LETTING THE LIGHT IN 1 Under the guidance of Shri N S Ananda Rao Additional Professor MIT MANIPAL Presented by ID: 586317
Download Presentation The PPT/PDF document "LIGHT TRANSMITTING CONCRETE" is the property of its rightful owner. Permission is granted to download and print the materials on this web site for personal, non-commercial use only, and to display it on your personal computer provided you do not modify the materials and that you retain all copyright notices contained in the materials. By downloading content from our website, you accept the terms of this agreement.
Slide1
LIGHT TRANSMITTING CONCRETE
LETTING THE LIGHT IN
1
Under the guidance of:
Shri N S Ananda RaoAdditional ProfessorMIT, MANIPAL
Presented by:
H K
Sugandhini
Reg. No.100914001
MIT,MANIPALSlide2
CONTENTS
INTRODUCTIONHISRORYTRADENAMES/BRANDNAMES
FEW EARLY APPLICATIONSPRINCIPLE/CONCEPTPRODUCTION PROCESSTECHNICAL DETAILSAPPLICATIONSADVANTAGES/DISADVANTAGES
CONCLUSION
2Slide3
LITRACON INTRODUCTION
LiTraCon ("light transmitting concrete") is a
translucent
concrete building material. Made of fine concrete embedded with 4% by weight of optical glass fibers
Litracon
™ presents the concept of light transmitting concrete in the form of a widely applicable new building material.
3Slide4
LITRACON HISTORY
This product was invented by a 27 year old, Hungarian architect by the name
Áron
Losonczi
. He came up with the concept while studying at the Royal University College of Fine Arts in Stockholm. Losonczi attributes his idea to a work of art he saw in Budapest.
The art installation was made of glass and ordinary concrete, and the idea of combining the two struck him and therefore decided to experiment by combining the two.
It was developed in 2001 by him working with scientists at the
Technical University of Budapest
.
4Slide5
TRADENAMES/BRANDNAMES
The company marketing “translucent concrete” is a German based company called “
LiTraCon
”, presumably derived from the term “light transmitting concrete”.
LiTraCon
is manufactured by the inventor's company,
LiTraCon
Bt, which was founded in spring 2004.
The
head office and workshop is located 160 km from the
Hungarian
capital city of
Budapest
near the town of
Csongrád
. As of
2006
all
LiTraCon products have been produced by LiTraCon Bt.
5Slide6
EARLY FAMOUS APPLICATIONS
TRANSLUCENT CONCRETE :
Old Concept / New Technology
6Slide7
STOREY HALL ENTRANCE
7Slide8
ENTRANCEMELBOURNE CITY FOOTPATHS - Swanston Street
8Slide9
PRINCIPLE/CONCEPT
The days of dull, grey concrete could be about to end. A Hungarian architect has combined the world’s most popular building material with optical fiber from Schott to create a new type of concrete that transmits light.
“Thousands of optical glass fibers form a matrix and run parallel to each other between the two main surfaces of every block,” explained its inventor
Áron
Losonczi.
“Shadows on the lighter side will appear with sharp outlines on the darker one. Even the
colours
remain the same. This special effect creates the general impression that the thickness and weight of a concrete wall will disappear.”
9Slide10
PRODUCTION PROCESS
It is manufactured as a prefabricated block. The concrete is embedded with thousands of optical glass
fibres
. These fibres
form a matrix and run parallel between the two main surfaces. The fibres
make up only a small proportion of the total volume of the block; approximately 4%. These
fibres
mingle within the concrete, and because of their size, become a structural component, similar to a conventional aggregate. The surface of the material therefore retains the appearance of homogeneous concrete.
The most important requirement for the success of the product is assurance the
fibre
optic strands make contact with both surfaces; otherwise it looses the ability to transmit. An uninterrupted passage through the concrete is paramount.
They are able to achieve this by using long moulds, which are filled with a thin layer of concrete, before layers of
fibre
optic strands and more concrete are added until the mould is full. From the long moulds, the product can be removed, and then cut to length accordingly, effectively assuring the strands span the length of the block.
10Slide11
CONTINUED
The fiber diameters range from 2 microns to 2 millimeters. By using fibers of different diameters,
LiTraCon
designers can achieve different illumination effects. Varying the size of the blocks, however, doesn’t change the effect. So far,
LiTraCon has made continuous concrete beams up to 20 meters long, and the fibers transmit light the entire length.
The product is able to have a very consistent finish like ordinary concrete, or an unpredictable, ever changing, weather influential, ephemeral quality.
In order for this product to become translucent, someone or something must be situated in front of it and when light is shone from behind, a shadow can be seen clearly on the other side.
The application technique for this product is solely in prefabricated block form. The complexity in ensuring
fibre
strands span the length of the block from surface to surface eliminates the possibility of it being used as an in situ material. The light transmitting properties are solely dependant upon contact being made with both surfaces.
11Slide12
TECHNICAL DETAILS
Technical Specifications
Form : prefabricated blocks / panels
Components : concrete, optical
fibreFibre Ratio : max 5%volDensity : 2100 – 2400 kg/m
3
Compressive strength : a) 49 N/mm
2
: b) 31 N/mm
2
: c) 56 N/mm
2
Bending Strength : 7.7 N/mm
2
Block Size
Thickness : 25 – 500 mm
Width : max 600 mm
Height : max 300 mm
Finish : polished
Heat Insulation : possibility 12Slide13
COMPARISION WITH GLASS
DIFFERENCE B/W TRANSPARENT AND TRANSLUCENT
In the field of
optics,
transparency (also called pellucidity or diaphaneity
) is the
physical property
of allowing light to pass through a material;
translucency
(also called
translucence
or
translucidity
) only allows light to pass through diffusely. The opposite property is opacity. Transparent materials are clear, while translucent ones cannot be seen through clearly.
