UNIT 5

LIGHTING DESIGN: CONVEYING SYSTEMS

DESIGN OF LIFT

3
For design of lifts factors to be considered are –
1. Population or no. of people who require lift service.
2. Handling capacity or maximum flow rate required by the people.
3. Interval or quality of service required.

1. Population : Population is calculated based on

occupancy type of the building

Type Occupancy
area/per person
Residential 12.5
Educational 4
Institutional 15
4
Assembly hall with
(a)Dance floor 0.6
(b)Dinning 1.5
Business 10
Mercantile
(a)With basement 3
(b)With shops on 6
uppers

Industrial 10
Storage 30
Hazardous 10 5
 Above area per person is gross area of the floor in square
meters. In case of office building 75% of the inherent occupancy is
expected to arrive in time (period of ½ hr. before opening time which
peak traffic period also).

Floating population may also be there to counterfeit the

effect of late coming persons. 100% population as calculated from
floor occupancy basis to be adopted as total population to be served,
during peak hours.

2. Quantity of Service :
The quantity of service is a measure of the passenger handling
capacity of a vertical transport system. It is measured in terms of
the total number of passengers handled during each five minutes
peak period of the day.

6
3. Quality of Service :
The quality of service on the other hand is generally measured by
the passenger waiting time of the various floors. Quality of service
or Acceptable interval:

20 to 25 seconds Excellent
30 to 35 seconds Good
35 to 40 seconds Fair
40 to 45 seconds Poor
Over 45 seconds Unsatisfactory

Handling Capacity & RTT :

The handling capacity is calculated by the formula:
H= (300 x Q x 100)/T x P
Where
H = Handling capacity as the percentage of the peak population
handled during 5 min.
Q = Average number of passengers carried in a car
7
T = waiting interval, and
P = Total population to be handled during peak morning period. (It is
related to the area by a particular bank of lifts)
The value of ‘Q’ depends on the dimensions of the car. It may be noted
that the capacity loaded always to its maximum capacity during each trip
and, therefore, for calculate the value of ‘Q’ is taken as 80% of the
maximum carry capacity of the car.

The waiting interval is calculated by the formula :

T = RTT/N
Where,
T = waiting interval
N = number of lifts, and

RTT = round trip time, that is, the average time required by each lift
in taking one full load of passengers from ground floor, discharging
them in various upper floors and coming back to ground floor for
taking fresh passengers for the next trip.

8
RTT is the sum of the time required in the following process :
a) Entry of the passengers on the ground floor,
b) Exit of the passengers on each floor of discharge,
c) Door closing time before each floor of discharge,
d) Door opening time on each discharging operation,

e) Acceleration periods,
f) Stopping and leveling periods,
g) Period of full rated speeds between stops going up, and
h) Period of full rated speeds between stops going down.
It is observed that the handling capacity is inversely proportional to the
waiting time which in turn is proportional to RTT.

The round trip time can be decreased not only by increasing the
speed of the lift but also by improving the design of the equipment
related to opening and closing of the landing and car doors,
acceleration, deceleration, levelling and passenger movement.

9
a) The most important factor in shortening the time consumed between
the entry and the exit of the passengers to the lift car is the correct
design of the door and the proper car width, for comfortable entry
and exit for passengers, it has been found that most suitable door
width is 1000 mm and that of car width is 2000.
b) The utilization of centre opening doors also favors the door opening
and closing time periods.

Capacity :
Minimum size of car recommended for a single purpose
building is one suitable duty load of 884 Kg. For large building car
2040 Kg. according to requirement.

