NOTES – VERTICAL TRANSPORTATION SYSTEMS

Elevators
An elevator or lift is a type of vertical transportation device that moves people or goods between floors
(levels, decks) of a building or other structure.

History of Elevators
The earliest known reference to an elevator is in the works of the Roman architect Vitruvius, who reported
that Archimedes (c. 287 BC – c. 212 BC) built his first elevator probably in 236 BC. Ancient and medieval
elevators used drive systems based on hoists or windlasses. The invention of a system based on the screw
drive was perhaps the most important step in elevator technology since ancient times, leading to the creation
of modern passenger elevators. In Industrial Era, The development of elevators was led by the need for
movement of raw materials including coal and lumber from hillsides.

Earliest examples of elevators were simple platform elevators which were belt driven , roped or toothed
wheel based with counterweights and were used majorly to lift goods and not people because of risk of cable
break.

In 1852, Elisha Otis introduced the safety elevator, which prevented the fall of the cab if the cable broke. He
demonstrated it at the New York exposition in the Crystal Palace. He used a tough bow shaped spring attached
to the platform from below, which arched and flexed back along rails hence stopping the platform from
falling. First such passenger elevator was installed at 488 Broadway in New York City on 23 March 1857

The first elevator in India was installed at the Raj Bhavan in Calcutta (now Kolkata) by Otis in 1892.
By 1900, completely automated elevators were available. Elevators are often a legal requirement in new
multistory buildings, especially where wheelchair ramps would be impractical.

Components of elevators

1. Car - that part of an elevator that includes platform, enclosure, car frame and door. It is a cage of Fire
resistant material supported on a structural frame. Lifting cables are fastened to the car. Car is guided
in vertical travel by side rails.

• Car components

• Safety door

• Operating control equipment

• Motion control – speed, acceleration, position determiners, levelling of car

• Operating control – car door operation, , functioning of car signals, all indicating
devices.
 • Supervisory control – group operation control

• Floor Level indicators

• Emergency exit

• Illumination

• Ventilation

2. Cables - The ropes (group of steel wires) by which the car and counter weight are suspended. Elevator
or lift cables are the link between the controller and elevator trolley, and are responsible for
the power and signal transmission. They are usually multi-conductor cables constantly in motion,
thereby they need to have a long life. Nowadays, optical fibre can be used to ensure a better
performance.

3. Machine room – A lift motor room (sometimes referred to as an elevator machine room), is
a room that houses the machinery and electrical controls that operate a lift.

Typically, the entrance to a lift motor room is located in a public corridor, but the room should be fully
enclosed or otherwise secured against non-authorised access.

A lift motor room should be well-ventilated but should not allow rain inside from louvers /other
ventilation openings and be provided with a controlled environment to prevent damage to
the equipment. Motors, equipment and electric cables etc should be maximum possible prevented
from dust and humidity. It should have light point near the entrance to machine room/trap door.

This is often on a rooftop of a building or two storeys above the highest storey that the lift serves.
The room can also be found on the ground floor or in the basement if overhead space is unavailable

4. Pit - The elevator pit is the depression below the surface of the lowest landing that allows the elevator
floor to be level with the floor of the lowest landing.
It provides for bottom overtravel and clearance, and for elevator parts that require space below the
bottom limit of car travel.
Should be soundly constructed and maintained in a dry (water proofed) and clean condition. Where
necessary, provision shall be made for permanent drainage.

5. Control equipment

6. Shaft or hoistway – well through which the elevator pass

7. Counterweights - A weight or series of steel weights attached to the end of the cable to which car is
fastened, to counterbalance the weight of the lift car and part of the rated load.
= wt of empty lift + 40% of rated load
8. Guide rails - The members used to guide the movement of a lift car or counterweight in a vertical
direction.

9. Sheave - Cars are pulled up by means of rolling steel ropes over a deeply grooved pulley, commonly
called a sheave in the industry. Sheave is a rope wheel, the rim of which is grooved to receive the
suspension ropes but to which the ropes are not rigidly attached and by means of which power is
transmitted from the lift machine to the suspension ropes.
 Some terms used in elevators

• Rated load
The maximum load for which the lift car is designed and installed to carry safely at its rated speed.

• Door Closing Time

Time period measured from the instant that car doors start to close until the doors are locked.

• Travel time or Average trip time

Average time spent by a passenger from the moment they arrive in the lobby to the moment they
leave the car at upper floor.

