Determination of dielectric properties of plaster blocks for sealing masonry using non-destructive frequency scanning methods

With the increasing use of traditional and new models of wireless communication systems, the study and determination of the electrical characteristics of materials used in civil construction is an important topic to establish an understanding of how the radio frequency signal behaves inside built environments. This study presents an extensive process of characterization of electrical parameters of plaster blocks used in the construction of walls. Different from the literature where a prior estimation of the data occurs to enable sampling parameters to be obtained, this work proposes an innovative way of obtaining them entirely based on the analysis of the material through frequency measurements, which results in a greater level of precision of the data results. Analyses are made in the frequency range from 0.7 to 5.2 GHz, which has been used for several wireless communication standards. To carry out the electrical characterization of dielectric materials, a non-invasive methodology is proposed based on an innovative combination of the Nicolson-Ross-Weir Method (NRW) and the Ray Tracing Method. Through the proposed methodology and an extensive campaign of measurements using frequency scanning equipment, calculated and experimental data of Shielding Effectiveness (SE), complex relative electrical permittivity, loss tangent, attenuation coefficient and conductivity were obtained for a wide range of frequency, considering different samples of plaster blocks. The obtained results are compared to those available in the related literature, confirming the accuracy of the proposed analysis.