Computational Simulation and Experimental Analysis of Activated Carbon from Agricultural Waste as Electromagnetic Absorber

Abstract

Modern technological advances and developments pose a serious threat to our lives that create more electromagnetic (EM) interference pollution. This situation encourages researchers to produce EM absorbers from various materials. This paper investigates the capability of activated carbon (AC) extracted from Terminalia catappa (TC) fruit agricultural waste by the carbonization process as a potential filler for EM absorbers. Besides, AC produced from TC fruit waste also serves plenty of advantages as renewable resources, eco-friendly materials, and exhibits nano-porosity structure. The 3 wt% AC material as a filler is incorporated in the epoxy resin as a polymer matrix using the moulding technique. The sample’s EM wave properties are measured using a Vector Network Analyzer (VNA) at a frequency range of 4.0 GHz to 8.0 GHz. The reflection loss (RL) value of AC/epoxy is -8.568 dB at a frequency of 6.68 GHz. To maximize the EM absorption, the geometrical structure of the material is tuned and simulated with different 3D honeycomb designs (1 mm, 2 mm, and 3 mm thickness). The Computer Simulation Technology (CST) simulation predicted and visualized the EM absorption performance of the 3D designs. The CST results of the composite sample exhibited a significant and enhanced effective EM absorption at the C-band frequency range.