The Effect of Microstructures in AZ31, Al5052, and Cu on Electromagnetic Shielding Effectiveness

With the widespread use of electronic devices in the telecommunications industry, exposure to electromagnetic waves has largely increased in the last decades. In addition to concerns about heath issues caused by an accumulative exposure to electromagnetic waves, electromagnetic interference causes malfunctions in complex electronic devices and degrades signal quality. The development of effective shielding materials is required to mitigate these issues. The present study compares the electromagnetic wave shielding performance of Cu, Al and Mg alloy sheets. Pure Cu is known to be an effective shielding material based on its high electric conductivity, while the shielding effectiveness of lightweight magnesium and aluminum alloys has not been extensively studied yet. The relationship between the microstructural features, mechanical properties and shielding effectiveness of the studied materials was investigated by comparing the performances of as-rolled sheets with those after heat treatment. The present study aims to identify metal sheets that provide high shielding performance and specific strength, simultaneously. The experimental results indicate that the AZ31 magnesium alloy has a shield effectiveness comparable to the Cu sheet, while the specific strength is rather higher than Cu and Al. The shielding effectiveness of the AZ31 alloy was higher than that of Cu and Al after heat treatment.