Process Solutions and Practical Pathways for Achieving Complex UHPC Shapes at Low Cost

Breaking the cost dilemma through technological innovation, turning complex UHPC shapes from blueprint concepts into architectural reality.

In contemporary architectural design, ultra-high performance concrete (UHPC) has become an ideal material for shaping landmark buildings thanks to its outstanding mechanical properties and expressive form-making capabilities. However, the high costs brought by complex shapes have always been a key bottleneck restricting its widespread application. As an industry specialist with 28 years of full-chain experience in UHPC/GRC/GRG/GRP materials, Qinglong Group has explored a practical path to achieving complex UHPC shapes at low cost through process innovation and technology integration, providing designers and owners with solutions that combine aesthetic value with economic feasibility.

### I. Cost Pain Points and Technical Breakthrough Directions for Complex UHPC Shapes

The production of traditional complex UHPC components often faces three major cost challenges: customized expenses with mold costs accounting for as much as 30%-50%, waste problems with material utilization rates below 60%, and construction efficiency bottlenecks caused by high labor dependency. Based on practices from hundreds of landmark projects (such as the translucent concrete project at Nanjing East Road Century Plaza), the Qinglong team developed a targeted "modular mold + parametric design" composite technology, reducing mold costs for special-shaped components by more than 40%, while keeping the material loss rate within 8% through BIM-based pre-assembly, effectively solving common industry challenges.

### II. Four Core Paths of the Low-Cost Process Solution

**1. Mold System Innovation**: A detachable mold system combining steel molds and elastic materials was adopted, and a "master mold + sub-mold" quick-change structure was developed for complex shapes such as double-curved surfaces and openwork reliefs. Taking a UHPC curtain wall project for a grand theater as an example, through standardized module combinations, a single set of molds can produce 12 types of components with different curvatures, mold turnaround increased to 3 times that of traditional processes, and per-component mold costs reduced by 52%.

**2. Material Formulation Optimization**: Leveraging the technical advantages of a provincial-level R&D center, a dedicated mineral admixture system was developed that reduces steel fiber usage by 15% while ensuring UHPC compressive strength ≥150MPa, and introduces recycled aggregates from industrial solid waste, lowering material costs by 18%-22%. This formulation has been applied to a commercial complex project in Malaysia, achieving low-cost delivery of nearly 10,000 square meters of special-shaped UHPC components.

**3. Digital Production Integration**: A full-process digital production line was built from Rhino parametric modeling to robotic carving, achieving 1:1 precise reproduction of complex shapes through 3D scanning reverse engineering. In the Dongguan Women and Children's Activity Center project, the Qinglong team used this technology to complete the production of more than 1,200 GRC/UHPC composite components, with installation errors controlled within ±2mm and the construction period shortened by 30%.

**4. Installation Process Innovation**: A modular installation technology of "prefabricated assembly + on-site fine adjustment" was innovatively developed; combined with a 3D laser positioning system, it transforms traditional high-altitude piece-by-piece installation into ground pre-assembly and integral hoisting. After a municipal bridge landscape project applied this process, installation efficiency increased by 200%, labor costs dropped by 60%, and the safety hazards of high-altitude work were eliminated.

### III. Full-Chain Services Ensuring Cost Control and Quality Delivery

As a national "Specialized, Refined, Distinctive, and Innovative" enterprise, Qinglong Group has built a full-chain service system from detailed design to after-sales maintenance: at the design stage, it provides dual-track services of "scheme optimization + cost estimation," reducing redundant materials through structural topology optimization; in production, it implements ISO9001 quality control with RFID chip traceability for key processes; at the installation stage, it deploys professional construction teams and uses BIM technology to achieve seamless integration with other curtain wall systems. This "technology + service" model has helped hundreds of domestic enterprises achieve cost optimization and quality upgrades for their UHPC/GRC/GRG/GRP projects.

From the UHPC artistic staircase at a commercial complex in Guangzhou to the GRP translucent ceiling at an airport in Saudi Arabia, Qinglong Group has always upheld its mission of "creating beautiful architecture," using continuous technological innovation to free high-difficulty shape designs from cost constraints. In the future, with the improvement of UHPC industry standards and the deeper application of digital technology, achieving complex shapes at low cost will become the new normal in architectural decoration, injecting more possibilities into urban aesthetics.