Pedestrian ceramic surfaces with controlled slipperiness

• Keywords: Safety, Antislip, Surface texture, Friction coefficient, Contaminants

Assuring the safety of a floor is a problem that involves several actors: designers, covering and facing materials producers, floor treatment producers, safety and environmental managers.
Professionals in charge of planning and design a floor must know, in depth, the behavior of covering materials in terms of resistance to slip, taking into account the intended use of the materials, the risk connected to the condition of use and the applicable standard and regulations.

Independently of other kind of reasons that influences the risk of slipping, a high friction coefficient value is directly related to a reduced risk. A correlation between surface roughness parameters and the friction value exists, even if it is a complex correlation and it depends from the method of measurements.

Till now, in scientific studies a classification of ceramic tiles surfaces based on “different surface texture groups” has been used, together with the identification of a set of surface texture parameters useful for the formulation of classification models that allow to combine surface texture measurements results with the slip resistance of a product (in relation to slip resistance classes R according to DIN 51130).

At now, the study is focused on the development and on the implementation of a physical model able to describe the slipping phenomenon, taking into account the environmental conditions typical of different test methods and the presence or the absence of contaminants.

This predictor instruments will be a valid help for:

• evaluate the contributions of various covering floor materials to slip resistance
• estimate, already in the pre-contractual phase, the surface performances in terms of slip resistance in relation to specific intended uses
• design and plan surfaces as function of intended use
• guarantee the maintenance requirements of different production line batches during the process control phase
• verify the performances of tiled floors.

Main Scientific Papers

1. M. Moncalero, S. Signetti, B. Mazzanti, P. Bruzzi, N.M. Pugno, M. Colonna: Effect of material elastic properties and surface roughness on grip performances of ski boot soles under wet and icy conditions, International Journal of Industrial Ergonomics, Vol. 61, 2017, 1-9
2. E. Rambaldi, B. Mazzanti: Surface metrology of ceramic tiles: a tailored procedure, Proceedings of XIII International Conference of the European Ceramic Society, Limoges (F), June 23-27, 2013
3. E. Rambaldi, B. Mazzanti, P. Generali: Anti-slip treatments on ceramic tiles: a producer-oriented approach, Proceedings of XIII International Conference of the European Ceramic Society, Limoges (F), June 23-27, 2013
4. Piastrelle con superfici a scivolosità controllata. Ricerca svolta nell’ambito del Progetto InProCer (Obiettivo Realizzativo 2) Scivolosità e tessitura superficiale: un nuovo approccio. Applicazioni alle piastrelle di ceramica. A cura di Barbara Mazzanti e Patrizia Generali – Centro Ceramico Bologna, 2013 (http://www.confindustriaceramica.it/site/home/ricerca/articolo7939.html)
5. “Trattamenti antislip su piastrelle di ceramica. Un approfondimento”
   http://www.leica-microsystems.com/index.php?&ADMCMD_prev=12b1827d205e7debcb943fe28c4cd156&id=13487
6. Engels M., Tenaglia A., Tarì G.: The classification of hard floor coverings according to slip risk : a new approach for ceramic floor coverings. Qualicer 2010, Castellon (E)

Contact:

Eng. Barbara Mazzanti: mazzanti@centroceramico.it
Direct phone number: +39 051 0250195