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Assessment of Walkway Tribometer Readings in Evaluating Slip Resistance: A Gait-Based Approach

NCJ Number
217658
Journal
Journal of Forensic Sciences Volume: 52 Issue: 2 Dated: March 2007 Pages: 400-405
Author(s)
Christopher M. Powers Ph.D.; John R. Brault M.S.; Maria A. Stefanou M.S.; Yi-Ju Tsai M.S.; Jim Flynn P.E.; Gunter P. Siegmund Ph.D.
Date Published
March 2007
Length
6 pages
Annotation
This study assessed the viability of using slip risk (as quantified during human subject walking trials) to create a reference standard against which tribometer readings (mechanical instruments that purport to measure the slip resistance of walkway surfaces) could be compared.
Abstract
The study's experimental protocol demonstrated that gait-based measures of slipperiness could be used to create reference standards against which tribometer measurements could be compared. The findings from tribometer measurements showed that different tribometers produced varied values for coefficient of friction (COF) for the same surface. Only two of the nine tested tribometers (the Tortus II and Mark III) met the study's compliance criteria by correctly ranking all six conditions and differentiating between surfaces with differing degrees of slipperiness as established by the walking trials. These tribometers were effective in evaluating floor slipperiness and a pedestrian's risk of slipping. Human subjects (n=84) were used to create objective rankings of the slipperiness of 3 surfaces with and without a contaminant (6 conditions). Nine tribometers were then used to make independent measures of the surfaces and rank surface slipperiness for all six conditions. The slipperiness ranking from the walking trials was used as the reference against which the tribometer measurements were compared. 4 tables and 33 references

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