Abstract:

There are few researches reported about the influence of the metal fibre content of blended electromagnetic shielding (EMS) fabric on shielding effectiveness (SE) under different fabric parameters. In order to scientifically describe the metal fibre content of blended EMS fabric considering the fabric structure, in this paper two new indicators of structure metal fibre content (SMFC) and structure equivalent thickness (SET) were constructed according to fabric structure parameters of weft and warp density, yarn density and yarn metal content. A number of experiments were designed and sixteen groups of samples prepared to explore the influence of the two indicators on the SE. Firstly the SMFC and SET of the samples were calculated by the equations of the new indicators. SE values of the samples were then tested by the waveguide method. Finally the relations between the new indicators and the SE were analysed according to experimental results and electromagnetic wave theory. Results show that the SMFC and SET can scientifically describe the metal fibre content of the blended EMS fabric. The SMFC and SET show positive growth along with the SE while other parameters remain unchanged. For the basic weave, SE values are an approximate equivalence as long as the total densities are the same as the yarn density and fibre content of the yarns is the same. As the SMFC is consistent, the more floats, the lower the SE. The research in this paper can provide an important reference for the design, testing and production of blended EMS fabric.