Multifunctional design of an X-lattice interlocked sandwich structure with integrated electromagnetic wave regulation, convective heat transfer and load bearing performances

Abstract

Based on the concept of periodic structural unit, combined with interlocking technology, a novel X-lattice interlocked sandwich structure (XISS) was proposed in this paper for achieving electromagnetic (EM) wave regulation, heat dissipation and load bearing. Spoof surface plasmon polaritons (SSPPs) structures realized by gradient copper wire arrays were integrated with glass fiber reinforced plastic (GFRP) diaphragm walls, and then interlocked into GFRP X-lattices to form the XISS. EM simulated and experimental results demonstrated that the SSPPs structures could effectively improve the transmission performance, and the average transmissivity was increased by 22 % at frequency range from 6.93 GHz to 13.95 GHz. Moreover, heat transfer simulated results revealed that the X-lattices effectively induced vortex formation, leading to a higher convective heat transfer efficiency and improving the overall Nusselt number by 204.24 % compared to traditional rectangular honeycombs under the same Reynolds number. Besides the advantages above, the good compressive performance of the XISS exhibited the great potential of structural–functional integration designs, offering the broad prospects in practical engineering application.