Composite Structures 86 (2008) 299–305

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Composite Structures
journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/compstruct

Nanocomposite stealth radomes with frequency selective surfaces

Po Chul Kim a, Dai Gil Lee a,*, Il Sung Seo b, Geun Hong Kim b
a
Department of Mechanical Engineering, Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology, ME3221, Guseong-dong, Yuseong-gu, Daejeon 305-701, Republic of Korea
b
Agency for Defense Development, P.O. Box 35, Yuseong-gu, Daejeon, Republic of Korea

a r t i c l e i n f o a b s t r a c t

Available online 4 April 2008 The stealth function of the radome (Radar + Dome) is to transmit or reflect the EM (electromagnetic)
wave selectively through the radome. In this work, the stealth radome for aircrafts and warships was
Keywords: developed with the FSS (frequency selective surfaces), PVC foam, and nanoclay-dispersed E-glass fab-
Stealth radome ric/epoxy composite. The water diffusivity of nanocomposites, which changes the stealth characteristics,
FSS was measured with respect to the contents of nanoclay. The EM transmission characteristics were mea-
Nanoclay sured by the free space measurement system in the X-band frequency range (8.2–12.4 GHz) with respect
Water diffusivity
to the content of nanoclay. Also, the flexural strength of the sandwich construction composed of the
EM transmission characteristics
nanocomposite, PVC foam, and FCCL (flexible copper clad laminate) was measured by the 3-point bend-
ing test.
Ó 2008 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

1. Introduction In this work, the stealth radome composed of FSS (frequency

The stealth technology is a sub-discipline of ECM (electronic
countermeasures) which covers a range of techniques for weapon
systems such as aircrafts, ships, and missiles in order to make them
less visible or ideally invisible to radar, infrared, and other detec-
tion methods. In order to achieve the stealth performance, the
RCS (radar cross section) of weapon systems should be minimized
because the distance detected by an opposite radar is inversely
proportional to the fourth root of the RCS [1]. The RCS is a measure
of the power that is returned or scattered in a given direction, nor-
malized with respect to the power density of the incident [2]. The
RCS reduction is classified generally into two methods. One is to
absorb EM (electromagnetic) waves incident on the fuselage of
weapon systems with RAM (radar absorbing materials) and RAS
(radar absorbing structures) and the other is to transmit some of
them through the radome or reflect the rest at the radome surface
selectively.
The radome (Radar + Dome) is a protective dielectric housing
for a microwave or millimeter-wave antenna. The function of the
radome is to protect the antenna from adverse environments in
ground-based, airborne, and aerospace applications while having
insignificant effect on the electrical performance of the antenna.
Since the radar antenna is the main cause to increase the RCS of
the weapon systems, it is the most suitable structure to which
the stealth technology could be applied to reduce the radar detec-
tion [3].
* Corresponding author. Tel.: +82 42 869 3221; fax: +82 42 869 5221.
E-mail address: dglee@kaist.ac.kr (D.G. Lee).
selective surfaces), nanocomposites with nanoclay, and PVC foam
was developed. The FSS, that is an aperture type copper foil bonded
on a polyimide film, has the selective EM wave transmission or
reflection characteristics. Since water absorbed into the radome in-
creases the loss of EM waves because of the vibration of the polar
molecules of water, nanoclay was mixed with the matrix of com-
posite to retard water absorption.
Using the developed radome structures, the EM transmission
characteristics of the stealth radome were measured by the free
space measurement system and their mechanical properties and
water diffusivity were also investigated.
The functional requirements (FRs) of the stealth radome are as
follows:
FR1: Has resonance in the X-band frequency range (8.2–
12.4 GHz).
FR2: Has more than 80% of the maximum transmission rate.
FR3: Has less than 1 GHz of the bandwidth for 1 dB.
FR4: Has low water diffusivity.
FR5: Has high flexural strength.
2. Water diffusion of the nanocomposite
2.1. Nanoclay used as fillers
The MMT (montmorillonite) consists of two-dimensional layers
where a central octahedral sheet of alumina or magnesia is fused to
two external silica tetrahedron layers. The oxygen atoms of the
octahedral sheets are coordinated with four oxygen atoms located

