This paper presents the results of forced wear simulation of the friction lift guide rails. The forced wear in the case discussed is an effect of plastic strain of the guide rail surface due to emergency braking of the lift. For the purpose of qualitative and quantitative assessment of wear, the authors applied the numerical simulation of a stray magnetic field. Application of this method allowed evaluating the degree of wear based on the stray field changes. Application of this simulation method allowed obtaining satisfactory results of qualitative and quantitative assessment of the guide rail wear. The intention of this paper was to prove that the permanent magnetic field and the stray field can be applied for the efficient detection of the steel guide rail damages and to verify the possibility of making the quantitative assessment related to the guide rail wear degree versus the personal lift service life.

The paper describes the process of a prototype head optimisation for magnetic diagnostics of steel-polyurethane load-carrying belts. The prototype, validated on a number of cranes, was subject to an improvement and optimisation attempt using numerical analysis of magnetic field distribution in the magnetic circuit, tested load-carrying belt, and environment. The analysis was carried out in the ANSYS environment using PDS—Probabilistic Design System tools (DOE—Design of Experiment). Taking the dimensions of individual elements of the magnetic circuit, material densities, and magnetic material properties as the input data, the magnetic circuit was optimised with respect to metrological properties as well as mass and size criteria. Based on the analyses carried out and the results obtained, the head design was modernised, which involved changing the geometry of elements forming the magnetic circuit. Based on observations made during tests of the prototype version of the device performed on real objects, several improvements were also proposed, consisting of the replacement of selected components with elements printed in the FDM technology. The correctness of the performed numerical analyses was verified by comparing the measured and calculated values of the total magnetic field induction in the defined plane of the magnetic circuit. The prototype versions of heads before and after modernisation were subject to comparative tests. Under laboratory conditions, both versions of heads were used to diagnose the steel-polyurethane load-carrying belts with modelled damages. The obtained test results and their statistical characteristics were analysed in detail.

The study outlines a new approach to lift energy efficiency classification based on a heuristic estimator using the energy performance parameters of a lift installation registered over its weekly duty cycle. Due to the fact that evaluations of the energy performance by commonly applied methods involve a number of variables and complex nonlinear dependencies, the expert model is developed using the fuzzy logic approach. The underlying objectives are defined alongside the energy performance and operating parameters of a lift installation during the ride and in the standby mode. The estimator is based on the operational equipment effectiveness for each mode of lift operation and membership functions (model input and output) are defined. The method was verified by measurements taken on a real object. This study summarises the measurement results and lift energy classification data obtained by the new method, the final results are presented in figures illustrating the energy efficiency variations in the running mode and as the average energy efficiency ratings on each day and over the whole week.

The systems that monitor individual components of machines and devices are under constant development. The ability to detect damages at an early stage allows failures to be prevented, so any uncontrolled downtime can be predicted in a controlled manner. Continuous monitoring of technical condition is an activity that also helps to reduce the losses due to equipment failures. However, not all areas can be monitored continuously. Such areas include lift guides where wear and tear can occur naturally, i.e. through abrasion of the material layer due to interaction with moving guide shoes or after emergency braking. Emergency braking causes local damages to the guide through plastic deformation of its surface resulting from indentation of the knurled roller of the brake. Such places are cleaned mechanically, which results in local reduction of the cross-sectional area. In such a case, it is difficult to continuously assess the technical condition of guides due to the prevailing operating conditions. Therefore, a concept of a head enabling assessment of the technical condition of guides at every stage of their operation has been developed. This article presents the novel concept of a magnetic head used for assessing the technical condition of lift guide rails that are the running track of lifting equipment. The initial tests were performed on the original test setup. The concept of the developed measuring head was verified for correct operation on specially prepared flat bars with holes. The results obtained in the form of laboratory tests proved that the proposed measuring head concept can be applied to the measurements under real conditions.

This article presents the results of the structure optimization for the power unit carrying frame of a friction lift by means of numerical calculations using the finite element method (FEM). Optimization analysis covered the frame structure. The analysis was focused on strength optimization with the use of a remote load and on manufacturing optimization with attention paid to the operating times necessary to complete the production process of the carrying frame subassemblies. The Solidworks simulation program was used to optimize the frame in terms of the strength criterion. The program allowed both quantitative and qualitative assessments of the frame material effort before and after optimization.