Year: 2025
Type: article
Abstract: This study aims to address the environmental issues arising from traditional building materials such as concrete and steel by introducing a building unit that combines rammed earth with recycled glass. The use of glass alongside earth aims to enhance illumination levels and light permeability in interiors without using conventional building components like doors or windows. The scope includes fabricating blocks with varying hollow and glass material ratios to measure their light transmittance capacities. A setup involving a light source, an earthen block, and a lux meter is developed to calculate light transmittance for both non-filled and glass-filled blocks. Results indicate that when the developed unit is used to produce a wall, it can provide illumination levels from 750 to 34,500 lux in interior spaces.
Authors: Mehmet Onur Senem, Salih Özdemir, Orkan Zeynel Güzelci, Sema Alaçam
Institution: Istanbul Technical University
Language: English
Subfield: Building and Construction
Field: Engineering
Domain: Physical Sciences
Open Access status: diamond
OpenAlex ID: W4410525697