• Passenger Average Waiting Time (AWT)

me spent by a passenger from the instant he/she registers a landing call or joins a queue,
Average time
until the responding lift begins to open its doors at the boarding floor.

• Interval (INT)
Time period between successive car arrivals at the main terminal floor with cars loaded to any value.

• Round Trip Time (RTT)

The average time taken by a single lift to make a round trip from the main terminal to returning back
ter serving all demand along the way in one direction.
to the main terminal after

• Handling Capacity (HC)

Maximum number of passengers that a lift system can handle in a given period – usually 5 minutes.
When expressed as percentage of building’s population, it is called as Perce
Percent Handling capacity.
• Lift Speed

Generally , the Lift speeds are taken as 0.8 to

1.2 m/s for Low to medium rise buildings.
But speeds increase with the building height.

Experts say “Ear comfort and pressure

changes do not usually affect healthy
elevator riders unless the descent speeds
exceed 10 m/s and vertical travel exceeds
500 meters. For this reason, virtually all of
the latest supertall high-speed lifts, with
“up” travel speeds of 10 to 20.5 m/s, have a
maximum “down” speed of 10 m/s”

Preliminary Lift planning

• Population - Calculate the total population based on the usage type of building X Net Usable Area
(excluding circulation areas , storage areas). Refer table 1 for density of population.

• Quantity of Service
total number of passengers handled during
the peak 5 min period of the day.
Target Handling capacity = no. of trips made
by lifts in 5 min peak period x average
passengers carried by lift

• Quality of service – Interval and average

passenger waiting time.
Table 1
TYPES OF ELEVATORS

• Hydraulic Elevators

• Conventional Hydraulic Elevators

• Hole-less Hydraulic Elevators

• Roped Hydraulic

• Traction Elevators with Machine Room

• Geared Traction Elevators

• Gear-less Traction Elevators

Hydraulic elevators are supported by a piston at the bottom of

the elevator that pushes the elevator up as an electric motor forces
oil or another hydraulic fluid into the piston.

The elevator descends as a valve releases the fluid from the piston.
The machine room for hydraulic elevators is located at the lowest
level adjacent to the elevator shaft.

• Conventional Hydraulic Elevators

have a sheave that extends below the floor of the elevator pit,
which accepts the retracting piston as the elevator descends.

Telescoping piston requires a shallower hole below the pit.

Max travel distance is approximately 60 feet.

• Roped Hydraulic Elevators

use a combination of ropes and a piston, allowing the elevator to

travel further than the piston has to move.

Maximum travel distance is about 60 feet.

 • Hole-less Hydraulic Elevators

Holeless hydraulic elevators were

developed in the 1970s, and use a pair
of above ground cylinders and have a
piston on either side of the cab. In this
configuration, the telescoping pistons
are fixed at the base of the pit and do
not require a sheave or hole below the
pit.

This hence makes it practical for

environmentally or cost sensitive
buildings with two, three, or four floors.

Telescoping pistons allow up to 50 feet

of travel distance.

Non-telescoping pistons only allow

about 20 feet of travel distance.

Benefits and Drawbacks of Hydraulic Elevators :

• The low mechanical complexity of hydraulic elevators in comparison to traction elevators makes them
ideal for low rise, low traffic installations. Hence, Suitable for shorter buildings.

• they are less expensive to install, and require less maintenance over time due to fewer moving parts.

• They are less energy efficient as the pump works against gravity to push the car and its passengers
upwards; this energy is lost when the car descends on its own weight.

• A major drawback of hydraulic elevators is that the hydraulic fluid can sometimes leak, which can
cause a serious environmental hazard
Traction Elevators

In a "traction" elevator, cars are pulled up by means of rolling steel ropes over a deeply grooved pulley,
commonly called a sheave in the industry.

The weight of the car is balanced by a counterweight and hence the motor has to do less work of lifting car.

Sometimes two elevators are built so that their cars always move synchronously in opposite directions, and
are each other's counterweight.

The friction between the ropes and the pulley furnishes the traction which gives this type of elevator its name

• Geared Traction Elevators

have a gearbox that is attached to the motor, which drives the wheel that moves the ropes.

Geared traction elevators are capable of travel speeds up to 500 feet per minute.

The maximum travel distance for a geared traction elevator is around 250 feet.

• Gear-less Traction Elevators

have the wheel attached directly to the motor. Gear-less traction elevators are capable of speeds up to 2,000
feet per minute and they have a maximum travel distance of around 2,000 feet.

