Optical fiber properties and application in concrete. Transparent concrete. Making transparent concrete blocks with your own hands

More than 10 years ago, experts proposed a truly unique innovative development For construction work- transparent or translucent concrete.

Currently, Lucem has spoken about the launch of a new material and its entry into the global construction market. And soon it will be possible to buy concrete with delivery, which will make the structure weightless.

Let's remember the history and features of this material...

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As you know, ordinary concrete began to be used in construction more than a thousand years ago, back in the days of Mesopotamia.

It acquired its final form in the 19th century. And nowadays, during the construction of any building, it is simply impossible to do without the use of concrete. It is rightly called the basis of modern architecture, since it is an essential structural component of any building. There are even polystyrene concrete and fiber cement. However, many people associate concrete with facelessness and soullessness, and rarely would anyone think of calling it beautiful. However, after the appearance of a transparent variety, ideas about concrete begin to change greatly.

Photo 2.

It would seem that builders have long studied all the chemical and physical properties of this material. But the fact that through the transparent indestructible mass one can see the silhouettes, features and colors of the objects that are behind it, few people suspected. Wherein transparent material remains sound-heat insulating, durable and waterproof. Thus, this is a type of composite concrete that transmits light through itself, while remaining the properties of ordinary concrete.

Transparent concrete is designated by another term - lythrocon. There is another name - lyutsem. The creator of transparent concrete is Aron Loshontsi. It was he who came up with the idea unusual idea combine concrete with optical fiber, which is used in telecommunications. The first sample of concrete, which the inventor himself calls translucent, was made in 2001.

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Now this Hungarian architect has opened his own company and is now producing transparent concrete in huge volumes. IN new version Lyutsema, the architect used plastic, which made it possible to somewhat reduce the cost of the material and make it significantly more attractive. The architect's dream is to one day see city blocks built from litracone.

A unique feature of light-conducting concrete structures is the fact that they are made of fine-grained material with the addition of fiberglass. When these 2 components are combined, a unique building material appears with high level transparency (it will change the perception of concrete as an ordinary and boring material upon external inspection).

Photo 4.

Light-conducting fibers are located in the concrete structure itself; they make it possible to achieve a striking play of light and shadow. Similar concrete blocks are not completely transparent, however, the silhouettes of various objects and people are clearly visible through them. Structures made of light-conducting concrete look light and airy. However, according to experts, according to the most important characteristics Light-conducting concrete is no different from its simple counterpart - it is also durable.

Researchers have found that light through transparent concrete is visible at a distance of more than 20 meters.

The blocks are made by layering fine-grained concrete onto optical fiberglass. After this procedure, the surface of the block is treated in a special way. At fibers small size, which makes it possible to maintain uniformity concrete mixture and her internal structure. This advanced material, along with conventional concrete, has significant strength, high fire and frost resistance, and is resistant to exposure to sunlight.

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Transparent concrete immediately found its application and became common in various countries. In the USA, as a rule, it is used for the production of fencing for many government buildings. In Sweden and Japan, very monolithic structures are built from such material.

Lutze became the main material in the construction of the central representative office of BMW, the famous automobile concern. In addition, small objects began to be produced from transparent concrete. Today, lamps made from litrakon are quite popular. Such an accessory weighs a little - only 10 kilograms, but costs a significant amount - about 600 euros for each lamp.

Photo 6.

Developers to present in detail innovative material, lined the central façade of one of the buildings in Aachen. For cladding external walls spent 136 panels, whose dimensions corresponded to 150x50 cm. The concrete panels were connected to a lighting control system, they were controlled using innovative computer technology. The unique system controls over 16 million flowers. As a result, the ordinary facade of the building turned into a huge screen for a bright light show.

From the point of view of the authors of the project, the appearance of new transparent concrete blocks on construction market will increase the potential contemporary art interior design and architecture. Lucem has already begun producing rare blocks, producing them in several varieties.

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With the development of new production technologies, materials that are quite unusual at first glance appear, for example, transparent concrete. The traditional idea of concrete as a heavy stone monolith breaks down already at the first acquaintance with the unusual structure. This is not a trick or a publicity stunt construction company, this is a real building material, from which, if desired, you can even build a small house.

What is the new material?

It would be more correct to call transparent concrete light-conducting, because its developer is still very far from being completely transparent. Light-conducting concrete mass due to its novelty and limited use It is relatively expensive to produce, although the technology of transparent concrete does not require special, super complex equipment or unique materials.

