Kinetek ACPM Technology

Kinetek ACPM Technology
by Nashvinder Singh
World energy consumption is rapidly accelerating. The demand for energy is growing exponentially, while
energy resources are becoming
scarce and more expensive. Solar,
wind, geothermal and other technologies are being developed to address
the energy challenges, but bringing
new energy on line is a slow and difficult process. Fortunately, we are rediscovering an inexpensive, environmentally friendly concept that will
help us use what we have more efficiently.
A successful energy structure be-
36 gins with the best use of available resources. Energy efficiency is the mantra that leads to sustainable energy
management. The elevator industry
can make a significant contribution
by improving efficiency. The following considerations should be made:
♦ Buildings account for 40% of world
energy consumption
♦ Elevators account for 2-10% of
world energy consumption
♦ Elevators generally have a long life
span
♦ 8.5 million elevators are operating
worldwide, consuming about 18
ELEVATOR WORLD India • 4th Quarter 2011•
TW per year (the equivalent to
about two nuclear power stations)
♦ About 450,000 new elevators are
installed every year
These numbers suggest that improving elevator efficiency can save
an enormous amount of energy, decrease CO2 emissions and save
money. Over an elevator’s life, energy
savings from greater machine efficiency alone can amount to far more
than the initial cost of the equipment.
Greater machine efficiency is provided through permanent-magnet
technology.
Permanent-Magnet Gearless Machines
Improving Elevator Efficiency
The use of permanent magnets
(PMs) in elevator machine construction provides the following benefits:
♦ No electrical energy is absorbed by
the field excitation system, which
means there are no excitation
losses (leading to a substantial increase in efficiency)
♦ Higher machine torque and/or
output power per volume than
when using electromagnetic excitation
♦ Better dynamic performance than
electromagnetically excited motors (higher magnetic flux density
in the air gap)
♦ Simplified construction and maintenance
♦ Lower prices for certain types of
machines
Energy Savings and Environmental
Impact
AC permanent-magnet (ACPM)
technology means energy savings.
ACPMs are 93% efficient, a very favorable comparison to the typical 65%
efficiency of traditional machines.
The direct energy costs associated
with elevator operation drop significantly with modern systems. The
new gearless motors typically use 4060% less energy than traditional traction or hydraulic motors. This can
provide a savings of a few thousand
kilowatt hours per year for a single
elevator, and up to tens of thousands
of kilowatt hours for multiple banks
of elevators.
Typically, an AC gearless low-rise
elevator with an ACPM requires a less
than 10 hp motor, compared to motors of up to 40 hp for traction elevators and up to 60 hp for hydraulic elevators. Sustainable technology and
design mean much more than just
saving energy. It means eliminating
or reducing risks of damaging the environment and depleting our use of
nonrenewable resources.
Consider a 1600-kg capacity commercial elevator with seven landings
(approximately 18 m of rise or travel):
A traditional geared machine uses an
estimated 348,058 kWh of electricity
in one year. An ACPM driven elevator
uses about 193,446 kWh of electricity
per year, a savings of 44.42% per year.
These savings in energy are available to each building owner and/or
elevator contractor today. Industry
leaders such as Johnson Lifts have
become increasingly committed to
ACPM gearless technology under the
new green environmental initiatives,
with more than 5,000 ACPM gearless
machines installed in the Indian market. In fact, the commitment is so
strong that it prevailed during the
most recent rare earth material crisis.
ACPM
In principle, the construction of a
PM synchronous machine does not
differ from that of a brushless DC
(BLDC), although distributed windings are more often used. However,
while the excitation current waveform is rectangular with a BLDC, sinusoidal excitation is used with
ACPMs, eliminating the torque ripple
caused by commutation. ACPMs are
typically fed by voltage source inverters which cause time-dependent harmonics on the air gap flux. PM synchronous motors can be realized with
either embedded or surface mounted
magnets on the rotor and the location
of the magnets can have a significant
effect on motor mechanical and electrical characteristics, especially on
the inductances of the machine.
Continued
Azeri Tower in Baku, Azerbaijan, supplied by
Kinetek
• Issue 4, Volume 4 • elevatorworldindia.com
37 Permanent-Magnet Gearless Machines
Kinetek ACPM Technology
Continued
Improving Elevator Efficiency
The use of a PM allows for design
flexibility. The result is a more compact, efficient, high-torque, lowspeed machine ideal for gearless lift
applications. With a conventional induction machine, there are limitations on reducing physical size because the power factor and efficiency
rapidly decrease as the number of
poles increases. Because they do not
require exciting current, PM motors
deliver higher efficiency and faster response speeds. Furthermore, PM motors maintain their high efficiency regardless of the number of poles.
Characteristic
Kinetek motor in Bhavan Metro in New Delhi.
