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The effect of footwear sole abrasion on the coefficient of friction on melting and hard ice

Gao, Chuansi LU ; Abeysekera, John ; Hirvonen, Mikko and Aschan, Carita (2003) In International Journal of Industrial Ergonomics 31(5). p.323-330
Abstract
Footwear sole wear by natural use or artificial abrasion either increases or decreases slip resistance on floors with and without lubricant. The objectives of this paper were to study the effect of footwear sole abrasive wear on slip resistance on ice with respect to temperature, and to compare the slip resistance of abraded soles on melting and hard ice with that on lubricated steel plate. The kinetic coefficient of friction (COF) of nine pairs of footwear were measured with the stationary step simulator developed at the Finnish Institute of Occupational Health, before and after the new footwear soles were artificially abraded. Two-way factorial ANOVA showed that the abrasion of nine pairs of footwear had no significant effect on COF on... (More)
Footwear sole wear by natural use or artificial abrasion either increases or decreases slip resistance on floors with and without lubricant. The objectives of this paper were to study the effect of footwear sole abrasive wear on slip resistance on ice with respect to temperature, and to compare the slip resistance of abraded soles on melting and hard ice with that on lubricated steel plate. The kinetic coefficient of friction (COF) of nine pairs of footwear were measured with the stationary step simulator developed at the Finnish Institute of Occupational Health, before and after the new footwear soles were artificially abraded. Two-way factorial ANOVA showed that the abrasion of nine pairs of footwear had no significant effect on COF on melting ice (Mean COF with abrasion=0.056, std=0.0158, COF without abrasion=0.055, std=0.0205, P=0.805). On hard ice, however, the COF of abraded soles measured (mean COF=0.244) was significantly higher than without abrasion (mean COF=0.180, p<0.001), and than abraded soles on lubricated steel (mean=0.137, p<0.001). There is statistical significance between the three types of surfaces (p<0.001). On hard ice, regardless of abrasion, curling footwear with crepe rubber soling showed significantly higher COF (mean=0.343 after abrasion, 0.261 before abrasion) than other types (p<0.001). The results indicate that artificially abraded footwear is more slip resistant than new one for use on hard ice. The abrasion requirement could be specified if developing a new standard to measure COF on ice in the future. Of the footwear measured, the curling footwear with crepe rubber soling performed best in terms of slip resistance property. Therefore, Crepe rubber soling is highly recommended for use on hard ice. Melting ice is much more slippery, in which sole abrasion does not improve slip resistance. Thus, additional measures should be taken to reduce slip and fall risk. (Less)
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author
; ; and
publishing date
type
Contribution to journal
publication status
published
subject
keywords
Slip, Abrasion, Coefficient of friction, Soling material, Ice, Footwear
in
International Journal of Industrial Ergonomics
volume
31
issue
5
pages
323 - 330
publisher
Elsevier
external identifiers
  • scopus:0037400523
ISSN
0169-8141
DOI
10.1016/S0169-8141(02)00234-2
language
English
LU publication?
no
id
baf7f470-c5fd-42e1-bda2-f07b0e3752cb (old id 699673)
alternative location
http://www.ingentaconnect.com/content/els/01698141/2003/00000031/00000005/art00234
date added to LUP
2016-04-04 11:21:39
date last changed
2022-01-29 21:47:06
@article{baf7f470-c5fd-42e1-bda2-f07b0e3752cb,
  abstract     = {{Footwear sole wear by natural use or artificial abrasion either increases or decreases slip resistance on floors with and without lubricant. The objectives of this paper were to study the effect of footwear sole abrasive wear on slip resistance on ice with respect to temperature, and to compare the slip resistance of abraded soles on melting and hard ice with that on lubricated steel plate. The kinetic coefficient of friction (COF) of nine pairs of footwear were measured with the stationary step simulator developed at the Finnish Institute of Occupational Health, before and after the new footwear soles were artificially abraded. Two-way factorial ANOVA showed that the abrasion of nine pairs of footwear had no significant effect on COF on melting ice (Mean COF with abrasion=0.056, std=0.0158, COF without abrasion=0.055, std=0.0205, P=0.805). On hard ice, however, the COF of abraded soles measured (mean COF=0.244) was significantly higher than without abrasion (mean COF=0.180, p&lt;0.001), and than abraded soles on lubricated steel (mean=0.137, p&lt;0.001). There is statistical significance between the three types of surfaces (p&lt;0.001). On hard ice, regardless of abrasion, curling footwear with crepe rubber soling showed significantly higher COF (mean=0.343 after abrasion, 0.261 before abrasion) than other types (p&lt;0.001). The results indicate that artificially abraded footwear is more slip resistant than new one for use on hard ice. The abrasion requirement could be specified if developing a new standard to measure COF on ice in the future. Of the footwear measured, the curling footwear with crepe rubber soling performed best in terms of slip resistance property. Therefore, Crepe rubber soling is highly recommended for use on hard ice. Melting ice is much more slippery, in which sole abrasion does not improve slip resistance. Thus, additional measures should be taken to reduce slip and fall risk.}},
  author       = {{Gao, Chuansi and Abeysekera, John and Hirvonen, Mikko and Aschan, Carita}},
  issn         = {{0169-8141}},
  keywords     = {{Slip; Abrasion; Coefficient of friction; Soling material; Ice; Footwear}},
  language     = {{eng}},
  number       = {{5}},
  pages        = {{323--330}},
  publisher    = {{Elsevier}},
  series       = {{International Journal of Industrial Ergonomics}},
  title        = {{The effect of footwear sole abrasion on the coefficient of friction on melting and hard ice}},
  url          = {{http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/S0169-8141(02)00234-2}},
  doi          = {{10.1016/S0169-8141(02)00234-2}},
  volume       = {{31}},
  year         = {{2003}},
}