium thickness, the wavenumber and the dielectric wavelength methods, were applied to satisfy the functional requirements of composite faces. The three design methods were evaluated via three-dimensional (3-D) electromagnetic wave transmission analysis and the free space measurement method.     

Nanocomposite stealth radomes with frequency selective surfaces

The stealth function of the radome (Radar + Dome) is to transmit or reflect the EM (electromagnetic) wave selectively through the radome. In this work, the stealth radome for aircrafts and warships was developed with the FSS (frequency selective surfaces), PVC foam, and nanoclay-dispersed E-glass fabric/epoxy composite. The water diffusivity of nanocomposites, which changes the stealth characteristics, was measured with respect to the contents of nanoclay. The EM transmission characteristics were measured by the free space measurement system in the X-band frequency range (8.2–12.4 GHz) with respect to the content of nanoclay. Also, the flexural strength of the sandwich construction composed of the nanocomposite, PVC foam, and FCCL (flexible copper clad laminate) was measured by the 3-point bending test.     

Broadbanding of A-sandwich Radome Using Jerusalem Cross Frequency Selective Surface

Enhancement of electromagnetic performance of A-sandwich radome using aperture-type Jerusalem cross frequency selective surface (FSS) is presented. The Jerusalem cross FSS array is embedded in the mid-plane of the core of Asandwich radome to enhance the EM performance parameters over the entire Xband. For modeling the Jerusalem cross FSS embedded radome panel and evaluation of its EM performance parameters, equivalent transmission line method in conjunction with equivalent circuit model is used. A comparative study of Jerusalem cross FSS embedded A-sandwich radome and A-sandwich radome of identical material and thickness (core and skin layers) indicate that the new wall configuration has superior EM performance as compared to the A-sandwich wall alone configuration. The excellent EM performance of Jerusalem cross FSS embedded A-sandwich radome makes it a desirable choice for the design of normal incidence radomes (hemispherical/ cylindrical), near-normal incidence radomes (paraboloidal) and highly streamlined airborne nosecone radomes.     

Graded Dielectric Inhomogeneous Planar Layer Radome for Aerospace Applications

Controllable artificial dielectrics are used in the design of radomes to enhance their electromagnetic (EM) performance. The fabrication of such radome wall structures with controllable dielectric parameters seems to be an arduous task. Further even minor fluctuations of dielectric properties of radome wall due to fabrication uncertainties tend to result in drastic degradation of radome performance parameters. In the present work, a novel inhomogeneous radome with graded variation of dielectric parameters is proposed which limits the constraints on fabrication and facilitates excellent EM performance characteristics. This radome wall consists of five dielectric layers cascaded such that the middle layer has maximum dielectric constant and electric loss tangent. The dielectric parameters of the layers on both sides of the middle layer decrease in a graded (or step-wise) manner. The EM performance characteristics of the IPL radome with graded dielectric parameters are superior to that of conventional monolithic half-wave radome.     

EM characteristics of the RAS composed of E-glass/epoxy composite and single dipole FSS element

From the methods to reduce radar cross section (RCS) such as shaping of the target, radar absorbing material (RAM), and radar absorbing structure (RAS), the RAS composed of frequency selective surface (FSS) screens and low-loss composite materials is used widely because the FSS screen transmits or reflects electromagnetic (EM) waves selectively and the composite material withstands external loads. In this study, the RAS composed of the E-glass/epoxy composite and single dipole FSS element was fabricated by printed circuit board (PCB) manufacturing process, and their EM transmission characteristics, such as a resonant frequency, a minimum transmission loss, and a transmission bandwidth, were measured in the X-band frequency range by the free space method with respect to the size of dipole element and its periodicity of array.     

Modeling and experimental verification of dielectric constants for three-dimensional woven composites

In order to determine the dielectric constants of 3D orthogonal woven single fiber type (SFT) and hybrid composites from their component dielectric properties, a theoretical model is proposed based on the rule of binary mixtures. The model shows that with the same fiber volume fraction, a component with a larger cross-sectional area perpendicular to the electric field has a greater contribution to the composite dielectric constant. For experimental verification, SFT basalt/epoxy and aramid (Kevlar 129)/epoxy as well as interply and intraply basalt/aramid/epoxy 3D orthogonal woven hybrid composites were fabricated and their dielectric properties were measured using the waveguide method at a frequency range of 8–12 GHz. At 10 GHz, the experimental results agreed well with the calculated results from the model for the SFT composites, while a positive hybrid effect on the dielectric constant was observed for the two hybrid composites.     