0263-8223/$ - see front matter Ó 2008 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
doi:10.1016/j.compstruct.2008.03.045
300 P.C. Kim et al. / Composite Structures 86 (2008) 299–305

at the four corners of the tetrahedron, as shown in Fig. 1 [4]. The

Fig. 1. Structure of the MMT (montmorillonite) clay.
MMTs are stacked by the Van der Waals force and the gap between
MMTs is called as a gallery.
Na+-MMT (Sodium montmorillonite) occupied by Na+ between
galleries is the natural form of nanoclay and is a completely hydro-
philic material. To make it compatible with hydrophobic materials
such as polymers, the surfactant having a hydrophilic functional
group (polar materials such as water or MMT) and a hydrophobic
functional group (organic polymer molecules) is usually used.
In this work, CloisiteÒNa+ and CloisiteÒ93A (Southern Clay
Products Inc., USA) were used. CloisiteÒNa+ is the Na+-MMT which
is hydrophilic, as shown in Fig. 2a. CloisiteÒ93A is the MMT mod-
ified with a quaternary ammonium salt which is M2HT (Methyl,

10 μm

MMT
1.2 nm Na+ Na+ Na+ Na+ Na+

10 μm

MMT
H H H
2.4 nm CH3 N+ HT CH3 N+ HT CH3 N+ HT
HT HT HT

Fig. 2. Schematics of nanoclay: (a) CloisiteÒNa+; (b) CloisiteÒ93A (HT: hydrogenated tallow).

Fig. 3. TEM (transmission electron microscope) image of the epoxy/nanoclay (1.0%) composite: (a) CloisiteÒNa+; (b) CloisiteÒ93A.
 P.C. Kim et al. / Composite Structures 86 (2008) 299–305 301

Dihydrogenated tallow, Quaternary ammonium), as shown in 140 1

Fig. 2b. The quaternary ammonium is the hydrophilic functional
120
group, while the HT (Hydrogenated tallow) is the hydrophobic 0.8

Temperature (ºC)

Pressure (MPa)
functional group with the long chain ((CH2)nCH3, n = 14–20) which 100
increases the size of galleries. 80 0.6
As shown in Fig. 3, the epoxy resin was intercalated between
60 0.4
galleries of CloisiteÒ93A (1.0%), but was not intercalated between
galleries of CloisiteÒNa+ (1.0%). Therefore, CloisiteÒ93A was 40 Temperature
selected for the manufacture of the nanoclay composite stealth 0.2
20 Pressure
radome in this work.
0 0
0 1 2 3 4
2.2. Manufacturing process of the nanocomposite Time (hr)

The nanocomposites were manufactured with the E-glass fabric,

90 0.2
epoxy resin (YD114F, Kukdo chemical Co., Korea), and CloisiteÒ93A
80
according to the process in Fig. 4. At the step of ‘pre-mixing’, the

Temperature (ºC)
70

Pressure (MPa)
flask containing the mixture of the epoxy resin and CloisiteÒ93A
60
was placed on the stirrer hot plate (PC-420D, Corning Inc., USA)
50
for 1 h with the rotating speed of 600 rpm and the temperature 0.1
40
of 80 °C. At the step of ‘mixing’, the mixture of the epoxy resin
30
and CloisiteÒ93A was further mixed by the three roll mill Temperature
20
(EXAKT50, EXAKT Apparatebau GmbH & Co. KG, Germany). As
10 Pressure
shown in Fig. 4b, the mixture from the hopper was poured be-
0 0
tween the roller 1 and roller 2, where the mixture adhered to the 0 0.5 1 1.5 2 2.5 3
bottom of the roller 2, was transported into the gap between the
Time (hr)
roller 2 and roller 3. Finally, the mixture was removed and gath-
ered by the scraper. The CloisiteÒ93A was dispersed into the epoxy Fig. 5. Cure cycles used for the stealth radome: (a) manufacturing the nanocom-
resin due to the shear strain generated by the different rotating posites; (b) bonding the nanocomposites, PVC foam, and FSS.

Hopper

Mixture

Epoxy + Cloisite®93A

Magnetic-stirring bar
Speed Temp.

