The Effect of Hardness and Surface Roughness of Elastomer on Friction Between Shoe Soles and Particle-Contaminated Floors
The result's identifiers
Result code in IS VaVaI
<a href="https://www.isvavai.cz/riv?ss=detail&h=RIV%2F68081723%3A_____%2F25%3A00637771" target="_blank" >RIV/68081723:_____/25:00637771 - isvavai.cz</a>
Alternative codes found
RIV/00216305:26210/26:0198509
Result on the web
<a href="https://www.webofscience.com/wos/woscc/full-record/WOS:001532590000001" target="_blank" >https://www.webofscience.com/wos/woscc/full-record/WOS:001532590000001</a>
DOI - Digital Object Identifier
<a href="http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s11249-025-02046-4" target="_blank" >10.1007/s11249-025-02046-4</a>
Alternative languages
Result language
angličtina
Original language name
The Effect of Hardness and Surface Roughness of Elastomer on Friction Between Shoe Soles and Particle-Contaminated Floors
Original language description
Nearly one third of workplace injuries results from slip- and trip-induced falls. Solid particles are among the most common floor contaminants in both occupational and outdoor environments, reducing shoe-floor friction and increasing slip risk. This study investigates how rubber hardness and surface roughness affect the frictional behaviour of shoe soles on smooth, particle-contaminated floors. Coefficient of friction (COF) measurements and post-test surface wear analyses were conducted using nitrile rubbers with hardness between 57.9 and 84.0 ShA and varied surface roughness. Samples were slid against smooth epoxy flooring in a pin-on-plate test simulating the heel-strike phase of walking. The floor was either clean or uniformly covered with corundum particles (40-50 mu m, 120-140 mu m, or 280-315 mu m). On clean floors, increasing rubber hardness and roughness significantly decreased COF (p < 0.0001) due to reduced real contact area. Under contaminated conditions, softer and rougher rubbers yielded higher COF values (p < 0.0001). Higher COF correlated with greater floor wear, showing long scratches and grooves, suggesting slip occurs mainly at the particle-floor interface. Rubber hardness and surface roughness primarily influence the strength of the particle-elastomer interface, greater particle-elastomer strength suppresses particle rolling and thereby leads to an increase in COF. These findings indicate that, on particle-contaminated smooth floors, slip resistance is governed more by particle-floor interactions than by rubber adhesion. Increasing outsole roughness and reducing hardness can help mitigate the adverse effects of particle rolling within the contact area and improve the frictional performance of the outsole.
Czech name
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Czech description
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Classification
Type
J<sub>imp</sub> - Article in a specialist periodical, which is included in the Web of Science database
CEP classification
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OECD FORD branch
20501 - Materials engineering
Result continuities
Project
<a href="/en/project/EH22_008%2F0004634" target="_blank" >EH22_008/0004634: Mechanical engineering of biological and bio-inspired systems</a><br>
Continuities
I - Institucionalni podpora na dlouhodoby koncepcni rozvoj vyzkumne organizace
Others
Publication year
2025
Confidentiality
S - Úplné a pravdivé údaje o projektu nepodléhají ochraně podle zvláštních právních předpisů
Data specific for result type
Name of the periodical
Tribology Letters
ISSN
1023-8883
e-ISSN
1573-2711
Volume of the periodical
73
Issue of the periodical within the volume
3
Country of publishing house
US - UNITED STATES
Number of pages
15
Pages from-to
106
UT code for WoS article
001532590000001
EID of the result in the Scopus database
2-s2.0-105011152288