Flame and silane treatments for improving the adhesive bonding characteristics of aramid/epoxy composites

A fast and cost-effective surface treatment with flame and silane coupling agent treatments has been developed for the surface treatment of aramid/epoxy composite faces to improve the adhesive bonding characteristics of lightweight sandwich stealth radome structures. The flame treatment was performed with propane gas, and the silane treatment was performed with γ-methacryloxypropyltrimethoxy silane (γ-MPS) and γ-aminopropyltriethoxy silane (γ-APS) under different treatment conditions. The contact angles of the flame-treated aramid/epoxy composites and the single-lap shear strengths of the adhesive joint composed of the aramid/epoxy composite adherend and epoxy adhesive were measured and compared with those treated with argon plasma and mechanical abrasion. In addition, the surfaces were analyzed with atomic force microscopy (AFM), scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) to characterize the mechanical and chemical interactions of the aramid/epoxy composite with the epoxy adhesive.     

Electrophoretic deposition of aramid nanofibers on carbon fibers for highly enhanced interfacial adhesion at low content

Here, an anodic electrophoretic deposition was adopted to facilitate the large-scale uniform coating of nano-fillers onto carbon fibers to enhance the interfacial properties between carbon fibers and epoxy matrix. As interface–reinforcing materials, aramid nanofibers were introduced because of their superior mechanical properties and epoxy matrix-friendly functional groups. Furthermore, aramid nanofibers can be readily coated on carbon fibers via electrophoretic deposition because they are negatively-charged in solution with high electrical mobility. Finally, aramid nanofiber-coated carbon fibers showed significantly improved interfacial properties such as higher surface free energy and interfacial shear strengths (39.7% and 34.9% increases, respectively) than those of a pristine carbon fiber despite a very small amount of embedding (0.025 wt% of aramid nanofibers in a carbon fiber), and the short beam strength of the laminated composite prepared with the aramid nanofiber-coated carbon fibers was also improved by 17.0% compared to a non-modified composite.     

Fiber-reinforced composite foam from expandable PVC microspheres

The properties of composite foam based on PVC expandable microspheres reinforced with continuous aramid fibers are described. The foam was fabricated by infiltrating low-density non-woven fiber webbing with PVC microspheres. The assembly was subsequently heated to expand the foam. The resulting composite foam consisted of 10 wt% aramid fibers and had a density of 100 kg/m³. Mechanical properties, crack propagation, and microstructure of composite foams were evaluated and compared with properties of similar unreinforced foam and with commercial PVC foam of comparable density. The influence of fiber concentration, fiber architecture and bonding was investigated also. Properties were measured in tension, shear, compression, and flexure using standard ASTM test methods. The composite foam performance equaled or surpassed the performance of most thermoplastic foams commercially available. The tensile strength and modulus of the composite foam increased by factors of 6 and 8, respectively, and the shear strength and modulus increased by factors of 1.8 and 2.4. The composite foam also exhibited improved strain energy density and damage tolerance, and reduced notch sensitivity.     

Characterization of electromagnetic properties of polymeric composite materials with free space method

The introduction of microwave radars during the second World War altered the air defense scenario significantly, and this led to the development of the “stealth” techniques. By reducing the detectability of aircrafts or warships, of which the radar cross section (RCS) is a measure, they could evade radar detection, which affected not only the mission success rate but also survival of them in the hostile territory. In the very early stage of the research on stealth techniques, many researches were mainly concentrated on the reduction of RCS and development of radar absorbing materials (RAM), but nowadays studies on investigating the radar absorbing structures (RAS) using fiber reinforced polymeric composite materials are becoming popular research field.

In this study, electromagnetic characteristics of unidirectional E-glass fiber reinforced epoxy composites were tested with free space methods, which can overcome drawbacks of conventional cavity and waveguide methods. Complex relative permittivities of low-loss composite were measured with respect to the angle between the fiber orientation and the electric field vector of EM wave in X-band frequency range. From the experimental data, empirical relation between the dielectric properties of composites and test variable was suggested and verified.     

三维正交机织复合材料的拉伸力学性能及介电性能研究

三维纺织复合材料的发展越来越广泛,其轻质,抗分层等优点是层合板式复合材料无法比拟的.本工作对自行设计并制作的五种玻璃纤维芳纶纤维混合增强的环氧树脂复合材料的拉伸力学性能和介电性能进行了研究.结果表明纯芳纶结构的三维复合材料有着最高的比强度和比模量;而在玻璃纤维含量较多的结构材料里介电性能呈现集中且稳定的趋势.在不同的应用中,可以将不同纤维混合作为增强体以发挥各种纤维的优势和特点,满足不同的设计和实际需要.     

