Evaluation of electromagnetic shielding effectiveness of fabrics produced from yarns containing metal wire with a mobile based measurement system

Abstract

This paper comprises an evaluation of electromagnetic shielding effectiveness of woven fabrics containing stainless steel wire with a new mobile based method. Cross covered hybrid weft yarns were produced with polyester and stainless steel metal wires. The conductive fabrics were produced by using the hybrid weft and texturized polyester warp yarns. Fabrics were tested in vertical and horizontal positions to determine the electromagnetic shielding effectiveness (EMSE). All EMSE measurements were performed with a mobile based test method. This method is based on the principle of measuring GSM signals by mobile-based software and analyzing them by statistical methods. EMSE property of the woven fabrics was found to be affected by the hybrid yarn parameters like fabric parameters of ply number and ply direction, as indicated by statistical analyses. Analyses based on Okumura-Hata Model also verified test results. It was concluded that the proposed new mobile based measurement system can be used reliably to determine the EMSE of conductive fabrics.