For the production of transparent concrete the following are used:

Special grades of cement with extremely small cement grain size;
Glass quartz fiber in reels;
Wetting and air-displacing additives for concrete;
Pure quartz sand, or more precisely, dust or powder of high purity.

If you can buy or get all of the listed components cheaply required quality, then it is quite possible to start making blocks of transparent concrete with your own hands. So far, the cost of source materials makes the light-conducting array quite expensive for home production.

For your information! The quality of fiberglass plays a primary, even special role in the production of transparent concrete.

To produce transparent material, you cannot use fiber fiber, which is traditionally used for fiberglass and materials with a chaotic reinforcement structure. Transparent concrete requires a semi-product - quartz fiber in threads, which is produced on special casting machines. This is a semi-product, which is what we need.

The remaining components are well known to almost any builder. This is Portland cement M300 of the finest grinding and sand, pre-screened, washed and dried.

Properties of transparent concrete mass

If you try to make a transparent material using chopped fiber, you will end up with ordinary, completely opaque fiber-reinforced concrete. The whole idea of manufacturing a transparent array is based on the use of solid fiberglass with a diameter of 0.25 mm.

Structurally transparent concrete is just an array of fibers laid in a certain way, filled with a binding matrix based on concrete mortar high fluidity and low shrinkage.

After the process of gaining the design strength of the concrete matrix is completed, transparent concrete exhibits the following characteristics:

Strength in static unilinear compression corresponds to the level of M250 or good quality concrete of regular composition;
Frost resistance at the level masonry brick F-50;
Water absorption is about 6%, which is very high for a cement-based material;
Light transmission is only 3-4%. But even this value is enough to create the illusion of transparency.

In fact, transparent concrete is a monolith in which hundreds of thousands of tiny optical channels are embedded, thanks to which the material is able to project shadows and contours falling on a section of the concrete mass even with a casting thickness of up to 200 cm.

That is, in reality, through transparent concrete you can see bright light or the contours of an object; in low light conditions, the light-transmitting material would look like ordinary concrete. If the transparent material were an amorphous monolith, like glass, then the maximum one could get was half a meter of transparency.

At the same time, transparent concrete, due to reinforcement, has high bending and tensile strength, vibration loading and alternating loading. the material shows acceptable thermal insulation qualities - 2.1 W/m∙K.

It would be possible to easily build houses and buildings, fences and garages from transparent concrete, if not for one problem - the price of the innovative material is only 500-900 euros per square meter of a twenty-centimeter block.

Production technology and application of transparent concrete

A remarkable quality of transparent concrete is the ability to produce it in artisanal conditions using simplified technology. In laboratory conditions, special methods are used to strengthen the concrete matrix like foam concrete. The result is a light-transmitting material that has 2-3 higher specific strength characteristics than concrete made in a garage or shed.

Making high-quality transparent concrete with your own hands

The method for producing light-transmitting castings can be found in numerous digests and construction websites, but most of them simply copy the developer’s description. Let's try to make transparent concrete that is closest in quality to the original. You will first need to make a collapsible mold from plastic or wood with a removable bottom and lid.

Sequence of operations:

We carefully wash the fiberglass with 647 solvent to remove the preservative lubricant from the surface. The fiber must be cut into pieces equal in length to the thickness of the future block of transparent concrete;
We sift the cement and sand several times on the smallest sieves, separate all contaminants, prepare the batch according to the standard recipe 1:3, add purified water and isopropyl alcohol 1:10. Chop the cement-sand mixture with a sharp spatula to squeeze out as much air as possible;
We place a small amount of concrete mass on the bottom of the form and lay out a layer of fiberglass pieces no more than 1 mm thick. The fibers must be laid strictly in one direction. We embed the fiberglass in the solution with a spatula and press it down with a lid;
The procedure must be repeated until the form is completely filled out. We leave the filled block for a day without disassembling, after which we remove the walls and bottom and lay it out in damp room for a few days.

The result should be a workpiece that looks like a brick or tile with rough, uneven edges. To achieve transparency, the ends of the casting must be ground and polished, initially sandpaper, then using a suspension of pumice powder and water.

The main cost item is the purchase of expensive fiberglass, so in home-made production they often try to replace it with cheaper polycarbonate fibers of a similar cross-section. The technology for making fake transparent concrete is approximately the same, with the exception of washing the fibers with organic solvents. To improve adhesion to polycarbonate fibers, the composition cement-sand mixture add water-soluble glue grades.

