CHAPTER 1

INTRODUCTION

AAC was invented in mid-1923 in Sweden. It is also known as Autoclaved Cellular

Concrete (ACC) or Autoclaved Lightweight Concrete (ALC). Production process of
AAC is fairly simple. It is made with made with a mixture of fly ash, lime, cement,
gypsum, an aeration agent and water. Aeration process, imparts it a cellular light-weight
structure. AAC products are precast in various sizes and provide structure, insulation,
and fire and mold resistance.
AAC products are offered in various shapes and sizes including but not limited to
blocks, wall panels, floor and roof panels, and lintels. Use of Autoclaved Aerated
Concrete (AAC) blocks in construction industry in India offers interesting proposition for
various segments in the society. For a project developer it means faster and lower cost
construction. For environmentally conscious it means eco-friendly products and for those
who occupy buildings built with AAC blocks it means better safety and lower energy
costs for cooling or heating. Primary raw material for AAC is fly ash.
Thousands of tonnes of fly ash is generated by thermal power plants everyday and
its disposal is a cause of concern. Moreover, using fly ash does not harm the environment
at all. In fact using fly ash takes care of issues related to disposal of fly ash. Therefore by
using fly ash to produce AAC products provides a sustainable, economic and
environment friendly option. At the end it all translates to a better world for future
generations.

Fig no. 1

1.1 Types of Aerocon bricks

One interesting aspect of Aerocon brick is that it lets the user build the walls of with the
thickness of his choice. Contrary to the wall made by traditional bricks, walls made with
Aerocon bricks are thinner but are still sustainable.

However, depending on different various needs of internal and external walls, Aerocon
bricks are available in different sizes and varied thickness as follows. Aerocon bricks are
currently available in three sizes: Infill, Jumbo, and Thermal blocks

1.1.1 Infill blocks

The size of the Infill Aerocon brick is 600X600 mm and the thickness varies in the ranges
of 75,100,125,150,200 mm. The main advantage of Infill blocks is that they can easily
replace 60% of the concrete in roof slabs and thus help in saving significant amounts of
concrete, steel, labor, water, plaster etc. These blocks are especially suitable for building
roofs in large column-free constructions.

Fig no. 1.1.1

1.1.2 Jumbo blocks

Jumbo blocks are typically in the size of 600X300 mm, and thickness ranges from
75,100,125,150, to 200 mm. The unique large size of Jumbo Aerocon bricks results in the
usage of much fewer bricks and hence less mortar is required. These bricks are more
suitable for non-load bearing walls, multi-storeid buildings etc.

1.1.3 Thermal blocks

These blocks are also called as Aerocool thermal blocks whose size and thickness is
300X200 mm and 50 mm respectively. These blocks are ideal for roofing since they delay
the transmission of heat flow and also help interiors remain warm during winters and cool
during summers.

Fig no. 1.1.3

CHAPTER 2
COMPARISION BETWEEN AEROCON BRICKS AND
CLAY BRICKS
Comparison between
Autoclaved Aerated
Concrete (AAC)
blocks and clay
bricks Serial

Parameter

AAC Blocks

Clay Bricks

Soil Consumption

One sq ft of carpet
area with clay brick
walling will consume
25.5 kg of top soil

Fuel Consumption

CO2 Emission

Labour

Uses fly ash which is a

thermal power plant
waste product & thus
no consumption of top
soil
One sq ft of carpet
area with AAC blocks
will consume 1 kg of
coal
One sq ft of carpet
area will emit 2.2 kg of
CO2
Organized sector with
proper HR practices

Production Facility

State-of-the-art factory
facility

Tax Contribution

Size

8
9
10
11

Variation in Size
Compressive Strength
Dry Density
Fire Resistance (8"
wall)
Cost Benefit

Contributes to
government taxes in
form of Central
Excise, VAT and
Octroi
625 mm x 240 mm x
100-300 mm
1.5 mm (+/-)
3.5-4 N/m2
550-700 kg/m3
Up to 7 hours

12

Reduction in dead

One sq ft of carpet
area with clay bricks
will consume 8 kg of
coal
One sq ft of carpet
area will emit 17.6 kg
of CO2
Unorganized sector
with rampant use of
child labour
Unhealthy working
conditions due to
toxic gases
Does not contribute
to government
exchequer
225 mm x 100 mm x
65 mm
5 mm (+/-)
2.5-3 N/m2
1800 kg/ m3
Around 2 hours
None

13

Energy Saving

weight leading to
savings in steel and
concrete
Approx.30% heating
and cooling

None

The advantages of Aerocon Bricks over Conventional

Clay Bricks
Aerocon Blocks are an innovative product in the green building revolution.

