Electromagnetic interference shielding: a comparative study of woven and knitted fabrics by measurement, modeling, and simulation

• The influence of woven and knitted fabric structures on SE was investigated. • Experimental measurements were supplemented by modeling and simulation, which confirmed the results. • Increase and decrease in shielding due to the arrangement of threads in the fabric structure. • Structures forming a grid or parallel-arranged conductive path. This research evaluates the electromagnetic shielding efficiency (SE) of weft-knitted and woven fabrics produced from the same conductive yarn containing short stainless steel (SST) fibers. The innovative aspect of this study lies in the direct comparison of electromagnetic wave attenuation in two fundamental and most widely used textile structures—woven and knitted fabrics. Although both structures are commonly applied in technical textiles, the influence of conductive yarn arrangement within the structure on their shielding effectiveness, under otherwise constant parameters, has not been thoroughly investigated until now. The experimental investigation was complemented by theoretical analysis, including analytical calculations, and verified through numerical simulations. The results reveal that weft-knitted fabrics, consisting of a single continuous conductive yarn, form parallel-oriented conductive pathways and therefore exhibit lower shielding effectiveness. In contrast, woven fabrics, with two orthogonal systems of conductive yarns forming a grid, demonstrate superior performance by attenuating electromagnetic waves more effectively in multiple directions. Importantly, the findings confirm that woven structures provide a higher level of electromagnetic shielding at the same volume fraction of conductive component compared to knitted fabrics.