Fake transparent concrete is lighter than the original light-conducting matrix, breaks easily on impact and cracks when exposed to high heat. A real transparent array of mineral fiberglass will easily survive heating up to 150 o C, since the glass and quartz sand included in the matrix have the same characteristics.

Use of unusual material

The prohibitive cost of translucent concrete limits its use as a building material. Today, light-transmitting arrays are used primarily as a material for the manufacture of lamps, translucent walls and partitions, decorative elements office interiors and even as light inserts in the walls of multi-story buildings.

In the future, transparent concrete, subject to a reduction in production costs, can replace most of the technological window openings and glazing, used for canopies and roofs. Fiberglass can selectively transmit sunlight, therefore, cheap unbreakable panels can be made from light-conducting material for greenhouses, sports facilities, and ceiling slabs.

Conclusion

At home, lamps and protective panels that replace windows are usually made from transparent concrete. utility rooms. Transparent panels make ideal partitions in the house, especially if the layout of the room is made in the form of one big studio. A wall made of light-conducting concrete material can be used to separate the kitchen from the living room, or make a cabinet or flower stand.

In area modern construction the most various materials. And one of the most popular is concrete. Today it has many varieties with distinctive advantages and characteristics. These include unique transparent concrete, which is capable of transmitting light and literally transforming the interior of a room.

Origin story

Due to their excellent performance qualities, structures made from concrete mixtures are widely used in a wide variety of construction areas. However, traditional concrete has a rather unsightly appearance, so you shouldn’t expect high decorativeness from it.

In this regard, manufacturers of building materials began to look for new revolutionary solutions and invent beautiful raw materials with a designer appearance. Light-conducting (transparent) concrete is in no way inferior in quality and strength to conventional mixtures, but at the same time it looks especially beautiful and attractive.

In a short period of time, the innovative material became in great demand and found a response in the hearts of many designers and architects. Currently, it has practically no competitors that can boast of similar strength, reliability and beauty.

Creator new technology“Litracon”, which allows the material to transmit light, was created by the Hungarian architect Aron Loskonsi.

Before a skilled craftsman The task arose to make wall structures light-transmitting, and at the same time not harm their strength in any way. When searching optimal solutions the architect decided to change the internal structure of concrete by adding light-conducting optical fiber to the composition.

As a result, Aron managed to invent very original concrete blocks, which in all respects are suitable for the construction of buildings for various purposes.

Benefits and Features

Light-transmitting concrete contains only safe components that first undergo an environmental assessment and do not contain harmful impurities. This means that the use of the material is not harmful environment and the health of residents.

The only disadvantage that stands out is that litracon is almost impossible to obtain in formwork on construction site. Therefore, in most cases it is bought in special construction hypermarkets, and manufactured at industrial enterprises with appropriate equipment.

To make fiber, you need to use a layer-by-layer method of applying fiberglass and a fine-grained concrete mixture. As soon as the solution finally sets and gains the required strength, the surface of the block is processed again. This is required to obtain excellent light-conducting characteristics.

The first application of light-conducting concrete looks a little strange. The designers tried to make a fancy cube-shaped lamp based on the material, which weighed about 10 kilograms. Soon, the scope of application of litracone began to expand, and it began to actively capture the building materials market.

Today, transparent concrete is used to create a wide variety of decorative ideas and embody any design solutions in the construction of premises and interior design. Fantasies creative people may be limited only by the rather high cost of the material.

Concerning self-made, then the difficulties in performing such a task are associated with the need to include about 4 percent of the total optical fiber in the structure. Moreover, all its threads must be placed in one specific direction, which complicates production.

Technology overview

The production of light-conducting concrete is carried out using a complex patented technology, which is constantly being modernized and undergoing a lot of changes. However, from transparent concrete composition still can't be created monolithic structures, since there are no ideal strength parameters.

Features of the technology are as follows:

It should be noted that the vibratory casting technology is characterized by particular simplicity, so if you wish, you can make transparent concrete with your own hands.

Components and equipment for production

To produce light-transmitting concrete using vibration casting technology, it is important to take care of some working tools and equipment. Among them:

Container for mixing the solution.
Formwork form.
Vibrating table

When choosing components, you should be guided by the classic composition for fine-grained concrete. It includes:

Portland cement.
Fine-grained sand without impurities and lumps.
Additional plasticizers providing better fluidity of the low-moving solution.
Water without all kinds of chemical impurities.

