Advances in elevator dynamics

The dynamics of an elevator system and therefore the ride quality in the car is governed by the masses, rope elasticities and a variety of excitations involved. In case of tall buildings, the rope mass significantly participates to the vertical dynamics and effects of longitudinal waves result in complex system interactions. The mechanical model presented allows to accurately simulate the vertical dynamics of an elevator system, including effects of wave propagation with reflection, standing waves and resonances depending on the parameters involved. Considering the drive control and its parameters as well, testing efforts can be heavily reduced, as ride quality and suitable control parameters can be determined in advance. To further improve ride quality, possible modifications of damping, decoupling and tuned mass dampers can be added to the model and real system if needed. Simulation results are presented and compared with measurements and provide additional insight into the rope dynamics, which are not accessible by measurements.