Aerocon blocks are the new blocks in walling materials,

substituting conventional and environmentally unsustainable
materials like clay bricks, concrete and hollow blocks.

The raw materials used in the manufacture of these blocks are

environmentally friendly and are certified green products. The
basic raw materials used in production of Aerocon blocks are
Cement, Fly ash, lime and water.
Aerocon blocks can be plastered, painted, and dry lined or tiled.

Aerocon block is extremely light, just one-third the weight of clay

bricks or one-fourth the density of R.C.C. They are much easier to
handle on the site.
They are easy to install and can complete the construction
procedure in a shorter span in case of scarcity of labour and in the
usage of mortars. The required time to complete a building with
aerocon blocks is 1/3 lesser than that of the conventional building
materials.

The edges of the blocks are such that they allow easy workability
and accurate dimensioning and are easy to cut, drill, nail, shape and
chase using ordinary wood working tools. Power tools can be used
for rapid chasing for embedding service lines.
Aerocon blocks can be cut virtually in any shape or angle making them extremely
adaptable.

Aerocon block covers the same area as that 14 clay bricks do enabling a faster
construction results in saving of labour, time and material.

Aerated concrete is perfect building material for any climate. It is used to build all
kinds of walls: exterior and interior bearing and non-bearing walls, foundation walls,
partition walls as filling agent in framework structures, wall partitions, fire division
walls, etc.

Aerocon excellent thermal properties helps in saving recurring energy costs of

heating and cooling. The thermal resistance combined with the benefits of thermal
mass inertia and whole wall coverage eliminates the need for additional insulation.

Aerocon blocks are available in various sizes and shapes.They are available in three
types; Infill blocks, Jumbo blocks and Thermal blocks. They are included into the
category of Green Building materials because they don t emit VOC
(Volatile Organic Compounds) which cause environmental pollution.

Apart from being eco-friendly these blocks are also light weight with high thermal
insulation, fire resistance, sound insulation, have strength and durability, have
consistent quality control and gives a perfect finish with dimensional stability.
Buildings constructed out of these blocks ensure long term sustainability and save a
lot of water during the construction.

Excluding the eco-friendly characteristics of these blocks, they are also used in
construction for various other reasons. There are a number of problems involved in
acquiring the sand and bricks and also the prices of these basic materials are hiking
up. As the traditional construction materials have a higher price the initiation of
Aerocon blocks acts as better substitutes with affordable prices. Due to these reasons
the Aerocon blocks are in great demand.

Hence, it is one of the revolutionary materials that can be used to make the world a
better, greener and cleaner place to live in. It is a revolutionary material that
combines the unique properties such as durability and strength, low weight, very
simple construction technology and excellent environmental performance.

CHAPTER 3
DESIGN CONSIDERATIONS
3.1 General considerations
AAC masonry components(block units) can be used to build load bearing or non load
bearing walls.
O-block units used to build pilasters.
U-block units used to build bond beams and lintels.
Control joints on AAC reinforced walls must be placed at maximum 16 ft. o.c.

Installation Guide
Check foundation.
Receiving and distribution of AAC wall units.

Installation requirements
Tools
Equipment
Other materials
Installing O-block for pilasters in first course

Laying the first course (levelling course)

Lay the first course over a semi-dry cement mortar levelling bed- to 2 thick.

Corner blocks are laid first and the first course should be completed before second
course installation.
Once corner blocks are placed apply thin bed mortar, to the vertical joints for
other blocks.
Thin bed mortar 1/16 inch to 1/8

Cutting blocks (adjustments and chases)

A hand saw or band saw to cut the blocks to specific lengths.

