Round Trip Time Calculations PDF
Round Trip Time Calculations PDF
Round Trip Time Calculations PDF
Design
Chapter 3
Elevator Traffic Analysis and Design
(Revision 9.0, 9/3/2011)
1) Inputs: The input parameters needed in order to carry out the traffic analysis for a
building are as follows:
a. Find the recommended speed based on dividing the total travel by 20 and
finding the nearest preferred speed value.
b. Set the suitable values of jerk and acceleration depending on the type of
traffic in the type of building given (e.g., for a hospital, select low values of
acceleration and jerk).
c. If not set by the client, deciding on the suitable arrival rate for the type of
traffic in the type of building given.
d. If not set by the client, deciding on the suitable interval for the type of traffic
in the type of building given.
e. Decide on a starting number of lifts.
f. Decide on a starting capacity for the lifts.
g. Carry out the traffic analysis that provides the required interval at the
expected arrival rate.
h. Change the number of lifts up or down until the required interval is
achieved.
i. Once the interval is achieved, fix the number of lifts.
j. If it is not possible to find a suitable solution using a maximum number of
10 lifts then investigate zoning the building into two or three zones if
needed.
k. Depending on the car loading percentage, reduce the capacity of the lifts
used until the loading percentage is near 80%.
l. Select the suitable number, speed and capacity of the goods lift required.
m. Select the suitable number of fie fighting lifts, using the 60 second rule to
decide on the speed of the lifts.
2. Legend
is the round trip time in s
int is the interval at the main terminal in s
L is the number of the elevators in the group
U is the total building population
Ui is the building population on the ith floor
HC% is the handling capacity expressed as a percentage of the building population
in five minutes
AR% is the passenger arrivals expressed as a percentage of the building population
in the busiest five minutes
N is the number of floors above the main terminal
H is the highest reversal floor (where floors are numbered 0, 1, 2….N
S is the probable number of stops
df is the typical height of one floor in m
v is the top rated speed in m/s
a is the top acceleration in m/s2
j is the top rated speed in m/s3
tf is the time taken to complete a one floor journey in s assuming that the lift attains
the top speed v
CC is the car carrying capacity in persons
P is the number of passengers in the car when it leaves the ground (does not need to
be an integer)
dG is the height of the ground in m where more than the typical floor height
tdo is the door opening time in s
tdc is the door closing time in s
tsd is the motor start delay in s
tao is the door advance opening time in s (where the door starts opening before the
car comes to a complete standstill)
tpi is the passenger boarding time in s
tpo is the passenger alighting time in s
3.0 Introduction
The round trip time ( ): The round trip time is defined as the time taken for the
elevator to pick up the passengers from the main lobby, travel to the upper floors and
deliver the passengers to their destinations and then express back to the main
terminal again to pick up more passengers.
must be measured between one event and exactly the following event. For
example it could be measured between the doors starting to open at the main
terminal until they start re-opening again at the main terminal.
The highest floor that the elevator reaches in one round trip is called the highest
reversal floor, H. It can be less than or equal to N, the number of floor above the
main terminal. It does not need to be an integer.
The number of stops that the elevator makes in one round trip is called the
probable number of stops, S. It can be less than or equal to the number of
passengers in the car, P. It does not need to be an integer.
© Copyright held by the author 2011, Lutfi Al-Sharif Page 2 of 24
3 Elevator Traffic Analysis and Selected Topics in Mechatronics 0908589
Design
When more than one lift is present in the same group, then ideally they have to be
spread evenly. The interval is the time between the arrivals of the lift in the main
terminal. The interval is obtained by dividing the round trip time by the number of
elevators in the same group. Thus the interval can be improved either by increasing
the number of elevators or reducing the round trip time. The round trip time can be
reduced by increasing the speed or reducing the number of stops or reducing the
highest reversal floor.
