• Elastomers and Composites
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• v.41 no.2
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• pp.125-130
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• 2006

To understand the effect of midsole on the bending stiffness of footwear, bending moment is studied with various hardness and thickness of polyurethane(PU) and poly(ethyl one-co-vinylacetate)(EVA) foams which composed in footwear midsole. The initial bending moment of footwear was appeared at $19^{\circ}$ on bending angle of footwear, and this bending angle was not depend on thickness and hardness of midsole. The bending moments of footwear were also increased with increase of the hardness and thickness of misole which were composed in footwear. Increased hardness and increased thickness of foam and midsole also cause a greater bending moment of the sports shoe, respectively.

• Journal of the Korea Academia-Industrial cooperation Society
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• v.12 no.3
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• pp.1078-1084
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• 2011

In design of sport footwear, bending stiffness of its toe part is an important factor though it can be hardly measured. This paper introduces a device for measuring the bending stiffness. The device is simply designed with aluminum frames, one AC motor, two load-cells, one encoder and control hardwares. The mechanism measuring the bending moment of a shoe is described. Then, it was used to observe how the midsole material and design of a sports shoe affect on its bending stiffness. For the experiments, various specimens prepared, where each midsole of the specimens is different in terms of material, thickness and hardness. With those specimens, experiments were performed by using the device and then the bending stiffness was computed by applying the least square curve fitting after the bending moment data were measured. The specimen with Poly-urethane(PU) midsole has the higher bending stiffness than the one with Phylon(PH) midsole, and the midsole thickness affects more on the bending stiffness than the midsole hardness. Based on those results, it can be concluded that the measurement device can provide consistent bending stiffness data to sports footwear and the bending stiffness of a footwear measured by the developed device can be used as a major parameter in the footwear design.

• Korean Journal of Applied Biomechanics
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• v.27 no.4
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• pp.239-245
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• 2017

Objective: The bobsleigh shoes used in the start section are one of the most important equipment for improving the competition. Despite the importance of the start section, there are no shoes that are specific for bobsleigh athletes in Korea and Korean athletes have to wear sprint spike shoes and practice the start instead of wearing bobsleigh shoes. The objective of the present study was to provide data for improving the performance of Korean bobsleigh athletes by investigating the differences in their split time, plantar pressure, and forefoot bending angle based on skill levels at the start of a run under the same conditions as training conditions. Method: Six Korean bobsleigh athletes were divided into two groups, superior (n=3) and non-superior (n=3). A digital speedometer measured the split time at the start; the Pedar-X system (Novel, Germany) measured plantar pressure. Plantar pressures and split times were measured as the athletes pushed a bobsleigh and sprinted at full speed from the start line to the 10-m mark on the bobsleigh track. An ultra-high-speed camera was used to measure the forefoot bending angle during the start phase. Results: Significant between-group differences were found in split times (p<.000; superior = 2.38 s, non-superior = 2.52 s). The superior group had a larger rearfoot (p<.05) contact area, maximum rearfoot force (p<.01), and a larger change in angles 3 and 4 (p<.05). Conclusion: At the start of a bobsleigh run, proper use of the rearfoot for achieving effective driving force and increasing frictional resistance through a wider frictional force can shorten start time.

• Korean Journal of Applied Biomechanics
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• v.26 no.3
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• pp.315-321
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• 2016

Objective: The aim of this study was to analyze effects of the toe-spring angle of bobsleigh shoes on start speed lap time to develop Korean-specific bobsled shoes suitable for winter environments and for domestic players on the basis of sports science and optimized biomechanical performance. Method: Seven Korean bobsleigh athletes participated in this study, with three pairs of sprint spikes from three companies (Type A, Type B, Type C). To analyze sprint lap time and forefoot bending angle for each shoe, participants were instructed to drag a sled 15 meters from the start line at a maximum sprint. forefoot bending angle was collected by a high speed camera, and lap time speed was measured. Results: Lap time for type B shoes was $3.52{\pm}0.17sec$, type A was $3.55{\pm}0.19sec$, and type C was $3.56{\pm}0.18sec$. Forefoot bending angles were: angle 1, $6.88{\pm}5.55^{\circ}$; angle 2, $9.23{\pm}6.38^{\circ}$; angle 3, $15.56{\pm}5.39^{\circ}$; angle 4, $9.54{\pm}3.85^{\circ}$; angle 5, $9.22{\pm}5.08^{\circ}$; angle 6, $7.66{\pm}6.44^{\circ}$; and angle 7, $4.30{\pm}6.24^{\circ}$ (p<.001). Forefoot bending in angle 3 was as follows: type A, $16.47{\pm}6.01^{\circ}$; type B, $14.30{\pm}4.96^{\circ}$; and type C, $15.90{\pm}5.17^{\circ}$. Conclusion: Hard outsoles and midsoles are better than soft type for reduced start lap time when developing a prototype Korean bobsled shoe.

• Fashion & Textile Research Journal
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• v.12 no.4
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• pp.494-499
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• 2010

Knitted fabrics are very popular for their numerous advantages such as greater comfort, attractive garment appearance, better fit on the body, etc. In this study, we investigated the mechanical properties and abrasion property of warp knitted fabrics for footwear which treated with several softeners to improve abrasion resistance. The antistatic softener among the various softeners showed high improvement in abrasion resistance. Among the mechanical properties with treating conditions, WT (tensile energy), G (shear stiffness), B (bending rigidity) increased as treating timeincreased. But the other mechanical properties were little changed with treating concentration.

• Textile Coloration and Finishing
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• v.28 no.2
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• pp.92-100
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• 2016

To chemically prepare polypyrrole(pPy) coated fabrics(silk, cotton and nylon fabrics), the fabrics were first soaked in 0.4M oxidant $FeCl_3$/0.06M dopant anthraquinone-2-sulfonic acid solution for 5min at room temperature, and subsequently soaked in a 0.4M monomer pyrrole aqueous solution for 5min at room temperature. The content(wt%) of coated pPy in the coated fabrics was controlled by the number of treatments(these two steps). This study examined the effect of the number of treatments/pPy content on the sheet resistance, mechanical/bending properties and color behaviors of pPy coated fabrics. The coated pPy content, sheet resistance(${\Omega}$/square) and color strength(K/S) of pPy coated fabrics increased sharply with increasing number of treatments up to 20 times, while the increase slowed down afterward. The tensile strength, elongation at break and lightness($L^*$) decreased with increasing number of treatments. The tensile modulus and bending rigidity of coated fabrics increased significantly with increasing number of treatments/coated pPy content. This indicated that the flexibility of coated fabrics decreased considerably.