TRANSPORTATION

SYSTEMS IN BUILDINGS
Present by
Dr. Faizal Baharum

MOVEMENT SYSTEMS
Forms of mechanical transportation may be
found within, around and in general
association with modern buildings and
developments
Lifts
Escalators
Travolators or moving pavements
LIFTS
Introduction
A lift or an elevator is a transport device
used to move goods or people vertically
Considered a requirement in all buildings over
three storeys
Minimum standard of service one lift for
every four storeys with a maximum distance
of 45 m to the lift lobby
Floor space estimates and car capacity can be
based on an area of 0.2 m
2
per person
Various speeds of lifts
Location of lift
Positioning of lift should be at locations which
provide easy means of access for all building
users central entrance lobby of offices,
hotels, apartments, etc.
Grouping of lifts is essential for user
convenience
Possibilities of lift
grouping
arrangements
1
2
3
The former World Trade Center's twin
towers used skylobbies, located on the
44th and 78th floors of each tower.
Lift performance
Lift performance depends on
Acceleration
Retardation
Car speed
Speed of door operation, and
Stability of speed and performance with
variations of car load
The assessment of population may be found
by allowing between one person per 9.5 m
2

of floor area to 11.25 m
2
of floor area.
For unified starting and finishing times - 17%
of population per 5 minutes may be used.
For staggered starting and finishing times -
12% of the population may be used.
The number of lifts will have an effect on the
quality of service.
Four 18-person lifts provide the same capacity as
three 24-person lifts but the waiting time will be
about twice as long with the three-car group.
The quality of service may be found from the
interval of the group.
23 to 35 seconds excellent
35 to 45 seconds - acceptable for offices
60 seconds acceptable for hotels
90 seconds acceptable for flats
Further criteria for the comfort and
convenience of lift users:
Directional indication of location of the lift lobby
for people unfamiliar with the building.
Call buttons at landings and in the car positioned
for ease of use with unambiguous definition for
up and down directions.
Call buttons to be at a level appropriate for use
by people with disabilities and small children.
Call display/car location display at landings to be
favourably positioned for a group of people to
watch the position of all cars and for them to
move efficiently to the first car arriving.
Call lights and indicators with an audible facility
to show which car is first available and in which
direction it is traveling.
Lobby space of sufficient area to avoid congestion
by lift users and general pedestrian traffic in the
vicinity.
A method for estimating and comparing
efficiency and effectiveness of lift installation
is by calculating the round trip time (RTT):
An average period of time for one lift car to
circulate, incorporating statistical data for time
lost due to stops
It is measured from the time the lift doors begin
to open at the main terminal to the time they
reopen when the car complete its cycle
Example
A building having five floors at 3 m floor to floor
spacing, a car capacity of 6 persons and 2 ms
-1

speed of travel
n
S
S
S S S
|
.
|

\
|

=
1
1
1. Probable number of stops (S
1
):
where,
S = maximum number of stops
n = number of people or car capacity

, 3 . 3
4
1 4
4 4
6
1
=
|
.
|

\
|

= S i.e. 3 stops
|
.
|

\
|
+ = V
SV
L
S T
u
2
1
2. Upward journey time (T
u
):
where,
L = lift travel, 4 x 3 = 12 m
V = car speed, 2 ms
-1

