LIFTS & ESCALATORS

(Transportation system in buildings)

What is a Lift ?
The lift is a type of vertical
transport equipment that
efficiently moves people or
goods between floors (levels,
decks) of a building, vessel
or other structure.

Generally powered by
electric motors that either
drive cables, hoist, or pump
hydraulic fluid to raise a
cylindrical piston like a jack.
 Basic terminologies..
• Elevator car : That part of an elevator that includes
the platform, enclosure, car frame, and door.

• Machine beam : A steel beam, directly over the elevator in

the machine room and is usedpositioned to support
elevator equipment.

• Machine room : This usually located at the top of the shaft

and accommodates the winding machine, etc.

• Pit : That part of an elevator shaft that extends from the

threshold level of the lowest landing door down to the
floor at the very bottom of the shaft.

• Shaft : A hoistway through which one or more elevator

cars may travel.

• Counterweight or balance-weight. A unit, consisting of steel

weights, which counter balance the weight of the car and a
portion of the load, and to which the suspension ropes are
attached.
• Traction drive : Lift whose lifting ropes are
driven by friction in the grooves of the
driving sheave of the machine.

• Travelling cable : Flexible cable providing

electrical connection between the lift car
and a fixed point or points.

•Bottom clearance : The distance, including

buffer compression, the platforms could
travel below the bottom landing until the full
weight of the car, when loaded, rests on the
buffer.

•Top clearance :The vertical distance between

the top car attachment and the bottom of the
diverting pulley or any steelwork supporting
equipment; there must be an adequate
margin between this and the car will not
contact the diverting pulley or steelwork.
•Guide rails : These,
fixed truly vertical in
the shaft, are of steel
and serve to guide
the movement of
both car and
counterweight.
 Types of Lifts

Drive system
Traction
Hydraulic
(Machine lift)
1. Hydraulic lifts

• ‘ Pascal's Principle state that the

pressure given to liquid in closed chamber will
be continued by the liquid to every direction
with uniform and the same magnitude. ‘
Components This lift consists mainly of 4
components, namely,

•Holds the liquid used in the system

•This liquid is usually oil based because:
Tan oNon compressible
k oSelf lubricating

•Constantly puts water into the system

Motor •Push oil into the cylinder to lift the elevator

•Lets water out of the system.

Valv •Keeps the pressure low when open.
•Increases pressure when closed.
e
•device that transfers fluid or electrical
Actuator energy into mechanical energy.
•A piston because it moves up and down.
 Advantages Disadvantages
•Lower cost of equipments & its •Performance of hydraulic elevator
maintenance than traction lifts (twice). becomes erratic as the oil in the system
varies in temperature.

•More efficient building space utilization •Since it has no safety device to prevent
than tractions. its falling it depends wholly on the
Eg., hydraulic lifts would require pressure .
9.6 sq m less floor space than tractions.

Moreover overhead machine room isn’t

required.

•Most effective for high load capacity •Inherently high heat producing device.
requirements , that is why it is highly
used for freight, automobile elevators.

•Since it imposes no vertical loads on

the building structure, column sizes can
be reduced significantly in the
hoistway area.
 2. Traction Lifts (Machine lifts)
•Principle : see – saw
the car is raised and
lowered by
traction steel ropes rather than pushed from below.

•The ropes are attached to the elevator car, looped

around a sheave &connected to an electric motor.

•when the motor turns one way, the sheave raises

the elevator; when the motor turns the other way,
the sheave lowers the elevator.

•Typically, the sheave, the motor and the control

system are all housed in a machine room above the
elevator shaft.

•The ropes that lift the car are also connected to

a counterweight, which hangs on the other side of
•the counterweight and the car are perfectly balanced.

•Basically, the motor only has to overcome friction -- the weight on the other
side does most of the work.

•In gearless elevators, the motor rotates the sheaves directly.

In geared elevators, the motor turns a gear train that rotates the sheave.

•Nowadays, some traction elevators are using flat steel belts instead of
conventional steel ropes. Flat steel belts are extremely light due to its carbon
fiber core and a high-friction coating, and does not require any oil or lubricant.
Components It consists mainly of 5 components,

Control •Sheave rotates with the help of motor.

• a pulley with a grooves around the

system circumference.
• grips the hoist ropes, so when you rotate the
Electric sheave, the ropes move too.
•Connected to the motor
Motor
Sheave hangs on the other side of the sheave.
it weighs about the same as the car filled to
40-percent capacity.
Connected with the ropes
Counter
weight •Are along the sides of the elevator shaft.
•keep the car and counterweight from swaying
Guiding back and forth.
•also work with the safety system to stop the
rail car in an emergency.
Requirements for machine room :

•adequately ventilated.
•shall be such that the equipments are
protected as far as possible from dust
and humidity.
•Temperature 5 deg C – 40 deg C
•walls, ceiling, floor should be finished in
tiles or painted as a min to stop dust
circulation.

