Normalising tactile friction

D.A Sergachev,D.T.A Matthews,E Van Der Heide

doi:10.1016/j.triboint.2021.107052

D.A Sergachev, D.T.A Matthews + Show 1 more

Open Access

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.triboint.2021.107052

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Abstract

Finger pad friction varies significantly between individuals due to personal differences and environmental effects. For this reason, comparison of the absolute friction values becomes non-informative and is rarely reported in literature. This work investigates whether friction data can be normalised to correlate between individuals. A set of textured samples were tested by 10 volunteers in dry sliding conditions with a range of normal loads up to 4 N. A reference smooth sample was used for each participant to normalise the dataset. The proposed approach allows to eliminate one of the unknown parameters, e.g., finger pad ridge contact area function, and discuss the data with respect to other variables.

Highlights

The physical properties of a product surface can be perceived by humans through active touch and tactile exploration of the surface by the finger pad
Most of the volunteers had skin hydration levels with the values between 40 and 60 arbitrary units (AU), which relates to a normal skin condition [27], with subjects V1 and V3 showing extreme values around 30 and 80 AU
Contact conditions for each person differ based on their unique index finger pad structure and skin properties [8]

Summary

Introduction

The physical properties of a product surface can be perceived by humans through active touch and tactile exploration of the surface by the finger pad. Surface textures can be designed to modify this frictional behaviour with the aim to enhance the product tactile perception or improve its handling per formance by making it more sticky or slippery. For research and development purposes texture design might be validated by friction experiments. The experimental data could, result to a very broad set of friction values when compared between individuals [2,3,4]. It is not possible to compare finger pad friction data quantitatively between studies, nor to validate texture designs in a generic way based on friction experiments involving mul tiple persons. Normalisation of the finger pad friction could allow to compare those results and evaluate the contact conditions at the scale of the finger pad – texture interaction

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