Elevator support design forces
Elevator support design forces
(OP)
In my experience, elevator support design forces (hoist beam, guide rail, pit slab, etc.) are sometimes difficult to obtain during the design phase. Some elevator suppliers do not want to give out this information before they have a contract to supply the elevator. That leaves the structural engineer with the option of making these items bidder-designed, deferred submittal, or using assumed forces that are verified during the construction phase (possibly necessitating redesign). Have others encountered this situation? Are there resources available for determining reasonably accurate design forces without relying on the elevator supplier?






RE: Elevator support design forces
RE: Elevator support design forces
RE: Elevator support design forces
The spanish code for Aparatos Elevadores
ITC-MIE-AEM-1
has specifications for minimum loads in slabs at bottom that protect underlying visitable sites (~500 kgf/m2), plus evaluation of vertical forces when breaking a free fall, both in the guides and springs under the counterweight.
There's also a book, I think by
Arizmendi
specially dedicated to lift issues.
Stein & Reynolds indicate that the vendors give the data for structural calculations. Anyway some information there is in their manual on elevators but scarce on this.
see argenitinian link
http://www.construir.com/Edifica/document/cirsoc.htm#Sobrecargas
RE: Elevator support design forces
RE: Elevator support design forces
And I know that the pit slab should be designed for the forces. There are also buffer reactions and many other design considerations. That's my point--- sometimes you don't know what the reactions are because the elevator manufacturer won't give the information before they have a contract in hand. Does anyone have any helpful suggestions?
RE: Elevator support design forces
RE: Elevator support design forces
I've usually gotten cut sheets from manufacturers in the past with no problem also. It's only in the last couple years that it has become difficult to get information out of some elevator companies. It has happened on the last couple projects I worked on. I don't really know why. You would think that this is fairly standard information that wouldn't cost them much if anything to provide. Some of the contractors I have worked with have told me that they have experienced the same thing. I agree that it seems like they would want to be as cooperative as possible so that the designers will be more likely to specify their products, but that doesn't seem to be the case lately.
RE: Elevator support design forces
RE: Elevator support design forces
Significant loads are imposed during the testing or operation of the safety devices that prevent the cabin from falling in the very unlikley event that the suspension ropes fail. The safety components that prevent this are designed to bring the elevator cabin to a halt within 1g.
The arrangement of the guide rails is also considered as the pullout values imposed onto the guide fixings are significatly different depending on how the elevator is arranged.
Calculations and examples can be found in the European normative for elevator design EN 81-2