•T
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 Difference between Traction & Hydraulic lifts
(overview)

Traction (Machine) Hydraulic

•lifted by ropes, which pass over a •supported by a piston at the bottom of
wheel attached to an electric motor the elevator that pushes the elevator up
above the elevator shaft. as an electric motor forces oil or
another hydraulic fluid into the piston.

•used for mid and high-rise applications. •used for low-rise applications of 2-8
•Much higher travel speed than stories.
hydraulic.

•Principle : see - saw •Principle : Pascal’s pressure principle

•Components : control system, sheave, •Components : tank, motor, valve,

motor, counterweight, guiding rail. actuator.

•The machine room is located at the •The machine room is located at the
upper most level, i.e., on the terrace. lowest level adjacent to the elevator
shaft.
 • Types of Lift w.r.t use :

• Passenger Lift : A lift designed for the transport of passengers.

• Goods Lift : A lift designed primarily for the transport of goods but which may
carry a lift attendant or other person necessary for the unloading and
loading of goods.

• Service Lift (Dumb-Waiter) : A lift with a car which moves in guides in a vertical
direction; has net floor area of 1 m2, total inside height of 1.25 m; and capacity
not exceeding 250 kg; and is exclusively used for carrying materials and shall
not carry any person.

• Hospital Lift : A lift normally installed in a hospital/dispensary/clinic and

designed to accommodate one number bed/stretcher along its depth, with
sufficient space around to carry a minimum of three attendants in addition to
the lift operator.
Types of Lifts Usage

Passenger Goods Vehicl Dumbwaiter Scissor

e
 1. Passenger lifts
•Passenger elevator is designed to move people between floors of a building.
Their capacity is related to available floor space. Upto 8-10 floors these operate
at 1m/s and above 10 floors the speed starts at 2.5 m/s to 10 m/s.
•Another type of passenger lift is panoramic glass lifts, also generally know as
Capsule Lift.
 Passenger lift

Hospital Residential Hotel Office Institution

Hospital lifts

Min. to Max. dimensions

(mainly for Hotels)

Min. to Max
dimensions for
Passenger
lifts
2. Goods/Freight lifts
•Used to transport heavy goods but depends on types of good
transported.
• Usually used in shopping complex, airports, hotels,
warehouse.
Max. to Min. Goods lift
dimension
3. Vehicle lifts
•Used specifically to lift a car in multi storey car park or showroom.
•had to be in the form of traction and hydraulics.
•Form of traction is more commonly used for high velocity.
4. Dumbwaiter lifts
•Dumbwaiters are small freight elevators that are intended to carry food rather
than passengers.
•They often link kitchens with other rooms. •Avg height of the car
•When installed in restaurants, schools, ranges from 0.8m to 1.2m.
kindergartens, hospitals, retirement
homes or in private homes, the lifts
generally terminate in a kitchen.
 5. Scissor lifts

•these lifts are self-contained, these

lifts can be easily moved to where
they are needed.
•they’re excellent for indoor and
outdoor construction, maintenance
and installation applications.

Features:
High load bearing capacity
Long life
Smooth operations
Openings

Centre
opening
sliding

Collapsib
le

Single
 Grouping of Lifts
The lifts should be positioned to:
Minimize the walking distance between cars and hence the time taken to load passengers
which will then improve overall quality of service.
For a two lift group: side by side positioning is the most efficient but also the option having
the lifts positioned opposite one another is also an efficient arrangement.
What is Escalator ?
A moving staircase – a conveyor
transport device for carrying people
between floors of a building.

consists of a motor-driven chain of

individual, linked steps that move up
or down on tracks, allowing the step
treads to remain horizontal.

are used to move pedestrian traffic

in places where elevators would
be impractical like shopping
malls, airports, convention centers.
Components

Landing

platform
Truss

Steps

Tracks

Handrail
 Components

•Landing Platforms: These

two platforms house the
curved sections of the
tracks, as well as the gears
and motors that drive the
stairs. The top platform
contains the motor
assembly and the main
drive gear, while the bottom
holds the step return idler
sprockets.
• Floor plate: It provides a
place for the passengers to
stand before they step onto
the moving stairs.
 Components

Truss: The truss is a hollow

metal structure that bridges
the lower and upper landings.
It is composed of two side
sections joined together with
cross braces across the bottom
and just below the top .The
ends of the truss are attached
to the top and bottom landing
platforms via steel or concrete
supports.
• steps: The steps are solid, one
piece, die-cast aluminum or
steel. Yellow demarcation lines
may be added to clearly
indicate their edges.
 Components
•Handrail: The handrail provides a
convenient handhold for
passengers while they are riding
the escalator ,the handrail is pulled
along its track by a chain that is
connected to the main drive gear
by a series of pulleys
• Balustrade: consists of the
handrail
and the exterior supporting
structure of the escalator. It is the
escalator exterior components
extending above the steps and it
supports the handrail. It is either
designed as Interior Low-deck or
Interior High-deck.
 Components
•Tracks: The track system is built into the truss to guide the step
chain, which continuously pulls the steps from the bottom
platform and back to the top in an endless loop. There are
actually two tracks: one for the front wheels of the steps
(called the step-wheel track) and one for the back wheels of
the steps (called the trailer-wheel track). The relative positions
of these tracks cause the steps to form a staircase as they
move out from under the comb plate. This right angle bends
the steps into a shape resembling a staircase.
 •The core of an escalator is
a pair of chains, looped
around two pairs of gears &
an electric motor runs it.