( Stirrer Hot plate ) Roller 1 Roller 2 Roller 3 Scraper

Vacuum (Air)
Epoxy + Cloisite®93A
+ Hardener
Magnetic-stirring bar Epoxy + Cloisite®93A
Speed Temp. + Hardener

( Stirrer Hot plate )

Epoxy + Cloisite®93A

E-glass fabric

Fig. 4. Manufacturing process of nanocomposites composed of E-glass fabric, epoxy resin, and nanoclay: (a) pre-mixing; (b) mixing; (c) post-mixing; (d) removing voids; (e)
pasting; and (f) curing in the autoclave.
302 P.C. Kim et al. / Composite Structures 86 (2008) 299–305

speed of rollers. In this work, the rotating speeds of the rollers 1, 2, with a soft cloth. The weight increase was measured until the
and 3 were 72, 131, and 240 rpm, respectively, and the gap be- weight increase was saturated.
tween the rollers was 5 lm. At the step of ‘post-mixing’, the hard- The specific mass (Mt) of water in the specimen was calculated
ener was added in the mixture and was blended using the stirrer by the following equation:
hot plate, where the rotating speed was 600 rpm at the room tem-
perature to slow down the curing of the epoxy. At the step of
‘removing voids’, voids trapped in the epoxy during the mixing
process were removed by the vacuum line. At the step of ‘pasting’,
the mixture was pasted in the E-glass fabric by the hand lay-up
method. At the step of ‘curing’, the laminates (E-glass fab- Nanocomposites
ric + Epoxy resin + CloisiteÒ93A) were cured by the autoclave vac-
uum bag degassing method under the cure cycle of Fig. 5a [5].

Frequency Selective Surface

2.3. Water diffusivity in the nanocomposite

The water-absorption test was performed according to the

ASTM D570 shown in Fig. 6, where the diameter and thickness of PVC Foam
specimens were 50 mm and 1 mm, respectively. After the speci-
mens were dried in an oven for 24 h at 30 °C, they were immersed
Fig. 8. Schematics of the sandwich constructions for the stealth radomes composed
in the container of distilled water maintained at the temperature of of nanocomposites with CloisiteÒ93A, frequency selective surfaces, and PVC foams.
30 °C. The weight of the specimens was measured by the scale with
0.1 mg accuracy after removing water on the surface of specimens
Manufacturing nanocomposites
Autoclave
Drying Specimen (30ºC, 24 hours)
Manufacturing frequency selective surfaces

Immersing Specimen into the Distilled Water (30ºC) Etching process

Saturation
Bonding (Nanocomposites, PVC foam, Frequency selective surfaces)
Measuring the Weight of Specimen (Accuracy: 0.1 mg)
Araldite®

Calculating the Diffusivity Stealth radome

Fig. 6. Process of the water-absorption test. Fig. 9. Manufacturing process of the stealth radome.

1.2 0.8
0%
1
0.6
0.8
Mt Mt Slope = D
0.6 4% 0% 0.4
M∞ M∞ 0%
1% 1%
0.4 2% 2%
3% 0.2
3%
0.2
4% 4%
0 0
0 1000 2000 3000 4000 5000 0 200 400 600 800 1000 1200
t t 1/2
4( 2 )1/2 ( s / mm) 4( ) ( s / mm )
πh π h2

5
4.3
Diffusivity (×10-7mm2/s)

4 3.7
3
3 2.6 2.6

0
0 1 2 3 4
Contents of nanoclay (%)

Fig. 7. Results of the water-absorption test of nanocomposites with CloisiteÒ93A at 30 °C: (a) Mt/M1 versus 4(t/ph2)1/2; (b) initial slope; (c) water diffusivity; and (d) diffusing
path of water.
 P.C. Kim et al. / Composite Structures 86 (2008) 299–305 303

Pattern mask
CAD Program

Coating PR-film

150 mm
Negative type

Exposing to UV light
For 40 sec

Developing
Patterning dipoles 150 mm
δa
Etching
Removing copper

Parting δb b
Removing PR-film

a
Fig. 10. FSS (frequency selective surfaces) manufactured by the FCCL (flexible copper clad laminate): (a) etching process; (b) FSS with dipoles and its unit cell.

HP8510C GPIB
PC
Network analyzer
System bus

Synthesized
sweeper

S-parameter
test set
Coaxial cable Port 1 Port 2 Coaxial cable

Plexiglas Test sample

Mode transitions sample holder Mode transitions
antenna antenna

Micrometer positioner Aluminum table

Aluminum base

Fig. 11. Free space measurement system for characterization of EM (electromagnetic) properties of materials: (a) schematic configuration; (b) photographs.
304 P.C. Kim et al. / Composite Structures 86 (2008) 299–305

