Types Of Artificial Grass

Artificial grass has found a wide acceptance in a variety of sports. Some of the prime reasons behind its popularity are its durability, resistance to intensive use, and the need for minimal maintenance. Artificial grass sports pitches can be used all through the year and they offer a good value for the money spent on their construction and installation. Artificial sports pitches can also be constructed to offer different playing characteristics to suit the requirements of different sports.

Let us have a look at the kinds of artificial grass:

• In-filled artificial turf made of polypropylene: This is the most common type of synthetic, man-made sports surface. In this case, polypropylene 'grass' fibres about 5 cm long are lubricated with silicon and tufted into a primary cloth. The back of the cloth is then given a latex coating. The whole thing is then in-filled with about 4 cm layer of sand or rubber granules to keep the fibres upright. Such a surface is widely used for playing football.


• In-filled artificial turf made of polyethylene: This in-filled artificial turf is made of a foamy material called polyethylene. In this case, the pitch has a base of expanded polyethylene which acts as an effective shock absorber.


• Sand-dressed artificial turf: This variant in artificial outdoor sports surfaces is not heavily in-filled with sand. The pile of the artificial carpet is filled with fine sand only up to 5-8 mm from the tip of the fibres. This is the reason why the sand cannot be seen in this type of artificial turf.

In-filled artificial sports surfaces can cater to a wide range of sports by varying the length and the density of the synthetic grass fibres.