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Lisa Miles
2 minute read time.

Sounds like the start of one of those cheesy Christmas cracker jokes doesn't it? Joy

But no… I'm serious! I’d really like to know!

Talking to a colleague this morning about engineering (which you quite often do when you work for the Institution of Engineering and Technology) and we were discussing the various ways that both engineering and technology play a part in our everyday lives. Often in ways that are not immediately obvious.

I’ve worked for the IET for almost 20 years now and come across my fair share of engineering disciplines. I’ve aided numerous groups of volunteers (our Local Networks) across the world from the USA, UK and Europe, the Middle East and across South East Asia and over to Japan to organise engineering events, as well as our Technical Networks covering the Built Environment, Asset Management, Project Controls, Vision & Imaging and Multimedia Communications. You can’t help however, to be absorbed by the subjects you come into contact with and it does indeed start to get under your skin. A bit like the cold weather we’re experiencing in the UK at the moment!

My colleague and I got onto the subject of tribology as we have a Tribology Network at the IET and as I was explaining to him what tribology is (the study of friction, wear and lubrication) using the example of a rugby ball and how it’s designed for grip and bounce factor on wet grass etc, I also remembered that today I’m wearing my ‘icepick technology’ boots from a well known outdoor clothing brand and again, being the geekette that I am, start into an explanation of how they work. Nerd

The boots themselves have a star shaped pattern on the sole that, when the temperatures drop, firm up in order to give better grip on icy surfaces. So I’m guessing that my current footwear includes elements of not only #Tribology engineering but also sit within the realms of materials engineering too?

Boots with star shapes on the sole

To be fair, I’m yet to decide whether these particular boots are better at gripping than my regular warm winter boots but I can definitely say they’re better than a cheap pair of wellingtons, although not as waterproof...  Flushed 

Which brings me back to the title of this post. What boots would Tribology engineers recommend for wearing on icy surfaces?

So calling all you #Tribology engineers out there, I’d love to know, in the comments below! Snowflake

Parents

  • Hi Lisa

    An interesting topic and very timely! There's certainly a lot of innovation in modern footwear and tribology is at the heart of it. Snow is a complex substance with a huge variety of properties such as particle size and geometry, wetness/dryness and degree of compaction or density. Snow can also fall in layers with different mechanical properties. When walking on snow it's probably only the top few millimetres that directly contact the shoe, although the material below that will influence the nature of the contact. The pressure of the contact will influence the degree of compaction. Snow shoes have a larger contact area to reduce this effect. Compacted snow generally gives lower friction, so the relevance to walking safely is clear. After all, fully compacted snow is basically ice. Water between the ice and the shoe is probably the worst combination from a walker's perspective.

    I can't suggest any footwear that would be better than what you have. Metallic spikes will bite in to the compacted snow or ice but they're not really compatible with urban living. One trick I have used when stepping on to potentially treacherous surfaces is to rotate the ball of the foot before applying full load. This probably looks very odd but it's a great way to assess the level of friction before committing to the step. Helping people to walk safely over slippery winter surfaces at reasonable cost looks likely to be an engineering challenge for years to come!

  • in reply to Lisa Miles

    It also brings in Sports Engineering as well and there's quite a few university departments in the UK that specialise in research into this area.

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