Evaluation of synergetic structural and EMP shielding performance of novel conductive concrete

Abstract

Protection of critical facilities, modern devices, and systems against Electromagnetic Pulse (EMP) became a vital necessity due to modern civilization’s needs. Using conductive concrete for EMP shielding became a common practice because of its low cost compared to other approaches and accessible construction and maintenance techniques. An innovative conductive concrete mixtures with an EMP shielding capability is pioneered in this study. The mechanical properties, impact resistance, and Shielding Effectiveness (SE) performance of these conductive concrete mixtures which incorporates novel/non-traditional constituents including; magnetite powder, magnetite aggregate, steel fibers, wired steel mesh, and graphite powder were investigated.

A shielding effectiveness test was performed using an utterly anechoic room following the MIL-STD-188-125-1 requirements, while the impact resistance of concrete shields was assessed using a drop weight impact test. The results demonstrated that there was evidence that the compressive behavior of such conductive mixtures was increased by up to 21.5% relative to normal concrete due to incorporating fine and coarse magnetite aggregate in concrete shields. Furthermore, the incorporation of steel fibers significantly enhanced the splitting tensile properties by about 101% compared to the fibreless concrete specimens. Also, a superior 1st crack and fracture impact energy was sustained by concrete panels, owing to utilizing steel wired mesh and fibers in concrete shields, by about four to six times that of its non-reinforced counterparts. Also, the utilization of the indicated conductive constituents in the fabrication of concrete shields led to a significant improvement in SE performance by up to 196% compared to that of normal concrete constituents. This research underscores the potential to engineer novel conductive concrete shields with superior impact resistance and EMP shielding for the protection of critical infrastructure.