Used in medium and high-rise applications.

Gearless machine are more efficient, quieter, requires less maintenance , has longer life.

Geared traction elevators are medium in terms of initial cost, ongoing maintenance costs, and energy
consumption.

Gear-less traction elevators have a high initial cost, medium ongoing maintenance costs, and use energy a bit
more efficiently than geared traction elevators.

It is important that traction elevator ropes and sheaves are checked for wear on a regular basis.

As they wear, the traction between the sheave and the cables is reduced and slippage becomes more regular,
which reduces the efficiency and can become dangerous if left unchecked.

Traction elevators have height restrictions that are governed by the length and weight of the cables or ropes.

New materials that are stronger and lighter, such as carbon fiber, will allow traction elevators to achieve new
heights.
Machine-Room-Less Elevators

Machine room-less elevators are designed so that most of the components fit within the shaft containing the
elevator car; and a small cabinet houses the elevator controller which may be inside and/or adjacent or at
close proximity to top landing door, eliminating the need for conventional machine room. The machine sits in
the override space and is accessed from the top of the elevator cab when maintenance or repairs are
required.

Other than the machinery being in the hoistway, the equipment is similar to a normal traction or hole-less
hydraulic elevator. The world's first machine room-less elevator, the Kone MonoSpace was introduced in
1996, by Kone. The benefits are:

 creates more usable space

 use less energy (70–80% less than standard hydraulic elevators)
 uses no oil (assuming it is a traction elevator)
 all components are above ground similar to roped hydraulic type elevators (this takes away the
environmental concern that was created by the hydraulic cylinder on direct hydraulic type elevators being
stored underground)
 slightly lower cost than other elevators; significantly so for the hydraulic MRL elevator
 can operate at faster speeds than hydraulics but not normal traction units.

Machine-room-less elevators have a maximum travel distance of up to 250 feet and can travel at speeds up to
500 feet-per-minute. Theese elevators are becoming the most popular choice for mid-rise buildings where the
travel distance is up to 250 feet.

SPECIAL REQUIREMENTS FOR ELEVATORS

1. FIRE FIGHTING REQUIREMENTS FOR ELEVATORS IN HIGH RISE BUILDINGS

• Walls of the lift bank well enclosure shall have a fire rating of 120 min

• The interior finishing materials shall be of very low flame spread type

• Fireman’s lift

The fireman’s lift is provided in a building for the purpose of aiding firefighters in evacuating trapped persons
in the building and to take the equipment for fighting fire to upper levels with minimum delay.

• There shall be at least one fireman’s lift per building in high rise buildings.

• The speed of the fireman’s lift shall be 1.0m/s or more such that it can reach the top floor from main
floor/firefighter access level within 1 min
 • Reliable alternative source of power supply should be provided for all fireman lifts through a
manually/automatically operated changeover switch. The route of wiring shall be safe from fire.

• Such lift in case of fire, will drive non stop to the Evacuation floor and stop there with doors open.

2. ACCESSIBILITY GUIDELINES

• Area inside car should be comfortable for a wheelchair bound person.

• Car Controls –

• All control buttons should be at least 19 mm minimum, should be raised or flush. Braille
characters and symbols should be given.

• Automatic door opening and closing. No manual.

• Car position indicator and audible sound for floor number where car stops.

3. DUMBWAITERS
Dumbwaiters are small freight elevators that are intended to carry food, books or other small freight loads
rather than passengers. They often connect kitchens to rooms on other floors. They usually do not have
the same safety features found in passenger elevators, like various ropes for redundancy.
They have a lower capacity, and they can be up to 1 meter (3 ft) tall.
As per NBC :
A lift with a car which moves in guides in a vertical direction; has a net floor area not exceeding 1 m2 , total
inside height of 1.2 m, whether or not provided with fixed or removable shelves; has a capacity not
exceeding 250 kg and is exclusively used for carrying materials and shall not carry any person.

ELEVATORS IN HIGH RISE BUILDINGS

• Safety and Emergency features:

1) Door sensors -

Power operated car doors shall be so designed that their closing and opening is not likely to injure a person.
The car door shall be provided with a sensitive device which shall automatically initiate reopening of the door
in such cases.

2) Overload sensors - prevents the lift from starting in case the lift car is loaded to 110 percent of the rated
capacity of the lift or more. The lift shall remain stationery with door open.

