Natural Fiber Reinforced Shoe Midsoles with Balanced Stiffness/Damping Behavior
The comfort of walking depends heavily on the shoes used. Consequently, the midsole of shoes is designed in such a way that it can dampen force peaks during walking. This significantly increases the overall wellness during walking. Therefore, the midsole usually consists of rubber-like polymers, suc...
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MDPI AG
2024-01-01
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| Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/1996-1944/17/2/401 |
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| author | Michael Cordin Sandra Eberle Thomas Bechtold Christian Bitschnau Kevin Lins Fabien Duc Raphaële Chapuis Tung Pham |
| author_facet | Michael Cordin Sandra Eberle Thomas Bechtold Christian Bitschnau Kevin Lins Fabien Duc Raphaële Chapuis Tung Pham |
| author_sort | Michael Cordin |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | The comfort of walking depends heavily on the shoes used. Consequently, the midsole of shoes is designed in such a way that it can dampen force peaks during walking. This significantly increases the overall wellness during walking. Therefore, the midsole usually consists of rubber-like polymers, such as polyurethane and ethylene-vinyl acetate copolymer. Furthermore, the manufacturing process of these polymers results in a foam-like structure. This further enhances the damping behavior of the material. Nevertheless, it would be desirable to find a cheap and sustainable method to enhance the damping behavior of the shoe midsole. The purpose of this work is to see if hemp fibers, which are part of the polymer matrix material, could improve the stiffness without losing the damping behavior. The mechanical properties of such prepared fiber-reinforced composites were characterized by quasi-static tensile testing and dynamic mechanical analysis. The mechanical properties were examined in relation to the fiber type, weight fraction, and type of polyurethane used. Furthermore, the investigation of the embedding of these fibers in the polymer matrix was conducted through the utilization of optical and electron microscopy. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-08T10:42:13Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-58606f494c9545eab91c888d98031a75 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 1996-1944 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-08T10:42:13Z |
| publishDate | 2024-01-01 |
| publisher | MDPI AG |
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| series | Materials |
| spelling | doaj.art-58606f494c9545eab91c888d98031a752024-01-26T17:27:48ZengMDPI AGMaterials1996-19442024-01-0117240110.3390/ma17020401Natural Fiber Reinforced Shoe Midsoles with Balanced Stiffness/Damping BehaviorMichael Cordin0Sandra Eberle1Thomas Bechtold2Christian Bitschnau3Kevin Lins4Fabien Duc5Raphaële Chapuis6Tung Pham7Research Institute of Textile Chemistry and Textile Physics, University of Innsbruck, Hoechsterstrasse 73, 6850 Dornbirn, AustriaResearch Institute of Textile Chemistry and Textile Physics, University of Innsbruck, Hoechsterstrasse 73, 6850 Dornbirn, AustriaResearch Institute of Textile Chemistry and Textile Physics, University of Innsbruck, Hoechsterstrasse 73, 6850 Dornbirn, AustriaINNOcomposites GmbH, Klarenbrunnstraße 115, 6700 Bludenz, AustriaINNOcomposites GmbH, Klarenbrunnstraße 115, 6700 Bludenz, AustriaPOMOCA SA, Route de Préverenges 14, 1026 Denges, SwitzerlandPOMOCA SA, Route de Préverenges 14, 1026 Denges, SwitzerlandResearch Institute of Textile Chemistry and Textile Physics, University of Innsbruck, Hoechsterstrasse 73, 6850 Dornbirn, AustriaThe comfort of walking depends heavily on the shoes used. Consequently, the midsole of shoes is designed in such a way that it can dampen force peaks during walking. This significantly increases the overall wellness during walking. Therefore, the midsole usually consists of rubber-like polymers, such as polyurethane and ethylene-vinyl acetate copolymer. Furthermore, the manufacturing process of these polymers results in a foam-like structure. This further enhances the damping behavior of the material. Nevertheless, it would be desirable to find a cheap and sustainable method to enhance the damping behavior of the shoe midsole. The purpose of this work is to see if hemp fibers, which are part of the polymer matrix material, could improve the stiffness without losing the damping behavior. The mechanical properties of such prepared fiber-reinforced composites were characterized by quasi-static tensile testing and dynamic mechanical analysis. The mechanical properties were examined in relation to the fiber type, weight fraction, and type of polyurethane used. Furthermore, the investigation of the embedding of these fibers in the polymer matrix was conducted through the utilization of optical and electron microscopy.https://www.mdpi.com/1996-1944/17/2/401shoe sole dampingloss modulusstorage modulusviscoelastichemp fibers |
| spellingShingle | Michael Cordin Sandra Eberle Thomas Bechtold Christian Bitschnau Kevin Lins Fabien Duc Raphaële Chapuis Tung Pham Natural Fiber Reinforced Shoe Midsoles with Balanced Stiffness/Damping Behavior Materials shoe sole damping loss modulus storage modulus viscoelastic hemp fibers |
| title | Natural Fiber Reinforced Shoe Midsoles with Balanced Stiffness/Damping Behavior |
| title_full | Natural Fiber Reinforced Shoe Midsoles with Balanced Stiffness/Damping Behavior |
| title_fullStr | Natural Fiber Reinforced Shoe Midsoles with Balanced Stiffness/Damping Behavior |
| title_full_unstemmed | Natural Fiber Reinforced Shoe Midsoles with Balanced Stiffness/Damping Behavior |
| title_short | Natural Fiber Reinforced Shoe Midsoles with Balanced Stiffness/Damping Behavior |
| title_sort | natural fiber reinforced shoe midsoles with balanced stiffness damping behavior |
| topic | shoe sole damping loss modulus storage modulus viscoelastic hemp fibers |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/1996-1944/17/2/401 |
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