Ten cotton-made athletic socks were studied: four in order to evaluate the influence of theknitted structure on the sock - to - skin friction (terry, simple, double and yarn bridges jerseys), threediffer from the yarn count and three from the size. We focused our research on the case of skinblisters generated during running. The areas of the foot where these skin affections may appear weredetermined using a survey. The pressure exerted on these areas and the stride frequency weremeasured whereby a linear alternative tribometer reproducing the friction in the shoe has beenprogrammed. The results obtained on this device were compared with the results obtained on theEMPA’s Textile Friction Analyser. Complementary compression and shock absorption tests wererealised. It was observed that the best knitted structure for hiking socks is the simple jersey structure.For running socks, if the effect of the friction force and the compression energy is more importantthan the influence of the maximal compression force on the formation of blisters, then we recommendwearing simple jersey otherwise we advise to wear terry jersey socks. A discrete model for thefriction of textile surfaces recovered with terries in contact with the skin is proposed. Terries aresupposed to rotate from an initial to a final position both in the forward and the reverse direction.After fitting, theoretical and experimental results are very similar.
