The elevator car is an important load-carrying unit of the elevator, so any damage to the car parts can cause unsafety for the user, especially for passenger elevator. To eliminate the risks of insufficient strength, each elevator is inspected and tested with load equal to 125% of its nominal load before being put into service. However, load testing in-situ can only detect damage related to the static strength, fatigue hazards are difficult to be detected because fatigue accumulation occurs very slowly and depending on the stress time history. In practice, elevator structural elements are usually calculated in terms of its static strength, with a factor of safety taken higher than those of other structures without regard to fatigue strength. This paper presents the research results related to the calculation of fatigue life of elevator car frame through simulated stress time history by numerical method. By this way, the fatigue life of elevator car frame can be forecasted even at design stage.
