Metal/PET Composite Knitted Fabrics and Composites: Structural Design and Electromagnetic Shielding Effectiveness
Following rapid technological advances, electronic products are being used more frequently than ever, resulting in a massive amount of interference from electromagnetic waves. In this research, stainless-steel (SS) wires, copper wires, and polyester (PET) filaments were made into SS/PET, copper/PET, and SS/copper/PET composite ply yarns. These ply yarns were then knitted into electromagnetic shielding fabrics with various knitting-needle densities. In the frequency range of 1.1 GHz to 1.4 GHz, the electromagnetic shielding effectiveness (EMSE) of the SS/PET fabric was 3.8 dB greater than that of the copper/PET composite knitted fabric, demonstrating better permeability. However, in the frequency range of 0.36 GHz to 1.1 GHz, the EMSE of the copper/PET fabric was 10 dB greater than that of the SS/PET fabric, demonstrating better conductivity. The SS/copper/PET fabrics exhibited an EMSE 10 dB greater than that of the SS/PET or copper/PET fabrics.