Layout :
The width of car is determined by the width of entrance,
and the depth of car is regulated by loading per sq.mtr. Permissible.
Centre opening door are the most practicable and most efficiency
entrance with for passenger lifts.
10
Speed :
It is dependent upon quality of service required and the quality
of service desired. Therefore, no set formulae for indicating the speed
can be given.
Recommended Speeds :
The following are general guidelines :

Office Building Passenger Lifts

Sl. No. of Floors Recommended
No. Speed
1. 4 to 5 floors 1 MPS
2. 6 to 12 floors 1.5 MPS
3. Above 12 floors Above 1.5 MPS
11
 Residential Building Passenger Lifts
Sl. No. of Floors Recommended
No. Speed
1. 4 to 8 floors 1 MPS
2. 8 to 12 floors 1.5 MPS
3. Above 12 floors Above 1.5 MPS
Hospital Lifts (Bed cum Passenger Lifts)
Sl. No. of Floors Recommended
No. Speed
1. Upto 4 floors 0.5 MPS
2. 5 to 8 floors 0.75 MPS
3. Above 8 floors 1 MPS 12
 Goods Lifts
Sl. No. of Floors Recommended
No. Speed
1. Upto 6 floors 0.5 MPS
2. Above 6 floors 0.75 MPS
Note:
(1) For passenger cum gods lifts speed shall be followed
as that of passenger lifts.
(2) Actual speed shall be worked out on the basis of
traffic analysis.

Calculation of R.T.T.
The most probable number of floors on which lift may have to be
stopped is given by statistical formula:

Sn = n [ 1-(n-1)/n)Np] 13
Where
Np= Total number of passengers entering the car at ground floor
(Entrance Lobby) during peak period which is equal to car capacity.
n = Total number of floors served above ground floor.
Sn = Most probable number of stops.

No. of upper Number of Passenger/Trip

floors served (Car Capacity)
10 12 14 16 18 20
18 8 9 10 11 12 13
16 8 9 10 10 11 12
14 7 8 9 9 10 11
12 7 8 9 9 10 10
10 6 7 8 8 9 9
8 6 6 7 7 8 8
6 5 5 6 6 7 7 14
Now,
R.T.T. = Entrance lobby time + Sn x floor serving time + Return trip time
(D-2d)/Vc.
Where, Sn = Probable number of stops
D = Total Lift travel in one direction (m)
d = Distance travelled during acceleration or deceleration (m)
Vc = Contract speed of elevator in m/s also.

D = ½ ft2
Where,
f = acceleration in m/sec2
t = Time for acceleration
= 2 seconds for lifts upto 2.5 m/s.

(a) Entrance Lobby Time : This consists of door opening, car loading,
door closing time and acceleration at entrance lobby generally
ground floor plus retardation time (while returning from top).
(b) Floor serving time: This consists of door opening time, transfer
(loading or unloading time), door closing time, acceleration and de-
acceleration (retardation) time.
15
(c) Loading/ Unloading time: Practically observed loading and
unloading time for lifts of different capacity are given below:

No. of Entrance lobby Transfer time i.e.

Passengers Loading time in loading and
second unloading time at
upper floors
8 7 1
13 12 1.25
16 14 1.5
20 17 1.6
Actually average time required for entrance of each passenger in car
depends upon total number of persons entering the car and already
available in car. It may be one second per person when car is partially
loaded and 0.75 second when it is completely empty. Time for
emptying car is less and equal to 0.75 second for single person but
there is a tendency that all persons vacate the car simultaneously
after opening if the doors. 16
(d) Door Opening and closing time: Door closing time is more as
compared to door opening time. This is due to fact that when all
persons have entered in the car, it takes time for people to select
and press the push button for summoning the lift to various
destinations.
Total time for door opening and closing operation can be taken as
given below:

Type of Door operation Capacity

8 13 16 20
(a) Power operated single slide 3.8 3.8 - -
(b) Power operated double slide 3.2 3.2 - -
(c) Power operated centre 2.8 2.8 3.2 3.2
Opening
(d) Collapsible with attendant 2.5 2.5 3 3

(e) Collapsible without attendant 4 4 - -

Door closing and opening time, at entrance floor shall be one second
more than all above. 17
(e) Distance travelled by lift during acceleration or retardation is
assumed to be equal. This can be calculated by using formula.
d = ut + ½ ft2
Where U is initial speed = 0, f is acceleration or retardation rate and t is
the time elapsed. It is assumed that during each cycle, lifts
acceleration and retardation time is about 2 second.

