To address the single electromagnetic wave loss mechanism of magnetic alloys and enhance their adaptability to marine environments, this study takes Fe3Si as the research subject. It employs dry ball milling as a technical approach to modify the microscopic surface characteristics of the material. Furthermore, it evaluates the material's wave absorption property and salt spray resistance under various processing conditions, as well as the impact of salt spray tests on its wave absorption properties. Firstly, the Fe3Si alloy micro-powder is subject to ball milling for 16, 24, and 32 hours, respectively, resulting in micro-nano powders (Fe3Si-16, Fe3Si-24, Fe3Si-32) with distinct surface morphologies. Subsequently, the phase composition, magnetic properties, and surface morphology of the resultant powders are systematically characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD), vibrating sample magnetometry (VSM), and scanning electron microscopy (SEM). The electromagnetic parameters of the three material groups are quantitatively measured with a vector network analyzer (VNA), and the reflection loss (RL) curves under various thickness conditions are calculated based on the transmission line theory to evaluate their microwave absorption performance. The aforementioned results demonstrate that Fe3Si-24 exhibits the most superior performance. Specifically, when the matching thickness is set to 2.0 mm, it achieves an effective absorption bandwidth (EAB) of 6.94 GHz (ranging from 9.56 GHz to 16.5 GHz) and a minimum reflection loss (RLmin) of -35.5 dB. This enhanced performance can be attributed to the lychee peel-like structure formed on the surface of Fe3Si-24 during the ball milling process. This structure not only increases the contact area with incident electromagnetic waves but also facilitates the synergistic effect of interfacial loss and magnetic loss, thereby improving the material's microwave absorption properties. In addition, to assess the environmental adaptability of Fe3Si-24 with optimal wave absorption performance, a typical stealth coating is prepared on an aluminum alloy plate substrate with Fe3Si-24 as the wave absorber and epoxy resin as the adhesive. Salt spray tests are conducted for varying duration (0 h, 12 h, 24 h, 36 h, 48h, and 60 h). Results indicate that pitting corrosion occurs within the initial 12 hours. However, no significant uniform corrosion is observed as the salt spray exposure duration increases. Furthermore, after 60 hours of salt spray testing, the reflection loss value remains in its initial state, suggesting that this coating exhibits substantial application potential in marine environments. This work enhances the impedance matching capability of Fe3Si alloy by modifying its surface microstructure, mitigates the trade-off effect between impedance matching and the attenuation constant, and consequently improves the overall microwave absorption performance of the material. This study provides a scientific foundation and innovative insights for designing advanced high-performance microwave absorbers.
Key words
Fe3Si soft magnetic alloy /
ball milling /
electromagnetic parameter /
salt spray resistance property
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Funding
The National Natural Science Foundation of China (52101392); Shandong Provincial Natural Science Foundation (ZR2024QE253); Universities of Shandong Province of china (2020KJA014); Shandong NarralScience Foundation (ZR20200D081); Science and Technology Support Plan for Youth Innovation (ZR2020ME130)
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