Placing control joints in first course

These are vertical joints taken through the full wall thickness, and from bottom to top.
3/8 to thick.
Maximum spacing between control joints should be 15 ft.

Laying the subsequent courses

For subsequent courses use only thin bed mortaring on all joints between AAC
blocks.
Minimum overlapping of vertical joints between layers should be 4.
Metal strip ties should be placed every two courses at 1) connection of secondary
walls to main walls 2) connection of walls to concrete columns.

Control joints in subsequent layers

V-shaped metal strips should be set at every two courses unless there are

two pilasters on both sides of control joints and less than 2 from the
joint.
Once the wall is built fill the gap using backer rod and seal with
caulking.
Fill up pilasters by pouring concrete.
Building on site lintels using U-blocks

Install temporary supports before putting U-blocks in place apply thin bed mortar
to the vertical joints.

Once U-block are set, place rebars according to construction drawings and with
concrete.
Installing U-blocks to build bond beams

Lay U-block course applying thin bed mortar on all joints.

At each pilaster location, drill a hole in the bottom side so the vertical bars can be
attached in the bond beam.
Before pouring concrete place rebar and anchor bolts according to construction
drawings.

Utilities installation after the walls are built

For electrical conduits and piping installation, a chase is cut using an electrical
router or a chasing tool.
When required depth of chase is bigger than maximum depth recommended,
additional O-blocks are used to lodge the pipes or interrupt wall continuity.
After installation, the chase are filled with repair mortar or cement sand mortar.

Renders

Surface patching:
Rasp block joints and other areas where AAC surface is out of plane.
Surface must be cleaned using a scrub brush and any loose or damaged material be
removed.
A rubber float is commonly used to smooth the wall surface.
Fiber glass mesh:
This should be installed directly over one layer of render in all control
joints, around windows, doors and utility locations.

Finishes

AAC masonry walls can be finished with stucco , acrylic texture coats, or a
combination of both, also laminated stones, ceramic or clay tiles, concrete pieces and
ornamental products.

Fig no.3.1

3.2 Raw Material

Fly Ash or Sand

Key ingredient for manufacturing AAC blocks is silica rich material like fly ash or sand.
Most of the AAC companies in India use fly ash to manufacture AAC blocks. Fly ash is
mixed with water to form fly ash slurry. Slurry thus formed is mixed with other
ingredients like lime powder, cement, gypsum and Aluminum powder in quantities
consistent with the recipe. Alternately sand can also be used to manufacture AAC blocks.
A wet ball mill finely grinds sand with water converting it into sand slurry.
Sand slurry is mixed with other ingredients just like fly ash slurry.

Lime Powder
Lime powder required for AAC production is obtained either by crushing limestone to
fine powder at AAC factory or by directly purchasing it in powder form. Although
purchasing lime powder might be little costly, many manufacturers opt for it rather than
investing in lime crushing equipment like ball mill, jaw crusher, bucket elevators, etc.
Lime powder is stored in silos fabricated from mild steel (MS) or built using brick and
mortar depending of individual preferences.

Cement
53-grade Ordinary Portland Cement (OPC) from reputed manufacturer is required for
manufacturing AAC blocks. Cement supplied by mini plants is not recommended due to
drastic variations in quality over different batches. Some AAC factories might plan their
captive cement processing units as such an unit can produce cement as well as process lime.
Such factories can opt for major plant clinker and manufacture their own

cement for AAC production. Cement is usually stored in silos.

Gypsum
Gypsum is easily available in the market and is used in powder form. It is stored in silos.

Aluminum Powder/Paste
Aluminum powder/paste is easily available from various manufacturers. As very small
quantity of Aluminum powder/paste is required to be added to the mixture, it is usually
weighed manually and added to the mixing unit.

