FINITE ELEMENT ANALYSIS IN FOOTWEAR ENGINEERING
FINITE ELEMENT ANALYSIS IN FOOTWEAR ENGINEERING

Summary/Abstract: Finite Element Analysis (FEA) is a numerical method widely used in industry, research, and education fields. FEA exploits the properties and dimensions of the model discretised in a series of small regions called finite elements linked together at specific points which are called nodes. This paper demonstrates how the FEA could be used in footwear engineering education as a sustainable tool to predict the designed product's behaviour before its manufacturing. FEA-based simulations have substantial potential in footwear engineering training and education as it allows the students/designer performing static and dynamic analyses to represent the interaction between ground-sole-footwear-foot by analysing the shoe's design parameters' effects on the foot's load transfer. Based on the Finite Element Method (FEM) principles, a methodology for investigating footwear behaviour during normal walking is proposed, including preparatory, pre-processing, analysis, and post-processing stages needed to perform an FEA simulation. This part of the study explains the preparing and pre-processing steps: choosing equipment and software and performing the simulation by modelling and editing the geometry, explaining the role of materials and defining their properties. The pre-processing stages presented in this paper are essential for preparing the simulation process. The 3D geometry and materials influence the accuracy of the FE model and improve the analysis efficiency in engineering applications. Three models of the same constructive type, namely Derby shoe, show the herby described procedure. For these three models, the bar stitch's position varies in a vertical direction, and the material's properties are specified: foot, sole, uppers and bar stitch.

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