Development, testing, and environmental impact assessment of glow‐in‐the‐dark concrete

Abstract

AbstractGlow‐in‐the‐dark (GiD) material has the advantage that it can absorb energy in the presence of a light source and emit the absorbed energy in the form of visible light in the absence of external light. The presented research work deals with the development, testing, and environmental impact assessment of GiD‐concrete. New innovative interlocking concrete blocks have been developed which have the ability to GiD without the need of any external power source. The presented GiD‐concrete has the advantage of long‐term durability over using GiD material as emulation. Through experimentation, 20% GiD addition was found to be the optimum dosage for GiD‐concrete. Mechanical tests consisting of strength, skid resistance, thermal cycling, and glow intensity and duration were conducted on the prepared prototypes. In addition, environmental impact assessment and toxicity testing was conducted in accordance with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's (U.S. EPA) standards and regulations in order to ascertain the effects of GiD material on the environment and human health. Through these experimentations, the durability and safety of the developed material with regard to the real‐world application have been judged. The provided information can be used by engineers and researchers along with regulatory bodies to develop guidelines regarding the application of the newly developed material in infrastructure projects. Furthermore, the developed prototype can be used in a variety of ways to improve safety and living conditions, ranging from bicycle lanes, pedestrian crossings, building basements, walkways, concrete barriers, and curbstones along with other architectural and esthetical applications.