Abstract
The surfaces of athletic stadiums have improved since 1970. However, no classification has been made regarding the scars on surfaces. A standard of the surface was announced by the IAAF(International Association of Athletics Federations) in 1998. This standard consists of 10 properties such as force reduction, friction and modified vertical deformation. These properties and precedence studies are mostly in regard to vertical direction but few are related to the characteristics of level direction. The purposes of this study were to classify the scars on surfaces of athletic stadiums and to develop a wear test device. The characteristics of 3 kinds of track surfaces were investigated by using this device. Theresults are as follows;1) Scars on surfaces of the athletic stadiums were classified into three categories, a) abrasive wear (scratch damage), b) abrasive wear (brake damage), c) fatigue wear.2) The wear test device is able to simulate the contact phase of human running and can carry out various tests. This device detects the forces of spike pins and surface.3) It became clear that the vertical direction force is big on a hard surface.
