Reducing slip-and-fall accidents in the workplace: Role of small-scale roughness of floor surfaces to improve friction

减少工作场所滑倒事故：地板表面小规模粗糙度对改善摩擦力的作用

• 批准号: 10556441
• 负责人: Kurt E Beschorner
• 金额: $ 20.4万
• 依托单位: UNIVERSITY OF PITTSBURGH AT PITTSBURGH
• 依托单位国家: 美国
• 财政年份: 2021
• 资助国家: 美国
• 起止时间: 2021-09-30 至 2023-09-29
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10556441
• 关键词: Reducing; slip; fall; accidents; workplace

Project Summary Fall-related injuries burden over 140,000 workers annually, causing significant human suffering and an economic cost of $10 billion in Workers' Compensation. Approximately half of occupational falls are caused by slipping. An under-explored pathway to preventing these slip-and-fall events is to design flooring for workplaces with high friction performance. High-friction flooring prevents the slip events that lead to a fall. Unfortunately, current methods to characterize floor-surface topography are unable to predict friction performance, limiting innovation in this area. In order to catalyze innovation in high-friction flooring, there is a need for improved scientific understanding of the flooring factors that contribute to friction. Our preliminary studies and existing literature suggest that small-scale topography (features at the 1-nm to 1-µm scale) is critical for predicting floor performance, but is not measurable using conventional characterization techniques. The purpose of this R21 project is to measure these small-scales of floor-surface topography, and to use them to develop a mechanics-based predictive model for friction. This research is innovative because it will employ novel experimental methods and analysis techniques that have never been applied to flooring surfaces, and because it will develop a mechanics-based model to predict the relationship between floor structure and friction performance, where prior research has relied solely on empirical correlations. The proposed research will be accomplished through two Aims: Aim 1: Quantify the dependence of shoe-floor friction performance on small-scale topography. This Aim will investigate the ability of small-scale topography to explain variations in shoe-floor friction performance that cannot be explained using current measurement techniques. Then we will test the first hypothesis: Hypothesis 1: Roughness parameters that consider the full range of scales will improve our ability to predict COF values compared with those using just stylus profilometry. Aim 2: Establish a predictive mechanics-based model for shoe-floor friction based on multiscale surface topography. In this Aim, we will develop and validate a multiscale finite element model that captures viscoelastic contributions to friction across all length scales. We will test the second hypothesis: Hypothesis 2: A mechanics-based model using multiscale topography will more accurately predict shoe-floor friction compared with conventional approaches, i.e., statistical models based on stylus profilometry. This research is expected to lead to foundational knowledge and a modeling tool for optimizing high-friction flooring in workplaces. Working with an industry trade group, the Tile Council of North America (TCNA), this research will achieve impact by guiding the evidence-based development of high-friction flooring for workplaces. Thus, the proposed research is expected to achieve impact in improving workplace safety.

项目概要 与跌倒相关的伤害每年给超过 140,000 名工人带来负担，造成严重的人类痛苦和 100 亿美元的工人赔偿经济损失大约有一半是由职业损失造成的。 防止这些滑倒事件的一个尚未探索的途径是设计用于防止滑倒的地板。 具有高摩擦性能的工作场所高摩擦地板可防止导致跌倒的滑倒事件。 不幸的是，当前表征地板表面地形的方法无法预测摩擦力 性能，限制了该领域的创新 为了促进高摩擦地板的创新，有一个方法。 需要提高对导致摩擦的地板因素的科学认识。 研究和现有文献表明，小尺度地形（1 nm 至 1 µm 尺度的特征）是 对于预测地板性能至关重要，但无法使用传统表征技术进行测量。 这个 R21 项目的目的是测量这些小尺度的地板表面地形，并利用它们 开发基于力学的摩擦预测模型这项研究具有创新性，因为它将采用。 从未应用于地板表面的新颖实验方法和分析技术，以及 因为它将开发一个基于力学的模型来预测地板结构和摩擦之间的关系 性能，先前的研究仅依赖于经验相关性。 通过两个目标来实现： 目标 1：量化鞋底摩擦性能对小规模地形的依赖性。 将研究小规模地形的能力来解释鞋底摩擦性能的变化 无法用当前的测量技术来解释然后我们将检验第一个假设：假设。 1：考虑全范围尺度的粗糙度参数将提高我们预测COF值的能力 与仅使用触针轮廓测量法的方法相比。 目标 2：建立基于多尺度的鞋底摩擦预测力学模型 在这个目标中，我们将开发并验证一个捕获表面形貌的多尺度有限元模型。 我们将检验第二个假设：假设 2： 使用多尺度地形的基于力学的模型将更准确地预测鞋底摩擦力 与传统方法（即基于触针轮廓测量的统计模型）相比。 这项研究预计将带来基础知识和优化高摩擦的建模工具 与行业贸易组织北美瓷砖委员会 (TCNA) 合作，这 研究将通过基于证据的高摩擦地板开发产生影响 因此，拟议的研究预计将在改善工作场所安全方面产生影响。