Estudo de viabilidade da substituição da fibra óptica pela fibra de poliamida em painéis de concreto translúcido

Abstract

Translucent concrete is a material that has been used for some time, and its main characteristic is to allow light to pass through the concrete mass. However, it is a material that is not very widespread in the market, due to its high cost, mainly due to the cost of one of its component materials: the optical fiber. In this work, we study the feasibility of using polyamide fiber to replace optical fiber, commonly used in the manufacture of translucent concrete, with the aim of reducing the cost, while maintaining the main properties desired for the material. For this purpose, translucency and mechanical strength tests were carried out on panels using polyamide fiber at levels range of 17% and compared to the results obtained on translucent concrete blocks with optical fiber and glass block. The surprising results are that the use of polyamide fiber has the mechanical strength of concrete and that the translucency designed with the prototype is not efficient in allowing the passage of an adequate level of light for lighting environments, but tested with excellent characteristics. aesthetic, capable of producing decorative effects with the aid of artificial lighting.