Transparent Concrete

Published on 16 Apr 2022. Written by Vinay Raj

Concrete is being used since very old times. It is used since roman age for the development, housing and infrastructure. But the materials used in the concrete is been not changed. Concrete is majorly made of the three components, cement which is a very fine powder and acts as binder, fine aggregate, which comprises of small and fine sand particles, Coarse aggregate, which comprises of large to medium pieces of the stone or gravel.

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Now-a-days concrete is not a grey and heavy material. It is becoming lively and beautiful day by day. New developed concrete is being created by the researcher’s day by day which are like more resistant, whiter, lighter, coloured etc…

The transparent concrete is obtained when the fine concrete is combined with the optical fibres. The main aim of transparent concrete is to allow the sunlight into the building and less the electrical energy consumption up to some extent. It is also less in weight when compared to the traditional concrete.

Requirements:

Knowledge of Concrete Technology.

Knowledge of Mix Design.

Cement (Used as binder material between the materials)

Fine and Coarse Aggregate (filling the voids and giving additional strength)

Optical Fibers Elements

Water

Project Implementation:

1. First a mould of required shape and size is prepared, wood is used for making the mould.
2. The optical fibres are cut such that they do not be more than the mould shape.
3. Holes are made to the mould and the optical fibre is made to pass through it. Alternatively, we can do layer by layer also.
4. Concreting is done carefully by putting in with less quantities and vibrating so that no voids are formed.
5. Mould is removed after 24 hours, and left undisturbed for more 24 hours.
6. The extra fibers are cut carefully and polish the panel surface using sand paper.
7. Test can be made on this concrete to check its compressive test, flexural strength, etc…

Software Requirements:

• If you need to plot the graph for the values you can use software like MS-Excel, Origin Pro etc…

Advantages:

• By using this concrete, you can illuminate the walls.
• Natural light captured into the building will be more.
• Can be used to make the pavement light at night.
• You can make many numbers of design by using this concrete and as it is bad conductor electricity connection can be made without any fear.

Disadvantages:

• It is very difficult to make these concrete and skilled labour is required.
• It is also costly ass we are introducing the optical fibers into cement.

Conclusion:

We can even develop this project by introducing glass fiber or large glasses. This transparent concrete has good light guiding properties.

Kit required to develop Transparent Concrete:

• No Kit is required

Technologies you will learn by working on Transparent Concrete:

• Concrete Technology
• Cement
• Transparent

Any Questions?