Elevator Shaft Research Articles

Determination of Elevator Shaft Uprightness Applying the Terrestrial Laser Scanning Method / Určovanie Zvislosti Výťahovej Šachty Metódou Terestrického Laserového Skenovania

Abstract This paper presents the results obtained from geodetic measurements and processing the data with the objective to determine geometrical parameters of an elevator shaft applying classical as well as modern approaches for obtaining the measured data. The intention was to verify the possibility to apply the terrestrial laser scanning (TLS) method as a suitable, efficient and precise method for collecting spatial data.

Vertical vibration analysis for elevator compensating sheave

Most elevators applied to tall buildings include compensating ropes to satisfy the balanced rope tension between the car and the counter weight. The compensating ropes receive tension by the compensating sheave, which is installed at the bottom space of the elevator shaft. The compensating sheave is only suspended by the compensating ropes, therefore, the sheave can move vertically while the car is traveling. This paper shows the elevator dynamic model to evaluate the vertical motion of the compensating sheave. Especially, behavior in emergency cases, such as brake activation and buffer strike, was investigated to evaluate the maximum upward motion of the sheave. The simulation results were validated by experiments and the most influenced factor for the sheave vertical motion was clarified.

Application of the mechanical ventilation in elevator shaft space to mitigate stack effect under operation stage in high-rise buildings

Even though the measures to minimize the stack effect in high-rise buildings were taken that include a revolving door on the lobby floor, additional barriers to the passage of air in the lower part of the building, and air-tightness reinforcement for elevator doors, the stack effect is still present during cold season in Korea. However, it is difficult to fully apply the measures for stack effect under occupied condition in high-rise buildings. In this study, as an advanced method to lower the stack effect in high-rise buildings under occupied condition, mechanical ventilation in elevator shaft space, which cools the shaft space with outdoor air and reduces the temperature or pressure differences between indoor air in shaft and outdoor air, was proposed. In this paper, the application details and performance analyses of the installed shaft cooling system in a completed building in Korea were described. Also, as a measure to improve the performance of the applied system, concentrated cooling in the lower part of the elevator shaft where there is a main air flow passage was proposed. As a result, cooling effect of mechanical ventilation system in elevator shaft was improved and the extent of stack effect in winter was decreased effectively.

Urban Solar Updraft Tower Integrated with Hi-Rise Building – Case Study of Wuhan New Energy Institute Headquarter

The upfront cost and technical difficulties of constructing a Solar Updraft Tower is its current bottleneck. Based on the case study of Wuhan New Energy Institute headquarters, this paper proposes to integrate an urban Solar Updraft Tower with a hi-rise building design. The integrated design can reduce the construction cost greatly: the solar chimney integrated with the elevator shaft can avoid large investment on a detached chimney structure; the heat collector can be integrated with the roof garden to provide shaded public space. This type of small-scale, distributed Solar Updraft Tower is relatively low-cost and easy promoting. Potentially, it can build up a distributed energy system as a supplement for the power grid. Furthermore, it can provide valuable experimental data for future researches on large scale Solar Updraft Towers.

가압 계단실의 방연풍속 형성에 대한 수치해석적 분석

In high-rise commercial buildings, the smoke that occurs in case of a fire tends to be spread rapidly to the horizontal and vertical direction due to the structural characteristics of the buildings. In particular, since the smoke spread to evacuation stairwells and elevator shafts results in the toll of lives, Design Guidelines for Smoke Control System of Special Evacuation Stairwell and Lobby of NFSC 501A was proposed in Korea as one of fire safety standards to prevent the penetration of the smoke into the above mentioned areas. Towards this end, the vestibule pressurization method was largely used in the past, but the stairwell pressurization method is introducing in recent years. This study attempted to analyze whether air egress velocity suitable for the standards is secured, targeting the actual buildings designed with stairwell pressurization system through numerical analysis. For this, a real-size model for numerical analysis was made by measuring the floor plan, airflow, pressure and flow area of any floor in a fire, and velocity to prevent smoke backflow was analyzed.