The various parameters used in the elevator traffic analysis are shown in the table
below:
Typical values
Parameter Definition
or comments
The average time taken by the elevator to do a
complete cycle in the building during up peak
The round trip time
τ conditions (pick up passengers from the main
terminal, travel to the upper floors and then
express back to the main terminal again)
The average time between successive arrivals of
int The interval 30 s
elevators in the main terminal
Number of elevators in
L Number of elevators in the same group 2 to 8
the same group
U Population Total building population
The percentage of the building population
HC% The handling capacity
transported in five minutes
The passenger arrivals expressed as a percentage
AR% The arrival rate
of the building population in the busiest five minutes
Note that the
total number of
floors is N+1
N Number of floors The number of floors above the main terminal
(when the main
terminal is
included)
Highest reversal floor (where floors are numbered
The highest reversal
H
floor
0, 1, 2….N) HN
The car carrying capacity in persons. This is
CC Car carrying capacity
theoretical capacity of the car.
The number of passengers in the car when it leaves
P Passengers in the car the main terminal (does not need to be an integer). P 0.8 CC
This is the effective capacity of the car
Probable number of stops the that elevator will
The probable number
S
of stops
make in one round trip SP
No need to
enter this value
The typical height of one floor in m (finished floor
df Floor to floor height for the top
level to finished floor level, FFL to FFL)
most floor
4m
v Speed The rated speed in m/s
a Acceleration The top acceleration in m/s2 1
j Jerk The top rated speed in m/s3 0.5 to 1.5
The time taken to complete a one floor journey in s
tf One floor cycle time
assuming that the lift attains the top speed v
the height of the main terminal in m where more
dG Main terminal height 5m
than the typical floor height
The door opening time in s
tdo Door opening time 2s
The door closing time in s
tdc Door closing time 3s
The motor start delay in s
tsd Motor start delay 0.5 s
The door advance opening time in s (where the
Advance door opening Do not use on
tao door starts opening before the car comes to a
time safety grounds
complete standstill)
Passenger boarding
tpi The passenger boarding time in s 1 to 1.2 s
time
Passenger alighting
tpo The passenger alighting time in s 1 to 1.2 s
time
4. Number of passengers
It is accepted in practice that the car does not fill up completely. In general it only fills
up to 80% of the car carrying capacity.
P 80% CC
1
P
for equal floor populations
S N 1 1
N
N
U
P for unequal floor populations where Ui is the
S N 1 i population of floor i and U is the total building
i 1 U
population.
N 1 P
i for equal floor populations
H N
i 1 N
j U
N 1
P for unequal floor populations where Ui is the floor
H N i population of floor i and U is the total building
j 1 i 1 U population.
1. The traffic is pure incoming traffic (up peak only). All passengers arrive at the
entrance and board the elevator to go to his/her destination on one of the
upper floors.
2. In one trip time, the elevator makes S stops and reaches H highest reversal
floor. These two variables have been derived elsewhere. They depend on the
number of floors above the main entrance (the lobby), N, and on the number
of passengers in the car, P. They can be derived for the general case where
the floor populations are unequal or for the special case where the floor
populations are equal.
3. The elevator collects P passengers from the main terminal (lobby) and
delivers them to their selected destinations. It then expresses back to the
main terminal to pick another set of P passengers.
4. Every time the elevators stops at a floor, it takes time for the doors to open,
the passengers to transfer (in at the main terminal and out at the destination
floors) and then for the doors to close. Further delay at each stop is caused
by the start delay of the motor. The delay will be reduced in the case of
advanced door opening.
5. The assumption will be made that the elevator will attain its top speed in one
floor journey.
6. The assumption will also be made that the floor heights are equal.
7. The assumption will also be made that there is only one entrance floor (arrival
floor). All passengers arrive through this single entrance.
The round trip time is made up of main three parts: the time spent at the ground floor
collecting passengers, the time spent travelling to the upper floors and delivering
passengers to their destination, and the third part is the express travel back from the
highest reversal back to the main terminal.
tacc is the time taken to accelerate up to the top speed from standstill in s
tdec is the time taken to decelerate down from the top speed down to standstill in s
MT S H
Where:
MT is the time spent at the main terminal in s
S is the time spent travelling to the upper destination floors and delivering the
passengers in s
H is the time spent expressing back to the main terminal from the highest reversal
floor in s
The time spent at the main terminal involves the opening of the door, the transfer of
P passengers into the car and the closing of the door, in addition to the start delay
minus the advanced door opening.
