Human walks carefully when the ground dynamic coefficient of friction drops below 0.41

This study investigated the available and utilized friction during non-slip gait in level walking, and determined the limit which human starts to walk carefully to adapt to slippery surface. Sixteen floor-footwear-contaminant conditions with different slipperiness (dynamic coefficient of friction, DCOF, from 0.11 to 1.06) were employed. Fifteen harnessed Chinese male performed ten self-paced walking trials in each condition without slips. The utilized friction (COFu) was obtained from the maximum value of shear to normal ground reaction force ratio during the first 25% stance. ANOVA and Tukey tests showed three subsets with similar COFu, and confirmed the hypothesis that the utilized friction drops gradually when the available friction drops below a certain critical limit. Non-linear regression models were applied to the data to determine the COFu to be 0.20 and the limit of available ground friction which human starts to walk carefully to adapt to slippery surface (DCOFlimit) to be 0.41. © 2009 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.