Investigation on the properties of self-illuminating concrete for public facilities

Abstract

This study investigates the properties of self-illuminating concrete enhanced with glow-in-the-dark (GITD) mica phosphorescent powder. The investigation encompasses compressive ( \(\:{f}_{c}\) ), flexural ( \(\:{f}_{f}\) ), split tensile ( \(\:{f}_{sts}\) ) strength, density, modulus of elasticity ( E ), light illuminance, stress-strain, damage, and split way factor. 64 concrete cubes with dimensions of 100 × 100 × 100 mm³, 20 concrete cylinders of dimensions 150 mm diameter and height 300 mm, and 64 concrete slab specimens with dimensions of 400 × 400 × 40 mm³ were prepared. The GITD mica phosphorescent powder was incorporated into concrete at concentrations of 6%, 9%, and 12%. The density of the concrete cubes showed minor variations across different percentages of GITD mica and curing periods. At 28 days, the \(\:{f}_{c}\) 29.1, 28.2, 26.4, and 25.1 MPa and corresponding \(\:{f}_{f}\) of 2.8, 2.8, 2.5, and 2.4 MPa were recorded for SIC1 and SIC4, respectively. The average light emitted increased with the percentage of GITD mica, with SIC4 having the highest level of light emitted (4.23 lx). At day 28, SIC1 had the highest E (23946.12 Pa). SIC1 obtained the highest \(\:{f}_{sts}\) at 2.27 MPa and 3.12 MPa for analytical and experimental \(\:{f}_{sts}\) respectively, while SIC4 obtained the lowest \(\:{f}_{sts}\) at 2.1 MPa and 2.2 MPa for analytical and experimental \(\:{f}_{sts}\) respectively. SIC1 had the highest maximum stress of 29.6 MPa around its edges, and the maximum strain of 0.005912, while SIC4 had the lowest maximum stress. SIC1 has the highest maximum damage (0.621294), while SIC2 has the lowest maximum damage (0.512011), as well as the split way factor (0.604698 for SIC1 and 0.512011 for SIC2). The incorporation of GITD mica phosphorescent powder in concrete enhances its self-illuminating properties without significantly compromising its structural integrity.