Rate of acceleration will vary with type of as given below:

Lifts speed m/s Rate of acceleration

m/sec2
1 0.50
1.5 0.75
2.5 1.00
More than 2.4 to 8 2.50
More than 8 and 4.00 18
 ELEVATORS

Environmental Technology IV - Professor Tango & Parker - Spring 2009

Elisha Otis
1889
 1889

1857
Otis
Schindler
Thyssen-Krupp
Kone (formally Montgomery Elevator)
Passenger Elevator
Components
Traction Elevator
– car
– cables
– elevator machine
– controls
– counterweight
– hoistway
– rails
– penthouse
– pit
S: p. 1395, F.31.1
 Traction Elevator
Components

Machine room
– 8’-6” minimum clear

Bottom of Beam (OH)

– 17’-6” – 20’6’’

Travel
– number of floors

Pit (P)
– 10’-1” – 11-5”

S: p. 1439, F.31.29
Passenger Elevator
Components
Hydraulic
– car
– plunger/piston/jack
– elevator machine
– controls
– hoistway
– rails
– penthouse/headway
– pit
S: p. 1400, F.31.5
Hydraulic Elevator
Components
Machine room
– 7’-9” minimum clear

Bottom of Beam (OH)

– 12’-0” – 12’3’’

Pit (P)/Plunger
– 4’-0”
– Travel +2’-6”

S: p. 1402, F.31.6
 Design Considerations
Door openings
– >3’-6” for simultaneous
loading/unloading
– <3’-6” for singular loading

S: p. 1405, F.31.11
 Design Considerations
Doors
– single slide (24-36”)
– center opening (42-60”)
– two-speed, side opening (42”)
– two-speed, center opening (60”)

S: p. 1406, F.31.12
Elevator Selection Parameters
 Definitions
Interval (I) or lobby dispatch time
– average time between departure of cars from lobby

Waiting time
– average time spent
by a passenger
between arriving in
the lobby and leaving
the lobby in a car
– equals (0.6 x I)
S: p. 1421, T.31.4
 Definitions
Car passenger capacity (p)
– passengers per car

S: p. 1422, T.31.5
 Definitions
Handling Capacity (HC)
– maximum number of passengers handled in a 5 minute period
– when expressed as a percentage of the building population it is
called percent handling capacity (PHC)

HC= 300(p)
I

S: p. 1422, T.31.6
 Definitions
Average trip time
(AVTRP)
– average time from
passengers from arriving
in lobby to leaving car at
upper floor

Note: car size

floor to floor height

S: p. 1424, F.31.20
 Definitions
Round-trip time (RT)
– average time required for
a car to make a round trip

S: p. 1425, F.31.21
 Parameters
Building population
– typical area per person
– based on net area and building type

S: p. 1423, T.31.7
 Parameters
Office building efficiency
– net usable area as a percentage of
gross area

S: p. 1423, T.31.8
 Parameters
Elevator equipment recommendations
– building type
– car capacity
– rise
– speed

S: p. 1432, T.31.9
 Sizing Equations
Handling capacity (HC): HC=300p/I

Interval (I): I=RT/N

5-min. handling capacity (h): h=300p/RT

Number of cars (N): N=HC/h

Elevator Design Example
 Example Problem

Design an elevator system for a 10 story, single purpose

tenant, office building that provides an “good” level of
service.

