The flow that occurs during the movement of an elevator cabin in the shaft of a high-rise building from the -4th to the 58th floor is considered. The moving elevator cabin works like a piston and pushes air in front of it out of the shaft and draws air into the shaft behind it. This effect is especially significant in high-rise buildings, which are characterized by a high speed of elevator cabins movement. The STAR-CCM+ software was used as a research method. To simulate the non-stationary problem of the elevator cabin movement, the technology of sliding meshes was used. It was found that when the elevator cabin moved at a speed of 7 m/s, the maximum pressure drops formed on the surfaces of the elevator shaft amounted to 130 Pa. It was found that the maximum flow rate of air entering the elevator shaft and from the elevator shaft into the hall due to the piston effect is about 250 m3/h. This value is comparable to the flow rates formed due to natural movement of air in the elevator shaft caused by stack effect in winter and cannot be automatically excluded from consideration.

Keywords: high-rise building, numerical simulation, piston effect, stack effect, elevator shaft