World's tallest skyscrapers set to DOUBLE in height after elevator company develops new super-strong 'rope' to haul lifts to the top
- Carbon fibre rope is hailed as 'Holy Grail' of skyscraper engineering
- The ropes are much lighter than the steel cables now used in lift shafts
- Creators says they will save energy and make buildings cheaper
A technological 'revolutionary breakthrough' that promises to more than double the height of the world's tallest skyscrapers has been made by elevator researchers.
The development of a super-strong carbon fibre rope is expected to revolutionise lift construction in skyscrapers by replacing the steel cables used in buildings today.
The rope, invented by Finnish elevator company Kone, could extend the length of a single lift shaft beyond a kilometre – which is further than the tallest building standing today, the 2,716 feet (828m) Burj Khalifa in Dubai.
A carbon fibre rope developed for lifts has the potential to make the dream of a mile-high building a reality. It is much lighter than the steel cables currently used in lifts which should allow elevator shafts to be longer
It has, it is claimed, the potential to transform skylines around the world and, by building upwards, create living space for the world's burgeoning and increasingly urban population.
Antony Wood, an architect and the executive director of the Council for Tall Buildings and Urban Habitat, was enthusiastic about the development.
'This is finally a breakthrough on one of the 'holy grail' limiting factors of tall buildings – that is, the height to which a single elevator could operate before the weight of the steel rope becomes unsupportable over that height,' he said.
'So it is not an exaggeration to say that this is revolutionary. However, it is not just the enablement of greater height that is beneficial – the greater energy and material efficiencies that are of equal value.
'What's exciting to me is the efficiency that the UltraRope enables, not just the height.'
Architects dreaming of designing vast skyscrapers today find their ambitions severely hampered by the weight of the steel cables used to raise and lower the lifts that are essential if people are to get anywhere near the top.
The Burj Khalifa (left) in Dubai is, at 2,716 feet high, is the tallest building in the world and dwarfs the Empire State Building which when it was completed in 1931 soared to a record 1,250 feet. But the development of a carbon fibre rope means both could be dwarfed by skyscrapers of the future
Kone's carbon fibre rope, called UltraRope, is said to match the strength of steel cables while being much lighter.
As buildings get taller, more steel cable has to be used to haul up the lifts – and lower them again safely.
But in a 1,640 feet (500m) shaft up to three-quarters of the energy needed to move an elevator is expended on the weight on the cables themselves.
Old-style lift shafts have steel cables to stop the elevator plunging to the bottom but a new carbon fibre rope has been created that could replace them. Carbon fibre is much lighter than steel which means much longer lift shafts can be built, extending the potential height of skyscrapers. The carbon fibre ropes also promise to use considerable less energy to operate than the steel
A 1,640 feet shaft is also the maximum considered effective today and if they were made much longer the steel cables would get to the point where they snapped under their own weight.
The carbon fibre rope, its makers claim, can reduce the weight of the cabling by about 90 per cent.
In a 1,312 feet (400m) shaft the weight of steel cables is almost 19 tonnes but Johannes de Jong, Kone's Director of products and technology, said the carbon fibre rope would be little more than 10 tonnes.
Skylines around the world could be radically altered by the breakthrough in lift technology. Nearly 600 buildings worldwide of 650 feet or more are already being planned and the carbon fibre rope is forecast to make it easier to build tall buildings
Weight and steel's limited ability to bend means the energy required to operate an elevator rises exponentially with height.
The carbon fibre rope, a tall buildings conference on London was told earlier this month, greatly reduces the energy requirements.
In a ten-elevator building rising 2,099 feet (640m0 the weight of steel ropes required would be 186.5 tonnes and the energy needed to operate the lifts would be 1,180 MWh.
Elisha Otis caused a sensation in 1853 at the World Trade Fair in New York with his safety elevator. He ordered the rope holding it up to be cut and instead of plunging to the ground it was halted by an automatic braking system.
By comparison, the new rope for the same building would weigh 11.7 tonnes and would need just 1.050 MWh.
Mr de Jong said UltraRope is made up of four bands of carbon-fibre encased in a custom Epoxy coating that increases friction and reduces slippage.
The new elevator rope, which was developed at the Finnish company's test lab located in a 1.90 feet (333m) mine, is also designed to be resistant to wear and abrasion, reducing repair costs and the time spend out of service.
ELISHA OTIS
In 1853 at the World Trade Fair in New York, Elisha Otis demonstrated how falling lifts could be halted by an automatic brake.
He astounded crowds by ordering the rope holding the platform he was standing on to be cut but instead of falling to his death the elevator shuddered to a stop.
The invention meant that the height of buildings was no longer determined by how many stairs a person was willing to climb.
Four years later the Otis Elevator Company began making passenger elevators. The first public elevator was installed in a Manhattan department store.
Kone chief executive Matti Alahuhta declared: 'We are on the brink of something big.
'We are proud to introduce this innovation that we are certain will revolutionize the elevator industry for the tallest segment of buildings across the globe.
'The benefits of KONE UltraRope versus conventional elevator hoisting technologies are numerous and indisputable.'
'We are proud to introduce this innovation that we are certain will revolutionize the elevator industry for the tallest segment of buildings across the globe.'
Tom Dyckhoff, Architecture critic and broadcaster, added: 'Architecture is both a science and an art. It's always made the biggest leaps when advances in either propel the other forward.
'This leap in technology lays down the gauntlet to which the art of architecture must now respond. I can't wait!'
Almost 600 buildings of 650-feet (200m) or more are already under construction or ready to be built.
The United nations estimates that by 2050 seven out of ten people on the planet will live in cities, and high-rise buildings are seen as one way of coping with increasing demand for housing and office space.
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