A novel translucent concrete panel with waste glass inclusions for architectural applications

This paper explored the potential reuse of coarse glass wastes as insert in a high performance cement matrix to produce translucent concrete panels that can be aggregated into partition walls, through a supporting frame. The effects of glass scraps on mechanical and optical-photometric properties of panels were tested. Two different series of panel prototypes were manufactured, with and without steel-reinforcing fibers. Compressive and flexural tests were performed on cement matrices and translucent panels. The annual impact on the amount of daylight in a room with two translucent concrete opposite interior walls and the room energy demand for lighting were estimated using a daylight simulation software for a number of rooms with varying window-to-wall ratio, orientation, site, illuminance over the work plane, lighting power density, type of partition walls (with different percentages of glass cullet inclusions).