MT t do t dc t sd t ao P t pi
H df
S S t acc t dec S t do t dc t sd t ao Pt po
v
df
H S t acc t dec t do t dc t sd t ao P t po
v
df d
S f f t acc t dec t do t dc t sd t ao P t po
d
H
v v v
But
df df v a
tf t acc t dec t v t acc t dec
v v a j
df
S t f f t do t dc t sd t ao P t po
d
S H
v v
The third part of the round trip time equation is the time taken to travel back from the
highest reversal floor express back to the main terminal:
H df v a
H
v a j
H df v a
v a j
H df d
t f f
v v
MT S H
df
t do t dc t sd t ao Pt pi H S t f f t do t dc t sd t ao P t po
d
v v
H df d
t f f
v v
df
S 1 t f f t do t dc t sd t ao Pt pi t po
d
2 H
v v
The equation for the round trip time (RTT) can be written as follows:
df d df
S 1 t f f t do t dc t sd t ao P t pi t po 2 G
d
2 H
v v v
Note that the last term has been added to the case where the main terminal (the
lobby) has a floor height that is more than the typical floor height. As this distance is
covered in both the up and down directions, it has been multiplied by 2. dG is the
height of the main terminal floor.
In general for most buildings (especially office buildings) the main terminal or
the lobby has a height greater than the typical floor height, usually for aesthetic
reasons but sometimes for functional reasons as well.
300 L P
HC %
U
9. The Interval
The interval is the average time between the arrivals of consecutive elevators in the
main terminal.
int
L
a 2v v 2 j d v a
If d then t v a j
aj
2
2a 3 a 2v v 2 j a 4d a
If 2 d then t
j aj j a j
1
2a 3 32 d 3
If d 2 then t
j j
12. Mathematical Proof the Probable Number of Stops for Equal floor
Population
Starting from first principles, derive an expression for the probable number of stops
(S) and the probable highest reversal floor (H) that a lift will make in a round trip
journey during up peak (incoming traffic).
Under up peak (incoming traffic) conditions, the lift will fill up with passengers at
the ground floor, and then deliver the passengers to their destinations in the upper
floors. It then expresses back to the ground floor to collect more passengers and so
on.
The car has a capacity CC, but only fills up to P passengers. The number of
floors above ground is denoted by N.
Assume that the floors have equal populations. State all the assumptions that you
make in your derivation.
Solution
We shall assume equal floor populations and that passenger destinations are
independent (i.e., one passenger’s choice of destination will not influence another
passenger’s choice of destination).
1
P( pass j will stop at floor i )
N
where N is the number of floors above the main lobby. Thus the probability that
passenger j will not stop at a floor i is:
1
P( pass j will NOT stop at floor i ) 1
N
But the car contains P passengers. So the probability that none of them will stop at
floor i is the product of all of their respective probabilities:
P
1
P( all pass will NOT stop at floor i ) 1
N
where P is the number of passengers in the car when it leave the ground floor. The
complement of this quantity is the probability that at least one passenger will stop at
a floor:
P
1
P( at least one pass will stop at a floor i ) 1 1
N
But this is the same as the probability that a stop will take place on floor i. So the
probability of stopping on a floor i is:
P
1
P( a stop at floor i ) 1 1
N
The expected value of the number of stops can be obtained by adding the
probabilities of stopping on all N.
N
P
P
E number of stops 1 1 1 N 1 1
1 1
N N
i 1
1
P
S E number of stops N 1 1
N
13. Mathematical Proof the Highest Reversal Floor for Equal Floor Populations
Starting from first principles, derive an expression for the probable highest reversal
floor (H) that a lift will make in a round trip journey during up peak (incoming traffic).
Under up peak (incoming traffic) conditions, the lift will fill up with passengers at
the ground floor, and then deliver the passengers to their destinations in the upper
floors. It then expresses back to the ground floor to collect more passengers and so
on.
The car has a capacity CC, but only fills up to P passengers. The number of
floors above ground is denoted by N.
Assume that the floors have equal populations. State all the assumptions that you
make in your derivation.
