Lightweight, Elastic Ceramic Fabrics for Broadband Electromagnetic Absorption and High Temperature Thermal Insulation

Area of Science:

• Materials Science
• Aerospace Engineering
• Nanotechnology

Background:

• Advanced aerospace applications require materials with high-performance electromagnetic wave absorption (EMA), mechanical elasticity, and thermal insulation.
• Current material limitations present challenges in meeting these demanding aerospace requirements.

Purpose of the Study:

• To develop lightweight, elastic SiBCNZr ceramic nanofiber fabrics with enhanced EMA and high-temperature thermal insulation.
• To investigate the microstructure-property relationships enabled by ultrafast high-temperature sintering (UHS).

Main Methods:

• Fabrication of SiBCNZr ceramic nanofiber fabrics using ultrafast high-temperature sintering (UHS).
• Microstructural characterization to understand the role of t-ZrO2 nanograins and C nanoclusters.
• Evaluation of electromagnetic absorption (EMA) performance, including reflection loss (RL) and effective absorption bandwidth (EAB).
• Assessment of mechanical elasticity under compressive strain.
• Measurement of thermal insulation properties and thermal conductivity.

Main Results:

• The fabrics achieved a minimum reflection loss (RLmin) of -83.33 dB and an effective absorption bandwidth (EAB) of 9.8 GHz, covering X- and Ku-bands.
• Demonstrated elastic resilience up to 60% compressive strain.
• Exhibited excellent thermal insulation with a temperature difference (∆T) of approximately 900°C and low thermal conductivity (0.0603 W·m⁻¹·K⁻¹).
• Microstructure control via UHS led to defect-rich t-ZrO2 nanograins and turbostratic C nanoclusters, optimizing EMA and mechanical properties.

Conclusions:

• The developed SiBCNZr ceramic nanofiber fabrics offer a promising solution for simultaneous enhancement of EMA, mechanical elasticity, and thermal insulation.
• The precise microstructure control through UHS is key to achieving superior performance.
• These fabrics hold significant potential for advanced aerospace applications demanding multi-functional material properties.