ESCALATORS

(BUILDING SERVICES)

SUBMITTED BY:
17602 DHANANJAY SOOD
17604 GURSHARAN SINGH
17622 MANSI TANJILA
17636 YAMINI HARIMOHAN
17642 JAHNAVI KONA
INTRODUCTION
• An escalator is a moving staircase which carries people between floors of a
building.
• Escalators have the capacity to move large numbers of people. They can be placed
in the same physical space as a staircase.
• Escalators typically rise at an angle of about 30 degrees from the ground. They
move at 0.3–0.6 meters (1–2 ft) per second.
• DESIGN OBJECTIVE
• FREE FLOW OF PEOPLE AND GOODS .
• SAFE OPERATION,COMFORT AND SERVICE .
• OCCUPY MINIIMUM SPACE AND REQUIRE LESS COSTS.
• AESTHETICS ,DISABLED ACCESS,ETC
TYPES
• PARALLEL
• up and down escalators “side by side or separated by
a distance”, seen often in metro situations and
multilevel motion picture theaters.

• CRISCROSS
• minimizes structural space requirements by
“stacking” escalators that go in one direction,
frequently used in department stores or shopping
centers.

• MULTIPLE PARALLEL
• two or more escalators together that travel in one
direction next to one one or two escalators in the
same bank that travel in the other direction.
 MOVING WALK WAYS
It is a slow moving conveyor mechanism
that transports people across a
horizontal or inclined plane over a
short to medium distance. Moving
walkways can be used by standing or
walking on them. 
CHARACTERISTIC
A number of factors affect escalator design, including physical requirements,
location, traffic patterns, safety considerations, and aesthetic preferences.

Foremost, physical factors like the vertical and horizontal distance to be spanned
must be considered.

These factors will determine the length and pitch of the escalator.

The building infrastructure must be able to support the heavy components.

The escalator should be located where it can be easily seen by the general public.

Furthermore, up and down escalator traffic should be physically separated and

should not lead into confined spaces.
• Factors
• Most escalators are designed with 1000mm wide steps which allow passengers to
move comfortably when carrying luggage and shopping bags.
• 600mm and 800mm wide steps are also available and generally used in low traffic
areas.
• Standard transportation speed ranges between 0.5 to 0.6m/s
• For a speed of 0.5m/s the theoretical capacity is :
• 600mm step width -4500 persons per hour
• 800mm step width-6750 persons per hour
• 1000mm step width-9000 person/hour
• Whenever possible its best to install two or more parallel sets of escalator.
PARTS OF ESCALATOR
LANDING PLATFORMS:
• Landing platforms are the two platforms that house the curved sections of
the tracks, as well as the gears and motors that drive the stairs.
STEPS
• The steps themselves are solid, one piece, die-cast aluminium or steel.
LANDING
• Yellow demarcation lines are sometimes added to indicate their edges . PLATFORM

TRUSS
• The truss is the hollow metal structure that bridges the lower and upper landings,
composed of two side sections joined together with cross braces across the bottom TRUSS
and just below the top.
BALUSTRADE
• Made of either metal, sandwich panel, or glass, the balustrade supports the
handrails of the escalator.
TRACKS LANDING
• The track system is built into the truss to guide the step chain. PLATFORM

HANDRAIL
• The handrail provides a handhold for passengers while they are riding the escalator.
 LANDING PLATFORMS
• An escalator consists of top and bottom landing platforms connected by a metal
truss.

Top Platform :
The top platform contains
the motor assembly and the
main drive gear.

Bottom Platform :
The bottom platform
holds the step return
idler sprockets.
Platforms contain floor plate and comb plate.
Comb plate
The comb plate is the piece between the stationary floor
plate and the moving step.
It is so named because its edge has a series of cleats that
resemble the teeth of a comb.
These teeth mesh with matching cleats on the edges of
the steps.
This design is necessary to minimize the gap between the
stair and the landing, which helps prevent objects from
getting caught in the gap.

Floor plate Comb plate

The floor plate provides a place for the
passengers to stand before they step onto the
moving stairs.
This plate is flush with the finished floor and is
either hinged or removable to allow easy access
to the machinery below.
Floor plate
 Truss
The escalator truss is the structural frame of the escalator and consists of three major areas: 
• Lower section, 
UPPER SECTION
• Incline section
• Upper section.

