STRUCTURAL INTEGRITY ANALYSIS AND OPTIMIZATION OF AN ELEVATOR FRAME, THROUGH FE MODELING AND EXPERIMENTAL TESTS

Abstract eng:
A systematic structural integrity analysis and optimization of an elevator chassis under real dynamic load conditions are presented in this work. The special feature of this paper is that the study was performed on industrial an elevator system (produced by Kleemann Hellas S.A.), including all details/complexities of a commercial system. The procedure proposed for solving and analysing this specific problem includes the following steps. First, the frame and the cabin of the elevator are modeled numerically by discretizing them geometrically according to the FE method. FE modeling of this structure is not straightforward because of these two aspects of the analysis. (a) When safety gear is activated and the elevator stops, braking forces act on the system, whose dynamic response must be accurately simulated. (b) An efficient modeling method is required for the various elevator parts which are in contact with each other and are connected together by screws through “oval type” holes. The initial FE model is updated and validated through an experimental investigation of its dynamic response when the elevator stops using instantaneous or progressive safety gear. These experimental tests were performed under real operating conditions, using an experimental device that was designed exactly for this purpose and aimed at recording the acceleration time histories at the connection points of the frame with the safety gear and at other locations used as reference points. The acceleration time histories at the connection points are subsequently used as base excitation for the FE model of the frame and the corresponding stresses developed are evaluated. On the basis of these numerical results, the critical points of the frame are selected, as corresponding to larger stresses. Finally, to test the reliability of the proposed method, strain gauges are placed at the critical points of the frame and measurements are carried out, under similar dynamic load conditions, in order to experimentally verify the stresses calculated above. Comparison of the numerical and experimental data verifies that the proposed “mixed computational-experimental” analysis method is quite reliable.

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