Study on Compressive Deformation of Escalator Truss During Earthquakes Considering Large Deformation

Four fall accidents of escalators occurred utilized in three shopping centers during Greatest East Japan Earthquake in 2011.Based on the fall accidents, the quake-resistance standard of the escalator was reviewed in Japan. In the new quake-resistance standard, inter-story deflection assumed during earthquakes was set larger than before. It is conceivable that an existing escalator receives compressive load from a building. Therefore, it is necessary to investigate how the escalator truss behaves due to compressive load. From the above background, this study builds a model of the escalator truss that is subjected to compressive load based on results of a compression experiment of the escalator trusses of actual machine size. Elasto-plastic analysis was performed using the finite element method, and the state of deformation during compression was confirmed. The effectiveness of the analysis model was compared with the compression experiment of the escalator truss of the actual size. It is considered that the analytical model can reproduce the trend of the load-displacement curve.