Glass is very brittle in nature and does not have tensile strength as that of optical
fibres
. However use of glass has become inherent in today’s world because of its pleasing appearance and improved aesthetics.
13Slide14
APPLICATIONS
14Slide15
ARTISTIC INSTALLATION
In fact, to date the largest project exhibiting the technology is an artistic installation, called the “European Gate” (2004) which was designed to mark the celebration of Hungary joining the European Union (EU).
It is located at the public entrance of Fortress
Monostor in the Hungarian town of Komárom by the River Danube. This is a most impressive piece, as it works in conjunction with a visual lighting display, and is interactive.
15Slide16
LOAD BEARING STRUCTURE
The intended application for this product is in the building industry for walls.
Used in this form, both sides, and the thickness are visible. It can be used in both interior and exterior situations and impregnations upon the surface are possible.
It is possible for the product to be used as a load bearing structure. It can therefore contain reinforcement. The
fibre
optic strands are flexible and can bend around the reinforcing mesh.
As light only travels from one end of the
fibre
through to the other, the mesh would remain invisible within the concrete.
16Slide17
HEAT INSULATION
It is able to withstand all weather conditions.
Due to concrete’s excellent insulating properties, it could potentially become a highly sought after product in arid climates.
where it could protect against desert heat, whilst letting through some sunshine.
17Slide18
FLOORS
HUNGARYLiTraCon
WAS FIRST USED AS THE SURFACE OF A SQUARE IN INNERSTOCKHOLM
18Slide19
PAVEMENTS
The first project - during the day the blocks appear as concrete pavement, but at sunset they start to shine thank to the light sources placed under them.
Aringed
light pattern took shape around the main square as dark came.
19Slide20
WALLS
THE FIRST ‘’REAL’’ APPLICATION OF
LiTraCon
WAS IN A PRIVATE HOUSE IN BUDAPEST DURING SUMMER 2004
20Slide21
Litracon
could be suitable for internal partitions or artistic enhancements. This new material would definitely add to overall enhancement of architecture or interior design. It would be interesting to see if someone dared to use it to build a whole house though. This would be one see-through
buidling
to look forward to!
21Slide22
TRANSLUCENT LAMP
22Slide23
ADVANTAGES
The fundamental basics of buildings is to provide shelter and protection to people. Unless it is an office space or
workstation
, most people need an enclosed space for personal living and privacy. However, against conventional practices, Litracon
(Light Transmitting Concrete) which can be used for residential and commercial As the glass
fibres
are precisely parallel with each other there is no loss of light. The distinct shadow of a person can be seen.
Their movement is clear to see. As the wall is as tough as a normal concrete wall there are security advantages in its use.
23Slide24
About 4% of the wall is the glass
fibres
, and the wall could be be
up to 20 metres
long! A four metre high Europe Gate was built from the stuff in 2004 in the Hungarian town of Komarom
.
Combination of being almost unbreakable yet translucent
HEAT INSULATION and saving of day light make this product more popular.
24Slide25
continued
Colours
and textures can be customised
and further develop in accordance to the demand of the market. However, conventional colour
and textures are still available in their original context. But textures varies in design requirements.25Slide26
DRAWBACKS
The fact the product can not be poured in situ, is a limiting factor, however, it is a precision material and the correct procedures need to be followed.
It would be extremely important for the company to ensure the integrity of the optic strands. If they were to break within the product the light transmitting capability would almost certainly be void. This would deliver a standard concrete appearance.
Samples of the product can be obtained from the company via their online site.
26Slide27
Costing of this product is extremely difficult. The company has only been manufacturing the product for
few years
, and
maintains that until it is industrially manufactured they are unable to provide an official quotation. It is however, possible to request a non-series quotation from them.
The pursuit of improved concrete materials continues. How much of the world adopts these new types of concrete depends on numerous factors, including whether the materials meet technical needs, how much they cost, and whether big-time architects and designers adopt them.
27Slide28
LitraconT
Building Blocks come in a size of
600 by 300 by 100mm. The costing for each piece is
EUR 315.-/pcs
. Lead time for delivery is 9 months earliest. That’s a long time isn’t it?A problem is that the material is very expensive to make in quantities big enough for a building. At present the LitraCube is available. It consists of four interlocking panels forming a hollow cube, as a lamp, for 595 Euros. Perhaps it could be used also as a “window” for an interior room.
28Slide29
CONCLUSION
The product is intended to be primarily used in the building and construction industry; however its properties make it a very attractive material for all designers alike, particularly artist.
Considering the product uses conventional concrete, it has the same variety of finishes. It can be prefabricated in a range of
colours
by addives, and can even be polished to a highly glossed finish. How much of the world adopts these new types of concrete depends on numerous factors, including whether the materials meet technical needs, how much they cost, and whether big-time architects and designers adopt them.
The efforts to bring concrete to new heights of function and form, however, is almost certain to transform the traditional perception of concrete as a cold, drab, low-tech material. Its use is likely to extend as far into the future as it reaches into the past.
29Slide30
CONTINUED
Perhaps this is a product whose day will come if the cost of optical
fibres is able to come down drastically.
30Slide31
REFERENCES
WWW.GIZMAG.COM
WWW.DESIGN-BUILD NETWORK.COM WWW.LITRACON.HU
WWW.WIKIPEDIA.COM
WWW.GOOGLE.COMWWW.GIZMAG.COM ( LA STRUCTURES & MATERIALS)
31