CHAPTER 4
PRODUCTION PROCESS
4.1 Raw Material Preparation and Storage
The first step of AAC production is grinding of silica rich material (sand, fly ash, etc) in
ball mills. For different materials, different processing is adopted, such as dry grinding
(into powder), wet grinding (into slurry) or mixed grinding with quicklime (CaO). There
are two methods for mixed milling.
One is dry mixing to produce binding material, and the other method is wet
mixing. Since most quicklime is agglomerate, it should be crushed and then grinded.
Gypsum is normally not ball milled separately. It is grinded with fly ash or with
quicklime, or it could be grinded with the same miller for quicklime in turn. Other
supplementary and chemicals are also have to be prepared. Raw material storage assures
the continuous production and material stability.
The continuous production guarantees the non-stop & on-time supply, and the
material stability guarantees the quality of products, since the raw material might come
from different sources, with different qualities. Raw material preparation & storage is the
pre-step for proportioning batching. This pre-step guarantees the raw material meet the
standard for AAC production, and it is also finishes the storage, homogenization and
aging process. It is the basic process that assures the smooth production and production
quality.

4.2 Dosing and mixing

Maintaining ratio of all ingredients as per the selected recipe is critical to ensure
consistent quality of production. This is accomplished by using various control systems
to measure and release the required quantity of various raw materials. A dosing and
mixing unit is used to form the correct mix to produce Autoclaved Aerated Concrete
(AAC) blocks. Fly ash/sand slurry is pumped into a separate container.

Once the desired weight is poured in, pumping is stopped. Similarly lime powder,
cement and gypsum are poured into individual containers using screw conveyers. Once
required amount of each ingredient is filled into their individual containers control system
releases all ingredients into mixing drum.
Mixing drum is like a giant bowl with a stirrer rotating inside to ensure proper mixing of
ingredients. Steam might also be fed to the unit to maintain temperature in range of 4042o C. A smaller bowl type structure used for feeding Aluminium powder is also
attached as a part of mixing unit. Once the mixture has been churned for set time, it is
ready to be poured into molds using dosing unit. Dosing unit releases this mixture as per
set quantities into molds for foaming.
Dosing and mixing process is carried out continuously because if there is a long
gap between charging and discharging of ingredients, residual mixture might start
hardening and choke up the entire unit. In modern plants, entire dosing and mixing
operation is completely automated and requires minimum human intervention.
This entire operation is monitored using control systems integrated with
computer and CCTV cameras. As with any industrial operation, there is provision for
human intervention and emergency actions integrated inside the control system.

4.3 Casting, Foaming and Pre-curing

Once the desired mix is ready, it is poured into moulds. These moulds can be of
various sizes depending on the production capacity of a manufacturing unit. Once mix is
poured into moulds, it is ready for pre-curing. After casting, the slurry in molds will be
in the pre-curing chamber to finish foaming and hardening. Foaming and hardening
actually starts when the slurry is fed into molds, which includes gas-forming expansion
and perform, curing to achieve certain strength, which is enough for cutting. Pre-curing
is always done under set temperature.
Hence it is also called as Heating-room-pre-curing. Pre-curing as not a
complicated process, but should avoid vibration. Operations must keep eyes to monitory the
slury change during foaming and provide feedback to dosing, mixing and casting process.
Pre-form defects (cracking, sinking, etc.,) mainly occur during the process.

4.4 Cutting
During this process, the pre-cured block goes through cutting and shaping, into different
size & shapes as per requirements. The high workability and large variety of sizes make
AAC production more suitable for massive production with higher mechanization.
Cutting can be done mechanically or manually. With a cutting machine, the production
efficiency and dimensional accuracy is easily achieved.

4.5 Autoclaved Curing

After cutting into the desired sizes & shapes, green AAC blocks are transferred into
autoclaves. Autoclaves are used for steam curing under pressure. AAC must be pre-cured
and steam cured to finish the physical and chemical changes, and then to achieve enough
strength for desired usage. A batch of AAC blocks is steam cured for 10-12 hours at a
pressure of 12 bar and temperature of 190C. In hot and humid conditions, AAC blocks
undergo last stages of hydro-thermal synthesis reaction to transform into a new product
with required strength and various physical performances. Autoclaved curing imparts
inherent properties and performance of AAC.

4.6 Grouping
Grouping could be the last step of AAC production (in some AAC plant, the AAC will be
further processed into panels after leaving autoclaves). After the cured AAC leaves the
autoclaves, inspection and packaging is done.

Process Flow Chart.

