I am jagdish j gavade, a B.E Student in Civil Engineering (final year). I had few doubts on Light Transmitting Concrete. Could you please clear my doubts..

The following are my questions.
1.Will there be any reaction between the material of the fiber with cement ingredients or with any other ingredient of concrete.?
2.What are the tests done on Litracon?
3.Whats the Durability of LitracoLitracon?
4.Does the ability to Transmit Light Decrease with Time?
5.Is Litracon resistant to fire?
6.What is the Workability of Litracon?
7.How is the Compaction o fLitracon done?
8 .is it possible to protect opennings of fiber protect from dust?
9.how exatly light transmitt through concrete?
10. about economy

Can you please help me to find out the answers to all these questions? I would be thankful..
Thanking you.
jagdish j. gavade

I am Rakesh.S.Varma, a B.Tech Student in Civil Engineering (final year). I had few doubts on Light Transmitting Concrete. Could you please clear my doubts..

The following are my questions.
1.Will there be any reaction between the material of the fiber with cement ingredients or with any other ingredient of concrete.?
2.What are the tests done on Litracon?
3.Whats the Durability of LitracoLitracon?
4.Does the ability to Transmit Light Decrease with Time?
5.Is Litracon resistant to fire?
6.What is the Workability of Litracon?
7.How is the Compaction o fLitracon done?

Can you please help me to find out the answers to all these questions? I would be thankful..
Thanking you.
Rakesh.S.Varma

his translucent concrete is much more diffuse – so to say … you see single fibre dots which may have an inner structure or line but which in the end is not intended or predictable … this is due to the fact that although glass and cement have “the same” gross density the hydration warmth (or rather the process when cement, water and the other ingrediences become concrete) makes the fibres to go to the top of a block … it’s not much but enough that any anticipated line structure will eventually become invisible … the fibres/filaments have a diameter of only 2 micrometers! … at least if you or rather Mr Losonczi produces in the way “his” patent allowes him to …

besides “his” technique of producing the translucent concrete is known latest through a publication in 1990 … 12 years before Mr Losonczi got “his” patent … nevertheless Mr Losonczi refers to an older patent by David Kenneth John Richardson from 1976 (!) … in this patent “some” fibres or rather filaments are put together in a bundle and THEN stick into the finished concrete plate … simply through drilling a hole and then putting the optical bundles into them … stating that effect of “translucency” was know latest by then … not to say that Schott as “the inventor” wanted this effect to happen …

in contrast to both of them I take textile matts, which are not covered through the patent of Mr Losonczi or Mr Richardson … to make it short: Losonczi – filaments, Richardson – bundles , Bittis – textiles … this is the reason why I do have a clear linear structure or line in my translucent concrete plates … even “dotted lines” … it really depends on “how you handle” the textiles and the way they will appear later … so even the way of production is different …

besides this truely “superficial” view the different ways of production leads to different sizes of plates … according to his own data sheet Mr Losonczi’s plates range up to 600 x 300 mm (b x h) … my plates range up to 2400 x 1200 mm (b x h)! … this is due to the fact that putting single filaments into the concrete takes hell of a time … and although you hurry up, if it comes to certain height the bottom of Mr Losonczi’s concrete is hard while the filaments on top still “swim” in just poured “wet” concrete …

concerning prices: I do not know how you got this information … there are not prices on my homepage and all present and future customers either talk to me or someone at florack (my producer) … anyhow, the point is that 80 to 90% of the costs for any kind of translucent concrete are costs for the optical fibres … and there are just a few – not to say only one – companies in the world that can produce them … and they all have the same price (more or less) … and, please be sure, having seen the price from Mr Losonczi on his homepage, I can assure you that we do have at least the same price … if not cheaper …!

hope to have brought some light into the dark …

Can you explain me what is the difference between your product and LitraCon?

I read on the web you have a patent: http://www.florack.de/de/presse/presse_transluzent.htm
Is it true? How can you protect a similar thing?

An architect friend of mine told me that the price of your product was more than two times higher than LitraCon. Is that right?

the mail YOU sent me is dated Fr 01.10.2004 11:51 … I am happy to put it forward to you again …

Before that Ivana Ferri from your International Advertising Sales had contacted me … and after that there have been many mails to my account from Francesca Picchi, Beatriz Arman and others … I’ve saved them …

Around that time Stephano Boeri became the follower of Guenther Uhlig as “head” of domus … Uhlig has been and still is editor of the German architectural magazine archplus for which I have been editor of the materials and product part for eleven years …

And again, who do you think put all that on the net or brought this to the media … where it happens that you and others found LiTraCon?

“just ask people, read the articles i wrote and commissioned – start with domus magazine if you like and ask them who contacted them first and how they got to know it …”

Actually I was the domus editor who together with a colleague, beatriz, found Litracon (on the web, as it happens), and dealt directly with Aron to prepare the cover article… Can’t remember having ever been in touch with you, andreas…