Combination of a contactless power supply with an electromagnetic guiding for a vertical transportation system

A contactless energy transmission system is essential to supply on-board systems of magnetic levitated vehicles without physical contact to a guiding rail e.g. in clean room environment. This paper introduces a combined contactless power supply (CPS) and electromagnetic guiding system (MGS). The actuator of the linear guiding system is part of an inductive energy transmission. With this approach two devices are integrated in one entity. The hybrid actuator consists of an omega shape iron yoke with permanent magnets and coils on its lateral arms. A concentrated primary winding is added to the elevator shaft and a secondary winding is wound on the central arm. Hereby a superposition of the MGS flux and the CPS flux emerges in the magnetic circuit of the actuator. A decoupling of the two systems is achieved by the high frequency of the CPS flux compared to the MGS flux. The proposed system requires less construction space and weight compared to existing energy transmission systems.

Designed Numerical Simulation Calculations of the Fire Protection Capability of Elevator Doors

Abstract As metropolitan areas become densely populated in Taiwan, with high-rise buildings located everywhere; elevators are becoming essential transport tools in buildings. Elevators usually connect each floor with vertical transportation, and play a significant role in personnel and goods loading. However, a large elevator shaft can become a path to extend fire if fire happens. Large amounts of flame and smoke are produced during a fire and the rising characteristics of smoke mean it can go through channels, stairs, and pipes. With the stack effect of high-rise buildings, the entire building can fill with smoke in a very short time, causing the fire can quickly spread to each floor and cause serious personnel casualties. This study investigates fire door structural strength changes in high temperature situations by using ANSYS, finite element analysis software, to verify the resistance of fireproof elevator door. This study also investigates the influences of various parameters to explores the effect of fire resistance time and provide numerical reference data to designers.

Study on Smoke-Proof Measures of Elevator Evacuation during High-Rise Building Fire

Elevator evacuation of high-rise building fire has become an urgent problem. Based on the problems of general elevator evacuation, this paper offers some measures of smoke-proof measures, such as setting up pressure ventilation in elevator car, setting up pressure ventilation in elevator shaft, setting elevator antechamber and setting smoke preventing air curtain etc. This paper provides some practical ways of elevator evacuation on high-rise building fire.

엘리베이터 승강로의 유량계수 산정에 관한 실험 연구

최근 건축물이 대형화, 복잡화되면서 건축물내 거주자의 피난 안전성이 관심의 초점이 되고 있다. 초고층 건물의 경우 화재 발생 시 계단을 통한 피난에 시간이 많이 소요되고 특히, 장애인의 경우 계단을 통한 피난 자체가 불가능할 수 있다. 이에 거주자의 피난에 엘리베이터를 이용하는 방법에 대한 연구가 진행되고 있다. 본 연구에서는 엘리베이터를 피난에 이용하기 위하여 엘리베이터 승강로가 연기에 오염되지 않도록 하는 연구의 일환으로 엘리베이터 운행 시 승강로 내의 유량계수를 실험을 통하여 살펴보았다. 유량계수는 엘리베이터 피스톤 효과의 양을 결정짓는 중요한 인자이다. 본 연구의 결과는 엘리베이터 피스톤 효과에 대한 연구의 기초 데이터로 활용 가능하다. 실험은 3층과 2층 건물 5곳의 엘리베이터 승강로에서 수행하였으며, 실험 결과 평균 유량계수는 0.954이며 99.99 % 신뢰도를 위해 <TEX>$4{\sigma}$</TEX>를 적용하였을 경우 유량계수가 0.86으로 나타났다. 이 결과는 Klote와 Tamura가 제안한 0.83보다 3.6 %가 큰 값이며, 동일 조건의 엘리베이터 운행 시 피스톤 효과에 의한 최대 계산 압력이 약 7 % 감소함을 의미한다. 이 결과는 현재의 초고층 건물의 제연성능 평가 시 엘리베이터 피스톤 효과의 최대 임계압력을 적용할 경우 보다 실제적이고 작은 값을 적용하여 경제성을 확보할 수 있다는 것을 의미한다. Recently, evacuation safety of building resident become the major concern, as the building has been higher and more complicated. Required evacuation time using stairway is longer in high-rise buildings, moreover it is impossible for the disabled to evacuate by using stairway. For this reason the study on the effectiveness of using elevator for evacuation is progressing. This study shows the flow coefficient of hoistway when elevator is moving. The results of this study can be used for the study of elevator piston effect as basic data. Experiments were performed in 5 different hoistways at 3-story and 2-story buildings. According to the result of flow coefficient experiments, average flow coefficient is 0.954. Considering the <TEX>$4{\sigma}$</TEX> to guarantee 99.99 % reliance, it is 0.86. This result is 3.6 % bigger than 0.83 that Klote and Tamura suggested. It represents that the maximum critical pressure is decreased about 7 % on the same condition of elevator and elevator shaft. When the smoke control performance of high-rise building is evaluated, the result is significant economically by applying a more realistic and less value of elevator piston effect.

