Recent Advances in Synthetic Turf and Infill Materials

In today’s society, sport is something that is reported on a minute-to-minute basis, with full coverage of the latest sporting events at all times. As sports have become an even more central part of the world, the science behind every aspect of a sport is looked at under an intense microscope as advancements are made everyday to make sports safer, cheaper, and an overall better experience for everyone involved. The playing surfaces used by athletes have become an even greater interest in recent years as new technologies have made it so that fields are now cheaper, safer and easier to maintain. Synthetic turf has quickly become the standard field for organizations that are planning on installing a new field. Synthetic turf has two main components that allow for it to be as realistic as possible: synthetic turf blades and infill materials.
Rubber has always been the infill material of choice for the past decades, but new research proves that it may not actually be the best infill material available. High levels of harmful pollutants and the inability for rubber to stay cool on exceptionally hot days have lead companies to try to find other alternatives to rubber that have all the same characteristics, yet are more environmentally friendly and cool down quick. Due to the high interest of sports, the advancements of synthetic turf technologies have been researched in all sports realms from the soccer pitches of England horse tracks of California where safety is always the biggest concern. Synthetic turf is a product that has advancements made frequently because all turf must be custom made for a specific sport that requires specific regulations. This paper documents the ongoing changes and research into synthetic turf and the science behind these major advancements. Today, most synthetic turf systems installed include three separate layers: a drainage layer, a multi-layered backing system, and resilient "grass" blades that are infilled with a granular filler to