Autoclaved aerated concrete (AAC) can be treated as a sustainable construction material as it decreases environmental impact while enhancing urban development quality, aligning with sustainable development goal (SDG) 11 of United Nations. The present study aims to compare the properties of the AAC blocks with that of traditional bricks such as fly ash brick and clay brick to emphasize the distinct advantages and limitations of AAC blocks, proposing AAC as a potential alternative in construction sector. AAC blocks of different aluminum powder (0.025 % and 0.05 % Al) and the masonry prisms of these AAC blocks as well as fly ash bricks and clay bricks were prepared in the laboratory. The compressive strength of AAC block was found to be 5.01 N/mm2 which is higher than the minimum strength according to IS code. The compressive strength of a masonry unit was observed greater than that of masonry prisms in all cases. It was found that the AAC blocks contain minimal moisture, thus suitable for the walls subjected to damp environments continuously as compared to the walls prepared by using fly ash bricks and clay bricks. The microstructural morphology was also obtained using scanning electron microscope (SEM) equipment. It had been observed that the pore size enlarged with the inclusion of Al powder in AAC. As a result, the weight of AAC block reduced, thereby the density and compressive strength also decreased. Due to this characteristic, a masonry structure constructed with AAC blocks is recommended to perform well during earthquake in terms of seismic resistant compared to a structure prepared with traditional bricks. Furthermore, resource-based cost analysis method had been adopted to demonstrate with an example of model room that the cost of building construction can be reduced with the employment of AAC blocks by 29% and 36% as compared to clay bricks and fly ash bricks respectively.
