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Vertical transportation systems are mechanisms used to transport people or goods between different levels of a building or structure, typically vertically. These systems include elevators, escalators, and moving walkways.

Vertical transportation (Circulation) system is the means by which building occupants access specific areas of a building, including internal stairs, internal ramps, elevators.

Element of Vertical circulation:

• Ramp
• Stair
• Elevator
• Escalator

1) Core

The core of a multi-storey building that integrates functions and service needs for established occupants. Such areas are normally composed of toilet facilities, elevator banks, janitors’ closet, utilities, mechanical facilities, smoke shafts and stair.

Core also known as facade envelope is a spatial element for load-bearing high-rise building system.

Types of cores

1. Central core
2. Split core
3. End core
4. Atrium core

What a core consists

1. Staircase / Ramps
2. Elevators
3. Toilets
4. Common Services

2) Staircase

• Medium of travel which connects two consecutive horizontal surfaces.
• A complete arrangement of steps, stringers, newel posts, handrails, balusters, etc.
• Easy and quick access to different floors with comfort and safety.

1. Every high-rise building Have minimum 2 number of staircases.
2. Width of staircases varies from 1 m. to 2 m.

Requirements of a good stair

• They should be clearly visible and easy to identify.
• Width of a stair (minimum 90 cm in residential use).
• Length of flight (maximum 12 steps ).
• Pitch of stair (should not exceed 40 degree and should  not be flatter than 25 degree).
• Head room (should not less than 2.14m).
• Balustrade to ensure safety.
• Landing (should not be less than the width of stair).

Classification of stairs

i) Straight stairs

ii) Dog-legged stairs

iii) Open-newel stairs

iv) Quarter turn newel stairs

v) Three Quarter Turn Stair

vi) Bifurcated Stair

vii) Geometric stairs

viii) Spiral stairs

Limitations of stairs for high rise

• All step risers should be solid.
• Open risers can be a source of visual confusion and are disconcerting for many people to use.
• Spiral stairs and stairs with tapered treads should not be used, as they are much more likely to cause tripping.

Number of Stairways Required

• This is usually controlled by local building codes. This control may be achieved by setting a minimum of two exits per floor, a restriction on the maximum horizontal distance from any point on a floor to a stairway, or a limitation on the maximum floor area contributory to a stairway.
• In addition, codes usually have special provisions for assembly buildings, such as theaters and exhibition halls. Restrictions usually also are placed on the maximum capacity of a stairway.
• For example, the National Fire Protection Association ‘‘Life Safety Code’’ sets a maximum capacity for stairways of 60 persons per 22 in. unit of width, up or down.
• The Number of Staircase increases with the increment of building height and purpose (one staircase for 75 feet)

3) Elevator

Elevators are the most common type of vertical transportation system, and they use an electric motor to lift or lower a platform, or car, between floors of a building. Modern elevators can travel at high speeds, with some capable of reaching speeds of up to 20 meters per second.

• An elevator is a hoisting and lowering mechanism equipped with a car or platform that moves along guides in a shaft, or hoist way, in a substantially vertical direction and that transports passengers or goods, or both, between two or more floors of a building.

• Considered as a requirement in all building over 3 storeys
• Minimum standards of service – one lift for every four storeys with a maximum distance of 45m to the lift lobby.
• Floor space estimates and car capacity can be based on an area of 0.2𝑚2 per person

Passenger elevators

• Designed to carry people between building floors. Their capacity is determined by the need of the specific building and it can vary between 5 and 25 peoples.

Express elevators

• They do not service all floors, but instead only selected parts of the building. Most notably they move passengers from the building lobby to the top floor/sky lobby.
• For express elevators, which make no intermediate stops, intervals of 30 to 35s may be considered acceptable. Car speeds used vary with height of building:

4 to 10 stories, 200 to 500 ft / min;

10 to 15 stories, up to 700 ft /min;

15 to 20 stories, up to 800 ft /min;

20 to 50 stories, up to 1200 ft /min; and over 50 stories, up to 2500 ft /min.

Urban transport elevators

They move passengers between several altitude potions, not inside a building but rather in  open urban space. For example from bottom to the top of the hill.

