Friction measurements on floors under solid contaminated conditions

Abstract

Slip and fall incidents are common. Lack of Friction on the floor has been identified as one of the leading contributors for slipping and falling incidences. Friction between the shoe and floor may be measured using a slipmeter. The purpose of this study was to investigate the effects of the floor roughness, shoe sole tread and surface conditions of the floor on friction coefficient. The surface conditions included dry, wet, and solid contaminated conditions. For dry surfaces, dry clean floors were tested. For wet surfaces, water was poured on the tested floors to simulate the wet condition. The solid contaminated conditions included floor covered with emery particles of 7 different sizes (from 50 μm to 2000 μm). Friction measurements were conducted in the laboratory. The results showed the solid particles provided more hazardous conditions than water on the floor. Large particles resulted in lower friction than smaller ones.