Papercreters: Re: [papercreters] How About Transparent Papercrete?

Tuesday, December 14, 2010

Re: [papercreters] How About Transparent Papercrete?

Sasha, this is fantastic. I see soooooo much potential for something like
this. Walls with fantastic R value that allow daylight inside, but give
privacy. The window with curtains and blinds is now out of date. We
could go back to having solid shutters on windows to block the view and
decrease heat loss. I am keen to hear more.

Wayne

> I just found this interesting material/idea which may be applicable to
> papercrete.
>
> www.litracon.hu
>
> Transparent Concrete
>
> Thousands of optical glass fibres form a matrix and run parallel to each
> other between the two main surfaces of each block. The proportion of the
> fibres is very small (4%) compared to the total volume of the blocks.
> Moreover, these fibres mingle in the concrete because of their
> insignificant size, and they become a structural component as a kind of
> modest aggregate. Therefore, the surface of the blocks remains homogeneous
> concrete. In theory, a wall structure built from light-transmitting
> concrete can be several meters thick, because the fibres work without
> almost any loss in light up until 20 meters. Load-bearing structures can
> be also built of these blocks, since glass fibres do not have a negative
> effect on the well-known high compressive strength value of concrete. The
> blocks can be produced in various sizes and with embedded heat-isolation.
>
> Also uploaded some new studio photos to the gallery.
>
> Cheers,
>
> Sasha
>
>