Numerical Study on Fire Smoke Movement in Elevator Shafts Under Piston Effect

The movement of elevator cars in a shaft can be simplified as piston motion. To study the piston effect on fire smoke flow, this article simulates some fire scenes under four different elevator cars motion states by Fluent. It analyzes the pressure distribution, the velocity distribution, and the CO2 concentration distribution. Because of the low CO2 content in the air, CO2 is used to track the movement of fire smoke. The effect of the piston motion on the smoke is analyzed. It has the maximum disturbance on the smoke when the two cars move up and down respectively at the same time. In this case, the smoke can get into the elevator shaft more easily. This will help expand the region of hazards and accelerate the spread of fire.

1408 エレベーター釣合車の縦振動解析(OS2-3 鉄道・エレベータのダイナミクス,OS2 交通・物流システムのダイナミクス,オーガナイズド・セッション(OS))

Most elevators applied to tall buildings include compensating ropes to satisfy the balanced rope tension between the car and the counter weight. The compensating ropes receive tension by the compensating sheave, which is installed at the bottom space of the elevator shaft. The compensating sheave is only suspended by the compensating ropes, therefore, the sheave can move vertically while the car is traveling. This paper shows the elevator dynamic model to evaluate the vertical motion of the compensating sheave. Especially, behavior in emergency cases, such as brake activation and buffer strike, is investigated to evaluate the maximum upward motion of the sheave. The simulation results are validated by experiments and the most influenced factor for the sheave vertical motion is clarified.

계단실 가압과 승강로 가압 제연방식의 성능 비교 연구

Pressurization of stair and elevator shaft is used to prevent the diffusion of smoke over the whole building through the elevator shaft and stair in high rise building. At the apartment which combines the vestibule of a special evacuation stair and the platform of an emergency elevator, the pressurization test of stairway and elevator shaft was carried out. At the elevator pressurization test, the amount of air was 150 CMM, which was necessary to sustain the pressure difference of the standard, 50 Pa, at the condition of all closed doors. When an elevator door was opened, the average velocity went beyond the standard value, 0.75 m/s, at the swelling door and kept the pressure difference of 10 Pa was sustained at the non-opened floor. On the other hand, in the case of the pressurization of stairway, when a low-floor door was opened, the pressure difference of 10 Pa could not be kept at the closed floor even though the amount of air of 180 and 360 CMM was supplied. When a high-floor door was opened, the pressure difference of 10 Pa was made at the non-opened floor, but the overpressure was caused at the low-floor. Therefore, the comparision result of two methods of smoke control showed that the pressurization of elevator shaft have better performance than that of the pressurization of stairway.

Elevator shaft pressurization for smoke control in tall buildings: The Seattle approach

CONTAM simulations of both commercial and residential tall building models are conducted in order to study recently adopted Seattle code requirements for elevator shaft pressurization systems. In contrast to the International Building Code (IBC) requirements, the Seattle approach specifies across elevator door pressure minimums and maximums on only four “fire floors” (including one above, and two below, the fire floor). This is accomplished using a minimal pressurization of the entire elevator shaft in conjunction with venting of the four fire floors. The present study adresses the feasibility of calibrating such a system to meet the design objectives in tall buildings (system performance during an actual fire event is not considered). The two building models correspond to 37 story buildings with dual elevator and dual stairwell shafts extending the entire height of the building. Each model is calibrated to experimental data. Simulations are conducted for a variety of ambient temperatures and exterior building door positions. Coupled pressurization of the stairwells is also considered. The system requirements are found to be achievable for both elevator only and coupled elevator and stairwell pressurization systems. However, the observed pressure differences do change with changes in the ambient temperature as well as changes in the ground floor exterior door position. It is therefore recommended that such systems should be calibrated for pressure differences intermediate to the prescribed minimum and maximum values to compensate for changes to the system performance. Providing a relief vent to ambient on any recall floor may also be advisable.