It is also necessary to find an optical fiber with a suitable length, which is determined taking into account the thickness of the block. The optimal diameter is 0.5−2.5 millimeters. The fiberglass content should not exceed 5 percent.

Composition and preparation

For successful creation litracona, you need to mix the above components in a ratio of 1:3 or 1:2.5. The volume of liquid in the composition should not exceed 50% of the total amount of cement.

A novice builder can be guided by this calculation, from which one cubic meter of light-conducting concrete is created:

Portland cement - 500 kilograms.
Clean sand - 1500 kilograms.
Water - 250 liters.

Before adding impurities in the form of plasticizers to the consistency, it is important to carefully read step by step guide which is provided on the packaging. Initially, the bulk components are mixed until a homogeneous mass is formed. Then the liquid is added and the solution is thoroughly mixed for another five minutes. If a plasticizer is added, the mixing time can be increased.

Performance properties and areas of application

Luminous concrete is complete composite material, which is obtained as a result of the use of vibration casting or pressing technology. As a result, he gets a series technical characteristics, including the following:

Compressive strength - up to 35 MPa.
Bending strength - more than 2 MPa.
Water resistance - no less than W4.
Frost resistance - at least 75 cycles.
Moisture absorption is no more than six percent.

As you know, when creating a translucent material, it is not customary to use large filler. As a result, the optical fiber plays the role of a reinforcing additive.

As for the areas of application of such an innovative building material, they are quite extensive. And although light passes through wall structures made of transparent concrete, and a person inside the room can see the contours, it is still impossible to examine the details of objects behind the wall in more detail.

However, due to the high strength characteristics of composite light-transmitting blocks, all kinds of internal partitions and components load-bearing walls. At the same time, the high cost of the material makes it in demand only for decorative finishing works.

In the tiled version, light-transmitting concrete is used for finishing:

Wall structures.
Polov.
Stairs.
Interior elements.
Furniture.

In addition, such concrete is often used as the main material for the construction of buildings. And although the cost of such buildings can be prohibitively high, they are increasingly appearing in European countries.

Cost and brands

Currently on Russian market transparent concrete is offered from two main companies - Litracon and Lucem. But it is important to understand that both trade marks do not produce the material, but are distributors of leading European companies engaged in manufacturing. As a result, the cost of products increases due to the need for delivery to the Russian space.

In any case, a wide variety of decorative slabs with any sizes, shapes and colors are offered for sale. If desired, you can buy a canvas in which the fibers are laid out in the shape of a logo or product, and the blocks are equipped with LED backlight. Of course, in this case the price of the material will increase significantly.

As for the prices for popular panel models, the Litracon Classic prefabricated structure with dimensions of 1200 x 400 mm and a thickness of 25 millimeters will cost the buyer 90 thousand rubles. If the thickness increases to 200 millimeters, you will have to pay about 320 thousand rubles.

The cost of Litracube Lamp blocks with dimensions 221 x 175 x 175 mm and a thickness of 25 millimeters is 54,500 rubles per unit.

DIY creation

As you know, industrial transparent concrete, the production technology of which was described above, is quite expensive, so not everyone can afford to buy such a material. Fortunately, with some effort, you can create a litracon yourself. To do this you need to perform several steps:

Prepare the formwork with suitable size rectangular shape.
Apply the first layer of mortar and compact it slightly.
Lay out the optical fiber and press it into the solution.
Wait until the consistency hardens.

Fill the form in several stages, repeating layers until the formwork is completely filled. It should be noted that when making concrete with your own hands, the frequency of fiber layers will become several times less than that of factory-made analogues. At the same time, the decorative effect of the material will remain identical.

If mobile mixtures are used during work, this will achieve the effect of uneven distribution. Although this approach will slightly reduce light transmission, it will give a unique surface pattern.

Regardless of the composition of the solution, the next layer is laid only after the previous one has set.

Final stage

The formwork should be removed no earlier than two days after the final fixation of the last layer of fill. The block should then be left to cure for five days at 20-degree temperatures and 95 percent relative humidity.

During this period of time, the material should gain about 80 percent of its maximum strength, so further processing will not degrade its quality in any way. After removing the block from the formwork, it must be thoroughly sanded. This need is due to the fact that during production the ends of the optical fiber bundles are covered with concrete milk, which prevents the free passage of the light source. To grind the working side of the blocks, which is perpendicular to the direction of fiber laying, you need to use diamond discs.