s x
x
T
u
5 . 16 ] 2 2 [
2 4
12
3 =
|
|
.
|

\
|
+ =
V
V
L
T
d
2 + =
3. Downward journey time (T
d
):
s x 10 ] 2 2 [
2
12
= + =
s x n T
p
12 6 2 2 = = =
4. Passenger transfer time (T
p
). Allow 2 3 s per person
to transfer, depending on the depth of car. At 2 s:
( ) s
V
W
S T
d
o
2 . 19
5 . 0
2 . 1
) 1 3 ( 2 1 2
1
= + = + =
o p d u
T T T T RTT + + + =
5. Door opening time (T
o
). Assume door speed (V
d
) = 0.5
ms
-1
and door width (W) = 1.2 m:
6. Round trip time (RTT):
s 7 . 57 2 . 19 12 10 5 . 16 = + + + =
Estimation of the interval and quality of service
Example
An office block with 20 storeys above ground floor having
a group of four lifts with unified starting and stopping
times is to have a floor area above the ground floor of
8000 m
2
and floor height of 3 m. Each car of the lifts has
a capacity of 20 persons and a speed of 2.5ms
-1
. The
clear door width is to be 1.1 m and the doors are to open
at a speed of 0.4 ms
-1
. Estimate the interval and quality of
service that is to be provided.
person
person m
m
124
100 / 11
% 17 8000
2
2
=

=
1. Peak demand for a 5-minute period:
2. Car travel = 20 x 3 m = 60 m
n
S
S
S S S
|
.
|

\
|

=
1
1
3. Probable number of stops (S
1
):
where,
S = maximum number of stops
n = number of people or car capacity
(usually approximately 80% of capacity)

11
20
1 20
20 20
16
1
=
|
.
|

\
|

= S
|
|
.
|

\
|
+ = V
V S
L
S T
u
2
1
1
4. Upward journey time (T
u
):
where,
L = lift travel, 20 x 3 = 60 m
V = car speed, 2.5 ms
-1

s T
u
79 ] 5 . 2 2 [
5 . 2 11
60
11 =
|
.
|

\
|
+

=
V
V
L
T
d
2 + =
5. Downward journey time (T
d
):
s 29 ] 5 . 2 2 [
5 . 2
60
= + =
( ) s
V
W
S T
d
o
66
4 . 0
1 . 1
) 1 11 ( 2 1 2
1
= + = + =
6. Door operating time (T
o
).
Door speed (V
d
) = 0.4 ms
-1

Door width (W) = 1.1 m:
o p d u
T T T T + + + =
7. The average time taken for each person to get into
and out of a lift car may be taken as 2 seconds.
Passenger transfer time (T
p
) = 2n = 2 x 16 = 32 s
8. Round trip time (RTT)
s 206 32 66 29 79 = + + + =
minutes 5 per persons 93
206
8 . 0 20 4 60 mins 5
=

= 9. Capacity of group
s 5 . 51
4
206
= = 10. Interval for the group
The capacity of the group of lifts and the interval for the
group are satisfactory (Note: Car less than 12 capacity are
not satisfactory)
Electric/roped lifts
In these elevators, the car is raised and
lowered by traction steel ropes rather
than pushed from below
Components:
1 - Control system
2 - Electric motor
3 - Sheave
4 - Counterweight
5 - Guide rails


Motor


Located in lift motor room
On anti-vibrations
mountings


Lift motor on
motor room-less
lift

Highly efficient permanent magnet (PM)
motors for high-speed and super high-
speed elevators (Mitsubishi)
Motor room
Roping
High tensile steel ropes driven through
traction sheaves attached to the motor shaft,
a system of pulleys and a counterweight
Available in various combinations to suit
different occupancy requirements
Single wrap 1 : 1
The simplest but will be
prone to slipage if subjected
to heavy loads

Single wrap 2 : 1
Improvement of single wrap
1 : 1
Number of pulleys and the
wrapping ratios increased to
improve resistance to slipage
Single wrap 3 : 1
More pulleys used
Effect of wrap ratio on car speed
as the ratio increases, the car speed decreases

Alternative roping arrangements to maintain high
speeds and sufficient traction

Double wrap
Underslung
In very tall buildings the
effect of bounce and spring
from the rope load can be
balanced and compensated
with ropes suspended below
car and counterweight

