Synthetic Turf Systems Explained

System Components Defined

Turf Fiber

Turf fiber comes in 3 different types:

•  Slit-Film: Flat turf blades formed by slitting a thin sheet of plastic. 

•  Monofilament Fiber: Dimensional turf blades that stand upright.

•  Dual Fiber: Slit-film and monofilament turf blades blended together.

  A shorter, squiggly fiber built into the turf that helps to add fiber and infill stability to the turf system. Thatch is not included in all turf systems. 

  
  

• Turf Backing: 

• The sheet of woven plastic that holds the blades in place. In most systems, the backing has perforated holes and is the main method of vertical drainage on the field.

• Pile

• The length of fiber from the backing to the tips. It varies in height depending on the application. 

• Free Pile

• The height of the fiber above the infill.  

• Turf Infill

• Infill is the dense, fine particle material located within the synthetic turf. Supporting the turf blades, it acts as the ballast, footing, and athlete shock absorption.

• Infill Layer 

• Sand is often added to lighter weight, performance infills to achieve proper ballast. (Make sure the performance infill is deep enough to cover the common cleat length your players will be using. If the performance layer is not deep enough, your player's cleats might be interacting with sand meaning you will not receive all of the performance benefits of the top layer of infill.)

• Crumb Rubber

• This is a composite material of shredded rubber, sourced from used tires. While crumb rubber is popular, it isn’t ideal for several reasons: there’s no guaranteeing what substances are in a used tire, it deteriorates into dusty particles, it smells, and becomes excessively hot in the sun.