Construction level is “normal”

Floor height: 12’-0” floor to floor

Floor area: 15,000 net square feet (nsf) each

 1. Determine Percent Handling
Capacity (PHC)
Office building
Investment

range  11.5-13 %
say 12%

PHC=0.12

S: p. 1422, T.31.6
 2. Determine Interval (I)

Office building
“Good” service

I=25-29 sec

S: p. 1421, T.31.4
 3. Determine Building Population
Office building
Single tenant
Normal construction

range  90-110 sf/person

say 100 sf/person

Pop= 9 floors@15,000 nsf

100sf/person
Pop=1350 people

S: p. 1423, T.31.7
 4. Determine Handling
Capacity (HC)
PHC=0.12
HC=0.12 x 1350 people

HC= 162 people

 5. Determine Rise & Select Car
9 floors (above lobby)
12’-0” floor-floor

Rise=9 x 12’-0’
Rise=108’

Select Car:
2500# car
@400 fpm
S: p. 1432, T.31.9
 6. Determine Average
Trip Time (AVTRP)
12’-0” floor-floor
2500# car
400 fpm
9 floors

AVTRP= 64 sec
S: p. 1425, F.31.21
 7. Determine Round
Trip Time (RT)
12’-0” floor-floor
2500# car
9 floors
400 fpm

RT= 112 sec

S: p. 1428, F.31.23
 8. Verify Single Car Capacity (p)
2500# car

p= 13 people

S: p. 1422, T.31.5
9. Determine 5-minute
Handling Capacity (h)

h=300p/RT

h= 300 x 13/112

h= 34.8 people
10. Determine number of cars (N)

N=HC/h

N= 162/34.8

N= 4.7 cars
say 5 cars
11. Confirm Interval (I)

I=RT/N

I= 112/5
I= 22.4 sec

Required I  25-29 sec

Design exceeds performance
requirements
 12. Repeat Until
Performance Complies

Try 4 cars (2500 lbs., 400 fpm)

11. (Re)Confirm Interval (I)

I=RT/N

I= 112/4

I= 28 sec

Required I  25-29 sec

Design meets performance

requirements
 12. Repeat Until
Performance Complies

Performance is in compliance

Use 4 cars (2500 lbs., 400 fpm)

Elevator Lobby Requirements
Lobby Parameters

– Proximity to other cars

• single zone
• multizone
– Proximity to emergency exits/egress
stairs
– Adjacent to main lobby

S: p. 1438, F.31.27
 Lobby Sizing
Size based on peak interval
– 15 or 20 minute peak time
– 5 sf/person

From previous example using 15 minute peak

h=34.8 people/5-min. 104.4 people/15 min.

Area= 104.4 people x 5 sf/person = 522 sf

TWO TYPES OF ELEVATORS

1. Hydraulic
2. Traction
Holeless Hydraulic Holed Hydraulic Roped Hydraulic

Hydraulic
 Hydraulic Elevator (holed)
Guide Rails

Door Plunger & Cylinder

Operator

Controller & Pumping

Unit
Hoistway
Door To & From Oil Pipe
 Hydraulic Elevators - holed
• Rise Limitations: ~ 60 feet
• Cost: $35 - $85K
• Speeds: 100/125/150 fpm
• Advantages:
– low cost
– no penthouse
– no structural load on building
• Disadvantages
– slow
– energy inefficient
 Hydraulic Elevator (holeless)
Door Guide Rails
Operator

Plungers & Cylinders

Controller & Pumping

Hoistway Unit
Door
To & From Oil Pipe
 Hydraulic Elevators - Holeless
• Rise Limitations: 20 feet
• Cost: $35 - $45K
• Speeds: 100/125 fpm
• Advantages:
– no well hole
– minimizes environmental contamination
• Disadvantages:
– limited travel
Holeless: Roped Hydraulic
 Holeless:
Roped Hydraulic Elevators
• Rise Limitations: 60 feet
• Cost: $45k - $75k
• Speeds: 100 - 125 - 150 fpm
• Advantages:
– Eliminates well hole
– Same 60’ travel range as “holed” hydro
– Existing Building
• Disadvantages
– More costly than conventional holed hydraulic
http://www.kone.com/en_US/main/0,,content=59104,00.html
 Traction
GEARED & GEARLESS
 Traction Elevator
Controller
Machine
Door Operator Governor

