Autoclaved Aerated concrete (AAC), or otherwise known as Autoclave Cellular

Concrete (ACC), is a lightweight, precast building material. AAC provides structure,

insulation and fire resistance in a single material. AAC products include blocks, wall
panels, floor and roof panels, and lintels.
It has since been refined into a high thermally insulating concrete-based material used for
construction both internally and externally. Besides insulating capability, one of AAC's
advantages in construction is its quick and easy installation since the material can be
routed, sanded and cut to size on site using standard carbon tip band saws, hand saws and
drills.
Even though regular cement mortar can be used, 98% of the buildings erected with AAC
materials uses thin bed mortar, which comes to deployment in a thickness of 1/8 inch.
This varies on national building codes and creates solid and compact building members.
AAC material can be coated with a stucco compound or plaster against the elements.
Siding materials such as brick or vinyl siding can also be used to cover the outside of
AAC materials.
Produced for more than 70 years, AAC offers considerable advantages over other
construction materials, one of the most important being its very low environmental
impact.
AACs high resource efficiency gives it low environmental impact in all phases of its life
cycle, from processing of raw materials to the disposal of AAC waste.
AACs light weight also saves energy in transportation. The fact that AAC is up to five
times lighter than concrete leads to significant reductions in CO2 emissions during
transport. To reduce the need for transportation, AAC manufacturers apply the principle
of producing as near to their consumer market as possible.
AACs excellent thermal efficiency makes a major contribution to environmental
protection by sharply reducing the need for space heating and cooling in buildings.
In addition, AACs easy workability allows accurate cutting that minimizes the
generation of solid waste during use. Unlike other building materials AAC can eliminate
the need to be used in combination with insulation products, which increase the
environmental impact and cost of construction.

Raw materials
Quartz sand, lime and/or cement as binding agent. Aluminum powder in 5%8% by
volume (depending on the pre-specified density) and water. When mixed and cast in
forms, several chemical reactions take place that give AAC its light weight and thermal
properties. Aluminium powder reacts with calcium hydroxide and water to form
hydrogen. The hydrogen gas foams the raw mix to double the volume (with gas bubbles

up to 1/8 inch in diameter). At the end of the foaming process the hydrogen escapes to the
atmosphere and is replaced by air.

When the forms are removed from the material, it is solid but still soft. It is then cut into
either blocks or panels, and placed in an autoclave chamber for 12 hours. During this
steam pressure hardening process, when the temperature reaches 374 Fahrenheit and the
pressure reaches 12 bars, quartz sand reacts with calcium hydroxide to form calcium
silica hydrate, which accounts for the material's high strength and other unique
properties. After the autoclaving process the material is ready for immediate use on the
construction site. Depending on its density, up to 80% of the volume of the mass is air.
Density also accounts for the low structural compression strength of AAC material,
which can carry loads up to 1,200 PSI, approximately 1/6th of stronger concrete.
Since 1980, there has been a worldwide increase in the use of AAC materials and new
production plants are being built in the USA, Eastern Europe, Israel, China, Bahrain,
India and Australia. AAC is increasingly used by developers, architects and home
builders. The Material is also known as: Autoclaved Concrete, Autoclaved Aerated
Concrete, Cellular Concrete, Porous concrete, Aircrete and Thermalite (UK). As of
August 2007 there are 2 functioning AAC factories in the USA, Xella Aircrete North
America in Georgia, and Aercon in Florida.