Experimental Investigations of Translucent Concrete using Optical Fibres

Transparent concrete is the new type of concrete introduced in modern era which carries special property of light transmitting due to presence of glass fibres & is also known as translucent concrete or light transmitting concrete. It is lighter than conventional concrete having special features such as low density and thermal conductivity with main advantage of reduction in dead weight, faster building rate in construction, lower haulage & handling cost. Light is transmitted from one surface of the brick wall to the other due to optical fibres strands along the overall width of the wall which allows light to pass through. An optical fibre (or optical fibre) is a flexible, transparent fibre made of glass (silica) or plastic, slightly thicker than a human hair & can function as waveguide, or “light pipe” to transmit light between the two ends. Main aim of the study is to design translucent concrete blocks with the use of glass optical fibres with sand & cement then analyse their various physical & engineering properties with respect to conventional concrete blocks by adding glass optical fibres of 1%, 2 %, 3 % 4 % 5% at 0.5 cms & 1.0 cms spacing respectively. From the study, it can be concluded that there is 5% to 10% increase in initial compressive strength for 7 days & also 10% to 15% increase in initial compressive strength for 28 days to an optical fibres mix up to 3% whereas the initial & final characteristic compressive strength gradually decreases with an increase in Optical fibres in the concrete mix. Citation: Shreyas. K, Don Bosco Institute of Technology. "Experimental Investigations of Translucent Concrete using Optical Fibres." Global Research and Development Journal For Engineering 33 2018: 23 - 34.