Good slip resistant tread patterns of outer-sole of military boot are vital to minimize the risk or severity of slip in combat and physical training situations. A series of non-linear, three-dimensional finite element analyses of footwear and ground interaction based upon the Drucker-Prager elastic-perfectly plastic material model was investigated. This study was aimed at how plastic failure of...

In this paper, we present the development of a tire rubber deformation sensing system that provides the critical information for understanding and estimation of wheel/ground interactions for mobile robots and vehicles. Polyvinylidene fluoride (PVDF)based sensors are designed and fabricated to embed on the inner tread surface to measure the tire rubber tread deformation. Analytical models of the...

Footwear influences balance and the subsequent risk of slips, trips, and falls by altering somatosensory feedback to the foot and ankle and modifying frictional conditions at the shoe/floor interface. Walking indoors barefoot or in socks and walking indoors or outdoors in high-heel shoes have been shown to increase the risk of falls in older people. Other footwear characteristics such as heel c...

The equations for wheelchair caster wheel shimmy are presented along with experimental data. The report includes the theory and performance of single wheel casters for a variety of tires, and a new design for wheelchair casters using a grooved dual-tread tire or co-rotating caster wheels. The dual-tread tire was found to significantly inhibit caster shimmy. The turning resistance due to a groov...

Unreinforced masonry spiral staircases have been built for more than two thousand years in castles, churches and palaces, these require structural assessment. For a few decades, the behaviour of “cantilever” has debated among scholars. Several methods used, but due to complex 3D geometry substantial number treads, priori assumptions made about magnitude point application contact forces between ...

The present study examined whether a new footwear outsole with tread blocks and a hybrid rubber surface pattern, composed of rough and smooth surfaces, could increase slip resistance and reduce the risk of fall while walking on a wet floor surface. A drag test was performed to measure static and dynamic coefficient of friction (SCOF and DCOF, respectively) values for the footwear with the hybri...