Light-transmitting concrete material

In fact, light-transmitting concrete is not a new material. Hungarian architect Aron Losconzi invented the light-transmitting concrete (Litracon) in 200 1 year, and as early as the 20 10/year Shanghai World Expo, the Italian Pavilion designed by Jim Paolo Ingbridge used the light-transmitting concrete hanging board for exterior wall decoration. At that time, 3,374 light-transmitting concrete hanging boards were used, weighing about 189 tons and covering an area of 1887㎡. What is this?

You can guess a thing or two from the name. Of course, the basic raw material is concrete, but how does it transmit light? Is it enough to drill holes in concrete through technology to let natural light pass through cracks? But, obviously, it's not that simple. So, let's look at its composition.

Light-transmitting concrete is not completely "transparent". It is based on the interaction of three main components-concrete, fiber and light, and relies on optical fiber to transmit light while maintaining density. The principle is that special glass fiber is processed into concrete, and its surface is irradiated with artificial light or natural light, which is transmitted from one end to the other, thus making it transparent. Therefore, the fiber must pass through the whole solid.

It sounds simple, but it needs some intuition. The fibers must be carefully inserted into the concrete layer by layer by hand.

And according to the final product, the whole process needs to be made by hand to get the correct result. Distribution, flow velocity, ambient temperature and other factors will affect the results again every time, but this makes each transparent concrete truly unique.

A fiber bundle that absorbs and transmits natural light and artificial light. It accounts for about 5% of the surface area of light-transmitting concrete block, and its tensile strength is about 70 MPa. These fibers are mixed with traditional fine concrete (about 95%). After the concrete is evenly distributed and solidified on the whole surface, it is cut into bricks, prefabricated blocks or hanging plates by standard stone cutting machinery.

02

What are the types and specifications of transparent concrete?

At present, Ruidun, a brand manufacturer of transparent concrete at home and abroad, has developed three kinds of transparent concrete: point dispersion, line dispersion and custom dispersion, and the colors are concrete natural color, black and white. These three categories present different effects. Points and lines are fixed styles, while custom classes can customize logo, slogan and so on. , very stylized. Al Aziz Mosque in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates, has a customized external wall. At present, the conventional thickness of light-transmitting concrete is 30-50 mm, and the conventional dimensions are: 1200*600mm, 1000*500mm, 500*500, 600*600, etc. Other sizes can be customized.

How does light-transmitting concrete transmit light?

According to the bending degree of the optical fiber and the roughness of the cutting surface of the optical fiber, the light transmittance is usually slightly less than half of the incident light on the optical fiber. Given 5% fiber, the final projection is about 2%. However, due to the nonlinear response of human eyes to light, it can still provide useful illumination. Theoretically, optical fiber can transmit light at the corner and within a distance of tens of meters, and the loss rate increases with the increase of length, and the loss of light is the least at a distance of about 20 meters, which depends on. Therefore, the allowable transmittance (light quantity) of the material can be modified. When using natural light, it is necessary to ensure that there is enough light available, and the wall-mounted system needs to be equipped with some form of lighting to achieve uniform lighting on the entire surface of the plate. Installation systems similar to natural stone are usually used.

Through the last transparent plate, the viewer can clearly see the outline of the object on the other side of the concrete. Based on this transparency, light-transmitting concrete still maintains its solid, crack-resistant and load-bearing qualities. For a long time, monotonous, boring and depressing concrete has been associated with office buildings such as prisons, ugly terraces and unfinished basements. However, light-transmitting concrete has the ability to change the interior of concrete buildings because of its light transmission. Make them look fresh, open and spacious.

04? Application of light-transmitting concrete

Since its development, light-transmitting concrete has been widely used in building wall decoration. In a public square in Stockholm, Sweden, the sidewalk of the square looks like it is made of ordinary concrete during the day, but at night, when the colored lights under the local table are on. A translucent surface will glow.

At the same time, in Eastern Europe, the newly renovated Bank of Georgia headquarters building has nearly 300 square meters of transparent concrete produced by German manufacturers, including LED lighting wallboard.

Firstly, the application of light-transmitting concrete in high-rise buildings is emphasized. As an exterior wall material and interior wall coating, as a building and design tool, it transmits and scatters sunlight in buildings, thus providing energy efficiency. At the same time, as a structural and insulating element, it makes the building sustainable and private, but in fact, whether indoors or outdoors. Light-transmitting concrete can also provide suitable decoration in many places.

1. Used for stair decoration, which can play the same role as decorative light belt;

2. It can be cut into bricks and stacked for decoration in the form of bricks;

3. It can be used for guiding and decorating on the ground;

4. The lamps can be customized and unique;

5. You can even customize indoor and outdoor furniture, chairs, desktops and so on.