Solution
The probably that passenger j will stop at a floor i:
1
P( pass j will stop at floor i )
N
where N is the number of floors above the main lobby. Thus the probability that
passenger j will not stop at a floor i is:
1
P( pass j will NOT stop at floor i ) 1
N
But the car contains P passengers. So the probability that none of them will stop at
floor i is the product of all of their respective probabilities:
P
1
P( all pass will NOT stop at floor i ) 1
N
The probability that the lift will not travel any higher than a floor i is the probability that
it will not stop on floor i+1 or i+2 or i+3 all the way to floor N. This is expressed as
the product of these individual probabilities:
.......
N N 1 N 2 i 2 i 1
P
i
P( lift will not travel above floor i )
N
Note that this is also equal to the probability that the highest reversal floor will be any
of the floors 1 to i. In other words, it is the probability that the higher reversal floor
will be floor 1 or 2 or 3…..or i, or the sum of these probabilities.
i 1
P
Note that this is also equal to the probability that the highest reversal floor will be any
of the floors 1 to i-1. In other words, it is the probability that the higher reversal floor
will be floor 1 or 2 or 3…..or i-1, or the sum of these probabilities.
If we subtract the two expressions from each other only one term remains (which is
the probability that the highest reversal floor is i. So the probability that the ith floor is
the highest reversal floor is the probability that the lift does not travel above the ith
floor minus the probability that the lift does not travel above the (i-1)th floor. Thus:
i 1
P P
i
P( floor i is the highest reversal floor )
N N
But any of the floors from 1 to N could be the highest reversal floor. The expected
value of the highest reversal is the weighted sum of all the possible highest reversal
floors (i.e., 1 to N) each multiplied by their respective probabilities:
E( H ) i
N N
i 1
Re-arranging the two terms will make it easier to simplify later on:
N i 1 P i P
E( H ) i
N N
i 1
Expanding gives:
1 1 P 1 P 2 1 P 2 P 3 1 P 3 P
E( H ) 1
2 3 ...
N N N N N N
N 1 N 2 N 1 N N 1 N
P P P P
N N N N
0 P 1 P P P
P P
2 1 2 2 3 2 3 3 ...
N N N N N N
N 1 N 2 N 1 N 1 N N 1 N N
P P P P
N N N N
Simplifying gives:
N 1
P P P P
1 2 3
E( H ) 0 ..... N
N N N N
N 1 P
i
E( H ) N
i 1 N
Note that the summation extends only to N-1 (i.e., not N). Also note that the
maximum possible value of H is N, which is to be expected at high values of P.
14. Mathematical Proof the Lowest Floor Express for Equal Floor Populations
Starting from first principles, derive an expression for the probable lowest floor to
which the lift will travel without stopping in a round trip journey during up peak
(incoming traffic).
Under up peak (incoming traffic) conditions, the lift will fill up with passengers
at the ground floor, and then deliver the passengers to their destinations in the upper
floors. It then expresses back to the ground floor to collect more passengers and so
on.
The car has a capacity CC, but only fills up to P passengers. The number of
floors above ground is denoted by N. Assume that the floors have equal populations.
State all the assumptions that you make in your derivation.
Solution
The probably that passenger j will stop at a floor i:
1
P( pass j will stop at floor i )
N
where N is the number of floors above the main lobby. Thus the probability that
passenger j will not stop at a floor i is:
1
P( pass j will NOT stop at floor i ) 1
N
But the car contains P passengers. So the probability that none of them will stop at
floor i is the product of all of their respective probabilities:
P
1
P( all pass will NOT stop at floor i ) 1
N
The probability that the lift will not stop at any floor lower than i is the probability that
it will not stop on floor 1, 2, 3… all the way to floor i-1. This is expressed as the
product of these individual probabilities:
.......
N N 1 N 2 N i 1 N i 2
N i 1
P
The term above is the probability that the elevator will not stop at any floor lower than
the ith floor. In effect it is also that probability that any of the floors above the ith floor
could be the lowest call express.
In a similar manner, the probability that the lift will not stop at a floor below the
i+1th floor can be calculated as shown below:
N i
P
The term above is the probability that the elevator will not stop at any floor lower than
the i+1th floor. In effect it is also that probability that any of the floors above the i+1th
floor could be the lowest call express.
