What Is the GRC Production Process: A Complete Analysis from Raw Materials to Finished Products

In the field of modern architectural decoration, the choice of materials and the refinement of craftsmanship directly determine a building's aesthetic presentation and quality. GRC (Glass Fiber Reinforced Concrete), as a new material that combines strength with artistic expressiveness, relies on the rigor and technical sophistication of its production process as the very core of achieving the perfect transformation from design drawings to physical buildings. Qinglong, an industry leader with 28 years of full-chain experience in UHPC/GRC/GRG/GRP, has always maintained a meticulous, excellence-driven attitude, turning the production process of every GRC product into a precision engineering project that combines standardization with customization.

GRC Production Process: A Full-Process Analysis from Raw Material Selection to Finished Product

The birth of high-quality GRC products begins with strict control over raw materials. In production, Qinglong first focuses on three core raw materials: high-strength low-alkali cement provides matrix strength, alkali-resistant glass fiber (typically alkali-resistant glass fiber mesh or chopped strand) serves as the reinforcement skeleton, supplemented by selected quartz sand and special additives. This formulation must undergo repeated laboratory testing to ensure the material meets the industry standard of flexural strength ≥15MPa while also accommodating the shaping requirements of complex forms. Taking the Nanjing East Road Century Plaza renovation project as an example, Qinglong achieved mechanical balance between translucent concrete and GRC composite components by adjusting the glass fiber content and distribution density, and the project won the Silver Award of the first AALBORG WHITE Cup UHPC Construction Engineering Innovation Award.

Mold Development: The "First Brushstroke" of GRC Forming Art

Molds are the foundation for forming GRC components, and their precision directly affects the detail expressiveness of the finished products. Qinglong combines digital design with traditional craftsmanship to customize mold solutions for different project needs: for European classical lines (such as Roman columns and cornices), high-precision silicone molds ensure complete pattern replication; for hyperbolic curtain wall panels of high-end projects such as grand theaters and museums, three-dimensional molds are created through BIM technology and CNC machining, with the minimum curvature radius controllable within 300mm. This "digital modeling + physical prototyping" process effectively avoids the dimensional errors of traditional mold making, ensuring "zero-error" jointing during component installation—just as demonstrated by Qinglong's technical strength in the Dongguan Women and Children's Activity Center project, which won the Silver Award of the first GRC Construction Engineering Innovation Award for the precise realization of its complex GRC curved forms.

Forming and Curing: Key Steps in Bringing GRC Material to Life

During the forming stage, Qinglong selects the spray-up or premix casting process according to component characteristics: the spray-up process is suitable for large-area panels, using a high-pressure spray gun to evenly mix fiber with cement mortar, ensuring three-dimensional random distribution of fibers in the matrix to enhance crack resistance; premix casting is mostly used for special-shaped components, reducing internal porosity through vibration compaction and vacuum degassing technologies. Formed components must enter a standard curing room and be cured for 7-14 days at 20±2℃ with relative humidity ≥90%, allowing the cement hydration reaction to proceed fully. Notably, Qinglong's self-developed steam curing process can shorten the curing cycle by 30% while ensuring a compressive strength of over 60MPa—a technical advantage that makes it stand out in municipal projects with tight schedules.

Quality Inspection and Installation: Full-Chain Quality Control from Factory to Construction Site

As a national-level high-tech enterprise, Qinglong has established a quality traceability system covering the entire production process: each batch of GRC components must pass more than 20 indicator tests, including flexural strength, elastic modulus, and fire rating (meeting the Class A1 non-combustible material standard), and key projects also have RFID chips embedded to enable full life-cycle tracking. During installation, Qinglong employs 3D laser scanning positioning technology, combined with customized metal connectors, to ensure the flatness deviation of the curtain wall system is ≤3mm. This "factory prefabrication + on-site assembly" model not only improves construction efficiency, but also achieved the seamless installation of 3,000 square meters of GRC curtain wall panels in a commercial complex project in Shenzhen, earning high recognition from both the owner and the designer.

From the scientific rigor of raw material formulation, to the ingenuity of mold development, and the constant pursuit of excellence in forming and curing, every step of the GRC production process embodies accumulated technology and experience. As a contributor to the formulation of the GRC industry standard Technical Standard for Building Application of Glass Fiber Reinforced Cement (GRC) (JGJ/T423-2018), Qinglong has always taken "creating beautiful architecture" as its mission, integrating 28 years of technical expertise into every product. Whether it is the artistic curtain walls of landmark buildings or the exquisite components of landscape gardens, Qinglong GRC proves with its strength that the value of quality materials lies not only in their outstanding physical performance, but also in their ability to bring architectural design creativity into reality, injecting lasting aesthetic vitality into urban spaces.