Homogenization of metal grid reinforced composites for near-field low-frequency magnetic shielding

International audienceThe purpose of this paper is to provide simple analytical homogenization methods for composite materials containing a metallic wire grid. Estimating their effective electrical properties facilitates the numerical simulation of composite structures for shielding applications in the automotive industry. The presented methods are based on surface impedance approaches and effective media theory. The obtained results show that the shielding properties of the described wire grid composites can be accurately estimated and bounded, using the proposed theories in the low frequency range. The frequency limits vary according to the studied sample. For the presented materials, the validity of the results is shown to be up to a few megahertz. The experimental validation is done by measuring the shielding effectiveness of composite samples using a near-field test bench