Compensating ropes
Emergency braking
While moving the car is
retained upright and
carried smoothly by
guides and channel
each side
Car guide (plan view)
In the unlikely event of rope failure, an overspeed governing
mechanism will effect an immediate brake
Safety gear - alternatives
The emergency brakes are
activated by a continuous rope
passing over a pulley in the pit and
an overspeed governor pulley in
the motor room.
The governor locks in response to
flyweight inertia from the
centrifugal force generated by
excess speed, thus jerking the rope
in process.
The position of
the governor
rope and
pulleys, relative
to car travel
Active Roller Guide
(Mitsubishi)
This greatly reduces
lateral vibration of high-
speed elevator.
An accelerometer detects
car vibration during
operation and actuators
cancel the vibration with
optimally controlled
electromagnetic force.
The result is much better
ride comfort than with a
conventional roller guide.
Lift doors
Required in two components:
Fitted to the lift car
Fitted to the landing
Landing doors must be incombustible, preferably of
sheet steel construction over a light steel framework
of about 30 mm overall thickness
They usually slide sideways (although vertical
movement is used for some industrial applications)

Door-opener
system


Various functions
of lift doors
Passenger and
service lift doors
Vertical lift doors
Multi-Beam Door Sensor
(Mitsubishi)
Prevents passengers from being caught
by the doors, using multiple infrared
light beams mounted along the entire
length of car door edge. Doors reverse
and open if beams are blocked during
door closing
Constructional dimensions
Lifts manufactured to individual dimensional
specification are possible but very expensive
BS 5655 provides standard dimensions which
have been coordinated with manufacturing
process and building applications to suit all
but extreme clients or obscure building
requirements
Section through typical
small car single lift well
Normally located above
the well, containing:
winding gear
traction sheave
control panel
overspeed governor,
and
other components
Machine/Motor room
Section through lift motor room
Noise from motors and winding gear must be contained with
adequate insulation and absorbent bedding for machinery
An overhead universal beam for raising and lowering
equipment and parts during maintenance is essential
Adequate daylighting and supplementary artificial light
Fan assisted ventilation to remove excess heat from electric
plant
A locked door (key with security staff) provides the only
access to the machine room, except for a trap-door over the
landing area this is specifically for raising and lowering
items of machinery

Pit
Located below the lowest landing level,
containing buffers
For slower lifts spring-type buffers
For higher-speed lifts oil loaded buffers
Depth of pit varies from 1.4 to 2.8 m,
depending on lift specification
Brake
The traction sheave drive shaft is fitted with an
electromechanical brake
When the lift is moving, the electrically operated
brakes are lifted clear of the brake drum, but as the
electricity switches off to disengage the motor,
spring retainers activate the brake
In addition to the overspeed governor, this provides
another safety feature which would activate if the
electricity supply failed
Shaft
A lift shaft should incorporate the following
features:
Water tightness
Means of drainage
Plumb, vertical sides
Smooth painted finish
Ventilation void for emission of smoke
Permanent inspection lights
Have no other services except those necessary for
operation of lift
Lift controls
Possibilities of control arrangements:
Operator
Automatic
Down collective
Directional collective
Group collective
Programmed control

Operator
In prestige buildings and hotels for the benefit of special guests.
Automatic
Response to one call from either lift car or landing. No further calls
are accepted until the car is at rest.
Only suited to light occupancy and low-rise buildings up to five floors.
Down collective
A call button is located at each landing entrance and a set of buttons
in the car corresponds to each floor.
Landing calls are stored and answered in sequence as the lift car
descends.
In upward direction, passengers are distributed in floor sequence by
selection within the car.
Directional (up and down) collective
Two call buttons are provided at each intermediate landing,
one for up and the other one for down.
The lowest and the highest landings only require one button. A
full set of destination buttons are provided in the car.
Landing callers simply press the direction button and the call is
stored
On a downward journey, the lift stops at all floors where
downward callers are waiting or where passengers want to go
out.
Likewise upward, operating in sequence in response to stored
calls.
Group collective
Applied where groups or banks of lifts occur in large
buildings, using an interconnected collective stored
control system
This permits the closest lift traveling in the desired
direction to respond, rather than passengers waiting for
one specific lift or having to press every lifts button.

