Artificial turf from the lab

Artificial turf is robust, durable and stands up to any weather. It allows to practise and to play all the year round and therefore became essential for today's football. Researchers have developed a novel fibre for artificial turf. The bi-component fibre returns to an upright position again and again thanks to a hard core and avoids abrasions and grass burns after a fall because of a soft sheath. The turf has already been laid on two football pitches in Switzerland. A research team of EMPA, together with TISCA TIARA, a manufacturer of textile-based floor coverings, has developed a bi-component fibre. It contains two different polymers.