Experimental Analysis of Light Transmitting Concrete

Abstract

The sense of breaching the opaqueness of objects is quite astonishing. That is why the names like light transmitting concrete, translucent or transparent concrete seems captivating. The approach was to maximise the use of natural light in building structures, also the concrete is a technically sound material but can be considered dull in terms of architectural considerations cause of which various artistic methods like wall paints & wallpapers were adopted. However, the light transmitting concrete helped achieving an aesthetic approach of designer and decorators towards the concrete previously considered as ordinary. In this era with technical advancements, the path towards achieving translucent concrete has progressed as well. In this article the purpose and mechanism of optical fibres running within the concrete blocks in order to transmit light have been discussed. However, studying the effect of optical fibre threads on the concrete strength was the sole aim. In order to achieve this, three blocks of concrete with standard dimensions were casted. Optical fibre strands were placed in two of them whereas one was kept as a standard concrete block. the study of strength of materials deals with controlling and varying different parameters with simultaneous observations, in here the percentage used for optical fibre strands was varied to study the effect of percentage of the optical fibre used over the strength of concrete block, strands were placed at a spacing of 1cm in one block and 1.5cm in the other to achieve the same. Further compressive strength analysis was carried for the prepared specimens in order to achieve a basic comparison between them. Various advantages and disadvantages were also studied to get a clear structural, economical and environmental compatibility of this innovation.