Acoustic Solutions for Lifts with Pyrotek

Pyrotek & Sylomer help Mitsubishi Elevators

A Noisy Problem

Mitsubishi elevators (lifts) are known as 'quality in motion'. But if that motion causes unwanted vibration, there's a problem.

Such a problem occurred in a new 20-storey residential tower in downtown Taipei City, Taiwan.

Vibration from the motor driving four lifts was causing significant structure-borne noise. This noise transferred through walls and into living units whenever the lifts were running. Which was often.

The problem was extremely noticeable on the upper levels of the building, including the most expensive dwelling. At US$14,000/m2 of living space, we're talking high end. The residents of this building expected the trappings of wealth, and chief among these was peace and quiet.

They and many other residents had complained loudly to Mitsubishi about the effect of lift noise on their sleep and quality of life. Mitsubishi had to act.

In accord with common industry practice, the lift's original design relied on straight rubber to isolate the motor from its mount, but this material didn't adequately handle the vibration in this case.

Mitsubishi spent substantial time and money to remediate the problem. In the process, they tried two other kinds of rubber isolator, but neither worked. A more technologically advanced solution was required.

And so in April 2011, Mitsubishi called Pyrotek's Noise Control Manager in Taiwan - Dollars Wang. Sensing a technical challenge, Dollars summoned his top acoustic consultant Dr Lu Wei-Yu. He also contacted Michael Kierzkowski, Pyrotek's Product Development Manager in Melbourne, Australia.

At Pyrotek, our sound and vibration experts know how to treat a whole problem not just part of it - resulting in the best possible noise reduction. As vibration is a constant issue in building, transport and marine applications, the isolation of motors, shakers, pumps and structures is one of our great strengths.

A Modern Solution

Mitsubishi's brief was to provide good isolation from 50 to 160 Hz. Dr Lu's careful noise and vibration tests gave a peak frequency of 320 to 400 Hz.

This meant we needed an isolator material that would flex at low loads, but remain strong at high loads.

Sylomer was selected from our extensive range of vibration damping products.

This elastic polyurethane material deforms under tension and compression loads, but always returns to its original form. Having used Sylomer products many times, we've found them a reliable way to isolate and reduce vibrations that negatively impact people, materials and environments.

Sylomer is more expensive than rubber, until you factor the cost of replacing poorly performing rubber with this better, more modern solution. While rubber serves well as a general multipurpose isolator, it lacks precision of design when a particular solution is required.

Sylomer is a tailored solution which takes into account the problem frequencies and loads the material is exposed to. This makes it a superior product in any application where an optimum performing isolator is required. We therefore replaced the plain rubber isolation mounts with Sylomer SR1200.

This extraordinary product did the trick - as the noise report below clearly shows.

SR1200 is Sylomer's highest grade in terms of load capacity. Used in the most extreme environments, it can handle up to 1.2 N/mm2. Being familiar with all ten Sylomer grades made it easy to choose the right one quickly.

Excellent Results All Round

Mitsubishi is delighted with the results we achieved. As are the building tenants!

Working as a team, we solved a tricky problem. In so doing, we showed that Pyrotek:

• Happily summons specialist help when necessary.
• Has expert knowledge to choose correct materials.
• Is a technical company that provides solutions, as well as materials.

As cities get denser, towers get higher and space gets more expensive, the acoustic performance of lifts will be thrown into high relief. Dedicated isolation materials like Sylomer will come to the fore.

If the pressure to use cheaper materials and thinner walls proves irresistible to some developers and architects, we can expect more sound problems of this nature to occur.

And while it's far better to design and specify elevator systems for quiet running, Pyrotek is always ready to remediate problems that surface after construction.

So, whether you want to:

• maximise the value of a residential or commercial space,
• keep your tenants happy or
• simply enjoy a better night's sleep yourself, we can help.