Shock attenuation properties of long pile artificial turf by using portable two-dimensional impact tester

Abstract

The purpose of this study is to verify the discrimination ability of the portable two-dimensional impact tester in identifying the shock attenuation properties of various sports surfaces. In our previous studies, we developed a portable two-dimensional impact tester to investigate the properties of installed fields, especially for horizontal shock attenuation to prevent injuries in sports activities involving artificial turf.In this study, three different hardness levels of artificial turf were installed on acrylic cases. The soft sample consists of rubber and sand in a 6:4 mix, the normal sample has a 5:5 ratio, and the hard sample has a 4:6 ratio. A 60 kg impact weight was dropped from a height of 55 mm onto the center of the impact sensor unit, using eight initial impact angles ranging from 0 degrees to 35 degrees in 5-degree increments. Horizontal and vertical impact forces, as well as horizontal and vertical displacements and angles of the parallelogram linkage, were recorded.Although the vertical maximum forces of the three specimens at various initial impact angles were almost the same, the horizontal maximum forces of the soft specimen were noticeably greater than those of the normal and hard specimens across the various angles. As a result, the impact sensor unit can be transferred after impac t very easily in the soft specimen because the rubber infill does not effectively suppress the movement of the sensor unit. Finally, data from the portable two-dimensional impact tester can be used to identify the properties of the specimens.