Wt  W0  2
Et 
Mt ¼  100 ð%Þ
W0
where W0 and Wt are the weights of the specimens before and after
the diffusion experiment, respectively.
The water diffusivity (D) of specimens is determined by the fol-
lowing equation [6]:
 1=2
Mt Dt
¼4 2
M1 ph
where M1 is the mass of water at saturation, h is the thickness of
specimens, and t is the immersing time.
The initial slope which is the square root of the water diffusivity
of specimens was obtained from the curve of Mt/M1 versus
4(t/ph2)1/2, as shown in Fig. 7a and b.
The water diffusivity of the specimen without CloisiteÒ93A was
about 4.3  107 mm2/s. When the content of CloisiteÒ93A was
larger than 3%, the water diffusivity was about 2.6  107 mm2/s,
as shown in Fig. 7c. As the content of CloisiteÒ93A was increased,
the water diffusivity decreased because the diffusing path of water
in the specimen was increased by the CloisiteÒ93A which has the
plate-type shape, as shown in Fig. 7d.
3. EM transmission characteristics of the stealth radome
3.1. Manufacturing process of the stealth radome
The stealth radomes were manufactured with sandwich con-
structions, as shown in Fig. 8. Nanocomposites with CloisiteÒ93A
were used as face materials because of their good mechanical
properties, low water diffusivity, and low losses of EM waves.
The PVC foam (Divinycell HT110, DIAB Inc., Sweden) was used as
ð1Þ Transmission loss ¼ 10 log   ðdBÞ ð3Þ
Ei
The EM transmission characteristics of the stealth radome were
measured by the free space measurement system (HVS Technolo-
gies, Pennsylvania, USA) composed of a pair of spot-focusing horn
lens antennas (transmitting and receiving antennas), a specimen
holder, HP8510C network analyzer, and a personal computer for
ð2Þ data acquisition, as shown in Fig. 11 [3].
The specimens (150  150 mm2) with the different content of
CloisiteÒ93A were manufactured to measure their EM transmis-
sion characteristics. The dimensions of FSS, as shown in Fig. 10b,
were a = 1 mm, b = 13 mm, da = 4 mm, and db = 17 mm and the
thicknesses of nanocomposites with CloisiteÒ93A and PVC foam
were 0.9 mm and 10 mm, respectively.
The EM transmission characteristics of the stealth radome were
measured by the free space method in the X-band, which is used
most widely in weapon systems. Fig. 12 shows the EM transmis-
sion profile with respect to the content of CloisiteÒ93A and Table 1
also shows the EM transmission characteristics of the stealth
radome obtained by the free space method.
As shown in Table 1, the three EM transmission characteristics
(Resonant frequency, Maximum transmission rate, Bandwidth for
1 dB) were similar to each other because the dielectric properties
(Dielectric constant, Loss tangent) of nanocomposites composed of
E-glass fabric and epoxy resin with CloisiteÒ93A were not changed
with respect to the content of CloisiteÒ93A, as shown in Table 2.
Therefore, the stealth radomes suggested in this work satisfied
the functional requirements of FR1 to FR4.
0
0%
Transmission loss (dB)

the core material because of its similar dielectric properties to -1 1%

those of the free space. The FSS with the ability to reflect or trans- 2%
mit EM waves selectively was laminated between the PVC foam -2
3%
and nanocomposites. The stealth radomes composed of FSS, PVC -3 4%
foam, and nanocomposites with CloisiteÒ93A were manufactured
according to the process, as shown in Fig. 9. -4
The FSS is a two-dimensional planar periodic structure made of -5
thin metallic foils, which have the ability to reflect or transmit EM
waves selectively. The FSS was manufactured by an FCCL (flexible -6
8.2 9.2 10.2 11.2 12.2
copper clad laminate) through the etching process, as shown in
Fig. 10a. The FCCL is the laminate composed of a copper foil of Frequency (GHz)
20 lm thickness and a polyimide film of 40 lm thickness. In this
Fig. 12. EM (Electromagnetic) transmission spectral profiles of the stealth radome
work, the aperture-type FSS with dipole elements, as shown in with respect to the content of CloisiteÒ93A.
Fig. 10b, was selected because the stealth radome has to transmit
the incident EM waves selectively in order to reduce the RCS of
weapon systems and has the smallest transmission bandwidth [7]. Table 1
Finally, the FSS, nanocomposites with CloisiteÒ93A, and PVC EM (Electromagnetic) transmission characteristics of the stealth radome with respect
to the content of CloisiteÒ93A in the X-band frequency range (8.2–12.4 GHz)
foam were bonded with an epoxy adhesive (AralditeÒ, USA) under
the bonding cycle of Fig. 5b. CloisiteÒ93A (%) 0 1 2 3 4
Resonant frequency (GHz) 8.5 8.5 8.5 8.5 8.6
3.2. EM transmission characteristics Maximum transmission rate (%) 81 80 81 80 81
Bandwidth for 1 dB (GHz) 0.8 0.4 0.5 0.6 1.0