Programmed control
This is an improvement of the group collective system,
incorporating time-controlled functions, where demand is
known to be particularly high on some floors at certain
times.
The lift cars can be programmed to be available at the
ground floor during arrival times and at upper floors
during departure times.
This lends itself to routines found in office blocks, where
regular hours are worked.

Elevator
buttons
Hydraulic lifts
Hydraulic lift/elevator
systems lift a car using a
hydraulic ram, a fluid-
driven piston mounted
inside a cylinder
For low-rise buildings


Hydraulic lift
components
Oil hydraulic lift - application
Oil hydraulic lift -
principles
SINGLE SIDE OR JIGGER
ACTING
DOUBLE SIDE
ACTING
Oil hydraulic lift - variations
Holeless Hydraulic (Otis)
The Holeless Hydraulic system eliminates the
need for either a well hole or buried piping.
The best application for the Holeless product
is most any 2-story building with less than 14
(4.3 m) of travel from one floor to the other.
Its above-ground Holeless configuration
responds effectively to the risk of soil and
groundwater contamination, and greatly
reduces environmental concerns. This
package-type unit is most practical for those
2-story buildings where handicap access is
required.
Advantages of hydraulic lifts:
Capacity for very heavy loads
Accuracy in floor levelling
Smooth ride characteristics
Low-level plant room
No structural loads from winding gear
Pump room can be located up to 10 m from the
shaft


Fire-fighting lifts
For rapid emergency access
The original concept was a variation within
conventional passenger lift, which contained
a priority break-glass key switch
This was normally at the ground floor, and
when activated it brought the lift to that floor
immediately
Independent fire-fighting
lifts are required in offices,
shops and other
commercial premises
exceeding 18 m in height

Typical fire-fighting accommodation
in a shaft located no more than 60
m from any part of that floor level
Shared shaft fire-fighting lift the lift must be marked for
that purpose only
Requires specific provisions:
630 kg minimum duty load to accommodate fire-fighting equipment
Minimum internal dimensions of 1100 mm width, 1400 mm depth and
2000 mm height
An emergency hatch in the car roof
Manufactured from non-combustible material
A two-way intercom
1 hour fire-resisting doors of 800 mm minimum width x 2 m height
A maximum of 60 s capability to run the full building height
Dual power supplies, one direct mains and the other an emergency
generator


Fire-fighting lift shared shaft Fire-fighting lift control diagram
Observation/panoramic/
scenic lifts
Wall climber lift
The glass-walled cars provide a focus of interest for
the casual observer, a degree of security for
occupants, a mobile observation platform and floor
access for the user
Very popular in atrium malls, complementing the
glass architecture
These lightweight structures lend themselves to
hydraulic lifts, freeing the building designers from
superimposed motor room loadings
Observation lift
Panoramic lift design
Panoramic lift
applications
Paternoster
A paternoster or paternoster lift
is an elevator which consists of a
chain of open compartments (each
usually designed for two persons)
that move slowly in a loop up and
down inside a building without
stopping
Passengers who are agile enough
can step on or off at any floor they
like
The speed is limited to no more
than 0.4 ms
-1
for safety reason
Not suitable in public
buildings and other
locations where the
elderly and infirm are
likely to gain access
Most suited to single
occupancy buildings
such as offices, where
familiarity with the
system and a high
degree of staff mobility
is a feature
Paternoster
lift
Paternoster lifts
Stair lift
A means of vertical transport in homes for the elderly and
disabled, hospitals and conventional homes containing
physically infirm people
Developed for simple application to domestic chairs
The chair moves up an inclined rail parallel with the stair
gradient at about 0.15 ms
-1
powered by 230 V AC electric
motor
The rail is a standard steel joist bracketed to the wall and
supported by the stair
Transformed 24 V DC controls provide push-button
directional and stop facilities
Stair lift approximate dimensions
Other types of lifts
Double-deck elevators
They are elevators designed such that
two elevator cars are attached one on
top of the other. This allows
passengers on two consecutive floors
to be able to use the elevator
simultaneously, significantly increasing
the passenger capacity of an elevator
shaft. Such a scheme can prove
efficient in buildings where the volume
of traffic would normally have a single
elevator stopping at every floor.
Example: Lifts at Menara Telekom,
Taipei 101
Taipei 101
Freight elevator
An elevator designed to
carry goods, rather
than passengers
Car elevator
An elevator designed to carry cars (e.g. for parking)
Dumbwaiter
A small box elevator designed for the
carriage of lightweight freight is called a
dumb waiter (or dumbwaiter)
Service lift/Dumbwaiter
Platform lift
For disable
Aircratft elevator
ESCALATORS
An escalator is a conveyor transport device for transporting
people, consisting of a staircase whose steps move up or
down on tracks that keep the surfaces of the individual steps
horizontal
Where large numbers of people are anticipated, such as
airports and railway terminals, department stores and
shopping malls, several escalators will be required and can
be grouped in a number of ways to suit the building
functions
The angle of inclination is normally 30
o
, but may increase to
35
o
if the vertical rise does not exceed 6 m and the speed is
limited to 0.5 ms
-1

