Graphene‐Enhanced Carbon–Aramid Hybrid Polymer Composites for Integrated Mechanical Strength and EM Absorptivity

Abstract

Aerospace and defense applications require hybrid composites combining structural strength with electromagnetic shielding. In this work, graphene‐enhanced hybrid carbon‐polymer composite is developed and analyzed for mechanical performance and electromagnetic (EM) stealth capability. The composite with 16‐layer quasi‐isotropic carbon and carbon‐aramid laminates was manufactured with and without graphene. Laminates were built using a vacuum‐assisted resin infusion microwave curing (VARIMC) process. The combined effect of fiber hybridization and graphene dispersion on density, void content, tensile, flexural, impact, and EMI shielding was investigated. Graphene was sonicated in epoxy for dispersion control at 0.4 wt.% and 0.8 wt.% The greatest property improvement was observed for laminates with 0.8 wt.% graphene. The highest tensile strength (576 MPa) with an increase of 28.28% was achieved for the non‐hybrid laminate, and the highest flexural strength (436 MPa) with an increase of 36.25% was achieved for the non‐hybrid laminate. The highest impact strength was achieved for the carbon‐aramid hybrid laminate (319 kJ/m 2 ) and increased by 44.62%. All laminates were shown to achieve EMI shielding effectiveness in excess of 30 dB and, in some cases, reached a maximum of 42.65 dB. The results demonstrate the potential of graphene‐reinforced carbon–aramid hybrids for integrated structural and EM‐stealth functions.