Articles
Japanese firm Hitachi is to supply the world's fastest lift to the Guangzhou CTF Finance Centre in China.
The two 1200m/min “ultra-high-speed” lifts will be able to travel from the 1st to the 95th floor of the building, a distance of 440m, in just 43 seconds.
Hitachi engineers have used permanent magnet synchronous motors controlled by high capacity inverters to achieve and control the lift's high speeds. They also increased the strength of the lift's rope in order to reduce its diameter and weight, allowing them to reduce the size of the lift's traction system. The lift's speed is restricted by a governor that activates braking systems if excessive speed is detected and the brakes use materials with high heat resistance to enable emergency stops.
The lifts are also pressurised to reduce the sensation of ear blockages that would otherwise arise because of the fast vertical movement.In addition, active guide rollers will be installed in the four corners of the lifts to detect minute warping in the guide rails and lateral vibration in the shaft that occurs because of wind pressure. Both of these features ensure a smooth and comfortable ride, said Hitachi.
The CTF Finance Centre in Guangzhou is under construction in the Tiahne district of the Chinese city. The 530m building, which will have 116 floors, will be the tallest building in the Guangzhou when it is completed in 2016.
The two ultra-high-speed lifts are part of a contract to supply 95 lifts to the CTF Finance Centre, which also includes 28 double deck lifts and 13 high-speed lifts that travel at 600m/min.
According to building data company Emporis, Toshiba currently makes the world's fastest lifts, which operate at the Taipei 101 building in Taiwan. The lifts travel at 60km/h, 1010m/min, from the 5th to the 89th floor of the building in just 37 seconds.
The elevators that Mitsubishi is set to install in the Shanghai Tower are set to become the world's fastest at a speed of 64.8 km/h when it opens this year. The tower itself will become the world's second-tallest building on completion.
In addition to the Shanghai Tower, Shanghai this year should also see the opening of the Shanghai World Financial Center and Jin Mao Tower, which will also contain some of the world's fastest elevators located next door to one another. Emporis said: “For skyscraper fans looking for spectacular elevator rides, Shanghai will be impossible to ignore.”