Concrete has been used since Roman times for the development of infrastructure and housing, but its basic components have remained the same. Three ingredients make up the dry mix: coarse aggregate, consisting of larger pieces of material like stones or gravel; fine aggregate, made up of smaller particles such as sand; and cement, a very fine powder material that binds the mix together when water is added. 

INGRIEDIENTS OF TRANSPARENT CONCRETE

Cement

Cement is a binder, a substance that sets and hardens as the cement dries and also reacts with carbon dioxide in the air dependently, and can bind other materials together. Portland cement is the most common type of cement in general use around the world, used as a basic ingredient of concrete, mortar, stucco, and most nonspecialty grout. The OPC was classified into three grades namely, 33 grade, 43 grade and 53 grade depending upon the strength of the cement at 28 days when tested as per IS 4031-1988. The cement used in this experimental works is “Koromandal King 53 Grade Ordinary Portland Cement”. The specific gravity of cement was 3.14. The initial and final setting times were found as 51 minutes and 546 minutes respectively. Standard consistency of cement was 40%.

Fine aggregate:

Fine aggregate is the inert or chemically inactive material, most of which passes through a 4.75 mm IS sieve and contains not more than 5 per cent coarser material. The specific gravity 2.75 and fineness modulus of 2.80 were used as fine aggregate. The loose and compacted bulk Density values of sand are1600 and 1688 kg/m3 respectively, the water absorption of 1.1%.

The fine aggregates serve the purpose of filling all the open spaces in between the coarse particles. Thus, it reduces the porosity of the final mass and considerably increases its strength. Usually, natural river sand is used as a fine aggregate. However, at places, where natural sand is not available economically, finely crushed stone may be used as a fine aggregate.

Coarse aggregate:

Crush granite aggregate available from local sources has been used. The coarse aggregate with maximum size of 10mm having the specific gravity value of 2.6 and fineness modulus of

5.60 were used as a coarse aggregate. The loose and compacted bulk density values of coarse aggregate are 1437 and 1556 kg/m3 respectively, the water absorption of 0.4%.

Optical Fibers Elements:

Core - The thin glass center of the fiber where the light travels is called core.

Cladding - The outer optical material surrounding the core that reflects the light back into the core. To confine the reflection in the core, the refractive index of the core must be greater than that of the cladding.