Mitsubishi Electric Corp announced the overview of its ultra-high-speed elevator developed for the 632-meter Shanghai Tower under construction in Shanghai, China.
For the traction motor of the elevator, Mitsubishi Electric employed a parallel drive system that uses two three-phase winding coils for each motor and controls the two three-phases with two control panels. By using two compact control panels, the company enabled to design the layout of a machinery room more freely while increasing output power. The operation of the elevator is scheduled to begin in 2014.
To realize the world's fastest speed of 1,080 m per minute, Mitsubishi Electric used new technologies for higher safety, lifting height and comfort as well as for the motor for the winch. Specifically, to enhance safety, the company employed a two-tiered brake (the company's former product has a one-tiered brake) for emergency stop and used fine ceramic with a heat resistance of up to about 1,000°C for the brake shoe.
The buffer (shock absorber) at the bottom of the elevator shaft is comprised of three tiers (the former product has a one-tiered butter) and has a stroke of 7.3 meters, which is about 30% shorter than the stroke of the former product's buffer.
For the "sfleX-rope," a rope for the winch, Mitsubishi Electric employed a new structure so that it can hold a greater weight of a longer rope. The company improved the density of the rope by using a concentric-layered steel wire and filled the gap between the layers with plastic.
As a result, the company increased breaking load by 85% while increasing mass per unit length only by 18%. The new rope is less extensible. So, when people get in the elevator, it does not shake vertically much.
This time, Mitsubishi Electric newly developed a control cable that is 20% lighter than the one used for the former product.
For the comfort, the new elevator is equipped with the "active roller guide," which detects vibration and applies anti-phase vibration to it so that the vibration of the car is reduced. While two units of the active roller guide are installed in the bottom of the former product, Mitsubishi Electric added two more to the upper side of the new elevator because a different type of vibration is applied to the new product when it is moving at an ultra-high speed. As a result, vibration was reduced to about 1/3 that of the former product.
Furthermore, the new elevator is equipped with a streamlined aerodynamic car cover that reduces air resistance as well as an air pressure control device consisting of an air blower, a duct and a box for switching between air intake and emission. As a result, rapid changes in atmospheric pressure can be prevented, reducing passengers' feeling of fullness in the ear. BD+C
Related Stories
| Oct 13, 2010
Editorial
The AEC industry shares a widespread obsession with the new. New is fresh. New is youthful. New is cool. But “old” or “slightly used” can be financially profitable and professionally rewarding, too.
| Oct 13, 2010
Test run on the HP Z200 SFF Good Value in a Small Package
Contributing Editor Jeff Yoders tests a new small-form factor, workstation-class desktop in Hewlett-Packard’s line that combines performance of its minitower machine with a smaller chassis and a lower price.
| Oct 13, 2010
Prefab Trailblazer
The $137 million, 12-story, 500,000-sf Miami Valley Hospital cardiac center, Dayton, Ohio, is the first major hospital project in the U.S. to have made extensive use of prefabricated components in its design and construction.
| Oct 13, 2010
Thought Leader
Sundra L. Ryce, President and CEO of SLR Contracting & Service Company, Buffalo, N.Y., talks about her firm’s success in new construction, renovation, CM, and design-build projects for the Navy, Air Force, and Buffalo Public Schools.
| Oct 13, 2010
Hospital tower gets modern makeover
The Wellmont Holston Valley Medical Center in Kingsport, Tenn., expanded its D unit, a project that includes a 243,443-sf addition with a 12-room operating suite, a 36-bed intensive care unit, and an enlarged emergency department.
| Oct 13, 2010
Modern office design accentuates skyline views
Intercontinental|Exchange, a Chicago-based financial firm, hired design/engineering firm Epstein to create a modern, new 31st-floor headquarters.
| Oct 13, 2010
Hospital and clinic join for better patient care
Designed by HGA Architects and Engineers, the two-story Owatonna (Minn.) Hospital, owned by Allina Hospitals and Clinics, connects to a newly expanded clinic owned by Mayo Health System to create a single facility for inpatient and outpatient care.
| Oct 13, 2010
Biloxi’s convention center bigger, better after Katrina
The Mississippi Coast Coliseum and Convention Center in Biloxi is once again open for business following a renovation and expansion necessitated by Hurricane Katrina.
| Oct 13, 2010
Tower commemorates Lewis & Clark’s historic expedition
The $4.8 million Lewis and Clark Confluence Tower in Hartford, Ill., commemorates explorers Meriwether Lewis and William Clark at the point where their trek to the Pacific Ocean began—the confluence of the Mississippi and Missouri Rivers.
| Oct 13, 2010
Maryland replacement hospital expands care, changes name
The new $120 million Meritus Regional Medical Center in Hagerstown, Md., has 267 beds, 17 operating rooms with high-resolution video screens, a special care level II nursery, and an emergency room with 53 treatment rooms, two trauma rooms, and two cardiac rooms.