Car Frame & Guide Rails

Safety
Counterweight

Hoistway Door
Buffers
Geared Gearless
2
Geared Gearless
25
 Traction Changes

Geared Gearless
 Traction Elevators
• Rise Limitations: ~ 300 feet (Geared)
unlimited (Gearless)
• Cost: $150,000 - $200,000 (Geared)
$200,000 + (Gearless)
• Speeds: 350 - 500 fpm (Geared)
500 - 1800+ (Gearless)
• Advantages of Gearless:
– smoother
– approx. twice machine life
 Otis Gen 2 click to play movie

(Traction) Rise Limitation: 300 feet

 Elevator Selection
• 1. Building Height
– elevator type
• 2. Customer Expectations
Service Time
» speed
capacity
quantity
• 3. Space Limitations
• 4. Optional approaches
– sky lobbies
– double deck
Sky Lobby at Level 41&42
29 Double deck elevators
88 stories tall
 http://www.emporis.com/en/bu/sk/st/tp/wo/

Otis Elevators in the Worlds tallest building

http://www.emporis.com/en/cd/cm/?id=otiselevatorco-farmington-ct-usa

http://www.emporis.com/en/
Gearless
Gearless
Geared
Geared
Booth Museum of Western Art Cartersville, GA
Futuristic
Developments

ODYSSEY
 
next Thursday
Guest Speaker

Bob Beyer
Elevator Consultant
Elevator Advisors Inc.
www.elevatoradvisors.com
 Bob Beyer Lecture Key Points

• In the next 5 years 75% of all the elevators will be MRL ( Machine room less
• MRLs will replace Hydraulic and Geared Traction type elevators
• MRL have lower energy costs – up to 60% less than geared. (Only 2-3% of the total
buildings electrical load is for the elevators)
• Machine rooms must be air-conditioned
• In office buildings above 5 floor you should have a dedicated service elevator
(4500lbs. minimum size for service elevator)
• 1 service elevator for every 2 passenger elevators in a hotel over 15 stories.
• In the next 5 years al the signs saying “Do Not Use The Elevator In Case Of Fire”
will be gone. Elevators are the safest way out of a building until the fire actually
reaches the shafts ( which are two hour rated in high rise)
Escalator : is a moving staircase – a conveyor transport device
for carrying people between floors of a building. The device
consists of a motor -driven chain of individual, linked steps
that move up or down on tracks, allowing the step treads to
remain horizontal.

Moving walk way : is a slow moving conveyor mechanism

that transports people across a horizontal or inclined plane
over a short to medium distance. Moving walkways can be
used by standing or walking on them.
1- Step Drive System

2- Handrail Drive System.

The variation on how these two systems are combined is

dependent upon the type of escalator. The Drive Machine
used to drive the pinion gear or the main drive chain may
directly or indirectly drive the Handrail Drive System.
 The Drive machine is located outside the truss.
The main drive machine is located
in the upper pit area or in a separate
machine room located below the
upper section of the escalator. An
external drive located in the upper
pit area may employ a direct motor
to gearbox drive, or a motor to gear
reducer with a chain drive. An
external drive escalator with the
drive unit located within a machine
room beneath the upper landing
will normally employ a
motor/gearbox with a chain drive
extending to the upper landing.
 The Drive machine is located at the upper landing
within the truss between the step bands
The main drive machine is located
at the upper landing within the
truss, between the step bands of the
escalator. It employs a motor to
gearbox drive with a direct drive
axle connection. A separate dual
drive machine within the step band
is not uncommon with one machine
used to directly drive the step
chains located a few feet below the
upper incline and one above the
lower incline.
 The Drive machine is located within the
incline of the truss between the step bands.

