SHIELDING EFFECTIVENESS OF IMPROVED MICROWAVE-PROTECTIVE SUIT
Chung-Kwang Chou, John A. McDougall, Arthur W. Guy · 1986
The Milliken/Body Guard suit provided at least 20 dB attenuation at 915 MHz and 25 dB at 2450 MHz on a phantom model, with fabric attenuation of 28-35 dB from 0.65-1.15 GHz and 35-40 dB from 1.5-11 GHz.
Plain English Summary
Researchers measured the shielding effectiveness of a microwave protective suit by testing fabric attenuation in waveguides and by measuring electric field reduction at ten locations on a phantom man model exposed to 915 MHz and 2450 MHz radiation. When worn on the phantom, the suit provided at least 20 dB attenuation at 915 MHz at the head and torso and at least 25 dB at 2450 MHz at all ten measured locations. Washing the fabric reduced its attenuation: ten home or industrial washes caused a 3 to 5 dB drop for the warp direction, and 25 industrial washes decreased attenuation by about 6 dB for both warp and fill directions.
Why This Matters
The suit material is fire retardant and provides good ventilation, unlike earlier metal-coated fabrics that were highly flammable and had poor ventilation. The Navy suit offered better microwave protection because its material had higher attenuation and its design integrated gloves and boots, whereas the Milliken suit left hands and feet uncovered for practicality. The researchers concluded that more work is needed to develop suits for lower broadcasting and shortwave frequencies.
Finding
The suit had at least 25 dB at 2450 MHz for the ten locations tested and 20 dB at 915 MHz at the head and torso of the model. It is concluded that the suit made by Milliken Company and Body Guard, a Division of Lion Uniform, can provide good protection for microwave frequencies between the 0.65 to 11 GHz range in which the tests were made.
In their words
“The suit had at least 25 dB at 2450 MHz for the ten locations tested and 20 dB at 915 MHz at the head and torso of the model. It is concluded that the suit made by Milliken Company and Body Guard, a Division of Lion Uniform, can provide good protection for microwave frequencies between the 0.65 to 11 GHz range in which the tests were made.”
Show BibTeX
@article{shielding_effectiveness_of_improved_microwave_protective_suit_g4674,
author = {Chung-Kwang Chou and John A. McDougall and Arthur W. Guy},
title = {SHIELDING EFFECTIVENESS OF IMPROVED MICROWAVE-PROTECTIVE SUIT},
year = {1986},
}