Electromagnetic interference shielding effectiveness of multi-cracked strain-hardening cementitious composites (SHCC)

With the rapid increase in the use of wireless electronic devices, electromagnetic pollution has been recognized as a serious threat. There has been an increasing demand for the use of cement composites as electromagnetic shielding materials. Thus, this study investigated the advantages of adding a small dosage of carbon fibers to enhance the mechanical and electrical properties of strain-hardening cementitious composites (SHCCs) containing steel fibers. In addition, the effect of microcrack formation on the electromagnetic interference (EMI) shielding effectiveness of the SHCCs was analyzed. For this purpose, four different residual tensile strains were applied in preloading tests in the range of 0.015-0.1%. The test results suggested that the tensile performance of the SHCCs was improved by adding 0.2 vol% carbon fibers. Moreover, the rate of increase of the energy absorption capacity was higher (50%) than those of the tensile strength and strain capacity. The electrical conductivity and EMI shielding effectiveness of the SHCCs were noticeably increased by the addition of carbon fibers. The highest shielding effectiveness of 45.6 dB, at 1 GHz, was achieved for the SHCC containing 2% steel fibers and 0.2% carbon fibers, which was approximately 6% higher than that of the corresponding plain SHCC with only steel fibers. An approximately 44-47% lower shielding effectiveness was observed with the formation of through microcracks; however, the number of cracks and the residual tensile strain did not significantly influence the shielding effectiveness. This study can be a basis for evaluating EMI shielding effectiveness of damaged structures.