Life cycle energy of AAC masonry infilled residential building in India

Abstract

Embodied energy plays an important role in the choice of building materials and is directly related to the sustainability of the built environment. Although autoclaved aerated concrete (AAC) masonry is gaining popularity in reinforced concrete (RC) framed buildings due to its various advantages, the issue of embodied energy of such buildings has not received adequate research attention. This paper evaluates the initial embodied energy of a typical AAC block masonry infilled RC framed building and compares it with that of an identical building infilled with traditional fired clay brick masonry. The results show that using AAC block masonry instead of fired clay brick masonry reduces material flow and the material embodied energy of the building by 13% and 18%, respectively. In addition, it also evaluates the life cycle energy of the selected building with AAC block masonry infill using the life cycle assessment method. The calculated life cycle energy of the AAC block masonry infilled RC framed buildings contributes to the knowledge database. This study concludes that the use of AAC block masonry instead of fired clay brick masonry in RC framed buildings increases the sustainability of the built environment.