Research and Manufacture of Plastic Optical Fiber Based Transparent Concrete

Translucent or transparent concrete is the new type of concrete which carries light transmitting property due to presence of optical fibre cables & is also known as transparent concrete or light transmitting concrete. Light is transmitted from one surface of the brick wall to the other due to OFC along the overall width of the wall which allows light to pass through. 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. An optical plastic 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 OFC with sand & cement then analyze their various physical & engineering properties with respect to conventional concrete blocks by adding glass rods of 1%, 2 %, 3 % 4 % 5% at 1.5 cm spacing respectively. From the test results, 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 a glass rod mix of up to 3% Whereas the initial & final characteristic compressive strength gradually decreases with an increase in glass rods in the concrete mix.