Eco-mechanical indexes for sustainability assessment of AAC blocks

This paper aims to provide a proper set of eco-mechanical indexes to evaluate both the mechanical performances and the environmental features of autoclaved aerated concrete blocks. To this purpose, a detailed review of existing sustainability indexes - originally developed for concrete - is first presented, and subsequently different possible eco-mechanical indexes are specifically developed for autoclaved aerated concrete masonry blocks, also in order to compare their performances with those of lightweight aggregate concrete blocks. The obtained results highlight that, based on currently available information, only few parameters appear to be effective in defining the overall sustainability performances of AAC blocks. While several researches were indeed carried out in these last years regarding material structural properties, there is still a lack of environmental data, which should be necessarily deepened in future research work to obtain more reliable results.