Autoclaved aerated concrete (AAC) a study on AAC for low-rise structures in Southern California

This thesis is a multi-disciplinary study on a number of material and structural characteristics of Autoclaved Aerated Concrete or AAC, to find advantages and disadvantages of AAC as a building material to substitute wood or conventional CMU for low-rise residential buildings in Southern California.;AAC is has favorable qualities, and taking into account the claims of its manufacturers, has a great potential to becoming a commonly used building material: It is light weight, non-combustible, resource efficient, and has acoustic isolating and thermal insulating properties. As seen in the table below, these characteristics can have effects on different aspects of a construction project. For instance its light weight affects the transportation cost, reduces the carbon footprint in transportation, results in lighter building (less dead load) which immediately translates to less seismic force, and is more workable on site.*;Table above is a summarization of the main impacts of different characteristics of AAC on various aspects of construction.;The thesis tests two of the material properties of AAC: water absorption coefficient and R-value that are calculated by performing a Karsten Pipe Test and a thermal resistance test, respectively. From the structural point of view, this research focuses on the grouted connection of steel rebars to AAC and testes them in shear and pull-out (tension). These tests were found necessary as designing connections is usually a challenging part of the design, detailing, and construction. They also tend to fail more comparing to structural members themselves, in case of an earthquake or other natural hazards.;In the end, the thesis concludes that AAC possesses some desirable characteristics, such as higher R-value in comparison with other building materials, and some undesirable characteristics, such as low structural strength in comparison to reinforced CMU. Taking into account the findings of this thesis, designers face a trade-off between the advantages and disadvantage of AAC, a dilemma that can be resolved by reflecting the requirements of any particulate project.;*Please refer to dissertation for diagram.