Slip-resistance of rubbers and polymer fibers as shoe sole on dry and wet ice surfaces

To improve public safety and reduce slip-related accidents in cold climates, it is necessary to investigate shoe-sole materials with slip resistance against both dry and wet ice surfaces. Hence, we investigated the friction behaviors of three types of materials: a rubber overshoe with an anti-slip function for ice surfaces, fiber sheets, and nonwoven fabrics combined with hard abrasives. We conducted two types of tests at constant room temperature in a thermostatic chamber using a push-cart-type tribotester: initial characteristic and continuous repeating tests. The nonwoven sheet with silicon carbide abrasives exhibited high coefficient of friction greater than 0.3 at the initial slip cycles and greater than 0.2 at the 20th slip cycle on both dry and wet surfaces of ice.