3) Safety Factor

Generally recommended 11-12, which means combined strength of the ropes is adequate to hold 12 times the
mass of a fully loaded car.

4) Emergency alarm switch in car

If somebody presses emergency button, the voice is audible and the system automatically cuts power to the
motor and applies the brake.

5) Speed Governors

If the lift moves too fast, they might cut power to the lift motor. Even after that, speed is detected, they will
apply brakes.

Brakes 1 – clamp close to pulley which prevents cables from moving. Brakes at car bottom which go into the
channel guide and hence brings car to stop.

Counterweight also acts for smooth descent of lift car.

6) Emergency telephone in car

telephone connects to the security

7) Emergency electrical supply – lighting and power - shall be able to provide at least 24 h of power supply

8) Stretcher Lift

Minimum one stretcher lift shall be provided in each building having height more than 30 m so as to take care
of medical as well as other emergencies

9) Travel speeds

High air Pressure Effect In high rise buildings, makes people uncomfortable when lift is landing faster than 10
m/s.

10) Piston effect

If high speed lifts are housed in single shaft, the displaced air due to movement of the lift car tries to escape
through the gaps between the lift car walls and the shaft walls in turbulent flow. This air being displaced past
the car generates whining and whistling noises inside the car.

Therefore, such common shaft should have ventilation holes in the common wall which will allow the air
displaced due to the movement of the lift car to escape.

11) Safety Gear

A mechanical device attached to the lift car or counterweight or both, designed to stop and to hold the car or
counterweight to the guides in the event of free fall, or, if governor operated, of overspeed in the descending
direction.

12) Loss of power - Automatic Rescue Device (ARD)

A device meant to bring a lift stuck between floors due to loss of power, to the nearest landing level in either
direction and open the doors in order to allow trapped passengers to be evacuated.

13) Behaviour in seismic condition

It is necessary to have seismic detection mode in lifts manufactured with design acceleration ≥ 4 m/sq. 3 sec
reaction time to switch to seismic mode.

In this mode, all registered calls are dismissed and lift moves to the nearest landing with 0.3 m/s speed.

If lift is at landing, doors will open and remain open and will go out of service.

14) Energy Saving

Inactivity for 90 sec, car lights and fans are switched off. Start before the doors open for next call.

Regenerative drives
works analogously to regenerative braking in vehicles, using the elevator's electric motor as a generator to
capture some of the gravitational potential energy of descent of a full cab (heavier than its counterweight) or
ascent of an empty cab (lighter than its counterweight) and return it to the building's electrical system.

ELEVATORS IN HIGH RISE BUILDINGS

TECHNIQUES TO GET BETTER PERFORMANCE

• Destination Control system

• Sky Lobby System

• Double deck elevators

• Destination Control system (DCS)

Some skyscraper buildings and other types of installation feature a destination operating panel where
a passenger registers their floor calls before entering the car. The system lets them know which car to
wait for, instead of everyone boarding the next car. In this way, travel time is reduced as the elevator
makes fewer stops for individual passengers, and the computer distributes adjacent stops to different
cars in the bank. Inside the elevator there is no call button to push, or the buttons are there but they
cannot be pushed — except door opening and alarm button — they only indicate stopping floors.

The principle behind the DCS is to group passenger with same destinations together thus reducing the
number of stops of the lift reducing round trip time thus boosting traffic.

The advantages of DCS system over conventional collective control are that it Increases handling
capacity and reduces transit time.

• Sky lobby system

A sky lobby is an intermediate interchange floor where people can change from an
express elevator that stops only at the sky lobby to a local elevator which stops at every floor within a
 segment of the building . In buildings of 60 floors or more, conventional direct from ground
arrangements become core-wasteful, and alternative arrangements are needed.
Sky lobbies are used, by which a shuttle elevator moves passengers to a local lobby, from where the
passenger then boards local groups of elevators to their final destination. The journey in this case
effectively becomes two journeys.

 Double deck elevators

Double-decker elevators are traction elevators with cars that have an upper and lower deck. Both
decks can be serving a floor at the same time, and both decks are usually driven by the same motor.
The system requires the passengers to board the same elevator (both decks) from two different
lobbies: The odd lobby and the even lobby.
Passengers will have to arrive at the correct lobby for boarding. This usually involves using an escalator
that takes them either one floor up or down.
It significantly increases the passenger capacity of an elevator shaft and occupy less building core space
than traditional single-deck elevators do for the same level of traffic.
Also improves traffic circulation efficiency.