Microwave absorption and mechanical properties of cross-scale SiC composites

SiCp/PVDF composite films with cross-scale SiC particle sizes (40 nm and 5, 10, 14, and 28 μm) and five different mass fractions for each particle size (10%, 20%, 30%, 40%, and 50%) were prepared in the present study, and their characteristics, adsorption properties, and mechanical properties were investigated. FE models were also established to study the mechanical properties of the composites further. The results showed that: 1) the SiCp/PVDF composites have good absorption properties over a wide bandwidth, and reflection loss increases with decreasing particle size; 2) the elastic modulus (E) of the films first increases and then decreases with the SiC mass fraction; 3) E decreases with the particle size when the mass fraction ranges from 10% to 20% and first increases and then decreases with the particle size when the mass fraction ranges from 30% to 50%; and 4) the maximum E of the prepared composites is 933 MPa, which is 3.6 times that of conventional PVDF films.