Effect of stacking sequence and high content silver slag addition on electromagnetic interference shielding of abaca/silk fiber reinforced epoxy sandwich composite

In this research study, a non-deformable, stiff electromagnetic interference (EMI) shielding material was prepared and characterized. The composites were prepared using industrial waste silver slag fine particles; woven abaca fiber and silk fabric with two different stacking order designated as ASSA and SAAS. The composites were created utilizing a hand layup technique and the American society for testing of materials (ASTM) standards were used to assess their performance. The findings showed that the abaca/silk/silk/abaca sequence of fibers had greater dielectric values. The ASSA2 composite designation was observed to have a maximum dielectric constant of 4.81. Similar to this, the ASSA2 configuration produced a total EMI shielding effectiveness of 56.85 dB at 20 GHz. Moreover, the ASSA2 composite configuration resulted in enhanced mechanical and hardness qualities. These mechanically hardened epoxy-based composites with increased EMI shielding could be employed in applications for radar, radomes, and the telecommunications industry.