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sports afficionados sit around and argue for hours on end for and against astroturf. some climates need indoor ballparks to avoid schedule problems...
what i can't figure out is why they make astroturf so artificial? it's springy so the ball zips and bounces, it's not terribly shock absorbent
so there are more knee injuries. plus you get that awful rugburn, so there are fewer highlight reel plays.
i say they should use mother nature as a model for artificial turf. i'd like to see a thick springy base pad and instead of a short bouncy "brush cut" type rug, they should use a longer shag fibre - 2-3" long each - preferrably made out of plant fibres or recycled paper.
if it gets torn up in spots, then they have this little machine that can replace fibres patchwork style by firing them into the padding underneath.
(Temporary) Indoor grass research
http://www.msu.edu/turf/
After years of driving by MSU's signs like "Turfgrass Teaching And Research" and laughing, the joke's on me. Still, I'd like to know what they teach to turfgrass.. [randydarden, Jun 28 2000, last modified Oct 04 2004]
[Xoebe]'s Link
http://www.sportfield.com/
RealGrass by Sportfield, LLC [jurist, Oct 29 2005]
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Annotation:
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It's hysterical to watch someone playing on an Astroturf field in the rain...they get tackled and slide 50 yards... |
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i've actually found this stuff, but never in sporting applications. maybe it isn't strong enough but surely some R&D could finish the baking. |
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http://www.sportfield.com/ |
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We are installing this in a couple of High Schools - I just went to the site and took some photos today, in fact. |
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The carpet is about 2" to 2.5" thick. It is backfilled with shredded recycled tires, and brushed to stand up. The tire material is about the size and texture of coarse sand. |
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It has excellent impact qualities, and there is no "turf-toe" or knee injuries as the old style astro turf is prone to having, since the knap of the turf flexes and rotates much the same way as real grass. No rug-burn, either, and it looks MUCH better than astro-turf. |
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Yeah, I've played on the stuff [Xoebe] mentioned, and as a goalkeeper, I am grateful the city chose it over astroturf. After five years of existence, however, the blades have become matted down that the turf has lost much of its initial springiness. What would be nice is a turf Zamboni that could fluff the pitch up once a week or so. |
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So this is, in fact, baked then? |
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Baked, and very well so. Most modern in-fill turf systems have grass-like blade bunches that are longer than need be, which are then filled in with a rubber-bead mix and some sand beneath that. Once the filler is laid, the fake grass blades (extruded rubber, IIRC) are the same length as many grass playing surfaces. They're laid over a simple concrete pad or gravel bed, but are very soft and many can actually fool children into thinking it's grass. The grass blades themselves have low friction so there's no such thing as turf burn, and fewer knee blowouts. |
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[Cuit], the problem you're having is that the city isn't raking the turf enough. By raking, much like with suede, the nap is restored and the rubber is evened out. |
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Many college and pro football stadiums have this, although it may never catch on with baseball. Look up Paul Brown Stadium in Cincinnati, The Edward Jones Dome in Saint Louis, or Memorial Stadium at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. |
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