•The motor and chain

system are housed inside
the truss, a metal structure
extending between two
floors.

•As the chains move, the

steps always stay level.

•At the top and bottom of

the escalator, the steps
collapse on each other,
creating a flat platform. This
makes it easier to get on
and off the escalator.

Conventional Mechanism
 •Each step has two sets of wheels,
which roll along two separate
tracks.
•The upper set (the wheels near
the top of the step) are connected
to the rotating chains.
Modern Mechanism
•The other set simply glides,
following behind the first set.
•the electric motor also moves
the handrail, a rubber conveyer belt, •Each step has a series of
moves at exactly the same speed as grooves in it, so it will fit
the steps, to give riders some stability. together with the steps behind
the tracks.
 Escalator truss connects to the
landing platform (lower left).

Also visible: exposed drive gears

(center) for steps and handrail
drive (left)

View of escalator steps on continuous

chain
Diff. sizes & its applications
 (Travellator) High speed
walkways
Horizontal
Escalators Inclined
Inclined
 Moving walkways – Travellator
•a slow moving conveyor mechanism that transports people across a horizontal
or inclined plane over a short to medium distance.

•can be used by standing or walking on them. They are often installed in pairs,
one for each direction.

•are built in one of two basic

styles:
Pallet type — a continuous series
of flat metal plates join together to
form a walkway. Most have a
metal surface.

Moving belt — these are generally

built with mesh metal belts or
rubber walking surfaces over metal
rollers.
High speed walkways
•Using the high-speed walkway is like using any other moving walkway, except
that for safety there are special procedures to follow when joining or leaving.

•riders must have at least one hand free to hold the handrail, those carrying
bags, shopping, etc., or must use the ordinary walkway nearby.

•Riders stand still with both feet on the metal rollers and let it pull them so that
they glide over the rollers.

Inclined moving walkways

•is used to move people to another floor so that people can take along their
suitcase trolley or shopping cart, or baby carriage.
•The carts have either a brake that is automatically applied, strong
magnets in the wheels to stay adhered to the floor, or specially designed
wheels that secure the cart within the grooves of the ramp, so that
wheeled items travel alongside the riders and do not slip away.
Applications

Airport

Zoo

Theatre

Museum

Malls

Theme
park
 Classifications

According to shape
 Classifications

According to arrangement type

Interrupted arrangement
(one-way traffic)While
relatively inconvenient for
the user, for the owner of
the department store it
provides the advantage that
due to the spatial
separation of the upward
and downward directions,
customers have to walk past
specially placed
merchandise displays.
 Classifications

According to arrangement type

Parallel, interrupted
arrangement (two-way
traffic)This arrangement is
used mainly in department
stores and public
transportation buildings
with heavy traffic volumes.
When there are three or
more escalators or moving
walks, it should be possible
to reverse the direction of
travel depending on the
traffic flow.
 Classifications

According to arrangement type

Crisscross, continuous
arrangement (two-way
traffic)This type of installation is
the one used most frequently as
it allows customers to travel
quickly to the upper floors
without any waiting time.
Depending on how the
escalators are positioned, the
store fitter can open up the
view onto the shop floor to
stimulate customer interest in
the goods on display.
 Escalators Proper inclination

30° inclination This inclination

provides the highest traveling
comfort and maximum safety
for the user.
• 35° inclination The 35°
escalator is the most efficient
solution as it requires less
space and can be implemented
more cost-effectively. However,
this inclination is perceived as
too steep if rises exceed 5 m –
particularly in downward travel.
 Moving walks Proper inclination

Inclinations of 10°, 11° and

12° are the common
international standard for
inclined moving walks.
• Users find that a 10°
inclination provides the most
comfortable ride. A 12°
inclination is used whenever
the space available is limited.
• Horizontal moving walks can
generally be provided for
inclinations between 0° and
6°.
 Difference between Lifts & Escalators
Lifts (Elevators) Escalators
•closed cabins inside vertical shafts that •moving stairways that allow people to
are used to transport people between move between floors in busy places
different floors in high rise buildings. such as shopping malls, airports, and
railway stations.

•Lifts are fast and can move up or down •These are slow moving…..horizontal &
at great speeds….vertical movement. incline movement.

•move up or down using counterweights •The steps of are fixed and linked
or traction cables. together and move up but come down
from behind on a conveyor belt that is
driven by a motor.

•Less space is used for its construction •Space used is same as the staircases &
as the elevator is limited to the shaft & connects 2 floors .
machine room, which connects all the
floors.
 Lifts Escalators
•Limited number of people can •There is no waiting period as one can
accommodate at a time. set foot anytime to climb up or come
down.

•If there is electricity cut-outs then it •Its very versatile, if there is electric cut-
doesn’t work. outs then one can climb those steps,
which acts like a staircase.