Comparative Analysis of the Effectiveness of AAC Block with Red Brick as Building Construction Material

Abstract

Red Bricks and AAC Block, both are being used as building construction materials in the building construction recently in Nepal. Red Bricks are being used from very old age but the AAC Block has been in the market for very few years only, so, there exists some doubts regarding its performance. For a technical person like engineers and project managers, there should be proper knowledge about the materials so that they can choose a better option for the construction with better performance in the future, in other words, the material shall be more effective than the other. The effectiveness of the material is determined based on their properties; the physical, mechanical, economic, and environmental aspects. The material shall be strong, durable, and economical. The laboratory tests of samples of Red Bricks and AAC Blocks, cost analysis, and review of literature, articles, and journals were done to analyze the effectiveness of the materials The results were checked for size, density, strength, water absorption, cost, and environmental impact. The result showed that AAC Blocks were properly sized with lower density, lower compressive strength, cheaper, faster, and environmentally friendly than red bricks but with higher water absorption capacity. The red brick sizes were non-uniform as well with liable to cause adverse human and environmental hazards. Overall, they both have their suitability on the construction, but due to the uniform sizes, light weight, availability with required compressive strength, and economic and eco-friendly aspects, AAC Block is a better option in use for construction. In the case of a load-bearing structure, the red brick is still suggested.