Tuesday, October 13, 2009

Synthetic Turf: Combining Innovation, Quality and Value

Synthetic sports surfaces have found a prominent place in the arena of sports, be it football, hockey, baseball, netball or athletics. However, players today demand more than just a maintenance free or all-weather playing surface. A synthetic turf is now accepted as an ideal playing surface if it encompasses all safety features and exhibit shock absorbency, low abrasion, speed, stable footing and traction.

The demand for extreme performance from a synthetic turf has brought about a phenomenal change in the quality of these artificial sports surfaces. A synthetic turf, also known as “Astroturf” now has gone beyond its basic features of maintenance benefits and all-weather playability. It now conforms to all the needs of the players. So, whether you look at synthetic athletics surfaces or artificial football pitches, you will find a perfect fit between innovation, quality and value.

Considering the needs of their buyers, the synthetic turf manufacturers are coming up with products featuring superior design, durability, UV stability, performance, and affordability. Products are tested under extreme conditions whilst maintaining durability and long term quality.

The comprehensive testing done on a synthetic turf generally involves all the aspects that are essential in ensuring a superior sports area conforming to all safety standards. The process of testing comprises independent laboratory tests, player to surface interaction test, ball to surface interaction test, UV and artificial weathering test, torture tests simulating 10 years of use, and tests for ensuring total sports performance. UV tests are conducted to ensure that the product is UV protected, which is important for maintaining that perfect appearance and durability.

Player-Surface interaction and Ball-Surface interaction tests are important to ensure that synthetic sports surfaces can offer the same playing characteristics as that of natural grass surfaces. The synthetic turf testing for player-surface interaction consists of shock absorbency, vertical deformation, slip resistance, traction, and sliding distance. Testing to measure the abrasiveness caused by the artificial synthetic turf on the player’s skin is also a major test parameter. Ball surface interaction tests include measuring how high the ball bounces when falling vertically; how far the ball rolls on the surface; and how the ball rebounds from the synthetic pitch when striking it at a shallow angle under dry and wet conditions.

All this testing is aimed at only one thing- offering quality synthetic sports surfaces that would give true value to every single penny spent.

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[Via Recreation & Sports]

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