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Electrical Characterization of Conductive Concrete Mixtures for Industrial Applications
Farhana, Shereen
Farhana, Shereen
Date
2022-06
Author
Advisor
Type
Thesis
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Description
A Master of Science thesis in Electrical Engineering by Shereen Farhana entitled, “Electrical Characterization of Conductive Concrete Mixtures for Industrial Applications”, submitted in June 2022. Thesis advisor is Dr. Nasser Qaddoumi and thesis co-advisor is Dr. Sherif Yehia. Soft copy is available (Thesis, Completion Certificate, Approval Signatures, and AUS Archives Consent Form).
Abstract
In today’s world, with the increasing use of electronic devices such as television and radio, mobile phones, Wi-Fi hot spots, and a variety of other technologies, electromagnetic field radiation transmitters have become very common. High-power microwave technology has progressed to the point that actual E-bombs are becoming theoretically possible, with novel uses in strategic and tactical information warfare. Electromagnetic pulse (EMP) bomb is a non-lethal, but highly destructive, weapon that emits an electromagnetic pulse that disables all electrical circuitry within a certain radius. Moreover, many technologies operate in the same or similar frequency bands, making the frequency spectrum densely packed. As the level of interference increases, some form of shielding is highly required. Over the majority of recorded study, conductive concrete which is developed as a result of the addition of conductive components to conventional concrete has been widely used for crack detection, deicing, efficient grounding, anti-static flooring and cathodic protection of reinforced concrete structures. Conductive concrete has also exhibited excellent shielding properties along with improved electrical properties, hence extending its application from civil engineering to electrical engineering. The objective of this thesis is to discuss the feasibility of using conductive concrete mixture for electromagnetic shielding applications by performing several tests to analyze their electrical properties to eliminate the effect of electromagnetic waves and pulses. Conductive and conventional concrete mixtures with corrugations of varying compositions and thicknesses are assessed. The relative complex permittivity of the concrete is also estimated by measuring the scattering parameters of the concrete samples using a rectangular waveguide in the c-band frequency range. Moreover, a dielectric mixing model is developed for determining the relative complex permittivity of the heterogeneous concrete mixture based on the volume percentage and the dielectric constant of individual constituents in the concrete mixtures. Finally, the thickness of the concrete sample is estimated using the relative complex permittivity obtained from the mixing model for any required level of attenuation at frequencies of concern.