Abstract
High load quasi stress-strain (qSS) properties of professionally maintained natural turf (N-pro) was compared with eight natural, hybrid or artificial turfs: one professionally maintained natural turf in a sub field and one grown in a test field without maintenance, two hybrid turfs (one in the sub field and one grown in the test field without maintenance), three new artificial turfs (sand, rubber and sand/rubber infill) and one aged artificial turf (eight years old with sand/rubber infill). N-pro was characterized with a distinctive magnitude of plastic deformation and hysteresis profile, indicating its more energy absorbable properties compared to the artificial turfs. Apparent differences exist between N-pro and other natural turfs, suggesting factors such as daily maintenance work and sod compositions are very influential. Clear differences were also observed when the hybrid turf was professionally maintained. The aged artificial turf becomes substantially stiffer indicating usage over years affects the stiffness.
Highlights
As a global trend, the use of artificial surfaces is increasing in many sports that have been traditionally played on natural grass, such as soccer and rugby
The average (±SD) peak force magnitude produced by this test on the most standard type of 3-g turf with sand/rubber four layered infill of 35 mm thickness was 12.30 ± 0.24 kN, which was within the range of those readings observed in human severe landings (12.10 ± 1.61 kN) [9]
One inconsistency was found for N-sub: its plastic deformation was significantly larger than that of N-pro (13.0 ± 2.2 vs. 10.2 ± 1.0 mm), there was no significant difference in the area of hysteresis between the values of N-sub and N-pro (431.2 ± 49.1 vs. 429.1 ± 15.4 g·mm)
Summary
The use of artificial surfaces is increasing in many sports that have been traditionally played on natural grass, such as soccer and rugby. Since the introduction of third generation artificial turf (3-g turf), a number of international and national games and tournaments have been played on these surfaces. There is another growing trend among elite soccer and rugby clubs to install a hybrid type of natural turf system, in which natural turf is reinforced by artificial fibers (hybrid turf) [1]. It is often assumed that specific sports injuries are a direct consequence of surface hardness [3,4]. Cushioning ability is, without doubt, considered as one of the most important properties for relevant sports surfaces [5]. From a human safety perspective, the shock absorbing properties of Proceedings 2020, 49, 142; doi:10.3390/proceedings2020049142 www.mdpi.com/journal/proceedings
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