Multicar-Elevator Group Control Algorithm for Interference Prevention and Optimal Call Allocation

The need to improve the efficiency of elevator systems is growing as higher buildings are being constructed. Increasing the number of elevators within a building is a commonly used strategy to achieve a greater passenger transportation capacity. However, the area required by elevator shafts limits the number of elevators that can be built. Multicar-elevator (MCE) systems, consisting of two or more elevator cars within a single shaft, have been proposed as a solution to increase the passenger transportation capacity without requiring extra space within the building. Yet, the implementation of MCEs requires the prevention of interference among elevator cars, which traditional group control methods are unable to achieve. Therefore, an MCE group control method that can perform an efficient allocation of service calls while preventing interference among cars is required. In this paper, we propose an MCE group control algorithm implementing an interference risk evaluation, a schedule-completion-time minimization function, and idle-car parking strategies. With our algorithm, we aim to achieve an efficient allocation of calls and prevent interference, but without restricting the operation of elevator cars like the existing MCE group control methods do. The simulation results show that our algorithm has a good performance under low and medium passenger arrival rates.

The intelligent flying eye

Search-and-rescue operations can be very difficult. Consider as a typical scenario a partially collapsed building that may contain trapped survivors. But those people are surrounded by debris that presents a formidable obstacle to searchers. How do you find the survivors, and how do you get them out safely? The most important task in such a situation is to narrow down the search area and guide the rescue workers to the right location. The rescuers also need to know the inner state of the building to assess the damage, anticipate likely risks, and determine the best rescue strategy. Any ground-based robotic device that is sent into the damaged area to obtain this information will very likely get entangled in rubble. So what are the alternatives? What if you could send in a tiny helicopter, a micro air vehicle (MAV), to do the job? A MAV benefits from its vertical degree of freedom: it can evade obstacles on floors by changing altitude, and it can use vertical spaces, such as elevator shafts, to quickly access the most badly damaged levels. Within minutes, it can bring back video images of the wrecked interior. In addition to showing the locations of survivors, the images can help civil engineers assess the stability of the structure to help protect both rescue workers and the victims they are trying to save. The PIXHAWK Cheetah MAV (see Figure 1) is such a device. With onboard intelligence and autonomous-navigation capabilities, the Cheetah can be an extremely useful tool for rescue missions in hazardous environments. This four-rotor MAV is 55cm in diameter, measured across its rotor blades. Powered by lithium polymer batteries, the Cheetah can fly for up to 12 minutes. It features four cameras with flexible mountings and an onboard image-processing computer (see Figure 2). The Cheetah’s computer-vision system enables it to assess and solve navigational problems with no outside help. Some robotic devices send back images by means of wireless communication. Current MAV designs use wireless image transmission and offboard processing1, 2 or global-positioning systems (GPS) for controlling the vehicle.3 A wireless-transmission Figure 1. Operational model of the PIXHAWK Cheetah.

Stack Pressure and Airflow Movement in High and Medium Rise buildings

Abstract This paper presents the result of a numerical simulation of the stack pressure in high and medium rise buildings under cold weather condition. The result shows that there is a movement of air from the bottom to the top of the building and escapes at the top either through open windows, ventilation openings, or other forms of leakage. The rising warm air reduces the pressure in the base of the building, drawing cold air in through either open doors, windows, or other openings and leakage. This stack effect occurs mainly in the core of the building such as stairway and elevator shaft and causes problems with energy loss caused by the airflow, the blocked elevator doors and discomfort due to inflowing of strong outdoor air. The simulation has been carried out for the high rise building in cold climate of Korea, considering three levels of air-tightness of the exterior wall of the building (tight, average and loose), and found to be the major reason of the airflow movement in the building. The effect of the wind speed velocity and direction on the movement of the airflow in the building has been also investigated under extreme cold condition for middle rise building located in China (7 floors) and the result shows that at high wind speed velocity this effect is very significant.

Multicar elevator group supervisory control system using genetic network programming

AbstractElevator group control systems are the transportation systems for handling passengers in the buildings. With the increasing demand for high‐rise buildings, it becomes important to improve the elevator service. The multicar elevators consist of plural cars in a single elevator shaft. It contributes to the improvement in passengers' handling capacity, while allowing the reduction of the space occupied in the building. In contrast with traditional elevator systems, the cars can no longer operate freely, where there are several restrictions on their available movements. This requires a more difficult control including stochastic scheduling with high combinatorial complexity in order to make the system more flexible. At present, lots of buildings with more than 40 floors are being built, which are usually divided into several zones served by local elevator groups. In addition, the cars should be operated at equal time intervals, especially in such a building with multicar elevator systems (MCES) in order to obtain its good performance. Genetic network programming (GNP), one of the evolutionary computations, can realize a rule‐based MCES due to its directed graph structure of the individual, which makes the system more flexible. This paper discusses MCES using GNP in high‐rise buildings. Also, the positions of elevators are considered to avoid the bunching phenomenon. The performance of MCES is studied and compared with single‐deck elevator system (SDES) and double‐deck elevator system (DDES). © 2010 Institute of Electrical Engineers of Japan. Published by John Wiley &amp; Sons, Inc.

