Achieving Complex UHPC Shapes at Low Cost: Balancing Process Innovation and Cost

Low cost is not a compromise on quality, but rather the large-scale enablement of complex UHPC shapes. Reducing costs through process optimization, mold innovation, and other means while ensuring material performance and artistic effect is the key to the widespread application of UHPC. Qinglong Group, a manufacturer with a production capacity of 600,000 square meters, has developed mature low-cost implementation paths through projects such as the Yangshengtang Pharmaceutical Hangzhou Industrial Park and the Shenzhen Yirui Biotechnology Building.

#Mold Optimization: Reducing Recurring Investment Costs A combined mold design of “standard modules + customized modules” is adopted: for structures that recur within complex shapes, standard molds are fabricated and reused; for special shapes, low-cost materials such as polyurethane soft molds replace traditional steel molds. Qinglong's self-developed reusable flexible molds have a service life of over 30 uses, cutting costs by 40% compared with traditional steel molds, and significantly saved mold expenses in a commercial complex UHPC curved component project in Dongguan.

#Process Simplification: Boosting Production Efficiency to Cut Costs Production workflows are optimized by adopting a “factory prefabrication + on-site assembly” model, reducing on-site construction periods and labor costs. For complex structures such as openwork and relief patterns, 3D-printed molds enable rapid forming, or spray molding replaces manual casting, raising production efficiency by more than 50%. In the Shanghai Qingpu R&D base project, this process enabled mass production of complex UHPC decorative components, reducing unit costs by 30%.

#Material Mix Optimization: Balancing Performance and Cost While meeting design requirements, the UHPC mix ratio is reasonably adjusted, locally sourced high-quality aggregates replace part of the imported materials, and fiber selection is precisely matched to load-bearing needs, avoiding cost waste caused by over-design. Relying on its provincial-level R&D center, Qinglong has developed specialized mix ratios suited to shapes of varying complexity, reducing material costs by 15%-20% while ensuring a compressive strength of over 120MPa, and these have been successfully applied to UHPC decorative components in multiple real estate projects.

Achieving complex UHPC shapes at low cost is a comprehensive embodiment of technological innovation and engineering experience. With its full-chain service capabilities, Qinglong controls costs across all stages from design and production to construction, so that complex UHPC shapes are no longer synonymous with high costs.