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Effect of Stainless Steel-Containing Fabrics on Electromagnetic Shielding Effectiveness

Ching-Iuan Su and Jin-Tsair Chern
Textile Research Journal 2004 74: 51
DOI: 10.1177/004051750407400109

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Effect of Stainless Steel-Containing Fabrics on

Electromagnetic Shielding Effectiveness
CHING-IUAN SU
1 AND JIN-TSAIR CHERN
Department of Polymer Engineering, National Taiwan University of Science and Technology,
Taipei, Taiwan, Republic of China
ABSTRACT
In this paper, stainless steel is selected as the conductive filler to produce stainless steel
hybrid yams to make woven fabrics. Using coaxial transmission equipment, the electro-
magnetic shielding effectiveness (EMSE) of these fabrics is measured. The experimental
results show that a denser structure has a higher EMSE. The fabric made from the core yarns
has a higher EMSE than that made from the cover yams and the plied yams. In addition,
the EMSE of the fabric made from different genera of stainless steel has an optimum EMSE
value at different measured frequencies. Analyses of the weave types reveal that the plain
weave has a higher EMSE than other weave types.

People useelectrical equipment more frequently due
to the progress of science and technology, which exposes
them to different frequencies of electromagnetic waves.
Many devices contribute to such exposure such as cell
phones with frequencies of 900 and 1800MHz, micro-
wave ovens of 2450 MHz, radar signal communication
systems extending from 1 to 10,000 MHz, and FM/AM
radio broadcasts of 30-300 MHz and 300-3000 KHz,
respectively. Cell phone use is particularly widespread.
If an electromagnetic wave gets into an organism, it
vibrates molecules to give out heat. In the same way,
when an electromagnetic wave enters the human body, it
will obstruct a cell’s regeneration of DNA and RNA. Fur-
thermore, it brings on abnortnal chemical activities to
produce cancer cells, and increases the possibility of
leukemia and other cancers. Injuries by electromagnetic
waves to the human body are the top priority of profes-
sionals and scholars, and we are most concerned with
solving this problem.
The development of electromagnetic wave resistant
textiles originated in the military industry and moved
gradually to civilian industries. There are many methods
of improving fabric conductivity [5, 7, 11 ], such as
laminating conductive layers onto fabrics [3, 4, 8, 9] or
adding conductive fillers [6, 7, 101. Because stainless
steel (ss) has a high absorption and low reflection of
electromagnetic energy, we have incorporated ss fibers
or filaments into conductive fabrics. Cheng and Lee [2]
developed a method for fabricating conductive woven
fabrics on a handloom with blended yarns. They showed
that the electromagnetic shielding effectiveness (EMSE)
varies with the woven structures, the number of layers.
and the blend ratio of the fibers. In this research, we
discuss the effects of density, yam geometry, and various
genera of ss and weave type on the EMSE properties of
fabrics.
Experimental
Two genera of stainless steel were used as conductive
fillers: one was an ss staple fiber of 8 pm diameter and
38-80 mm length, and the other was an ss monofilament
of 50 pm diameter. First, several kinds of ss hybrid yams
were produced, that is, ss filaments were twisted with
two strands of 250d/75f polyester (PET) filaments (S-
yam) and three strands of Ne30 polyester (Per) spun
yams (T-yam). The ss filaments covered the spun yarn
(cover yam) or remained in the inner region of the spun
yam (core yam), or were twisted with the spun yam
(plied yam) and two strands of the Ne30 ss/PET blend
spun yam. We made a variety of woven fabrics from
these hybrid yams, listed in Tables I and II.
According to ASTM D4935 [ 1 ], we used a spectrum
analyzer (Advantest R3132) with coaxial transmission
equipment to measure the EMSE of the fabrics. Electro-
magnetic frequencies range from 9 KHz to 3 GHz. We
calculated the EMSE of the woven fabrics using the fol-
lowing equation:
Here, decibel (dB) is a unit of power ratio, commonly

used to specify shielding effectiveness, Pcu, is output

1
To whom correspondence should be addressed. power (watts), and is
P;~ input power (watts).

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52

TABLE I. Fabrics specifications.a

a b
Note: 54 x 29 ends/inch, 1/1 plain weave, 250 glm’ weight. Note: opening size formed by ss: units in mm.

