Electromagnetic wave absorbing and bending properties of 3D gradient structured woven composites: experiment and simulation

In order to prepare 3D structural composites with electromagnetic wave absorption and load-bearing, 3D gradient structured woven fabrics were woven with basalt fiber filament yarn and carbon fiber filament yarn as raw materials on a common loom with rational design. After that, the three-dimensional gradient structured woven fabric was used as the reinforcing material, epoxy resin was used as the matrix, and carbonyl iron powder (CIP) and carbon black (CB), the electromagnetic wave absorbers, were added. In this paper, a vacuum-assisted resin transfer molding method was used to fabricate composite materials with three-dimensional structures. Finally, the experimental and simulation analysis techniques were used to analyze the absorbing and mechanical properties of the 3D gradient structured woven composites. The results show that the error value of the peak reflection loss is 10.6% in the simulation of electromagnetic wave absorption performance, and the error value of the maximum bending load is 2.37% in the simulation of mechanical performance. The theoretical simulation results and experimental results were in good agreement, which proved the validity of the electromagnetic wave absorbing model and finite element model. The experimental and simulation analyses revealed the material’s electromagnetic wave absorbing mechanism and bending damage mechanism and provided some theoretical guidance for designing 3D gradient structured woven composites with integrated load-bearing and electromagnetic wave absorbing functions.