CHAPTER 5
ANALYSIS
5.1 Market
Shelter is third skin, according to a German Concept, which implies its importance next
to human Skin and Clothing. This also shows the attachment of human race to this
fundamental requirement.
Building Material accounts for major component of the construction cost. Depending
on the location they can contribute to 60 - 70 % of the cost of construction. With the ever
increasing population, the demand for housing increases. This directly creates demand for
this prime commodity of building.
Add to the above fact the nearby area of this project site is undergoing a major
infrastructure revolution. As Residential, Commercial, IT companies, and Industrial
establishments are coming in, we can conclude that the Blocks unit will prosper and
flourish in this environment.
There is a central government gadget notification mandating government departments
and CPWD to use 100% Fly Ash based Bricks in their all constructions-directly of
through contractors. This factor will help the marketability of this product immensely.
Fly Ash policy of the Government also mandates that 20% of Fly ash Generated by a
power plant must be given free of cost to SME sector on a priority basis.

5.2 Carbon Credits Estimates

AAC blocks are being seriously considered for CDM projects in India for earning Carbon
Credits. As the CER Generated is also relatively less, four or five such units can be
bundled together to make a Group CDM in the same sactors.
This project is likely to generate 1 CER per each 7 or 8 Cubic Meter of Blocks
production, depending on, and subject to the CDM methodology adopted, and the
interpretation of additionality and baseline parameters by the validating authority.
Just for a rough estimate of CERS, for an annual production of average size AAC plant,
that is 100000CM/Annum, we are likely to get around 12500 CERs on full capacity
Production. At present market rate of 11.5 Euros per CER and @ Rs. 60 per Euro, we can
expect to get additional revenue on CER. But we must expect to take a cut of around 20
to 30% of CERs, if we want to forward sell the CERs and get the CDM part sponsore the
buyer.

5.3 Raw Material Suitability

Almost 95% of the raw materials can be made suitable for AAC line through proper mix
design. Also we can have many different mix designs for the same denicitysame
strength of Blocks. We will help you to get the Best quality blocks at optimal cost by
means of designing proper Mix as per your input raw materials.

The following are basic guidelines (certainly not the final call) on the suitability of basic
raw materials for AAC.

1. Fly ash (65-70%)

Index Item

Grade (%)
Gr-I

Gr-II

30

45

15

25

5.0

10.0

SiO2

45-55

40

SO3

(0.045 square hole sieve left

Degree of

amount)
(0.080 square hole sieve left

fineness

amount)

Ignition loss

Reference : The fineness can be 0.045 or 0.080 square sieve left amount.

2. Lime (8-25%)

Item

Grade

Super Gr.
st

1 Gr.

nd

Gr

A(CaO+MgO)Quality Fraction %

90
75
65

MgO
Quality Fraction %

5
8

SiO2
Quality Fraction %

2
5
8

Digestion

speed

5-15

,min

Digestion temperature ,

60-90

Undigested residue quality fraction ,%

5
10
15

Fineness (0.080 square hole sieve left amount) %

10
15
20

CO2
Quality Fraction %

2
5
7

3. Cement (6-15%)

SiO2
Al2O3
Fe2O3
CaO
MgO
C3S
C2S
C3A
C4AF

21-23
5-7
3-5
64-48
4-5
44-59
18-30
5-12
10-18

4. Gypsum/Plaster (3-5%)

CaSO4

70%

MgO

2%

Chloride

0.05%

Preferably ground residue 90m

10-15%

5. Aluminum Power (about 0.08%)

Type and recommendation for supply depend on raw materials and mix formula

Metal Content
Approx.
>=65%
Powder

CHAPTER 6
Indian Standard for AAC blocks

Bureau of Indian Standard Code no- 2185(Part-3):1984 discusses in details regarding the
AAC blocks specifications in India. The prime requirements for AAC blocks (of ISI
standards) in India as per the above said code are as follows.

6.1. ON PHISICAL SIZES OF AAC BLOCKS

Concrete Block
Concrete Block shall be referred to by its nominal dimensions. The term
nominal means that the dimension includes the thickness of the mortar joint. Actual
dimensions shall be 10mm short of the nominal dimensions (or 6mm short in special
cases where fine joining is specified).
The nomianal dimensions of the concrete block shall be as follows:

Length

400,500 or 600mm

Height

200,250 or 300mm

Width

100,150,200 or 250mm

In addition, block shall be manufactured in half length of 200,250 or 300mm to

correspond to the full lengths.

