TRIBOLOGICAL CHARACTERISTICS OF POLYURETHANES USED FOR THE SOLES OF FOOTWEAR

Abstract

The inability to take into account the type of base material (floor, pavement, soil), as well as the inability to take into account the variable friction conditions – load, intermediary medium (water, loose abrasive, sand or other soil particles), sliding velocity, and ambient temperature – is a significant limitation the use of friction methods and devices used so far in the footwear industry to precisely anticipate the behavior of the bottom materials in the actual operating conditions of the footwear. These limitations prompted the authors to adapt a tribological tester for this purpose, used in the area of construction and operation of machines and material engineering. A research methodology was developed and, in order to verify it, measurements of the coefficient of friction and wear of polyurethane used for shoe soles in combination with a raw and varnished wooden substrate were carried out. The obtained test results are characterized by diversity, which proves the high research resolution of the developed method. It allows determining the coefficient of friction of associations influencing the slip of the footwear and the wear and tear that determines the length of use of the footwear.