Experimental study of light transmitting cement-based material (LTCM)

• A light transmitting material prepared by optical fiber fabric and mortar.
• Effects of volume fraction of fiber on the strengths of material are studied.
• Factors affecting the transmittance of light transmitting material are studied.
• The microstructures of light transmitting cement-based material are analyzed.

Light transmitting cement-based material (LTCM) was prepared by polymethylmethacrylate (PMMA) fibers, Portland cement, aggregates, deforming agent and water reducers in a given proportion. The compressive and flexural strengths of LTCM prepared with different diameters and volume fractions of optical fibers were measured at the age of 28 d. The compressive and flexural strengths of LTCM specimens decreased with an increasing volume fraction of fiber. Factors such as distance from the light source to specimen, diameter and volume fraction of fiber, and the variety of light sources that affect the optical power of LTCM were studied in this paper. The experimental results demonstrate that the optical power was significantly affected by the distance from light source and specimen, and the diameter and number of fibers. The matrix material, cross section of optical fiber, and the interface between fiber and matrix were analyzed by SEM.