Composite sandwich constructions for absorbing the electromagnetic waves

RAS (radar absorbing structures) is a key component for weapon systems such as aircrafts, warships, and missiles to achieve both the stealth performance by absorbing EM (Electromagnetic) waves incident on and load bearing capability. In this work, the RAS was fabricated as sandwich constructions composed of nanocomposite, carbon fabric/epoxy composite, and PVC foam. The nanocomposite composed of E-glass fabric, epoxy resin, and CNT (carbon nanotube) was adhesively bonded to the outside of the sandwich construction in order to absorb EM waves. The carbon fabric/epoxy composite had the dual roles as the reflection layer of incident EM waves and load bearing face material of sandwich constructions. Using the fabricated sandwich constructions, the EM absorbing characteristics were measured by the free space measurement system and the bonding characteristics between nanocomposites and carbon fabric/epoxy composites also were investigated.     

Hybrid carbon fiber composite lattice truss structures

Carbon fiber reinforced polymer (CFRP) composite sandwich panels with hybrid foam filled CFRP pyramidal lattice cores have been assembled from linear carbon fiber braids and Divinycell H250 polymer foam trapezoids. These have been stitched to 3D woven carbon fiber face sheets and infused with an epoxy resin using a vacuum assisted resin transfer molding process. Sandwich panels with carbon fiber composite truss volumes of 1.5–17.5% of the core volume have been fabricated, and the through-thickness compressive strength and modulus measured, and compared with micromechanical models that establish the relationships between the mechanical properties of the core, its topology and the mechanical properties of the truss and foam. The through thickness modulus and strength of the hybrid cores is found to increase with increasing truss core volume fraction. However, the lattice strength saturates at high CFRP truss volume fraction as the proportion of the truss material contained in the nodes increases. The use of linear carbon fiber braids is shown to facilitate the simpler fabrication of hybrid CFRP structures compared to previously described approaches. Their specific strength, moduli and energy absorption is found to be comparable to those made by alternative approaches.     

Novel optimization method of single square FSS impinged and cascaded radar absorbing composites

It is well known that radar absorbing potentiality of existing magneto-dielectric composites can be significantly enhanced by the application of frequency selective surface (FSS) and cascaded electromagnetic (EM) structures. But the optimization of such complex EM structures and validation of the adopted optimization strategy is still a very challenging task for the researchers. Therefore, in this study, an effective effort has been made for the optimization and the corresponding validation for Single Square FSS (SS-FSS) impinged and cascaded radar wave absorbers using advanced computational EM software’s like FEldberechnung fur Korper mit beliebiger Oberflache – a German acronym (FEKO) and high frequency structure simulator (HFSS). In addition, a critical analysis of dielectric constant (ε′) has been carried out to select the best combination of composites for the development of efficient radar wave absorbers. A comparison between optimized and simulated results have been carried out to examine the effect of advanced EM approaches over reflection loss (RL) characteristics of composite radar absorbing materials (CRAMs). A rapid change in radar absorption properties of composites has been observed after the application of SSFSS and cascading. A SS-FSS impinged composite has been found to provide a wide absorption bandwidth of 3.6 GHz at X-band. A cascaded absorber having layer thickness 1.8 mm provides a peak RL of ?42.6 dB at 10.6 GHz with an absorption bandwidth of 2.5 GHz. The strong agreement between mathematical model, HFSS and FEKO results clearly reflects the efficiency of adopted approach for distinct practical EM applications.     

激光烧蚀对石英/氰酸酯透波复合材料电性能的影响

研究激光烧蚀对石英/氰酸酯复合材料电性能的影响并揭示其影响机制,对极度恶劣热环境条件下石英/氰酸酯复合材料透波性能评估分析、热防护设计等具有重要意义。利用激光作为外热流加载手段,对石英/氰酸酯复合材料进行激光辐照烧蚀实验,对实验前后的介电常数进行了测试。为分析介电常数变化机制,对石英/氰酸酯复合材料激光烧蚀前后的表面产物进行了透射红外光谱、XRD测试,对实验后的石英/氰酸酯复合材料表面进行微观形貌观察,并对氰酸酯和石英纤维进行了热失重测试。结果表明：与初始状态相比,激光烧蚀后的石英/氰酸酯复合材料在7~18 GHz范围内的介电常数为6左右,增大近1倍。分析认为激光烧蚀对石英/氰酸酯复合材料电性能的影响机制为：在激光辐照作用下,材料吸收激光能量升温,使氰酸酯树脂基体发生热分解、裂解等变化,在表面原位生成具有导电能力和岛链状态的炭黑物质,致使发生烧蚀炭化石英/氰酸酯复合材料的介电常数增大,将增强对雷达波的吸收。同时烧蚀形成的粗糙表面状态和疏松状态对电磁波的反射、散射作用增强,可进一步削弱石英/氰酸酯复合材料的雷达波透射能。     