Machine type: SWTY2-1150-200; capacity: 1150
kg; speed: 2 mps; roping: 1:1; protection class:
IP-55; and floors/landings: B1, B2, and G+8
38 Induction Motor
Speed
Constant, independent
of load
Speed decreases as load
increases
Power factor
Power factor
Adjustable PF in
electromagnetically
excited motors. Operation
at PF=1 is possible
Not possible to change the PF
(except for inverter-fed motors)
PF ≈ 0.8…0.9 at rated load,
PF ≈ 0.1 at no load
Nonferromagnetic air
gap
Large, from a fraction of
mm to a few cm
Small, from a fraction of 1 mm to
3 mm (maximum)
Torque-voltage
characteristic
Torque directly
proportional to input
voltage. Better starting
performance than an
induction motor
Torque directly proportional to
the input voltage squared
Price
More expensive but more
than offset by efficiency
savings
Less expensive initially but far
more expensive over time
Kinetek
Kinetek De Sheng is a global technology manufacturer with design and
manufacturing facilities in North
America, Europe and Asia. Imperial
Electric, a Kinetek company, has
more than 100 years of experience in
motor design and has been a practitioner of ACPM technology of appli-
ACPM Motor
Table 1: A comparison between ACPM and induction motors
cations in various industries over the
past 50 years. As one of the leaders of
incorporating ACPM gearless technology into the elevator industry, Imperial Electric is among the first companies to make ACPM gearless
machines available for independents
in the U.S., and now has installations
capable of speeds up to 5 mps and a
capacity of 8,000 lbs. With the close
collaboration of Imperial Electric, Kinetek inherited the ACPM gearless
technology that is field approved in
North America, and expanded the
range that is now mass produced for
the global market in a more than
1,000,000-sq.-ft. ISO 9000-certified
facility in Shunde, China. Kinetek utilizes the latest design tools, including
electromagnetic design and optimization software-Ansoft, and finite el-
ELEVATOR WORLD India • 4th Quarter 2011•
ement analysis software coupled
with the Kaizen (continuous improvement) philosophy of total cycle
time management, employee involvement and quality management.
Overall, Kinetek strives to conserve
energy with its ACPM gearless product line.

Nashvinder Singh is the
manager of Sales, Technical
Support and Business
Development at Kinetek
(USA) in India. Singh
started his career working for Motion Control
Engineering (a Kinetic
company). He received a Bachelor’s degree in
Electrical Engineering (Economics) from Kakatiya
University, and an MSc (Information Technology)
from Punjab Technical University.
V Intr
D o
oo du
r O ci
pe ng
ra
to
rs
M
G
WORLD CLASS
GMV Door Operators
Conforming to EN Standards
2 PANEL CENTER OPENING
Cost Effective
Products & Spares
Easy to Install
Easy to Maintain
2 PANEL TELESCOPIC
24 Months Warranty
Lift Systems (India) Pvt. Ltd.
( A J o i n t Ve n t u r e w i t h G M V - I t a l y )
World Leaders in Hydraulics & Doors for Lifts
1311, Navjivan Society, Bldg. No.3, Lamington Road, Mumbai - 400 008 (India).
Tel : 91-22-2307 3073 / 2307 5666. Fax : 91-22-2308 0025.
e-mail : sales@liftsystems.co.in
Website : www.liftsystems.co.in
www.gmv.it
Otis Permanent-Magnet
submitted by Otis Elevator Co.
For more than a decade, Otis has offered its energy-efficient Gen2® elevator, which features a permanent-magnet (PM) gearless machine. Initially
popular in Europe and Asia, the Gen2
elevator has become the fastest selling
product in the company’s history, with
more than 200,000 units sold worldwide. Environmentally friendly Gen2
elevators set new standards for performance, reliability, design flexibility and
comfort, while reducing costs and energy usage throughout their lifecycle.
As a result, Otis is expanding the duty
and range of its Gen2 elevator system,
as well as other products with PM gearless machines, in an effort to provide
building developers and owners
throughout the world the benefits of
size- and energy-efficiency. PM machines help make this possible.
More Compact, More Efficient
The first gearless machines used direct-current (DC) motors with the
Ward-Leonard system. This allowed for
variable speeds with a constant line
frequency, but required maintenanceintensive brushes and commutators.
Modern power electronics allowed the
use of alternating-current (AC) motors
(induction and PM) by giving manufacturers the ability to control the frequency into the motor and the motor’s
speed. PM motors are now possible because of advances in rare earthmagnet technology. The high-performance rare earth magnets typically
used in today’s elevator machines are
small, yet able to store a significant
amount of useable energy. With the application of magnets, the armature field
required to spin the motor can be generated efficiently and cost-effectively.
Thus, the main benefits of PM motors
are reduced energy consumption and
smaller size.
Gen2
40 ELEVATOR WORLD India • 4th Quarter 2011•
Permanent-Magnet Gearless Machines
Gearless Machines
grid where it can be used to power
other building systems, such as
lighting. In this way, ReGen drives
reduce energy consumption by up
to 75% compared to conventional
elevators.
ReGen drives also produce “clean
power,” which dramatically reduces
the harmonic distortion of the incoming line current, resulting in
less pollution of the building’s electrical power system, helping to protect sensitive building equipment.
The ReGen drives’ robust design
can withstand significant voltage
fluctuations and can operate with
all standard voltages from 170-528
V, making the drives an ideal choice
for a broad range of applications.