Freight elevators

Indented for transport of goods. Their carrying load can vary between 2000 to 4500 kilograms. Most often their source of power are electric engines.

Types of Elevators

Elevators can be classified according to:

1. Function
2. Hoist Mechanism
3. Building Height
4. Building Types
5. Elevator Location
6. Special Uses

i) According to function

• Trade Lift

1. Crucial to the good performance to clients of the building.
2. Between 6 – 23 people .
3. Speed of elevator 200 – 2000 ft/ min .
4. Examples : offices, shopping mall and hotels

• Hospital Lift

1. Used in hospital & treatment center
2. Designed for transporting large carts or furniture.
3. Speed of elevator 100 – 350 ft/ mi n.
4. Two sides of front and back doors for loading and unloading facilities.
5. Door width between 900 – 1100mm

• High Residential Lift

1. For high rise residential buildings such as flat, apartment or condominium.
2. Needs regular maintenance because high frequency of its use every day or possibility of vandalism.

• Institution Lift

1. Used in library, office, classroom or lecture hall located at high altitudes.

• Store Lift

1. Used to transport heavy goods but depends on types of goods transported.
2. Elevator speed 50 – 150ft/ min.
3. 5000 lbs. normal, load haul 20000 lbs.
4. Usually used in shopping complex, airports, hotels, warehouse
5. Lift of Cars
6. Used specifically to lift a car in multi storey car park or showroom.

ii) According To Hoist Mechanism

Elevators will be classified according to hoist mechanism to 4 main types as follows: 

1. Hydraulic Elevators
2. Traction Elevators
3. Climbing elevator
4. Pneumatic Elevators

Hydraulic Elevators (Push Elevators)

• Hydraulic elevators are supported by a piston at the bottom of the elevator that pushes the elevator up. They are used for low-rise applications of 2-8 stories and travel at a maximum speed of 200 feet per minute.
• The machine room for hydraulic elevators is located at the lowest level adjacent to the elevator shaft.

Traction elevators

• Traction elevators are lifted by ropes, which pass over a wheel attached to an electric motor above the elevator shaft.
• They are used for mid and high-rise applications and have much higher travel speeds than hydraulic elevators. A counterweight makes the elevators more efficient.

Climbing elevator

• They hold their own power device on them, mostly electric or combustion engine.
• Climbing elevators are often used in work and construction areas.

Pneumatic Elevators

• Pneumatic elevators are raised and lowered by controlling air pressure in a chamber in which the elevator sits.
• By simple principles of physics, the difference in air pressure above and beneath the vacuum elevator cab literally transports cab by air.
• It is the vacuum pumps or turbines that pull cab up to the next Floor and the slow release of air pressure that floats cab down.
• They are especially ideal for existing homes due to their compact design because excavating a pit and hoist way are not required.

iii) According to building height

A – Low-Rise buildings (1- 3 stories)

• Buildings up to about (1 to 3) stories typically use hydraulic elevators because of their lower initial cost

B – Mid-Rise buildings (4 -11 stories)

• Buildings up to about (4 to 11) stories typically use Geared Traction Elevat 

C- High-Rise buildings (12 + stories)

• Buildings up to about 12+ stories typically use Gear-Less Traction Elevators

iv) According to elevator location

• Outdoor Elevator (Inclined elevator)

• Platform Elevator

v) According to Building types

• Hospital elevators.
• Residential /domestic elevators.
• Industrial elevators.
• Commercial elevators.
• Parking buildings elevators

vi) According to special uses

• Handicapped elevator
• Grain elevator

vii) Location And Lift Arrangement

• Lift arrangement

1. To ensure there is no interference between passengers who wish to get into the lift.
2. Should be carefully planned so can easily get into lobby and travel distance is reasonable.
3. Maximum travel distance 150 – 200 ft
4. System layout depends on the number of elevator cars that use the elevator
5. Normally the elevator is set in the layout or zoned.

