Useful stuff, however, this is not a typical "EMI shielding thing" - the
frequencies are very low - 100s of kHz. the gaps in any practical suit
are so small compared to a wavelength that they aren't there. You're
not shielding against a "radiated field", you're in the near field.
This is more about providing a path for current to flow when a streamer
touches you.
The usual problem that arises with aluminum, as you've noticed, is that
it forms a thin oxide layer, so making reliable electrical connections
with ring mail is going to be tricky.
So what you're thinking is that if you bond all the plates of your plate
armor together, it will provide a path.
The way we solve the "oxide" problem in electronics assemblies is by
chemical conversion coating of the aluminum to give it a conductive
surface. Kind of like anodizing, except it's conductive. Alodine and
Iridite are trade names of such coating. Historically, it would be a
chromium compound, but because of the issues with hexavalent chromium,
other things are used today.
The coatings can be done to yield a colorless finish, although colored
finishes are more common (because it's easy to tell if the part was
properly processed or if there are voids).
As far as making connections - is your suit of armor such that some
pieces are always attached to others (with a flexible connection)? so if
you had a "permanent" bonding wire that would work? You might look at
getting someone to braze or TIG weld the wires. The trick might be
finding a suitable flexible aluminum conductor that won't work harden
and eventually break. You can get thin aluminum ribbon, but, I'd worry
about the work hardening - maybe someone on the list can suggest a
suitable alloy, or wire. They *do* make stranded aluminum wire.
They also do make coaxial cables designed for repeated flexing with
aluminum shields, so someone has figured this out.
If you're going to mechanically attach dissimilar metals, you'll need to
worry about electrochemical effects (corrosion) - the usual strategy is
to clean the surfaces really well and use a product like NoAlOx in the
gap, and clamp/join it well enough to form a "gas-tight" seal.
You might be able to do something along those lines with rivets
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