Electromagnetic Shielding with Vitreous Carbon Foam

Lightweight, robust solutions are sought by the Air Force to replace traditional shielding with a new material that can protect and shield essential sensitive avionics, electronic devices, and other infrastructure from electromagnetic interference (“EMI”), electromagnetic pulse (“EMP”) and other electronic warfare attacks, especially when lives or critical missions are on the line. This proposal is in response to Key Area 1: Advanced EMP Shielding & Hardening Technologies. Through our recent experience in the DLA SBIR program and an ongoing Phase II SBIR program with the Navy, AMT has formed a strategic partnership with CONSOL Innovations LLC, the development arm of the largest coal mining company in the United States (CONSOL Energy Inc.), to provide vitreous carbon foam and graphite foam (“CFOAM”) technologies for shielding and hardening around aircraft brakes and carrier jet blast deflectors (JBDs).  This proposal focuses on the application of an open-celled vitreous carbon foam as a structural material. CFOAM® products are fabricated using coal as a precursor and can be produced at a density as low as 0.27 g/cc, or 10% of the density of aluminum. This material has shown remarkable fire and shock resistance, as well as resistance to flammability. Carbon foam also has significant vibration-absorbing capabilities. CFOAM Carbon Foam has some inherent shielding capability, as the material alone is capable of absorbing over 70 dB within a frequency range of 500 - 7,000 MHz. Standard CFOAM has an electrical resistivity of about 0.06 ohm-cm, making it a suitable material for absorbing electromagnetic radiation.  This research and development program will seek to build on these data to build a case for CFOAM utilization as a passive, failsafe, and elegant solution for shielding against EMP and EMI. This effort will enable rapid analysis of carbon foam’s shielding capabilities for different geometries, interface materials, and support structures. Ultimately, the research team expects to refine and elevate the TRL of this concept with high fidelity, providing a sufficient level of confidence that will support the validation and testing of a larger prototype during a Phase II program.