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Abstract
Artificial turf surfaces with “soft” infill are widely used because of its player-friendliness and enhanced shock absorption. Different types of materials ranging from styrene-butadiene rubber to alpha-olefin copolymer elastomers are used to make infill. The choice of material and the type of formulation is guided by the performance requirements of the different sports, as for example outlined for football in the FIFA Quality Concept. In addition to these performance requirements, other factors like the type of installation (in or outdoor, and if outdoor, the type of weather) and available budget could influence the choice of infill material. Turf installers have a wide variety of commercially available infill products to choose from; however, there is a lack of technical information to help installers select the proper infill material. This paper is a first attempt at analysing the intensive properties of commercially available rubber/elastomeric infill samples using well-known ISO laboratory tests. This complements the extensive properties regularly tested on the infill and entire turf system as recommended by the different sport governing bodies and committees. The results were mapped and show the great variations in performance among the studied samples. Namely, one sample resulted in constant hardness Shore A at 23, 45 and 70°C, indicating stable performance, which is relevant for outdoor pitches in hot climates. Also, two samples gave high sensitivity to artificial weathering as measured by the loss of tensile properties after 1000 hours, which is relevant for outdoor pitches. Finally, two samples resulted in low abrasion resistance, which is relevant for frequently used pitches. Such intensive property mapping can assist the industry in developing further the quality and performance of infill products.