• It is a hollow metal structure that bridges the

lower and upper landings.
• It is composed of two side sections joined
together with cross braces across the bottom
and just below the top. 
• The ends of the truss are attached to the top
and bottom landing platforms via steel or
concrete supports.
• The truss carries all the straight track sections
connecting the upper and lower sections.
• The entire structure is rigid enough to
maintain close operating tolerances but will
allow for building shift and vibration because LOWER SECTION INCLINE SECTION
of a built-in system of shift- plates and Teflon
pads. 
 Track
• The track system is built into the truss to guide the step chain, which continuously pulls the steps from
the bottom platform and back to the top in an endless loop.
• There are actually two tracks: 
One for the front wheels of the steps (called the step wheel track).
One for the back wheels of the steps (called the trailer-wheel track). 
• The relative positions of these tracks cause the steps to form a staircase as they move out from under
the comb plate.
• Along the straight section of the truss, the tracks are at their maximum distance apart.
• The tracks carry the steps down along the underside of the truss until they reach the bottom landing,
where they pass through another curved section of track before exiting the bottom landing.
• At this point, the tracks separate and the steps once again assume a staircase configuration.

STEP WHEEL
TRACK

TRAILER WHEEL TRACK

 Steps
• The steps are solid, one piece, die-cast aluminum or
steel.
• The steps are linked by a continuous metal chain that
forms a closed loop.
• The front and back edges of the steps are each connected
to two wheels.
• The rear wheels are set further apart to fit into the back
track and the front wheels have shorter axles to fit into
the narrower front track.
Handrail
• The Handrail provides a convenient
handhold for passengers while they are
riding the escalator. In an escalator, the
handrail is pulled along its track by a chain
that is connected to the main drive gear by
a series of pulleys.
Balustrade
• The Balustrade consists of the handrail and the exterior supporting structure of the escalator. It
is the escalator exterior components extending above the steps and it supports the handrail. It
is either designed as Interior Low-deck or Interior High-deck. 

The balustrade may also refer to the individual interior panels, skirt panels, and deck covers of
the escalator. Each interior balustrade panel section is individually removable to allow easy
access to the escalator interior for cleaning, maintenance, and component replacement.
Drive System
• An escalator drive system includes the following components :
• Drive Machine and Gear Reducer. -The Drive machine together with the gear reducer provides
the torque to drive the step band at a constant speed
• The Step Drive System-The variation on how these two systems are combined is dependent upon
the type of escalator. The Drive Machine used to drive the pinion gear or the main drive chain
may directly or indirectly drive the Handrail Drive System
• The Handrail Drive System-The step motion is achieved by a direct step assembly connection to
the step chain. 
Auto lubrication system
• The escalators have an Automatic Lubrication System that supplies oil to lubricate
the main drive chain, step chain, and the handrail drive chains. Oil flow rate is
adjustable by setting the automatic timer control “off” and “on” periods to supply
more or less lubrication.
Braking system
• The braking systems on an escalator utilize three
different braking methods as follows: 
The Machine Brake.
• The drive shaft brake system.
• The Main Drive Shaft Brake.

Safety device
Escalator systems are provided with many safety
devices that will automatically stop the escalator by
cutting electrical power to the motor and applying
the brake if a problem occurs. When a safety
device stops the escalator, the problem must be
corrected and the fault cleared before restarting the
system. 
 CONSIDERATIONS FOR ESCALATOR
A NUMBER OF FACTORS MUST BE CONSIDERED:
• PHYSICAL FACTORS
• LOCATION
• TRAFFIC PATTERNS
• SAFETY CONSIDERATIONS
• AESTHETIC PREFERENCES
• Foremost, physical factors like the vertical and horizontal distance to be spanned must be considered. These factors will
determine the length and pitch of the escalator.
• The building infrastructure must be able to support the heavy components. The escalator should be located where it can
be easily seen by the general public
• . In department stores, customers should be able to view the merchandise easily. Furthermore, up and down escalator
traffic should be physically separated and should not lead into confined spaces.
• Traffic patterns must also be anticipated. In some buildings, the objective is simply to move people from one floor to
another, but in others there may be a more specific requirement, such as funneling visitors towards a main exit or
exhibit. The escalators must be designed to carry the required number of passengers.
Escalator step widths and energy usage
Width (between Single-step Energy
Size Applications
balustrade panels) capacity consumption

A rare historic
One passenger, design found
Very small 400 mm (16 in) 3.7 kW (5.0 hp)
with feet together mostly in older
department stores

Low-volume sites,
uppermost levels of
Small 600 mm (24 in) One passenger department stores, 3.7 kW (5.0 hp)
when space is
limited

One passenger + Shopping malls,

Medium 800 mm (31 in) one package or one department stores, 7.5 kW (10.1 hp)
piece of luggage smaller airports
Mainstay of metro
Two passengers – systems, larger
Large 1,000 mm (39 in) one may walk past airports, train 7.5 kW (10.1 hp)
another stations, some
retail usage
ADVANTAGES
• It helps to carry a large number of people simultaneously.
• People do not have to wait for escalators, hence, reducing the crowd.
• It is helpful for the people with disabilities.
• There speed can be adjusted, which is helpful for channelizing the crowd.
• They can also be used as staircase when turned off.

DISADVANTAGES:
• Waste of energy when not in use
• Possible injuries when stopped suddenly
• Source of fear for small children.