Mechanical and Electromagnetic Interference Shielding Properties of Structurally Reinforced Aluminum Foam

The rapid development of wireless communication technologies has intensified the demand for electromagnetic interference (EMI) shielding materials that simultaneously deliver high shielding effectiveness, robust mechanical performance, and low density. Here, guided by heterointerface engineering and structural reinforcement, fabricates bi‐continuous interpenetrating porous composite structures (BIPCs) by integrating ZL111 alloy lattice struts with an aluminum foam (AF). Three reinforcement architectures are designed: a cubic‐symmetric framework with unidirectional struts (Structure A), a lateral reinforcement (Structure B), and a longitudinal reinforcement (Structure C). Compared with AF, all BIPCs exhibit pronounced improvements in both compressive properties and EMI shielding. Among them, Structure C shows the largest mechanical enhancement, with compressive strength, specific strength, plateau stress, and elastic modulus increased to 2.06, 1.62, 1.42, and 2.25 times those of AF, respectively, while the total shielding effectiveness (SET) increases by 6.6%. The enhanced mechanical response is attributed to the cooperative load transfer provided by the alloy struts and metallurgical bonding in heterointerfaces. Meanwhile, EMI shielding was collaboratively enhanced by reflection loss improvement from the higher electrical conductivity and polarization losses evoked by lattice distortions. This work can not only provide idea for solving the problem of synergistic enhancement of mechanical and EMI shielding properties of AF, but also give a reference for subsequent research to enhance the EMI shielding properties of BIPCs.

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Publication Details

Journal
Advanced Engineering Materials
Published
2026-03-12
DOI
https://doi.org/10.1002/adem.202502468
Primary Topic
Electromagnetic wave absorption materials
Type
article
Field-Weighted Citation Impact
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article

Mechanical and Electromagnetic Interference Shielding Properties of Structurally Reinforced Aluminum Foam

Jiawen Li, E Liu, Mai Zhang, Wei Yu et al.
Advanced Engineering Materials
Electromagnetic wave absorption materials
article

Mechanical and Electromagnetic Interference Shielding Properties of Structurally Reinforced Aluminum Foam

Jiawen Li, E Liu, Mai Zhang, Wei Yu, Peng Wang, Hai Hao, Yu Bai
article en

Abstract

The rapid development of wireless communication technologies has intensified the demand for electromagnetic interference (EMI) shielding materials that simultaneously deliver high shielding effectiveness, robust mechanical performance, and low density. Here, guided by heterointerface engineering and structural reinforcement, fabricates bi‐continuous interpenetrating porous composite structures (BIPCs) by integrating ZL111 alloy lattice struts with an aluminum foam (AF). Three reinforcement architectures are designed: a cubic‐symmetric framework with unidirectional struts (Structure A), a lateral reinforcement (Structure B), and a longitudinal reinforcement (Structure C). Compared with AF, all BIPCs exhibit pronounced improvements in both compressive properties and EMI shielding. Among them, Structure C shows the largest mechanical enhancement, with compressive strength, specific strength, plateau stress, and elastic modulus increased to 2.06, 1.62, 1.42, and 2.25 times those of AF, respectively, while the total shielding effectiveness (SET) increases by 6.6%. The enhanced mechanical response is attributed to the cooperative load transfer provided by the alloy struts and metallurgical bonding in heterointerfaces. Meanwhile, EMI shielding was collaboratively enhanced by reflection loss improvement from the higher electrical conductivity and polarization losses evoked by lattice distortions. This work can not only provide idea for solving the problem of synergistic enhancement of mechanical and EMI shielding properties of AF, but also give a reference for subsequent research to enhance the EMI shielding properties of BIPCs.

Advanced Engineering Materials
Ningbo University (CN), Ningbo University of Technology (CN), Dalian University of Technology (CN)
Openalex Percentile: Top 26%
Electromagnetic wave absorption materials
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