• Benefit

1. If there is high traffic, the usage is at optimum level
2. Waiting time will be shorten.

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Arrangement pattern & spatial effect of Vertical circulation

Arrangement two-car grouping

• Side-by-side arrangement is best
• Passenger face both cars& can react immediately
• AVOID separation of elevators
• EXCESSIVE separation destroy advantages of group operation

Three-car grouping

• 3 cars in a row is PREFERRABLE
• 2 cars opposite 1 is acceptable
• PROBLEM: location of elevator call button

Arrangement Four-Car Grouping

• Commonly in large, busier buildings
• 2-opposite-2 arrangement is the most efficient

Six-Car Grouping

• Found in large office buildings, public buildings & hospitals
• 3-opposite-3 position is PREFERRED
• Dimension of the LOBBY must not be less than 3 m or 3.6 m if function as a passageway.

Eight-Car Grouping

• The largest PRACTICAL group
• 4-opposite-4 arrangement

Lift Arrangement for 2 Car Lift core

• Side by side  arrangement – Width of corridor =  width of car lift  —— ( figure 1 )
• Opposite  arrangement of  corridor – Width of corridor =  width of car lift  —— ( figure 2 )
• Not good  arrangement  —— ( figure 3 )

Lift Arrangement for 3 Car Lift core

• Opposite arrangement – width of corridor = 1.5 – 2A, where A is width of lift —— (figure 1)
• Side by side arrangement-width of corridor = 1.5A, where A is width of lift —— (figure 2)

Lift Arrangement for 4 Car Lift core

• Opposite arrangement – Width of corridor = 1.5 – 2A, where A is width of lift —— (figure 1)
• Side by side arrangement – Width of corridor = 1.5A, where A is width of lift —— (figure 2)

Lift Arrangement for 6 Car Lift core

• Opposite arrangement – width of corridor = 1.75 – 2A, where A is width of lift —— (figure 1)
• Side by side arrangement -width of corridor = 2A, where A is width of lift —— (figure 2)

• Weak arrangement  for 6 car lift

• Opposite arrangement – width of corridor = 2A, where A is width of lift

Arrangement pattern & spatial effect of Vertical circulation

Express Elevator

• Fastest elevator
• Interval stoppage: specific floor Speed:
• 33 ft/s(World Trade Centre)
• 54 ft/s (Taipei 101)

Local Elevator

• Normal speedy elevator
• Interval stoppage: each floor Speed: up to 10 ft/s

a) Central Core

• Elevator position preferable in centre
• Horizontal circulation is easier

b) Split Core

• Individual elevator layout position according to using purpose
• Horizontal circulation is not  easier

c) End Core

• Horizontal circulation is not  easier

d) Atrium Core

Sky Lobby Zone

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.

1. For building > 40 levels.
2. A group lift with high speed moving lift without interruption from the floor to the sky lobby.
3. The elevator will move with normal velocity at the next level.

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Dumb Waiter Elevators Standard Specifications

• Dumbwaiters are small freight Elevators (or lifts) not intended to carry People or live Animals, but for Objects.
• Small lifts installed in Hotels’ Kitchens for transferring cooked hot food, raw materials etc. to various pantries at all floors in multi-storied hotels, large households, marriage halls, restaurants, etc.
• Dumbwaiters for kitchens are usually made of stainless steel so that they are not affected by steam, hot food, water, etc.
• Dumwaiters are also used in hospitals and departmental stores to carry stores to various levels in the building. These can also be of S.S. or M.S or GLASS.

Dumbwaiter

Dumbwaiters are small freight elevators that are intended to carry food, books or other small freight loads rather than passengers.

1. They often connect kitchens to rooms on other floors.
2. They usually do not have the same safety features found in passenger elevators, like various ropes for redundancy.
3. They have a lower capacity, and they can be up to 1 meter (3 ft) tall.
4. Control panels at every stop mimic those found in passenger elevators, allowing calling, door control and floor selection.

Paternoster

• A special type of elevator is the paternoster, a constantly moving chain of boxes. A similar concept, called the man lift or human lift, moves only a small platform, which the rider mounts while using a handhold seen in multi- story industrial plants.

Scissor lift

• The scissor lift is yet another type of lift. These are usually mobile work platforms that can be easily moved to where they are needed but can also be installed where space for counterweights, machine room and so forth is limited. The mechanism that makes them go up and down is like that of a scissor jack.

