指と肌のふれあい: 柔らかさが摩擦に与える影響

抄録

Understanding the tribological phenomena between fingers and soft surfaces such as skin is important for the product’s design. In this study, we investigated the coefficients of friction when a bare finger slides over artificial skin with seven levels of hardness under dry and lubricated surface conditions. Under dry conditions, the coefficient of friction depended on the normal force only for artificial skins that were softer than the finger, whereas it was constant for harder artificial skins. When the surface of artificial skin was lubricated with mica, it depended on the normal force only when artificial skins were softer than a finger, as with under dry conditions. When the surface of artificial skin was lubricated with TiO2, it depended on the normal force even for harder skins.