Multifunctional Ceramic Composite System for Simultaneous Thermal Protection and Electromagnetic Interference...

Area of Science:

• Materials Science
• Composite Materials
• Nanotechnology

Background:

• Simultaneous high electrical conductivity and thermal insulation are challenging in material design.
• Carbon fiber-reinforced polymer composites often lack sufficient thermal protection and electromagnetic interference (EMI) shielding.
• Existing materials face a trade-off between electrical and thermal conductivity.

Purpose of the Study:

• To develop a multifunctional ceramic composite system for carbon fiber-reinforced polymer composites.
• To achieve simultaneous thermal protection and electromagnetic interference shielding.
• To overcome the inherent contradiction between high electrical conductivity and thermal insulation.

Main Methods:

• Fabrication of a multilayered ceramic composite system using polymer-derived SiCN ceramic.
• Incorporation of yttria-stabilized zirconia fibers for thermal protection and impedance matching.
• Integration of carbon nanotubes for enhanced electromagnetic interference shielding.
• Thermal insulation and flame tests for performance evaluation.

Main Results:

• The multilayered ceramic composite exhibited 22.5% lower thermal conductance than standard carbon fiber-reinforced polymer composites.
• The hybrid composite demonstrated effective thermal protection up to 300 °C under steady-state conditions.
• Shielding efficiencies of 21.45 dB/mm (reflection-dominant) and 16.57 dB/mm (absorption-dominant) were achieved.
• Controlled electron movement via multilayer design led to simultaneous thermal insulation and EMI shielding.

Conclusions:

• A novel multilayered ceramic composite system effectively addresses the challenge of simultaneous thermal insulation and EMI shielding.
• The material design, by confining electron movement, achieves superior performance compared to traditional composites.
• This multifunctional system offers a promising solution for applications requiring both thermal protection and EMI shielding.