Without a doubt, translucent concrete is a real work of construction art. This material has many unique properties and characteristics, including excellent strength, reliability and decorative appeal. With its help, you can equip wall partitions, giving buildings unique properties and adding sunlight.

If you don’t have the financial ability to buy the material in a store, you can try to create it yourself. The main thing is to follow the step-by-step guide and calculate the proportions correctly.

Concrete is one of the most common building materials, which is associated with its strength, durability and a number of other advantages. However, its aesthetic component leaves much to be desired, therefore concrete surfaces are always subject to additional finishing. The exception is light-conducting concrete, which, in fact, is what this article is devoted to. In particular, we will take a detailed look at what this material is and how to make transparent concrete with your own hands.

General information

Transparent or light-conducting concrete (Litracon) was invented in 2001 by a Hungarian architect. The fine-grained structure of this material includes fiber optic glass threads. As a result, the material is a durable substance permeated with thin glass fibers.

It should be noted right away that the price of transparent concrete is very high, which is due to the technological complexity of its production. Therefore, it is produced exclusively to order in the form of rectangular panels, the dimensions of which are selected in accordance with the wishes of the customer.

Initially, it was possible to purchase light-conducting concrete only abroad, as a result of which delivery costs were added to the high price of the material. However, in Lately Domestic manufacturers have also started producing it. Moreover, they began to offer this material at much more favorable prices.

Material properties

Characteristics

Despite a certain external extravagance, transparent concrete has design characteristics traditional concrete, including:

Durability;
Water resistance;
Noise and heat insulating properties.

Moreover, fiberglass has a reinforcing effect on the material, as a result of which some of its indicators are even higher than those of ordinary concrete:

Note! Transparent concrete can be considered not only decorative, but also construction material, capable of withstanding heavy loads. Moreover, its optical properties do not depend on thickness.

Peculiarities

The components used in the production of light-conducting concrete are certified and undergo an environmental assessment before use. As a result ready material guaranteed to be environmentally friendly and safe for health.

The disadvantages include the fact that the technology for producing transparent concrete does not allow it to be produced in formwork directly on the construction site. Litracon is manufactured at industrial enterprises that have the appropriate equipment.

The material is manufactured by layer-by-layer application of fiberglass and. After the solution has set and gained strength, the surface of the blocks is further processed to obtain good light-conducting characteristics.

In the photo - a lamp made of transparent blocks

Application area

For the first time, transparent concrete was used to make a fancy cube-shaped lamp. This piece of furniture weighed more than 10 kilograms. Gradually the scope of its application expanded.

Recently, Litracon has been used in modern architectural compositions to implement various design solutions in urban construction, as well as to create unusual elements interior

It must be said that the imagination of designers is currently limited only by the very high cost of the material.

Manufacturing

The main difficulty of self-production is that the technology of transparent concrete requires the inclusion of exactly 4 percent of optical fiber in the structure of the total mass of the material. Moreover, all its threads must be located strictly in one direction.

Materials

So, to create a lythrocon yourself, you need to prepare all the necessary materials:

Dry fine-grained cement mixture;
Clean water;
Fiberglass with a diameter of 0.25-3 mm. The length of the fiber must correspond to the thickness of the slab.

Manufacturing technology

The instructions for making light-conducting panels are as follows:

First of all, you need to make a structure that resembles a box. In essence, this is a floating formwork, which, as the solution sets, should smoothly move upward.
The resulting box should be placed on a flat horizontal surface and a small amount of solution should be poured into it, spreading in a thin layer.
Fiberglass is evenly laid across the freshly poured layer and slightly recessed.
After the solution has set, the next portion of the solution is poured in doses and a layer of fiberglass is also laid on top of it.
This procedure is repeated until the formwork is completely filled.
When the last layer of mortar has hardened, you need to remove the formwork.
Then the side surfaces of the block, to which the fiberglass is located perpendicular, are ground and polished.

Advice! The formwork can be made from plywood, plastic or other sheet material.

This completes the manufacturing process of this material. Of course, this work requires some time, perseverance and perseverance, but the result justifies all these difficulties. After gaining some experience, subsequent samples may be of higher quality.

Conclusion

Transparent concrete is modern material, which, in addition to high strength, has excellent decorative properties. Perhaps its only disadvantage is its high cost, however, you can get Litracon at home, without special costs ().

From the video in this article you can glean additional information on this topic.

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