An evaluation of tactile frictional behavior of the wooden material

Abstract

Skin tribology and contact mechanics have emerged as a recent topic of research, intended to unveil the behavior of human skin. There have been variegated efforts to calculate the coefficient of friction with respect to various parameters such as sliding speed, normal load, and surface roughness. Wood and other timber products have their importance considering the ergonomically designs that have gained importance nowadays. This article shows the relation between normal load, average sliding speed and coefficient of friction (μ) of various types of woods (Rosewood, Sunmica, Teak wood and Pine wood). An experimental investigation is conducted to understand frictional behavior between human skin and different types of woods. Wooden material has been tested with the normal load having the range of 6.5N to 13N. The variation of μ has been remarked as μrosewood>μpine>μteak>μsunmica. Experimental observation shows that the rosewood has the highest COF which suggests its application where grip and strength of high order are required.With decreasing sliding speed, the relation between normal load and μ become more significant.