Results and Discussion
EFFECT OF SS HYBRID YARN DENSITY ON
The woven fabrics had a plain structure of 54 x 29
ends/inch. The fabrics used two kinds of yams, warp and
weft, where one was the plied yam where the ss filament
was twisted with two strands of 250 denier pet filament,
called the S-yam, and’ the other was the plied yam of
Ne30/3 PET spun yarn, known as T-yam. Table I lists the
woven fabrics 51-S5 made from different densities of ss
hybrid yams, and Figure 1 shows the schematic diagrams
of these woven fabrics’ opening sizes formed by ss.
Figure 2 illustrates the effect of ss density on the EMSE
of the fabrics. The five curves show their peak EMSE
values at 1800 MHz. Fabric S I displays a higher EMSE
than S2, S3, S4, and S5, which is attributable to the
higher ss density of S compared to the other fabrics.
Fabric S 1 has a mesh of 0.5 X 0.9 mm, which is higher
than those of the other fabrics. The higher the density,
the greater the amount of ss in the fabrics, which im-
proves their EMSE.
COMPARISON OF EMSE BASED ON SS CONTENT
OR TWO DIRECTIONS
Fabric S I (in Table I) has ss in both directions,
whereas fabric S6 has ss in only the weft direction. We
compared those two fabrics to investigate the effect of
the different structures on the EMSE. Figure 3 shows that
the S 1 curve has an EMSE of 37.76 dB at 1800 MHz,
which is much higher than that of S6 (18.15 dB at 500
MHz). This is because Sl is made from the warp/weft
interlacing of ss filaments at right angles, so it forms a
better electrical conducting net. It easily intercepts elec-
tronic magnetic waves and destroys their tenacity, result-
ing in better EMSE. On the other hand, if the fabric has ss
in only one direction (weft or warp), its EMSE will cer-
EMSE
tainly be worse.
EFFECT OF YARN GEOMETRY ON EMSE
W 1, W2, and W3 (Table II) are made from three
different hybrid yams: cover, core, and
plied yams, re-
spectively. The three kinds of fabrics in Figure 4 show
the same trend. The EMSE initially increases as the fre-
quency increases, and then declines. The EMSE values of
W2 and W3 are better than that of W 1. Analyzing the
geometry of the three hybrid yams from which the fab-
rics are made, they all contain the same ss filaments. In
the cover yam, the ss filaments cover the spun yam along
a helical line. Their distance (ss filament length) is the
longest, so it has a higher electric resistance, resulting in
a lower EMSE. In the plied yam, the ss filament twists
with the spun yam. The distance is shorter than that of
the plied yam, so it has a low electrical resistance,
resulting in a good EMSE. In the core yam, the ss fila-
ments lie in the inner region of the spun yarn. They are
straight and their distance is the shortest among these
IN ONE three yams, so the core yarn has a lower electrical
resistance. Certainly, W2 and W3 result in better EMSE.
EFFECT OF VARIOUS GENERA OF SS ON EMSE
There are two genera of ss, which we selected mainly
as the conductive fillers to produce the ss hybrid yams
for the woven fabrics in this experiment. One is an ss
fiber 8 pm in diameter and 38-80 mm long, and the
other is an ss filament 50 ILm in diameter. As shown in
Table II, W3 is made from the ss filament hybrid yam,
and W6 is made from the ss staple fiber hybrid yam. The
results in Figure 5 show that W3 has a better EMSE value

TABLE II. Fabrics specifications.

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FiGURE I. Schematic diagrams of.woven fabric opening sizes formed by ss (fabric specifications
of S I -S5 are shown in Table 1.

FIGURE 2. Effect of ss hybrid yarn density on EMSE. FIGURE 4. Effect of yam geometry on EMSE.