6.2 ON TOLERANCES OF AAC BLOCK SIZES

The maximum variation in the length of the units shall not be more than +5mm or
-5mm and the maximum variation in the height and width of unit, not more than +3mm or
-3mm.

6.3 ON DENSITY, STRENGTH & THERMAL CONDUCTIVITY

SNo.
Density in Owendry Condition

CHAPTER 7

ADVANTAGES AND DISADVANTAGES

7.1Advantages of using Autoclaved Aerated Concrete

7.1.1 Lightweight

AAC blocks are about 50% lighter than clay bricks of equivalent size. This translates into
less dead weight of buildings and allows entire structure to be lighter therefore reducing
amount of steel and concrete used in structural components like beams, columns and
roof/floor slabs.

Fig no. 7.1.1

7.1.2 Single Product Solution

Buildings constructed with AAC do not require separate insulation products reducing
construction cost, energy footprint and environmental impact of buildings.

7.1.3 Easy Workability

AAC is very easy to work with and can be cut accurately reducing the amount of waste
generated.

Fig no. 7.1.3

7.1.4 Environmental Impact

Manufacturing of AAC does not have high energy requirements. Moreover since AAC is
light weight, it also saves energy required for transportation and leads to reduced CO2
emissions by transport vehicles. Since AAC is made from fly ash an industrial waste
product generated by thermal power plants, it offers a low cost and sustainable solution
for today and tomorrow. AAC is a requisite for green buildings.

7.1.5 Easy Transportation

It is easy to transport AAC as it does not suffer from high transit breakage usually
associated with clay bricks.

7.1.6 Longevity

AAC does not lose strength or deteriorate over time. Buildings constructed with AAC do
not require routine repairs that are required for buildings using clay bricks.

7.1.7 Shorter Project Duration

Buildings can be built with AAC 50% faster compared to clay bricks. This translates to
lower project completion times benefiting project developers.

7.1.8 Thermal Insulation

AAC offers excellent thermal insulation. This reduces recurring cost of energy required
for heating and cooling. Better thermal insulation also allows usage of smaller HVAC
than required conventionally.

Fig No 7.1.8

7.1.9 High Survivability

Millions of air pockets in AAC cushion structure from major force and prevents
progressive collapse of a building. AAC structures are known to maintain structural
integrity despite of heavy rains, extremely low temperature and salty air.

7.1.9 Fire Resistance

Due to high fire resistance offered by AAC, structures made from AAC have higher rate
of survivability in case of fire.

Fig no. 7.1.9

7.1.10 Sound Insulation

Sound absorption properties of AAC make it ideal material for reducing ambient noi
se.AAC is well-suited for establishments like hospitals and offices situated in noisy areas.

Fig no. 7.1.10

7.1.11 Contribution to Nation

AAC factories create many jobs directly and indirectly creating a social impact. Along
with that they pa

7.1.12 Weather Resistance

AAC does not decay, rust, deteriorate or burn. AAC has been found to be earthquake
resistant. AAC structures are known to maintain structural integrity in heavy rains,
extremely low temperature and salty air.

7.1.13 Pest Resistance

Primary raw material used to manufacture AAC is fly ash. Fly ash (or pond ash) is an
inert material and does not allow termites or other pests to survive.

Excise Duty and VAT contributing to national economy

Fig no. 7.1.13

7.2 Product Disadvantages

The major disadvantages of autoclaved aerated concrete are listed below.

The production cost per unit for ACC is higher than other ordinary concrete.

Number of manufacturer is limited. So, cost will drastically increase in places far from
the manufacturer and need to travel a long distance.

It is not as strong as conventional concrete.

Very few contractors who are familiar with ACC.

Construction with autoclaved aerated concrete may will need special permission.

Environmentally friendly

CHAPTER 8
CONCLUSION

As a construction system, AAC provide significant environment and other benefits for the
building owner. The short and long term effect of using AAC compared to many other
materials results in lower energy consumption, reduced operating costs, greater safety and
comfort, and a healthier and more trouble free building. These features provide a better
investment for building owner and for environment.

REFERNCES