Effect of Artifical Perspiration on Tribological Properties of Human Skin

The artifical perspiration was used to simulate human sweat. The effects of the artifical perspiration on the frictional properties of healthy human skin, wearing prosthetic socket skin and residual limb scar skin were in- vestigated by using the continuous and interrnissive reciprocal sliding frictional modes. The effect of the perspiration on the comfortness sensations of the limb skin was also investigated by simulating the prosthetic socket wearing conditions. The results showed that the artifical perspiration had the effects on the friction behavior of skin by modified the physicochemical properties of skin surface at the normal loads of 0.2 N and 0.7 N under the continuous and in- termissive reciprocal sliding frictional modes. The friction behavior transited from sticking regime to relative sliding regime in the process of the perspiration drying out. The friction coefficient changed from small to peak value, then decreased until it reached stabile value. At normal load of 8.0 N of continuous reciprocal sliding frictional modes, the friction coefficients of healthy limb skin, wearing prosthetic socket skin and residual limb scar skin in the perspiration condition were higher than that in the dry condition. The concept of comfortness sensations of the skin concerning the pain, drag and heat was proposed and investigated tions to the volunteers comparing with the dry prosthetic socket . The perspiration brought more comfortless sensacondition.