Exploration and Application Research on Process Solutions for Achieving Complex UHPC Shapes at Low Cost

In the field of contemporary architectural decoration, UHPC (Ultra-High Performance Concrete) has become a key material for shaping landmark buildings thanks to its outstanding mechanical properties and expressive formability. However, realizing its complex shapes often comes with high costs—how can this bottleneck be overcome? As an industry leader with 28 years of deep expertise in UHPC/GRC/GRG/GRP materials, Qinglong Group has explored a process path for achieving complex UHPC shapes at low cost through full-chain technological innovation, providing designers and owners with solutions that combine aesthetic value with economic feasibility.

**Cost Pain Points of Complex UHPC Shapes and Directions for Process Breakthrough**

Traditional processing of complex UHPC shapes often faces problems such as high mold costs, low production efficiency, and large material waste. Taking double-curved curtain wall components as an example, traditional steel molds take up to 20 days to produce, cost over RMB 10,000 per set, and are difficult to reuse; manual vibration molding easily leads to air bubbles and uneven density, and subsequent polishing requires additional working hours. Based on full-chain experience in detailed design, manufacturing, and construction installation, Qinglong Group tackles these challenges from three dimensions: material formulation optimization, mold technology innovation, and molding process upgrading.

**Material System Innovation: The Underlying Logic of Cost Reduction and Efficiency Improvement**

As a national high-tech enterprise, Qinglong's R&D team has incorporated nano-scale mineral admixtures and specialty fibers to reduce cement content by 12% while ensuring a UHPC compressive strength of ≥150MPa, and has developed an early-strength formula—3-day strength reaching 85% of the design value—greatly shortening the curing period. To meet the flowability requirements of complex shapes, particle gradation optimization technology is adopted, enabling fresh UHPC to achieve a spread of 750mm, allowing it to self-flow and fill fine mold cavities, reducing vibration processes and lowering labor costs.

**Mold Technology Innovation: Cost Control from "Customization" to "Modularization"**

Breaking through the limitations of traditional steel molds, Qinglong innovatively applies a combination of fiberglass reinforced plastic (GRP) composite molds and 3D printing technology. GRP molds offer advantages of light weight, high strength, and strong replicability, costing only 1/3 of steel molds per set and being reusable more than 50 times; for highly irregular components, 3D-printed photosensitive resin master molds are used to quickly replicate GRP molds, shortening the mold development cycle to 7 days. For example, in a curved sunshade panel project for a commercial complex, modular mold design reduced mold costs by 40% for over 1,000 components.

**Molding Process Upgrade: Synergy of Digitalization and Industrialization**

BIM technology and automated production lines are introduced to achieve a seamless connection from design to production. Designers use Rhino+Grasshopper parametric modeling to directly generate production data, reducing manual conversion errors; in production, robotic spraying and material feeding combined with vacuum-assisted molding increase component density by 5% and achieve surface flatness of 0.5mm/m, reducing post-processing procedures. In the translucent concrete project at Century Plaza on Nanjing East Road, Qinglong increased the yield rate of complex hollow shapes from 65% to 92% through this process, reducing overall costs by 25%.

**Full-Chain Service Guarantee: Value Extension from Design to Implementation**

As a professional manufacturer integrating detailed design, manufacturing, and construction installation, Qinglong provides one-stop services covering "scheme optimization - mold development - component production - on-site installation." During the detailed design stage, we proactively communicate with designers on shape feasibility and propose optimization suggestions such as block splicing and seam reduction; during construction, 3D laser scanning positioning is used to ensure precise installation of complex shapes. In a GRG ceiling project for a grand theater, full-process coordination compressed the installation schedule by 15 days, indirectly saving management costs.

Qinglong Group has always taken "creating beautiful architecture" as its mission, continuously promoting innovative applications of UHPC/GRC/GRG/GRP materials with 58 patented technologies and participation in formulating multiple industry standards. From domestic landmark buildings to overseas projects in Southeast Asia, low-cost complex shape processes have been successfully applied in scenarios such as commercial complexes and cultural venues, confirming the core value of technological innovation in reducing costs and increasing efficiency for the industry. In the future, Qinglong will continue to focus on niche segments, enabling more creative designs to be realized through efficient processes and serving as a bridge connecting aesthetics and engineering.