Selection of Drives

and
Control Systems
for Lifts

Name: SAIKAT CHAKRABORTY

Reg. No. RA1411005010252
Traction elevator VIEW SOURCE

Traction elevators are the most common type of elevators. Elevator cars are pulled
up by means of rolling steel ropes over a deeply grooved pulley, commonly called
a sheave in the industry. The weight of the car is balanced by a counterweight
since 1900. Sometimes two elevators are built so that their cars always move
synchronously in opposite directions, and are each other's counterweight.
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. Because of these
qualities, elevator energy consumption in high-rise buildings can be cut
significantly. Some elevator manufacturers have use this technology such
as Otis (Gen2's polyurethane belts), Schindler(Suspension Traction Media for
both 3300 and 5500 series), and Kone (UltraRope).

Geared traction elevators

Geared traction machines are driven by AC or DC electric motors. As the name
implies, the electric motor in this design drives a worm-and-gear-type reduction
unit, which turns the hoisting sheave. While the lift rates are slower than in a
typical gearless elevator, the gear reduction offers the advantage of requiring a less
powerful motor to turn the sheave. These elevators typically operate at speeds from
38 to 152 meters (125-500 ft) per minute and carry loads of up to 13,600 kilograms
(30,000 lb). An electrically controlled brake between the motor and the reduction
unit stops the elevator, holding the car at the desired floor level.
Contemporary cheaper installations, such as those in residential buildings and low-
traffic commercial applications generally used a single or two speed AC hoist
machine (abbreviation is AC/(speed number)[1]). The widespread availability of
lower-cost solid state AC drives has allowed infinitely variable speed AC motors
to be used universally (for ACVV/AC - VVVF), bringing with it the advantages of
the older motor-generator based systems, without the penalties in terms of
efficiency and complexity. The older MG-based installations are gradually being
replaced in older buildings due to their poor energy efficiency.
Gearless traction elevators
Gearless traction electric elevator first invented by Otis in 1913, first installed in
Woolworth Building in New York City[2]. This type of drive system could be
employed in buildings of any height and operated at much higher speeds than
steam-powered elevators. This design has proven so durable that even now, when a
building is modernizedwhile the elevator control system is replaced with the
most up-to-date electronicsit is rarely necessary to replace a well-maintained
gearless machine. These elevators typically operate at speeds greater than 500 feet
per minute (or 2.5m/s).

In a gearless traction machine, five to eight lengths of wire cable, known as

hoisting ropes (or wire ropes), are attached to the top of the elevator and wrapped
around the drive sheave in special grooves. The other ends of the cables are
attached to a counterweight that moves up and down in the hoistway on its own
guiderails. The combined weight of the elevator car and the counterweight presses
the cables into the grooves on the drive sheave, providing the necessary traction as
the sheave turns.
To reduce the load on the motor, the counterweight is calculated to match the
weight of the car and a half-load of passengers. As the car rises, the counterweight
descends, balancing the load. This reduces energy consumption because the motor
is required to lift no more than the weight of half a car load at any time. The
grooved sheave in this traditional gearless system is quite large, from 0.6 to 1.2
meters (24 ft) in diameter. The electric motor that runs it must be powerful
enough to turn this large drive sheave at 50200 revolutions per minute in order to
move the elevator at the proper rate.

Safety is provided by a governing device that engages the cars brakes, should the
elevator begin to fall. A powerful clamp clutches the steel governor cable, which
activates two safety clamps located beneath the car. Moveable steel jaws wedge
themselves against the guiderails until sufficient force is exerted to bring the car to
a smooth stop.

Elevators with more than 100 ft (30 m) or the speed is 2.5m/s or above of travel
have a system called compensation. This is a separate set of cables or a chain
attached to the bottom of the counterweight and the bottom of the elevator cab.
This makes it easier to control the elevator, as it compensates for the differing
weight of cable between the hoist and the cab. If the elevator cab is at the top of the
hoist-way, there is a short length of hoist cable above the car and a long length of
compensating cable below the car and vice versa for the counterweight. If the
compensation system uses cables, there will be an additional sheave in the pit
below the elevator, to guide the cables. If the compensation system uses chains, the
chain is guided by a bar mounted between the counterweight railway lines.

Machine room less traction elevators

The traction version of the machine room less (MRL) elevators are usually
implemented with the smaller gearless traction motor that can place the inside the
shaft to make the spaces not reduced by the large size motor.

Types of suspension ropes

Suspension ropes used on traction type elevators usually attached to the crosshead
and extending up into the machine room looping over the sheave on the motor and
then down to the counter weights. Hoisting cable are generally 3 to 7 in number.
These ropes are usually 1/2or 5/8 in diameter.
The term roping system can be defined as the arrangement of cables supporting the
elevator and which has many types or arrangements as follows.

Wraping for traction sheave

Single wrap
Rope passes over sheave once and connected to counterweight. It is used on mid
and low-speed elevators with geared traction motors.
Double wrap
Rope wound over sheave twice in high speed elevators for the high rpm gearless
traction motor to make an additional friction. It is used on high speed elevators.
Roping method
1:1 roping
When rope connected to counterweight where cable travels as far as car in opposite
direction. It is used on geared traction or high speed elevators.
2:1 roping
Rope wraps sheave on counterweight and connects to top of the shaft, rope moves
twice as far as cab. It is used on machine room less, bottom-drive traction, gearless
traction or freight elevators.
There are some variants of 2:1 roping, for higher capacity:
4:1 roping, rope moves four times as far as cab compared with the 2:1 roping,
for freight elevators.