Escalator
arrangements
Escalator dimensions
Escalators components
Step Speed
Escalator speeds vary from
about 90 feet per minute to
180 feet per minute (27 to
55 meters per minute)
An escalator moving 145
feet (44 m) per minute can
carry more than 10,000
people an hour -- many
more people than a
standard elevator
The individual steps from an escalator
Long escalator in Washington Metro Westminster escalator
Spiral escalator
Conventional
escalator
Escalator capacity
The following formula can be used to ascertain capacity and
compare efficiencies and suitability of escalators at building
design stage:
L
x V x P x
N
u cos 3600
=
Where,
N = number of persons moved per hour
P = number of persons per step
V = escalator speed (ms
-1
)
L = length of step (m)
= angle of incline
Example
An escalator of 30
o
incline, one passenger per step, a
speed of 0.5 ms
-1
and 400 mm tread or step length
o
x x x
N
4 . 0
30 cos 5 . 0 1 3600
=
= 4500 x cos 30
o
= 3897 nos. persons moved per hour

The void containing escalators could encourage fire
to spread rapidly through building. Therefore the
following precautions could be considered:
Sprinklers, installed to provide a continuous curtain of
water down the escalator void
Fire curtains or shutter mechanism released by fusible link
or smoke relay to seal the top of the escalator shaft
Compartmentalisation or separation of escalators into a
well or fire-protected enclosure
Spread of fire
TRAVELATORS
A moving walkway, moving sidewalk, or travelator is a
slow conveyor belt that transports people horizontally up to
the practical limitations of about 300 m.
They work in a similar manner to an escalator. In both
cases, riders can walk or stand. The walkways are often
supplied in pairs, one for each direction.
They are particularly useful in large railways and airports
terminals, as well shopping complexes, and may be inclined
up to about 15
o
where level differentials occurs.

Speed range between 0.6 and 1.3 ms
-1
, limitations being
imposed because of the difficulty in getting off.
Combine with walking, the overall pace could be about 2.5
ms
-1
.
Materials for travelators must be flexible or elastic and
include reinforced rubber or composites and interlaced steel
plates or trellised steel.
The latter two have the facility to deviate from the
conventional straight line.
Parisian high speed walkway
Inclined
travelator
REFERENCES
Greeno, R.(1997). Building Services, Technology and Design.
Essex: Longman.
Hall, F. & Greeno, R. (2005). Building Services Handbook.
Oxford: Elsevier.
http://science.howstuffworks.com
http://en.wikipedia.org
http://www.mitsubishi-
elevator.com/products/elevators/gpm_iii/index.html
http://www.imem.com/en/s2/2a3.htm