Friction Emergency Arresting System for Elevators and Hoists

For more than ten years the causes and the consequences of the disastrous break downs in Polish mine shafts have been analysed. The most frequent reason for those break downs have been overwinds. This has given a stimulus for some works at the University of Mining and Metallurgy in Kraków which eventually led to the development of a friction emergency arresting system. The works leading to the development included all the steps of a research process namely theoretical analysis, laboratory tests, development of the structure and tests in situ, i.e. at a hoist in operation. The authors believe that the test results are very interesting and could also be of interest for many designers and users of elevators.