The main drive is located within

the incline of the truss within the
step band. The motor may be
directly connected to the gearbox or
it may transfer power through a belt
drive. The gearbox will have a
direct connection to the drive axle.
A modular escalator may have a
single drive or a multiple drive
depending on the overall length of
the escalator.
 The Drive machine provides the torque to drive the
step
band at a constant speed.
The drive motor shall be integrally mounted, A.C. squirrel cage, three
phase induction motor of continuous rating, reversible type with high
starting torque and low starting current and specially designed for
escalator application.
It is either directly or flexibly
coupled to the reduction gear. The
motor is usually protected by
thermal and/or electro-magnetic
overload devices as well as
thermistors in the motor winding.
Today’s drive systems incorporate a solid-
state soft-start controller These new types
of power control offer the ability to adjust
the motor power to match the load.
Modular soft-starters allow for gradual
smooth starting of three-phase squirrel
cage motors. Unlike conventional (older)
electromechanical starting systems, these
devices allow precise adjustment of motor
starting torque, eliminating mechanical
shocks to the system’s components.
 The drive motor, together with the gear reducer, deliver the
necessary torque.
The Main Drive Gear or gear
reducer assembly may be a single-
stage type gear reducer. This is an
enclosed, mechanical device that
takes the drive motor torque and
transmits this torque to the bull
gear through a gearbox shaft
(pinion) or the main drive chain.
The gear reducer assembly contains
a steel worm gear that is coupled or
directly sleeved onto the motor
shaft and it meshes with the pinion
(bronze) gear.
When looking up the escalator you are
facing the riser of the step. The length of
the step is measured from both ends of
the step tread (front and rear) and the
width is from both sides of the step. The
step frames, treads, and riser excluding
their attachment or inserts (yellow
demarcations) are a die-cast aluminum
design and form the Step Unit Assembly.
Each step in the escalator 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, and so are
pulled by the drive gear at the
top of the escalator. The other set
of wheels simply glides along its
track, following behind the first
set.
The tracks are spaced apart in such a way that each step will always
remain level. At the top and bottom of the escalator, the tracks level
off to a horizontal position, flattening the stairway. Each step has a
series of grooves in it, so it will fit together with the steps behind it
and in front of it during this flattening
The Step Chains are endless links connected with link pins to make a
complete loop and are attached to an axle on each side of the steps
forming a loop which runs for the whole escalator length.
 The step motion is achieved by a direct step assembly connection
to the step chains.
Two-step chains; one for each side
of the escalator are directly coupled
to the Main Drive axle, the bull
gear shaft, through the step chain
sprockets. The step chain form a
loop for the length of the truss,
from the step chain sprockets at the
upper end down to the tension
carriage gear or turnaround
(depending on the manufacturer) at
the lower end or the lower
reversing station.
The Main Drive Axle is driven by
the motor and reducer assembly.
Sprockets or bull gears (depending
on the manufacturer). On both
ends of the Main Drive Axle
transfer power to the Step Drive
System. These sprockets or bull
gears drive two step chains, one
each for the right and left sides of
the escalator, which are connected
at the lower end of the escalator to
the step chain sprockets of the
Tension Carriage.
 Escalator step widths and energy usage

Width (between Single-step Energy

Size Applications
balustrade panels) capacity consumption
A rare historic
One passenger, design found
Very small 400 mm (16 in) 3.7 kW (5.0 hp)
with feet together mostly in older
department stores

Low-volume sites,
uppermost levels of
Small 600 mm (24 in) One passenger department stores, 3.7 kW (5.0 hp)
when space is
limited

One passenger + Shopping malls,

Medium 800 mm (31 in) one package or one department stores, 7.5 kW (10.1 hp)
piece of luggage smaller airports
Mainstay of metro
Two passengers – systems, larger
Large 1,000 mm (39 in) one may walk past airports, train 7.5 kW (10.1 hp)
another stations, some
retail usage
The Circle Tracks provide smooth step travel at the end of the tracks.
The Chain Wheel is used to maintain proper tracking of the step chain.
Most of the outer circle tracks have access windows for easy step
removal.
 The Handrail provides a convenient handhold for passengers.

The Handrail is constructed of four

distinct sections. At the center of
the handrail is a "slider“. The next
layer, known as the “tension
member” consists of either steel
cable or flat steel tape. On top of
the tension member are the inner
construction components. Finally,
the outer layer, which is a blend of
synthetic polymers and rubber.
 The system uses a drive wheel with an uphill and downhill side.

