MODELLING THE CONTACT OF FOOT SURFACE AND SHOE UPPER USING ARTIFICIAL NEURAL NETWORKS

The deformation in the shoe upper material is due mainly to the contact between the foot surface and the shoe upper material. The contact problem is non-linear and the material might also be nonlinear. If the problem is going to be simulated [Ruperez et al., 2007], several tests over the materials have to be carried out: tensile tests to determine whether or not the material is linear; and if it is non-linear, other tests to determine which kind of material is and what parameters characterize it. We present a model to characterize the shoe upper materials, which intends to reduce the quantity of tests carried out to determine the elasticity of the materials in a contact problem.