Subtracting the two expressions from each other, gives the probability that the
ith floor is the lowest floor express (i.e., is on average the floor at which the elevator
makes the first stop when travelling in the up direction on a round trip journey). The
probability that the ith floor is the lowest floor express is the probability that the lift
does not stop below the ith floor minus the probability that the lift does not stop below
the (i+1)th floor. Thus:
N i 1 N i
P P
But any of the floors from 1 to N could be the lowest call express. The expected
value of the lowest call express is the weighted sum of all the possible lowest call
express floors (i.e., 1 to N) each multiplied by their respective probabilities:
Re-arranging the two terms will make it easier to simplify later on:
N N i 1P N i P
E ( LCE ) i
N N
i 1
Expanding gives:
N P N 1P N 1P N 2 P N 2 P N 3 P
E ( LCE ) 1
2 3
...
N N N N N N
2 P 1 P 1 P 0 P
N 1 N
N N N N
N 1 N 2 N 3
P P P P P
1 0
1 .......
N N N N N
N 1 P
i
LCE 1
i 1 N
Simplifying gives:
N 1 N 2 N 3
P P P P P
1 0
LCE 1 .......
N N N N N
N 1 P
i
E LCE 1
i 1 N
Note that the summation extends only to N-1 (i.e., not N). Also note that the
minimum possible value of LCE is 1, which is to be expected at high values of P.
Comparing the equation for H and the equation for LCE we can see that the
same summation term exists in both. The difference between N and H is the same
difference between LCE and 1 (symmetrical values between 1 and N). The addition
of H and LCE always results in the value of N+1.
H LCE N 1
Find the number of lifts required assuming no arrivals from the basement.
Find the actual interval and the actual handling capacity.
Solution
The equation for the round trip time ( ) can be written as follows:
df d df
S 1 t f f t do t dc t sd t ao P t pi t po 2 G
d
2 H
v v v
Where:
is the round trip time in s
H is the highest reversal floor (where floors are numbered 0, 1, 2….N
S is the probably number of stops
df is the typical height of one floor in m
v is the top rated speed in m/s
tf is the time taken to complete a one floor journey in s assuming that the lift attains
the top speed v
P is the number of passengers in the car when it leaves the ground floor (does not
have to be an integer for this calculation, but is used as an integer for the
purposes of calculating H and S)
dG is the height of the ground in m where more than the typical floor height
tdo is the door opening time in s
tdc is the door closing time in s
tsd is the motor start delay in s
tao is the door advance opening time in s (where the door starts opening before the
car comes to a complete standstill)
tpi is the passenger boarding time in s
tpo is the passenger alighting time in s
We need to check that the lift will attain top speed in a one floor journey.
We use the following equation as a check:
a 2 v v 2 j 1 1.6 1.6 2 1
d 4.5 4.16
aj 1
So the top speed of 1.6 m/s will be attained in a one floor jump. In this case, the time
taken to complete a one floor journey, tf will be:
d v a 4 .5 1 .6 1
tf 5 .4 s
v a j 1 .6 1 1
We first start by finding the value of P based on 80% car loading. P works out as
16.8 passengers.
Moving on to calculate H and S as follows:
1
P
1
16.8
S N 1 1 14 1 1 10
N 14
N 1 P 16.8
i 13
i
H N 14 14 0.288 0.075 0.0174...... 13.62
i 1 N i 1 14
df d df
S 1 t f f t do t dc t sd t ao P t pi t po 2 G
d
2 H
v v v
4.5 4.5 4.5
10 1 5.4 2 3 1 0.5 16.8 1.2 1.2 2
4.5
2 13.6
1.6 1.6 1.6
76.5 89 40.3 205.82 s
In order to meet the expected arrival rate of 15%, the number of lifts required can be
calculated as follows:
300 L P
HC %
U
HC % U 0.15 1100 205.82
L 6.738
300 P 300 16.8
So the nearest larger integer is 7 lifts. So seven lifts are required to achieve the
handling capacity that meets the expected arrival rate.
205.82
int 29.4 s
L 7
Problems
For each of the following cases, design a suitable VT system, by finding the suitable
number of elevators and their speed, as well as the actual car loading.
Try to find the most economical solution by looking for the minimum number of
elevators that meets the requirements.
Assume equal floor population and equal floor heights.