COSMO—Software for designing smoke control systems in high-rise buildings

A differential computer model specifically designed to quantify smoke movement during a fire in a high-rise structure is described. The basic conservation equations are transformed into a computer code which can be used to determine the paths that smoke will take during a fire. The program is a tool for fire protection engineers to design a smoke management plan with the ultimate goal of improving occupant safety in the event of a fire. The computer code is based on a modified and improved differential smoke control model for the conditions in the floor spaces, stairwells and elevator shafts and it considers a complete set of variables that influence the motion of smoke throughout the building. Program output suggests ways to alter the pressure distribution within the building by using air handling equipment, so that occupants will have smoke-free areas on the floors and inside of the fire escape stairwells. Results for several example cases are provided, and the results are used to illustrate how smoke movement can be managed in order to mitigate dangerous conditions within the building.

Integrating Safety, Environmental and Quality Risks for Project Management Using a FMEA Method

In recent years, many construction firms have implemented various management systems, including OHSAS 18001 for occupational health and safety (OHS) management, ISO 14001 for environmental management and ISO 9001 for quality management. With increasing interests from construction firms in implementing an integrated management system (IMS) which combines OHSAS 18001, ISO 14001 and ISO 9001, it is timely to assess, manage and control the risks resulted from OHS, environment and quality issues under this new integrated scheme. In this study, the Failure Modes and Effects Analysis (FMEA) is employed to analyze risk management for OHS, environment and quality management under an IMS in a local case study in China. FMEA is known to be a systematic procedure for the analysis of a system to identify the potential failure modes, and their causes and effects on system performance in engineering management. The analysis is performed at the early stage of a system so that removal or mitigation of the failure mode is most cost effective method. On the basis of risk priority numbers calculated from occurrence, severity, and detection of potential risks, twenty potential risk factors are graded, and their levels of acceptability are determined. The acceptability of risks is defined into four scenarios: acceptable, moderate, undesirable, and unacceptable. The findings indicate that five major potential risks, including “Roof related falls”, “Elevator shaft falls”, “Holes in flooring on construction site”, “Hit by falling objects”, and “Run over by operating equipment”, are graded to be unacceptable. These events are considered the most risky in construction. In practice, these unacceptable risks can be minimized through prevention or protection. The main goal of risk management is to keep the risks at an acceptable level by maintaining the tolerable risks and following the programs in moving unacceptable risks to an acceptable level. Risk management must involve risk mitigation measures so as to fulfill OHS, environmental and quality management programs, leading to a reduction of risk levels. All these are designed to avoid accidents, incidents, injury, or occupational diseases. In the event of an accident that has already occurred, a necessary part of risk management is the management of crisis for minimizing losses/impacts. Accordingly, measures for risk management for the twenty potential risk factors of OHS, environment and quality are recommended. It is revealed that training programs are prioritized to be the most effective measures in integrated risk management. Effective training helps personnel carry out various activities, establish a positive safety attitude, and integrate safety with environmental and quality goals. Comparing to other countries, training is believed to have a significant role in the construction industry of China due to the fact that the percentage of construction workers being trained is very low. This paper then proposes a methodology for contractors who implement the management system to integrate risk management in the pursuit of continuous improvement in project management. To achieve that, an integrated risk management is tied with a Deming’s cycle (Plan-Do-Check-Act) (P-D-C-A), in which it is necessary to add audits and management review for attaining continuous improvement.

NUMERICAL REPRODUCTION OF THE SEN’NICHI DEPARTMENT STORE FIRE AND ITS DAMAGE FACTOR ANALYSIS BASED ON FSE EVACUATION SAFETY VERIFICATION METHOD

The Sen’nichi Department-store fire(1972, 118 victims) is noted for the largest loss of life in a single building fire. This work intends to reproduce numerically the smoke spread and evacuation during the fire, and further applies the numerical simulations to inspect the validities of then-discussed assumptions and speculations for the largeness of the life loss and for the possible improvement of the fire safety. The study suggests any better crisis management could have reduced the number of victims but the failure of the smoke separation through elevator shaft, staircases and ventilation duct was the essential cause for the life loss.