There are three important EM transmission characteristics of

the stealth radome: resonant frequency, minimum transmission
loss, and bandwidth for 1 dB. The resonant frequency means Table 2
the center frequency in the band of transmitted EM waves through Dielectric properties of nanocomposites composed of E-glass fabric and epoxy resin
with CloisiteÒ93A in the X-band frequency range (8.2–12.4 GHz)
the radome. The minimum transmission loss means the maximum
transmission rate. The bandwidth for 1 dB means the width of CloisiteÒ93A (%) 0 1 2 3 4
frequency region that the transmission rate is more than 80%. Thickness (mm) 2.994 3.204 3.069 3.262 3.168
The logarithmic scale of the ratio Et (electric field intensity of the Dielectric Constant (10 GHz) 4.867 4.790 5.009 4.647 4.985
transmitted EM wave) and Ei (electric field intensity of the incident Dielectric Constant (Average) 4.850 4.780 5.005 4.628 4.992
Loss tangent (10 GHz) 0.021 0.020 0.018 0.020 0.016
EM wave) is called the transmission loss and expressed by the fol-
Loss tangent (Average) 0.020 0.019 0.017 0.019 0.016
lowing equation [3]:
 P.C. Kim et al. / Composite Structures 86 (2008) 299–305 305

d The flexural strength (rf) without local compressive failure by

w the stress concentration is expressed by the following equation [8]:
tf
3PL
tc rf ¼ ð4Þ
2wt2
tFCCL
where P is the maximum load and t is the thickness of specimen
d d
(tc + 2tf + tFCCL).
Fig. 13b and c show the load–displacement curve and the flex-
L
ural strength from the 3-point bending test. The flexural strength
was about 40 MPa irrespective of the content of CloisiteÒ93A
0.8
because the small amount of CloisiteÒ93A affected little the
0%
mechanical properties of nanocomposites composed of E-glass fab-
0.6 1%
ric and epoxy with CloisiteÒ93A.
Load (kN)

2%
0.4 3%
4% 5. Conclusion

0.2 The stealth radomes were manufactured with composite sand-

wich constructions composed of nanocomposites, composed of E-
0 glass fabric, epoxy, and nanoclay particles (CloisiteÒ93A), PVC
0 2 4 6 8 foam, and FSS. The water diffusivity of nanocomposites was mea-
Displacement (mm) sured with respect to the content of CloisiteÒ93A. As the content
of CloisiteÒ93A was larger than 3%, the water diffusivity of nano-
60 composites was decreased 40% than that of without CloisiteÒ93A
Flexural strength (MPa)

because the diffusing path of water were increased by the Cloi-

50 42.4 siteÒ93A which has the plate-type shape. The EM transmission
42.1 41.6 41.0 39.8
40 characteristics of the stealth raodme were dependent little on the
content of CloisiteÒ93A because the dielectric properties of nano-
30 compoite were almost same irrespective of the content of Cloi-
20 siteÒ93A. The flexural strength of the stealth radome measured
by the 3-point bending test was about 40 MPa.
10

0 Acknowledgement
0 1 2 3 4
Contents of nanoclay (%) This work has been supported by NRL Project (KAIST Top
Brand), ADD (Agency for Defense Development) project, and partly
Fig. 13. Flexural strength of the stealth radome with respect to the content of
CloisiteÒ93A: (a) specimen configuration; (b) load–displacement curve; and (c)
by BK21 Project. Their supports are greatly appreciated.
flexural strength.
References

4. Mechanical properties of the stealth radome
The mechanical properties of the stealth radome were mea-
sured by the 3-point bending test (ASTM D790-03) with respect
to the content of CloisiteÒ93A in the face materials. The nanocom-
posites with CloisiteÒ93A, PVC foam, and FCCL were bonded with
the adhesive (AralditeÒ) according to the cycle, as shown in
Fig. 5b. Fig. 13a shows the schematic configuration of the test spec-
imen. The thickness of nanocomposites (tf), PVC foam (tc), and FCCL
(tFCCL) were 0.9 mm, 10 mm, and 0.06 mm, recpectively. The width
(w) and span (L) were 30 mm and 192 mm, respectively. The diam-
eter (d) of supporting fixtures was 20 mm and the rubber pad was
placed between the load-supporting fixture and the specimen to
avoid the stress concentration.
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