Design and Operation of a Real-Scale Electromagnetic Shielding Evaluation System for Reinforced Composite Construction Materials

Abstract

Electromagnetic noise due to undesirable interferences from electronic devices, infrastructures inherent to smart homes, buildings or cities, computer networks, or medical diagnostics has become a serious concern for the construction industry. A straightforward measuring system that allows one to determine the electromagnetic shielding of construction materials has been designed and implemented. Concrete or mortar panels containing reinforcing grids or diverse additives were fabricated and so characterized. The higher electromagnetic shielding values are obtained for panels containing over 15% metallic fibers and those reinforced with grids with a sieve area below 15 mm2. Depending on the type and percentage of additive or reinforcement included, frequency-dependent behaviors have been observed within the measured spectrum, which encompasses the frequency range used in modern communications systems. In addition, in order to demonstrate the capability of characterizing actual materials without any previous adaptation to the measuring technology requirements, commercial boards have been characterized as received.