Tribology of the Human Foot – Avoiding Slips and Falls

Details

Bare foot slips cause a number of serious accidents each year, either in the home environment or at, for example, leisure centres.

This project, in collaboration with the Health and Safety Laboratories will involve developing a greater understanding of the slipping process and how this is affected by liquids and floor surface textures. A number of standard test rigs exist for assessing floor slipperiness. Some involve the use of skin (heel) simulants and others utilise actual feet. Results from the different tests will be used to optimise the approaches used.

It is anticipated that some testing will take place in the Health and Safety Laboratories test facilities.