Mechanical, light transmittance properties and simulation study of sustainable translucent lightweight aggregate concrete

Abstract

To investigate the engineering feasibility of translucent lightweight aggregate concrete (TLAC) in sustainable buildings, this paper focuses on testing the light transmission properties and mechanical performance of TLACs, the light transmission effect in building interiors is simulated and evaluated using automated steps seamlessly integrated with REVIT software and Radiance software. The preparation process of TLACs and the mixture proportions of raw materials were designed by combining translucent concrete technology with self-compacting mortar. The results indicate that the light transmission of TLAC increases with the volume of polymethylmethacrylate optical fiber (POF) incorporated and the diameter of POF, while the compressive strength tends to increase first and then decrease with the increasing volume fraction of POF in the TLAC samples. Moreover, the building lighting simulations show that indoor illuminance will improve significantly with the use of TLACs, which further illustrates the energy savings and structural performance improvements owing to the application of TLAC as a modern construction material.