Mechanical properties of radar-absorbing structure with electroless nickel coated glass fabric

Abstract

In this study, a nickel-coated glass/epoxy radar absorbing structure(RAS) was designed and verified for its structural reliability to apply it to practical structures. The conventional radar absorbing structure was fabricated by dispersing nanoparticles such as carbon black (CB), carbon nanotube (CNT) or multi-walled nanotubes (MWNT) in a polymer matrix. However, the matrix control method increases the viscosity of the matrix, which results in difficult fabrication, deterioration of mechanical properties due to agglomeration of nanoparticles and difficulties in manufacturing a curved structure. In this study, nickel-coated glass fabric via electroless plating method was used to overcome these limitations, and a radar absorbing structure with an absorption performance of -10dB (90% absorption) in the X-band (8.2-12.4 GHz) was implemented. Mechanical properties were also obtained through tensile, compressive and shear tests. Tensile strength and modulus were similar to pristine glass/epoxy. Based on these results, structural stability and reliability of RAS with absorption performance in the X-band were confirmed.