The present work discusses the frictional behaviour displayed by the sliding of bare foot and different types of shoes against artificial grass. The effect of applied load on the static friction coefficient displayed by foot wear sliding against artificial grass is investigated. Friction tests were carried out at 50 to 300 N loads. Tests were carried out at dry sliding conditions as well as water wetted artificial grass. The tested artificial grass is made of polyethylene fibres of different length and thickness.
Based on the experimental results, It was found that, dry sliding of barefoot against artificial grass displayed friction coefficient which slightly decreased with increasing normal load. For smooth polyurethane sole (I), friction coefficient showed very low friction coefficient, which leads to slipping for the user was observed. Polyurethane flat sole was influenced by the number of fibres, where friction coefficient decreased with decreasing number of fibres. Friction coefficient decreased with decreasing number of fibres. Friction coefficient increased as the fibre length and thickness increased. Sole fitted by studs displayed low friction values due to decrease in the contact area.
At sliding against water wetted artificial grass, the thickness of the fibres showed significant effect on friction coefficient for bare foot. It seems that the deflection of the fibres subjected to the contact area was affected by the fibre thickness. It can be recommended to extend this investigation to test the effect of the fibre thickness on friction coefficient. For flat sole, friction coefficient showed drastic decrease compared to bare foot sliding due to formation of water film on the contact area. Presence of protrusions in the sole surface allowed the water leakage from the contact area so that friction coefficient increased. The difference in friction coefficient among the tested fibres confirmed the significant effect of the number of fibres.