The escalator handrail is wrapped

around a portion of the drive wheel
and two pressure rollers. The
escalator handrail is driven by the
drive wheel with the assistance of
the uphill pressure roller and the
downhill pressure roller applying
pressure to the handrail as it passes
through each of the first and second
nips. There are also guide rollers
with at least one positioned
adjacent to the downhill and the
uphill sides of the drive wheel.
There are a the mechanical link between the dual toothed drive
chain sprockets. The drive chain sprockets and handrail drive
chain coming to transfer power from the bull gear shaft to the
handrail drive sheave. The Handrail drive chain has an adjustable
take-up sprocket to keep the drive chain snug. The handrail drive
chain receives lubrication from an enclosed bath system.

The Handrail Take-Up Devices are located directly downhill from

the handrail drive sheaves. The handrail take-up devices remove
slack in the handrail to provide the proper amount of slack in the
handrail required to drive the handrail.
The Automatic Lubrication System supplies oil to lubricate the main
drive chain, step chain, and the handrail drive chains. Oil flow rate is
adjustable by setting the automatic timer control “off” and “on”
periods to supply more or less lubrication. The system dispenses pre-
determined amounts of oil to the distribution network which delivers
this oil to the bearing points.
Brakes in lift and escalator applications have to be fail-safe. For this
reason, they are invariably spring applied and power lifted (either
hydraulically or electromagnetically).
The most widely used brake types on escalators are either hydraulic
or electromagnetic (i.e., solenoid). An intelligent braking system
would require a brake than can be proportionally controlled.

Hydraulic brakes are more amenable to proportional control than

electromagnetic brakes. The problem with electromagnetic brakes is
that they can either be set in the on or off positions, and it is not
possible to keep them in intermediate positions in order to vary the
pressure. Hydraulic brakes on the other hand can be controlled by
varying the oil pressure that acts against the springs. So the decision
was made to use hydraulic brakes for the intelligent braking system.
The pressure applied by the hydraulic brake is the result of the
interaction between the spring force (trying to apply the brake
pads on the disk) and hydraulic pressure (trying to keep the
brake pads off the disk). The spring pressure is constant and
cannot be varied, as it is a characteristic of the spring. By
controlling the hydraulic pressure, the exact braking effort can
be applied. The hydraulic pressure is varied by controlling the
valves that control the flow of the oil. Such a control can be
done via two methods:

• Proportional valves.
• Pulse width modulation (PWM) control of on/off valves.
The second method of PWM is the one used in this system.
Although the switching is not proportional (i.e., only on and off),
the duty cycle of the on/off proportions is varied such that a 50 %
duty cycle leads to no change in pressure, while a duty cycle in
excess of 50 % (i.e., with the valve feeding the oil staying open
longer than 50 %) leads to an increase in pressure and reduction in
braking (and vice versa). This requirement to increase or decrease
the braking depends on the comparison between the reference
ideal speed profile and the actual measured speed profile.
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.
-Step widths: 600, 800 & 1000 mm; min. step or tread length = 400mm

- Inclination: usually at angle 30° . 35° if rise < 6 m & speed < 0.5
m/s
-Escalator handling capacity:
- Continuous operation is the optimal mode for the commercial
sector in which customers are to be transported efficiently to the
upper floors of the store.

- Stop-&-go operation is recommended for the intermittent arrival

of passengers or for sporadic use outside peak times. Typical
applications include movie theaters, airports, subway stations and
railway stations. The unit remains ready for operation when there
are no passengers, as signaled by a direction indicator. The
Schindler entrance monitoring system detects approaching
passengers and sets the escalator/moving walk into motion
whenever required.
- continuous operation with crawling the escalator/moving walk
continues to crawl along at 0.1 m/s in the absence of passengers,
using a frequency converter. Unlike conventional stop-&-go
operation, mechanical wear is considerably lower, and in this
operating mode the readiness for operation and the direction of
travel are indicated by the slowly moving steps.