They won't be faster than a speeding bullet, but two new elevators are sure to pack a punch.
A skyscraper currently under construction in Guangzhou, China will house the world's fastest elevators when it is completed in 2016. Hitachi, the company building the elevators, claims that once they are finished, the elevators will offer smooth, comfortable rides — despite moving at top speeds.
The elevators will rocket from the Guangzhou CTF Finance Centre's first floor to its 95th in about 43 seconds. At their fastest they will reach 45 miles per hour — 15 miles per hour over New York City's speed limit. In comparison, the average elevator only moves at about 5 to 22 miles per hour.
However, speed isn't the only thing Hitachi needs to think about — acceleration and deceleration are also vital considerations, according to James Fortune, an elevator expert who designed the two elevators in Taiwan's Taipei 101 building, which currently holds the record for world's fastest elevator. Japan uses rates at 0.8 or 0.9 meters per second squared for both measurements; that's slower than those in the United States, which range from 1 to 1.2 meters per second squared. This change in speed can affect riders' inner ears on the way down, making them "pop" as they would on an airplane. The elevators at the Guangzhou CTF Finance Centre will descend at 22 miles per hour.
"There's nothing inherently dangerous about high-speed elevators," Fortune told. "It's a function of acceleration."
This sensation will be reduced with technology installed on the cars that can adjust the air pressure in the elevators, according to a Hitachi press release.
Heat-resistant braking equipment will be able to safely stop the elevators when they are moving at high speeds if a malfunction occurs. A device called a governor will activate the equipment if it detects excessive speed. Elevators that go this fast are built to stop gradually, even in an emergency, Fortune said. Even during normal stops and starts, microcomputers will provide control, as passengers get on and off the elevators, according to Hitachi's website.
Guide rails are installed in most elevators to prevent lateral vibrations. The farther an elevator can go, the greater the risk of these rails warping. In response, Hitachi has developed a system that sends data about acceleration speeds to the guide rails in an effort to control the pressure that is put on them; this is the reason why it may not feel like an elevator is moving, even if it is actually flying upward quite quickly. Modern elevators experience almost no horizontal vibration, according to Fortune.
Designed by Kohn Pederson Fox Associates, the Guangzhou CTF Finance Centre will stand at 1,738 feet. It will have 111 above-ground floors and five below the ground. The skyscraper will include residential housing, office space and a hotel. In addition to the two record-breaking elevators, it will house 93 other low-, medium- and high-speed lifts.
IMAGE: KOHN PEDERSEN FOX (KPF)