DEVELOPMENT OF NO-SLIP ON ICE SHOE

This paper presents the theoretical and experimental development of non-slip-onice shoes using pulse electrothermal brake (PETB) and low-voltage pulse electrothermal brake (LVPETB) technologies.Low ice friction poses a significant danger to pedestrians, causing millions of accidents and deaths annually.Pulse Electro Thermal Brake (PETB) technology replaces low ice friction with a high ice adhesion force; however, until recently, its use was limited by the high-voltage requirement of several hundred volts.The use of diamond-electro-plated materials and advances in lithium-battery technology have reduced the voltage of PETB/LVPETB to less than 12VDC.This manuscript presents a theoretical analysis of PETB/LVPETB technology, including calculations of shoe bonding to ice strength, energy requirements, power electronics, freezing to ice time, and the abrasion resistance of the tested PETB/LVPETB materials.Experimental tests were conducted on numerous small-scale PETB/LVPETB prototypes and full-scale PETB prototypes.We found that LVPETB significantly increased the ice friction force, with some materials showing up to a 10fold increase, and it can provide safe walking on ice at temperatures equal to or lower than 1C.The results suggest that PETB/LVPETB technology has the potential to become a practical solution for preventing slips and falls on icy surfaces and can be applied to footwear design.