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. 2025 Jan 26;17(3):336.
doi: 10.3390/polym17030336.

Ballistic and Electromagnetic Shielding Properties of Epoxy Resin Reinforced with Carbon Black and Jute Fabric

Raphael Henrique Morais Reis  1 , Roberto da Costa Lima  2 , Sergio Neves Monteiro  1 , André Ben-Hur da Silva Figueiredo  1 , Clara Luz de Souza Santos  1 , Lúcio Fábio Cassiano Nascimento  1
Affiliations

Ballistic and Electromagnetic Shielding Properties of Epoxy Resin Reinforced with Carbon Black and Jute Fabric

Raphael Henrique Morais Reis et al. Polymers (Basel). .

Abstract

This study explores the development of a multifunctional composite material by incorporating carbon black (CB) into an epoxy matrix reinforced with 30 vol.% jute fabric. The objective was to evaluate the impact of CB on the composite's tensile properties, ballistic performance, and electromagnetic shielding effectiveness (SE) within the X-band frequency range (8.2-12.4 GHz). The epoxy composite with 30 vol.% jute and 5 vol.% CB (EJ30/CB5) exhibited 15% improvements in its tensile strength and elastic modulus compared to the epoxy composite with 30 vol.% jute (EJ30) only. Ballistics tests indicated no significant increases in absorbed energy or limit velocity, which may be attributed to the structural rigidity introduced by the CB. An electromagnetic shielding analysis revealed that the CB addition significantly enhanced the SE from ~2 dB in neat epoxy to 5-8 dB in EJ30/CB5, with absorption emerging as the primary shielding mechanism. The findings highlight the potential of CB- and jute-reinforced epoxy composites for applications requiring both mechanical robustness and electromagnetic interference shielding.

Keywords: ballistic test; carbon black; electromagnetic shielding effectiveness; epoxy matrix; jute fabric reinforcement; tensile properties.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare no conflicts of interest.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Samples used in the tensile test of the epoxy/jute/CB composites: (a) EJ30; and (b) EJ30/CB5.
Figure 2
Figure 2
SEM micrographs of the composites: (a) epoxy; (b) E/CB5; (c) EJ30; and (d) EJ30/CB5.
Figure 3
Figure 3
Comparative visualization of the average values, with tensile strength (a) and elastic modulus (c) for the EJ30 and EJ30/CB5 samples, alongside box-and-whisker plots for tensile strength (b) and elastic modulus (d) for the EJ30 and EJ30/CB5 composites.
Figure 4
Figure 4
Images of EJ30/CB5 (a) and EJ30 (b) before impact, EJ30/CB5 (c) EJ30/CB5 after impact, EJ30 (d) EJ30 after impact, and (e) E/CB5 before impact.
Figure 5
Figure 5
Comparison plots showing (a) the mean limit velocity values for the neat epoxy, EJ30, and EJ30/CB5 samples and (b) box-and-whisker plots for the limit velocity values of the EJ30 and EJ30/CB5 samples.
Figure 6
Figure 6
Comparison plots showing (a) the mean absorbed energy values for the neat epoxy, EJ30, and EJ30/CB5 samples and (b) box-and-whisker plots for the absorbed energy values of the EJ30 and EJ30/CB5 samples.
Figure 7
Figure 7
Shielding effectiveness (SE) for the (a) neat epoxy, (b) EJ30, (c) E/CB5, and (d) EJ30/CB5 samples.
Figure 8
Figure 8
Shielding effectiveness (SE) of the samples at specific frequencies: (a) 8.2 GHz, (b) 9.25 GHz, (c) 10.3 GHz, (d) 11.35 GHz, and (e) 12.4 GHz.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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