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Investigation of cotton fabric composites as a natural radar-absorbing material

Muhammet Çağrı Ayan (Department of Mechanical Engineering, Iskenderun Technical University, Iskenderun, Turkey)
Serap Kiriş (Department of Avionics, Iskenderun Technical University, Iskenderun, Turkey)
Ahmet Yapici (Department of Mechanical Engineering, Iskenderun Technical University, Iskenderun, Turkey)
Muharrem Karaaslan (Department of Electrical and Electronics Engineering, Iskenderun Technical University, Iskenderun, Turkey)
Oğuzhan Akgöl (Department of Electrical and Electronics Engineering, Iskenderun Technical University, Iskenderun, Turkey)
Olcay Altıntaş (Department of Electrical and Electronics Engineering, Iskenderun Technical University, Iskenderun, Turkey)
Emin Ünal (Department of Electrical and Electronics Engineering, Iskenderun Technical University, Iskenderun, Turkey)

Aircraft Engineering and Aerospace Technology

ISSN: 0002-2667

Article publication date: 16 July 2020

Issue publication date: 21 August 2020

537

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to investigate cotton fabric behavior that is exposed to radar waves between selected operation frequencies as an alternative radar-absorbing material (RAM) response. Cotton fabric biocomposite materials were compared with carbon fabric composite materials, which are good absorbers, in terms of mechanical and electromagnetic (EM) properties for that purpose.

Design/methodology/approach

The laminated composite plates were manufactured by using a vacuum infusion process. The EM tests were experimentally performed with a vector network analyzer to measure reflection, transmission and absorption ability of cotton fabric, carbon fabric and cotton–carbon fabric (side by side) composite plates between 3 and 18 GHz. The tensile and low-velocity impact tests were carried out to compare the mechanical properties of cotton fabric and carbon fabric composite plates. A scanning electron microscope was used for viewing the topographical features of fracture surfaces.

Findings

The cotton fabric composite plate exhibits low mechanical values, but it gives higher EM wave absorption values than the carbon fabric composite plate in certain frequency ranges. Comparing the EM absorption properties of the combination of cotton and carbon composites with those of the carbon composite alone, it appears that the cotton–carbon combination can be considered as a better absorber than the carbon composite in a frequency range from 12 to 18 GHz at Ku band.

Originality/value

This paper shows how cotton, which is a natural and easily supplied low-cost raw material, can be evaluated as a RAM.

Keywords

Citation

Ayan, M.Ç., Kiriş, S., Yapici, A., Karaaslan, M., Akgöl, O., Altıntaş, O. and Ünal, E. (2020), "Investigation of cotton fabric composites as a natural radar-absorbing material", Aircraft Engineering and Aerospace Technology, Vol. 92 No. 8, pp. 1275-1280. https://doi.org/10.1108/AEAT-01-2020-0018

Publisher

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Emerald Publishing Limited

Copyright © 2020, Emerald Publishing Limited

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