{"id":1369,"date":"2019-08-14T09:36:36","date_gmt":"2019-08-14T07:36:36","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/update.phoenixcontact.com\/?p=1369"},"modified":"2020-02-17T10:03:36","modified_gmt":"2020-02-17T09:03:36","slug":"tower-building-at-rottweil","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/update.phoenixcontact.com\/en\/tower-building-at-rottweil\/","title":{"rendered":"Tower building at Rottweil"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Most people think of mobility as being horizontal. However, vertical<\/em> motion is also a technological challenge. In the Swabian town of Rottweil in Germany, this has even resulted in the construction of an architectural highlight.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Rottweil calls itself the \u201cCity of Towers\u201d. The small town between the Black Forest and the Swabian Alb mountains was built by the Romans, who first brought their technology which was highly advanced at the time, to the wilds of Germania around 2,000 years ago.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The medieval backdrop looking over the Neckar River has hardly changed since the 16th century. Now, however, Rottweil has become even richer with the addition of a very special attraction. The elevator division of thyssenkrupp, thyssenkrupp Elevator<\/a>, has built a unique test tower here<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Thyssen Krupp is the global market leader in the field of elevator systems. With sales of \u20ac 7.5 billion
in the 2017\/2018 financial year and customers in 150 countries, the company has established itself
as one of the leading elevator manufacturers in the world since its market launch 40 years ago.
Before construction of the test tower could begin, there was a comprehensive search for a suitable location because the giant requires particularly solid ground. At the same time, however, it had to be close to the Neuhausen production facility. Another restriction was that it was not to be built too close to Stuttgart Airport. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Ultimately, Rottweil proved to be ideal, not least because of the surrounding universities and high concentration of specialists. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

240-tonne pendulum counters the wind<\/h4>\n\n\n\n

First, the 30 meter deep foundation pit was constructed. The race to the skies began in March. The test tower grew skywards by 3.60 meters per day. This was only possible thanks to the innovative slipforming construction method. The proud builders celebrated the topping-out ceremony just a few months later, in July 2015.
The interior construction with intermediate mezzanine ceilings and a 240-tonne pendulum, as well as the innovative exterior siding, were completed by 2017. The pendulum is a vibration absorber that actively balances the forces of the wind that pulls on the tower. This concrete weight hangs from a 9-meter long cable. It can be actively moved via two linear motors, thus compensating for and reducing the structural movements caused by the wind. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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This function is supported by the eye-catching outer siding of the test tower, which is made of semi-transparent, Teflon-coated polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE) glass fiber webbing that spirals upward. The webbing, which covers more than 17,000 square meters, is mounted on a steel substructure. The white outer shell not only serves to insulate the tower, but also to absorb additional wind forces that are dissipated by the spiral.
The elevators inside are coupled to a power recovery system, which works more effectively the more the elevator cars are loaded. Up to 30 percent of the energy used is recovered in this way. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Into the abyss without cables<\/h4>\n\n\n\n

Elevators are tested at speeds of up to 18 meters per second. An elevation of 90 meters is needed just to reach this maximum speed. Among other things, thyssenkrupp Elevator is testing the occupancy of one elevator shaft with two cars, and is developing a cable-free elevator system that is similar to a maglev train and enables the cabins to speed through the elevator shaft.<\/p>\n\n\n\n