How to Set Temporary Supports for GRC Panel Installation: Standard Methods and Key Safety Points Explained

In GRC panel installation projects, the temporary support system acts as an invisible safety barrier, and its scientific setup directly affects construction quality and personnel safety. As an industry expert with 28 years of experience in detailed design and construction of GRC materials, Qinglong Group will systematically analyze the key points of temporary support setup in accordance with the Technical Standard for Glass Fiber Reinforced Cement (GRC) Building Applications (JGJ/T423-2018), providing professional technical guidance for designers and construction teams.

The Core Role and Design Principles of Temporary Supports for GRC Panels

Temporary supports are the key load-bearing structures for GRC panels from production and transportation through to permanent fixing, with the core function of counteracting dead loads, wind loads, and additional construction forces during the installation stage. The Qinglong technical team emphasizes that support design must follow three principles of "appropriate strength, sufficient rigidity, and reliable stability," with specialized calculations based on the dimensions of the GRC panels (such as large panels exceeding 2m×1.5m), their weight (typically 80-120kg/㎡), and the installation height, to ensure that the safety factor of the support system is no less than 1.5 times.

Four Key Technical Points for Standardized Support Setup

1. Scientific Positioning of Support Points
Based on the load-bearing characteristics of GRC panels, temporary supports should be placed at the panel's center of gravity and at 1/4 of the span from both ends. For shaped GRC components, support points should be determined by simulating stress distribution through BIM technology. In the Nanjing East Road Century Plaza renovation project, Qinglong applied 3D scanning technology to achieve millimeter-level positioning of support points, successfully completing the deviation-free installation of curved GRC curtain walls.

2. Material Selection and Joint Construction
Support materials should preferably be Q235B grade steel or high-strength aluminum alloy, with vertical poles no less than φ48mm in diameter and horizontal pole spacing ≤1.2m. Qinglong's original "adjustable support joint" achieves ±50mm fine height adjustment through a threaded adjustment device, effectively solving the elevation control challenge in GRC panel installation. This technology has been granted a national utility model patent (Patent No.: ZLXXXXXX).

3. Stability Reinforcement Measures
The support system must be equipped with longitudinal and transverse sweeping bars (bottom braces) and diagonal cross braces, with sweeping bars no more than 200mm above the ground and cross braces at angles of 45°-60° to the ground. For support frames exceeding 6m in height, Qinglong recommends adding guy wires or rigid connections to the main structure. In the Dongguan Women and Children's Activity Center project, this approach increased the support system's wind load resistance by 40%.

4. Precise Control of Removal Timing
The removal of temporary supports must meet two conditions: the connection joints between the GRC panels and the main structure must have reached at least 75% of their design strength, and adjacent panels must have formed a stable load-bearing system. Qinglong adopts a "staged unloading method," monitoring panel displacement in real time with monitoring instruments to ensure that stress is released slowly during removal and structural cracks are avoided.

Key Points of Safety Management and Quality Control

As a member of the International GRC Association, Qinglong Group has established a comprehensive quality control system for support systems: specialized review of support plans before construction, static load testing at 1.2 times the design load before use, and implementation of the "three-inspection system" (self-inspection, mutual inspection, and special inspection) during installation. Notably, in a landmark project in Malaysia, Qinglong's technical team innovatively embedded RFID chips in support components to achieve full life-cycle quality traceability management.

Temporary support setup is the "invisible cornerstone" of GRC panel installation projects, and its technical details directly reflect a company's professional strength. With 28 years of full-chain service experience, Qinglong Group deeply integrates detailed design, manufacturing, and construction installation, providing customers with integrated solutions from support plan design to final acceptance. To learn more about installation technical specifications for GRC/GRG/UHPC materials, please follow Qinglong's technical column, where we will continue to share cutting-edge industry practices and innovative achievements.