Paper Title
Numerical Simulation of Sock-Slipper and Foot Contact Interaction For Geriatric Footwear Design
Abstract
Walking in socks and/or slippers or sandals at home is a common practice for many older people. However, the
design and fabrication of such footwear, and in particular, slippers, vary among manufacturers. Little information is available
on slippers that are made of different material combinations in response to individual needs. There fore, a sock-slipper model
that simulates the interactions of the foot-sock-slipper is developed by using finite element (FE) analysis. With the input of
sock and slipper material properties and plantar pressure distribution, the magnitude of deformity and compressive stress
distributed across nine subareas of the sock-slipperinter faces are simulated. From the FE predictions, the heel area is found
to have the highest degree of deformation and highest compressive stress in the sock and sock-slipper interfaces during the
balanced standing of an older female adult. The simulation model not only allows for quantitative evaluation the sock-slipper
deformation patterns, but also effectively optimises the design and development process of slippers.
Key words- Slipper properties, older adults, sock features, numerical simulation