FIGURE 3. Comparison of EMSE based on ss content

in one or two directions. FIGURE 5. Effect of various gexra of ss on EMSE.

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54
of 41.25 dB than W6 (35.38 dB) at 1500 MHz. The EMSE
of fabric W6 increases with increasing incident fre-
quency. However, the EMSE of fabric W3 declines after
the peak. It is obvious that after 2000 MHz, the EMSE of
W6 is better than the EMSE of W3. We can therefore
conclude that the fabrics made from the various genera
of ss have optimum EMSE values at different measured
frequencies.
z
EFFECT OF WEAVE TYPE ON EMSE
Figure 6 shows the effect of weave type on the EMSE of
the three fabrics-W3, W4, and W5-with incident fre-
quency. These fabrics are made from the same ss fila-
ment hybrid yam listed in Table II. As Figure 6 shows,
the EMSE of the three fabrics increases with increasing
incident frequency, and then declines after the peak. The
curves of W3 and W4 are nearly identical. The optimum
EMSE values of W3 and W4, 41.5 dB in 1500 MHz, are
better than that of W5. However, W5 has a better value
above 1900 MHz. Analyzing the weave types, W3 (1/1
plain weave) and W4 (2/2 twill weave) display smaller
square meshes, but the mesh of W5 (3/1 twill weave) is
narrow and longer. This means that W3 and W4 have a
better electrical conducting net than W5 below 1900
MHz. Consequently, the fabric with the 1/1 plain weave
has optimum EMSE.
structure an
FIGURE 6. Effect of weave type on EMSE.
Conclusions
As expected, the amount of ss in a fabric has a strong
influence on its EMSE characteristics. From this experi-
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ment, we clearly show that the denser structures of ss
fabrics have higher EMSE values. But if the fabrics con-
tain ss in only one direction (either warp or weft), they
have lower EMSE values. The fabric with different genera
of ss hybrid yams has the optimum EMSE value at differ-
ent measured frequencies. As to the influence of yam
structure, a fabric made from the core yam has a higher
EMSE than fabrics made from the cover yarn and the plied
yarn. As regards weave type, we can conclude that the
fabrics with 1/1 plain weave structures have optimum
EMSE values.
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
This research was supported by the National Science
Council (NSC 91-2216-E-011-028). We thank our de-
partmental colleagues for their help with the experi-
ments. We also thank the China Textile Institute for
providing the electromagnetic shielding tester to evaluate
shielding effectiveness.
Literature Cited
1. ASTM D-4935, Standard Test Method for Measuring the
Electromagnetic Shielding Effectiveness of Planar Materi-
als, 448-456, 1989.
2. Cheng, K. B., Lee, M. L., Ramakrishna, S., and Ueng,
T. H., Electromagnetic Shielding Effectiveness of Stainless
Steel/Polyester Woven Fabrics, Textile Res. J. 71 (1),
42-49 (2001).
3. Kirkpatrick, S., Percolation and Conduction, Rev. Mod.
Phys. 45
(4), 574 (1973).
4. Last, B. J., and Thouless, D. J., Percolation Theory and
Electrical Conductivity, Phys. Rev. Lett. 27(25), 1719
(1971).
5. Stewart R., Recent FCC Shielding Regulation and
Levy,
the Metal Finisher, Metal Finish (7), 21 (1983).
6. Miyasaka, K., Mechanism of Electrical Conduction in
Electrically-conductive Filler-Polymer Composites, Int.
Polym. Sci. Tech. 13
(6), 41-48 (1986).
7. Ramon, S., Metalloplastics: High Conductivity Materials,
Polym. News 8, 134 (1982).
8. Schulz, R. B., Plantz, V. C., and Brush, D. R., Shielding
Theory and Practice, IEEE 187-201 (1988).
9. Shante, V. K. S., and Kirkpatrick, S., An Introduction to
Percolation Theory, Adv. Phys. 20, 325 (1971).
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13
11. Storms, C. D.,
et al., Metallizing for EMI/RFI Shielding,
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Manuscript received November J J. 2002; accepted April 28. 2003.