In addition to a PM machine, the line
of Gen2 elevators utilizes patented, flat,
polyurethane coated steel belts that require no additional lubrication, eliminating the need for storage, cleanup and
disposal of hazardous waste. Flexible
belts also enable the Gen2 system to use
a smaller sheave, which allows for a
machine that is 70% smaller. A more
compact, energy-efficient machine frees
up valuable building space and reduces
operating costs.
Best-in-Class Performance
Otis’ Gen2 elevators reduce energy
consumption by up to 50% compared to
conventional systems. Verein Deutscher
Ingenieure VDI (The Association of German Engineers) established its 4707
standards to assess elevator energy performance by taking into account factors
such as load, speed, frequency of use
and travel height – both during travel
and standby modes. Under these standards, the combined energy-efficiency
rating across the full range of Gen2 systems with standard configurations is
class A, the highest rating possible.
Conserving Resources
ReGen
Expanding Efficiency
A conventional elevator system consists of a car, a machine and a counterweight. The counterweight is designed to balance the weight of a half-loaded car. As a
result, the counterweight is heavier than an empty or
lightly loaded car, but lighter than a heavily or fully loaded
one. This difference enables the elevator to utilize gravity
to travel up with a light load or descend with a heavy load.
When the car utilizes gravity, the machine creates electricity just like a generator. In conventional systems, the
electricity generated by the machine is wasted. It is fed
back through the elevator electrical system and dissipated
as heat through resistors, creating waste-heat loads in the
building. Otis’ ReGen™ drives conserve this energy and
put it to work.
When combined with PM gearless machines, ReGen
drives feed the energy back into the building’s electrical
PM gearless machines help to
limit the impact on already overburdened infrastructures and make
buildings as energy-efficient as possible. Otis recently announced the
expansion of its existing elevator
factory in Bangalore, India. Once
completed in spring 2012, the expanded facility will produce quality PM machine elevators, while conserving the
country’s valuable resources.
Well-Known Installations
Otis PM machines and Gen2 elevators are often the
products of choice for customers engaged in sustainable
building initiatives. In India, Otis was recently selected to
provide 16 escalators and 47 elevators, including six Gen2
elevators, to Kohinoor Square (ELEVATOR WORLD India,
Second Quarter 2011). In Mumbai, Kohinoor Square will
include one of India’s tallest office buildings and is currently pursuing Leadership in Energy and Environmental
Design® (LEED) India Platinum certification from the Indian
Green Building Council. Otis also provided energy-efficient
elevators to Kohinoor Hospital in Kohinoor City, India, one
of the first hospitals in Asia and only the second hospital
in the world to receive LEED Platinum certification.

• Issue 4, Volume 4 • elevatorworldindia.com
41 Permanent-Magnet Gearless Machines
No One Is Perfect,
but Technology Is
by Akash Srivastava
Today, there are few people unfamiliar with the
meaning of “going green.” The term has picked up
steam during the last decade and will continue to
gain momentum in the years to come. With global
warming, the depletion of the ozone layer and the
disappearance of many plant and animal species
on the rise, it is time to take a stand.
Elevators are no longer just viewed as a means
for vertical transport; in fact, the design and
aesthetics play a very important role in rounding up an overall customer experience.
It is difficult to ignore the abundance of advertisements touting the importance of going green.
Businesses have embraced it as a marketing strategy to convince consumers that they care about the
environment. However, it is about more than just
good business sense. There are benefits to going
green that reach beyond a marketing strategy, such
as cost savings, environmental benefits and overall
economic benefits. More importantly, the first step
in going green and accepting the change is to become aware of how decisions by individuals affect
the world. Most people want to conserve the environment, while balancing it with a comfortable lifestyle.
Schindler India recognizes the changing landscape and is proactively attempting to implement a
green concept across its product strategies with
long-term growth plans. The company uses all of
its products, including the recently launched
Schindler 3100 IN, and continuous R&D efforts as
examples. Uday Kulkarni, managing director,
Schindler India, comments:
“Expectations today have increased manifold. Elevators are no longer just viewed as a means for
vertical transport; in fact, the design and aesthetics
play a very important role in rounding up an overall customer experience. Also, slowly but gradually,
more and more people are [hoping] that even a
green elevator [would be] available at affordable
prices. [The] Schindler 3300 IN and Schindler 3100
IN are perfect examples of blending cutting-edge
technology with contemporary designs.”
Schindler has long advocated the use of gearless
technology in elevators, which increases energy efficiency and makes a green-driven elevator an affordable vertical-transportation solution. Kulkarni
adds:
“Our focus has always been to follow the path
[that] brings [the] best quality at [a] good price. We
pioneered gearless technology [and the] machineroom-less concept, with a special focus on general
safety. Schindler’s current product portfolio and all
our future products bear a testimony to our commitment.”
The world and the industry have both come a
long way. Few of the industry’s leaders are aware
that as a technological leader and an international
brand, it is their responsibility to pioneer and promote the concept, and ensure that the world is a
better place in which to live.

Akash Srivastava is Marketing manager at Schindler India, Pvt., Ltd.
42 ELEVATOR WORLD India • 4th Quarter 2011•