Folded-core radar-absorbing sandwich composite with sendust particle-added Ni-plated glass/polyether ether ketone thermoplastic resin in the ultrahigh-frequency band

Abstract

A novel lightweight folded-core radar-absorbing sandwich composite composed of Ni-plated glass fiber/polyether ether ketone (PEEK) and sendust-particle-filled polyurethane (PU) foam thermoplastic resin is presented. It is designed as a V-pattern folded-core unit cell, which can lead to gradual loss of the incident radar signal intensity and enhanced radio wave absorption performance in the ultra-high frequency (UHF) band (0.3–3.0 GHz). Ni-plated glass fiber was prepared by an electroless plating technique, and a folded-core radar-absorbing sandwich composite by a stamp-forming process. The folded-core was decorated with sendust-particle-filled PU foam to enhance radio wave absorption performance. The radio wave absorption performance of the folded-core sandwich composite was measured using a proposed UHF band single-port free space measurement system. The proposed sandwich composite with a thickness of 81.6 mm achieves a reflection loss below −10 dB (90% absorption) and bandwidth covers in the frequency range of 0.9–3 GHz while maintaining a low density of 0.142 g/cm3. This study presents the new radar-absorbing sandwich composite with a UHF absorber as a low-frequency band, a low density, and excellent radio wave absorption performance. © 2023 Elsevier Ltd