Rack-and-pinion elevator

• Rack-and-pinion elevator are powered by a motor driving a pinion gear. Because they can be installed on a building or structure’s exterior and there is no machine room or hoist way required, they are the most used type of elevator for buildings under construction (to move materials and tools up and down)

Capsule Passenger Lifts

Glass capsule elevators is artistically designed to be used in offices, shopping malls, multiplexes and other prestigious buildings.

1. Capsule Lifts are inspired with creative flair to suit your particular needs.
2. Capsule elevators give an upscale, attractive feel to offices, shopping malls,
3. multiplexes and other prestigious buildings.
4. They are offered in different sizes, specifications, shapes and capacity according to the requirements of our clients.

Next Generation Lift : Horizontal + Vertical

A revolutionary idea, but it’s not just a new elevator – It’s an exciting new “vertical and horizontal transportation system”.

• NO CABLES and no traveling cable required
• Application of totally new technologies, like
• Linear motor and drive
• Exchanger, which moves cabin from one shaft to the other
• New materials (light weight cabin & cabin door)
• It’s a shaft-changing cabin system with multiple cabins, running in one shaft loop.
• However horizontal links between several loops or to a horizontal track is possible at exchanger levels
• The basic approach is a circulating system (paternoster) with an available cabin every 15 – 25s
• The safety concept is based on the TWIN know-how, collision prevention and high level safety features
• Targeted speed: up to 5m/s, extension possible up to 7 m/s
• Ideal with 8 – 10 cabins per side which means 16 – 20 in total in one loop for 600m driveway or 300m height – however not limited

iv) Technical Terms

• ELEVATOR HOISTWAYS: A hoist way is a shaft in which an elevator travels.

Hoistway Enclosure

• The enclosure should have a 2-h fire rating, and hoist way doors and other opening protective assemblies should have a 11 ⁄2-h rating. should enclose the hoist way to a height of 8 ft above each floor and above the treads of adjacent stairways. Openwork enclosures may be used above that level, if openings are less than 2 in wide or high.

Venting of Hoist ways

• In significant high-rise-building fires, the elevator hoist ways have served as a flue for smoke and hot gases generated by fire. The prevailing thought has been that hoist way venting means could minimize the spread of smoke and hot gases throughout the building.

Machine Rooms

• If the driving machine is located at the top of the hoist way, other machinery and equipment for building operation may also be installed in the machine room but must be separated from the elevator equipment by a substantial metal grille at least 6 ft high.
• In machine rooms at the top of the hoist way, headroom of at least 7ft above the floor must be provided. For spaces containing only overhead, secondary, or deflecting sheaves, headroom may be only 31 ⁄2 ft, but 41 ⁄2 ft is required if the spaces also contain over speed governors, or other equipment.

Hoist way Doors

• Each opening in a hoist way enclosure for access to elevator cars should be protected with a 11/2 -h fire-rated door for the full width and height of the opening.
• single section swinging doors or horizontally sliding doors are used for freight and passenger elevators and vertically sliding doors are used exclusively for freight elevators.
• Vision panels of clear wired glass or laminated glass, with an area between 25 and 80 in2, may be inserted in any type of hoist way door and car door, to enable passengers in a car to see if passengers at landings are waiting to enter.
• specifically requires such a vision panel to be installed in all horizontally swinging hoist way doors and in manually operated, self-closing, sliding hoist way doors for elevators with automatic or continuous-pressure operation.

Guide Rails

• The paths of elevator cars and of counterweights, if used, are controlled by vertical guide rails installed in the hoist way.

Buffers and Bumpers

• Energy-absorbing devices are required at the bottom of a hoist way to absorb the impact from a car that descends below its normal limit of travel

Hoist way Dimensions

• The clearance between a car and the hoist way enclosure, for example, should be at least 3 ⁄4 in. The clearance between the car platform sill and vertically sliding hoist way doors or the hoist way edge of the landing sill should be at least 1 ⁄2 in where side door guides are used and 3 ⁄4 in where corner guides are used, but not more than 11 ⁄12 in. Maximum clearance between the loading side of the car platform and the hoist way enclosure generally is 5 in but may be as much as 71 ⁄2 in when vertically sliding hoist way doors are used.