A carbonyl iron/carbon fiber material for electromagnetic wave absorption

A carbonyl iron/carbon fiber material consisting of carbon fibers grown on micrometer-sized carbonyl iron sphere, was synthesized by chemical vapor deposition using a mixture of C2H2 and H2. The hollow-core carbon fibers (outer diameter: 140 nm and inner diameter: 40 nm) were composed of well-ordered graphene layers which were almost parallel to the long axis of the fibers. A composite (2 mm thick) consisting of the carbonyl iron/carbon fibers and epoxy resin demonstrated excellent electromagnetic (EM) wave absorption. Minimum reflection losses of -36 dB (99.95% of EM wave absorption) at 7.6 GHz and -32 dB (99.92% of EM wave absorption) at 34.1 GHz were achieved. The well-dispersed and network-like carbon fibers in the resin matrix affected the dielectric loss of the EM wave while the carbonyl iron affected the magnetic loss.     

Studying electromagnetic interference spectrum in antenna under aircraft radome using models with artificial charged aerosol clouds

The spectrum of electromagnetic interference that is induced by discharges in an antenna arranged under an aircraft radome in an artificial charged aqueous aerosol cloud has been experimentally studied. It is established that, among different possible variants of lightning-arrest radomes, the minimum level of the spectral density of interference signals in the antenna is provided by vertical stripe electrodes on the radome surface. The maximum characteristic frequencies of signals in a model spherical antenna are several times lower than those in model lightning diverters, while the flat model antennas of disk or rectangular shapes exhibit the opposite trend. It has been suggested that a significant role in determining the characteristics of the electromagnetic interference spectrum in weather radar antennas is played by currents of discharges generated by charges accumulated on the dielectric radome surface.     

Electromagnetic Performance Analysis of Novel Multi-band Metamaterial FSS for Millimeter Wave Radome Applications

The electromagnetic design and performance analysis of dual/ multi-band metamaterial frequency selective surface (FSS) structures have been carried out for radome applications in microwave and millimeter wave frequency regimes. The proposed metamaterial FSS structure, consisting of cascaded MNG (mu-nega -tive) and DPS (double positive) layers, exhibits dual-band transmission responses at V-band and W-band. Excellent transmission efficiency (more than 95%) has been obtained over the frequency range 45.8-53.1 GHz at first resonance, and from 93.0-97.1 GHz at second resonance. The incorporation of additional DPS layer to the proposed metamaterial-FSS structure facilitates multiband bandpass characteristics at 30 GHz (in Ka-band), 64 GHz (in V-band), and 93.6 GHz (in W-band). The reflection and insertion phase delay characteristics are also analyzed at high incidence angles in view of streamlined airborne nosecone radome applications.     

Morphology, dynamic mechanical and thermal studies on poly(styrene-co-acrylonitrile) modified epoxy resin/glass fibre composites

Poly(styrene-co-acrylonitrile) (SAN) was used to modify diglycidyl ether of bisphenol-A (DGEBA) type epoxy resin cured with diamino diphenyl sulfone (DDS) and the modified epoxy resin was used as the matrix for fibre reinforced composites (FRPs) in order to get improved mechanical and thermal properties. E-glass fibre was used as the fibre reinforcement. The morphology, dynamic mechanical and thermal characteristics of the systems were analyzed. Morphological analysis revealed heterogeneous dispersed morphology. There was good adhesion between the matrix polymer and the glass fibre. The dynamic moduli, mechanical loss and damping behaviour as a function of temperature of the systems were studied using dynamic mechanical analysis (DMA). DMA studies showed that DDS cured epoxy resin/SAN/glass fibre composite systems have two T_gs corresponding to epoxy rich and SAN rich phases. The effect of thermoplastic modification and fibre loading on the dynamic mechanical properties of the composites were also analyzed. Thermogravimetric analysis (TGA) revealed the superior thermal stability of composite system.