TRANSPARENT CONCRETE

Transparent concrete is a concrete based building material with light-Tran missive properties due
to embedded light optical elements usually Optical fibres. Light is conducted through the stone
from one end to the other. Therefore the fibres have to go through the whole object. Transparent
concrete is also known as the translucent concrete and light transmitting concrete because of its
properties. It is used in fine architecture as a facade material and for cladding of interior walls. In
this paper, to integrate the merits of concrete and optical fiber, for developing transparent
concrete by arranging the high numerical aperture Plastic Optical Fibres (POF) or big diameter
glass optical fiber into concrete. The main purpose is to use sunlight as a light source to reduce
the power consumption of illumination and to use the optical fiber to sense the stress of
structures and also use this concrete as an architectural purpose for good aesthetical view of the
building.

GLASS CONCRETE
When the recycled glass is used as an aggregate in the concrete, this type of concrete is known as
Glass Concrete.
They provide better thermal insulation and also have a great appealing look as compared to other
types.
SILICA FUME CONCRETE
Silica fume is a byproduct of silica, which is very finely divided in the industry. Concrete in
which silica fume is used is called “silica fume concrete.”
The typical concrete with a normal water-cement ratio always has micro-pores, which limits the
strength of regular concrete.
Silica fumes consist of very fine particles (actually, six times finer than cement particles).
Hence, if it is added to the concrete mix, the minute pore spaces can be reduced, resulting in
high-strength concrete.

POLYMER CONCRETE
Polymerization is a process of conversion of monomers into polymers. In typical concrete, you
should have seen that micro-pores cannot be avoided.
The impregnation of monomer into these pores and subsequent polymerization is the technique
that has been developed recently to reduce the porosity of the concrete and to improve its
strength and other properties.

The following are the four types of polymer concrete materials available at present:
      Polymer impregnated concrete (PIC)
      Polymer Portland cement concrete (PPCC)
      Polymer concrete (PC)
      Partially-impregnated and surface-coated polymer concrete