Elevator Cars
A car consists basically of a platform for transporting passengers and goods. The platform is raised or lowered by wire ropes or a hydraulic piston or plunger.

Door Controls
Car doors may be horizontally or vertically sliding. They usually are power operated. For safety, they should be equipped with devices that prevent them from opening while the car is moving or is outside the landing zones, the space 18 in above and below a landing. The doors should be kept open for at least 20s after reopening.

Car Equipment
The interior of the car should be ventilated and illuminated with at least two electric lamps. In addition, an emergency electric-lighting power source should be installed, to operate immediately after failure of the normal power source. Emergency stop switch should be installed about 35 in above the platform. The height of the highest push button or of a telephone should not exceed 48 in. A handrail should be provided about 32 in above the floor along the rear car wall. An emergency exit should be provided in the roof of each car.

4) Escalators and moving walks

Escalators are another type of vertical transportation system that are commonly used in buildings such as shopping malls, airports, and train stations.

They consist of a continuous loop of steps that move in a constant direction, carrying people up or down between different levels of a building. Moving walkways are similar to escalators but are typically longer and move in a straight line rather than in a loop.

• Escalators are load carrying units designed to transport people, between two landings.
• They are driven by an electric motor and a drive system that moves steps and handrails at synchronised speeds.
• The escalator is supported by a truss which contains all the mechanical components, such as the drive unit, brakes and chain.
• Escalators typically travel at speeds of around 0,5 m/s – fast enough to provide rapid displacement while not disregarding comfort and safety.
• They are used both in commercial buildings and in public transport facilities such as airports, metros and railway stations.
• For the transport of trolleys between two floors, inclined moving walks are used.
• At airports, horizontal moving walks are installed to move passengers more quickly to their destination.

Basic Operating Guidelines

Escalators

• Regularly (at least monthly) apply a silicone friction reducer on skirt panels
• Document any unusual noises or vibrations.
• Remove any debris
• Monitor for broken comb teeth Always remove the start-up key from the “on” direction.
• If an escalator or moving walkway makes an automatic emergency stop, perform a detailed equipment check before returning to operation. Do not permit overloading of passengers or freight.
• Do not permit the use of an inoperative escalator as a stairway

i) Escalator is a conveyor transport

• 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 30o, but may increase to 35o if the vertical rise does not exceed 6 m and the speed is limited to 0.5 ms-1

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

ii) Escalators

Escalators, or powered stairs, are used when it is necessary to move large numbers of people from floor to floor. They provide continuous movement of persons and can thus remedy traffic conditions that are not readily addressed by elevators.

Escalators should be viewed as preferred transportation systems whenever heavy traffic volumes are expected between relatively few floors. Escalators are used to connect airport terminals, parking.

Maximum rise 21 ft 4 in (NCE model)

Dimensions for Escalators

• Minimum depth of tread in direction of travel—153⁄4 in
• Maximum rise between treads—81⁄2 in
• Minimum width of tread—24 in
• Maximum width of tread—40 in
• Maximum clearance between tread and adjacent skirt panel—3⁄8 in
• Maximum distance between handrail centerlines—width between balustrades plus 6 in with not more than 3 in on either side of the escalator

Escalator Speeds and Capacities

• Escalators typically operate at 90 or 120 ft /min, as needed for peak traffic.
• Standard escalator widths are 32 and 48 in. Manufacturers rate their 90-ft /min units at corresponding capacities of 5000 and 8000 persons per hour, although observed capacities, even in heavy traffic, rarely exceed 2000 and 4000 persons per hour.

Structural Considerations in Escalator Installation

Floor-to-floor height should be taken into account in determining loads on supporting members. Generally, for floor-to-floor heights of less than 20 ft, the escalator truss need be supported only at top and bottom. Increased vertical rise can create the need for intermediate support points. A structural frame should be installed around the escalator well to carry the floor and well way railing.

Escalator Capacity

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Vertical transportation systems are an essential component of many modern buildings, providing a safe and efficient way for people to move between floors. They can also help to reduce congestion in buildings and improve accessibility for people with mobility issues.

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