In using the round trip time equation ignore the fact that the top speed has not been
attained.
Select the speed v by dividing the total travel distance and then rounding down to the
nearest preferred speed (1, 1.6, 2, 2.5, 3.15, 4, 5, 6.3, 8, 10 m·s-1).
Find:
L, v, Pact, intact and HC%
Also calculate the actual car loading. Actual car loading = (Pact/CC)%
References
1. Basset Jones The probable number of stops made by an elevator GE Review
26(8) 583-587 (1923)
Appendix A
The Round Trip Time Equation for the Case of Unequal Floor Heights
In the case where the floor heights are unequal, this will have an effect on the
calculation of the round trip time equation. The equation for the round trip time can
be amended as follows in order to account for this case as follows.
The effect of the unequal floor heights can be taken into consideration by
assuming an effective floor height df eff that can be inserted into the original round trip
time equation.
The effective floor height df eff is the expected value fo the floor height. The
effective floor height is the weighted average of all the floor heights multiplied by the
probability of the elevator passing through that floor. In order for the elevator to pass
through a floor it should travel to any of the floors above that floor. Thus it is
necessary to find the probability of the elevator travelling above a certain floor, i.
The probability of the elevator not stopping at a certain floor, assuming equal
floor populations is the probability that passenger j will stop at a floor i:
1
P( pass j will stop at floor i ) (1)
N
where N is the number of floors above the main lobby. Thus the probability that
passenger j will not stop at a floor i is:
1
P( pass j will NOT stop at floor i ) 1 (2)
N
But the car contains P passengers. So the probability that none of them will stop at
floor i is the product of all of their respective probabilities:
P
1
P( all pass will NOT stop at floor i ) 1 (3)
N
The probability that the lift will not travel any higher than a floor i is the probability that
it will not stop on floor i+1 or i+2 or i+3 all the way to floor N. This is expressed as
the product of these individual probabilities:
P
i
P( lift will not travel above floor i ) (7)
N
Thus the probability that the lift will travel above the floor i is:
P
i
P(lift will travel above floor i ) 1 (8)
N
Thus the expected value of the travel distance can be calculated as the weighted
average of the various floor height as follows:
1 P 2 P
E d total d f 1 1 d f 2 1 ...
N N
(9)
N 1P P
d f N 1 1 d f N 1 N
N N
Where:
E(dtotal) is the expected value of the distance travelled in the up direction.
The last term above reduces to zero (as it is impossible for the elevator to pass
through floor N). The expected floor height is obtained by dividing the expected tota
travel distance by the highest reversal floor, H. So the equation for the effective floor
height can be expressed as shown below (assuming equal floor populations):
N 1 i P
d f i 1
N (10)
E d f
i 1
Where:
Appendix B
Proof of the time for a one floor journey assuming that the top speed has been
attained
Assume the journey is split into 6 parts: d1, d2, d3, d4, d5, d6 and d7. Also assume the
time duration for each part is t1, t2, t3, t4, t5, t6 and t7 respectively. The total distance
of the journey is d,the top speed is v, the top acceleration is a and the jerk is constant
at a value of j.
t1 t 3 t 5 t 7
And:
t2 t6
d1 d 7
d3 d5
d2 d6
At the end of the time t1, the acceleration would have attained its top value. Hence:
a
t1
j
The speed at the time t1 is:
a2
vt1 j t1
1 2
2 2 j
a2
vt1 t 2 v
2 j
1
t1
a3
d1 j t 2 dt
0 6 j
2
2
The distance d3 is equal to the area of a rectangle less the area d1 (from symmetry).
a3 v a a3
d 3 v t1
6 j 2 j 6 j 2
a2 a2
v
2 j 2 j v a
t2
a a j
v a a
2 2
2 j 2 j v v a v va
d2
2
2
t
2 2 a j 2a 2 j
v a v2 v a v a v2
d1 d 2 d 3 d 5 d 6 d 7 2
j 2 a 2 j j a
v a v2
d 4 d d1 d 2 d 3 d 5 d 6 d 7 d
j a
v a v2
d
t4 j a d va
v v a j
a v a d v a d v a
t 4 t1 2 t 2 t 4 4 2
j a j v a j v a j