The first course “Course ELEV-1:An Introduction to Transportation Systems in Buildings” was covering the following
points:
- Understanding the technology, concepts and terminology in Elevators, Escalators and Moving Walkways systems.
- Recognizing different types, components and accessories of Elevators, Escalators and Moving Walkways systems.
- Specifying correctly any type of Elevators, Escalators and Moving Walkways systems.
Today, we will continue our
series of courses about vertical transportation in buildings and this will be our
first article in the second course “Course ELEV-2: Vertical Transportation
Design and Traffic Calculations”, where we will explain the following points:
- Applicable Standards and Codes Used In This Course,
- The Need for Lifts,
- The Efficient Elevator Design Solution,
- Parts of Elevator System Design Process,
- Overview Of Elevator Design And Supply Chain Process.
First: Applicable Standards and Codes Used In This
Course
|
Note:
The two terms “Elevator”
and “Lift” are typical and have the same meaning but the term “Elevator” is
used in US and Canada while the term “Lift” is used in Commonwealth countries.
|
Second:
The Need for Lifts
|
Lifts are installed into
buildings for the following reasons:
We can say that lifts
must be like toilets, they should be available and easy to use without a long
waiting time. Unfortunately this is not always the case and some designs may
result in the installation of a non-efficient lift system. Therefore,
learning how to design an efficient lift system becomes a necessary
especially in high rise and complex buildings and that is what we will
explain in this course.
|
Third: Parts of Elevator System
Design Process
|
The
Elevator System Design Process consists of (3) parts as follows:
1-
The Electrical Design Part:
This
is the part where different electrical components of the elevator system must
be designed and selected to suit the project under design like drive system,
controllers, signaling system, and motors.
2-
The Mechanical Design Part:
This
is the part where different mechanical components of the elevator system must
be designed and selected to suit the project under design like ropes,
rollers. Guide rails, cabin frame, breaking system, counterweight and gear
box.
3-
The Traffic Analysis and Design Part:
This is the part
where the designer will study the population distribution in the
building and their predicted pattern of flow within the day.
Also,
there is structural design part which is based on the above (3) parts where
the Architect will design the following:
It is important that the architect or planner
must take the results from (3) design parts in above at a very early stage and not after
finishing the structure design of the building to make suitable building
core area and suitable space for the entrances, cars and shafts of the lift
system.
Notes:
|
Fourth: The Efficient Elevator
Design Solution
|
As a general rule, the target of any engineering design process is
finding a compromise between performance and cost of design to get the most
efficient and economic design solution.
In the elevator design process, the performance and cost are represented
by the following parameters:
1- Elevator design process’ Performance parameters:
2- Elevator design process’ Cost parameters:
Therefore, the best design should ensure the following requirements:
|
Fifth:
Overview of Elevator Design and Supply Chain Process
|
Many parties are participating in the planning, design, installation
and use of a lift system as follows:
It is essential that all those parties must have a clear
understanding of their responsibilities and the communications go on between them
to get an efficient and safe elevator system (see Table-1 and Fig.1).
The Efficient lift system design is the result of a team
work between above parties to get a better sized lift system design.
Table-1:
Elevator Design Steps, Supply Chain and Responsibilities
Fig-1:
the communications go on between Elevator Design Parties
The (10) steps for making an Efficient lift system design are explained in below.
|
Step#1:
Knowing Building Owner’s Expectations/Requirements
The Building architects communicate with the Building
owner and vice versa to know all the needs, expectations and requirements of
the owner from the elevator system.
|
Step#2:
Gathering the Required Information (Design Parameters)
The Building architects and Construction Company Gather
all the required information for starting the planning and design phase of
the elevator system like:
A- The owner’s requirements (from step#1),
B- The building parameters which are:
|
Step#3:
Making Traffic Calculations
The above data from step#2 to be forward to the elevator design engineers
/manufacturer for starting the traffic calculations to determine the
following design data:
The above design data must be based on the rules and regulations created by local authorities, public
organizations, Building codes, fire regulations, the American Disabilities
Act (ADA) and international specific rules like EN81 and ASME/ANSI A17.1
which give detailed documentation of the design criteria which must be met.
|
Step#4:
Making Architectural Calculations
The Building architects determine the following
dimensions with coordination of the Elevator design engineers/manufacturer:
a- Maximum Travel
Distance:
Architects to determine
the total vertical distance that the elevator must travel which helps
Elevator design engineers to determine the correct type of system to employ.
Hydraulic systems, for example, generally support no more than six floors
while electrical traction systems are appropriate for much taller hoistways.
Architects to determine Minimum Floor Height which represents the landing-to-landing distance, which will help Elevator design engineers program the elevator’s movement control and identify any limitations on the car’s size. c- Hoistway Dimensions:  Architects to determine the width, depth, and height of the hoistway and provide these data to the Elevator design engineers with. If the shaft structure is already in place, Architects will provide these data to Elevator design engineers. If not, and we deal with new building, it is easiest to plan the structure so that it can accommodate a standard elevator system with a standard Hoistway Dimensions. d- Entrance Dimensions: Architects to determine the width, height and depth of the entrance which depend on the application of the elevator. For example, hospital elevator entrances are generally 4 to 5-feet wide and 7-feet tall to accommodate any medical equipment. e- Car Dimensions:  Architects to coordinate with the elevator design engineers to determine the car dimensions which depend on the application and the desired capacity, in addition to the landing-to-landing distance. For example, passenger elevators can range from 6 to 7-feet wide and 4 to 9-feet deep, representing a load capacity range of 2,000 to 5,000-pounds.
Note:
It is important that the architect or planner establishes the lift
system required at a very early stage and not after finishing the design of the
rest of the building. Unfortunately it is often the case that the architect responsible for
the building conception will not have taken professional advice from the elevator design engineers / manufacturers and may well
have fixed the building’s core dimensions, thus limiting the space available
for the lift system or, even worse, may have defined the number of shafts,
their dimensions and travel.
|
Step#5:
Selecting the Suitable Design of the Elevator
|
Step#6:
Making Interior Architectural Design
 
|
Step#7:
Making Specifications and Commercial
Proposal
|
Step#8:
Approval of Commercial Proposal
The building architects and the Construction Company
to review and approve the commercial
proposal submitted by the elevator manufacturer and prepare the
contract.
|
Step#9:
Approval of Production Drawings
After the Construction Company’s approval of the elevator manufacturer’s contract, The
elevator manufacturer submits the design and production drawings for approval
by the building architects and the Construction Company.
|
Step#10:
Fabrication, Delivery, Installation, Inspection, Commissioning
and Handing Over Of the Elevator System.
Note:
Steps#2&3
will be explained in detailed throughout this course.
|
In the next article, we will explain
the concepts and methods of traffic planning, design and analysis. Please, keep
following.
No comments:
Post a Comment