A Comparison of two rotational traction test devices

Engineering of Sport 15 - Proceedings from the 15th International Conference on the Engineering of Sport (ISEA 2024)

The Rotational Traction Tester (RTT) and Lightweight Rotational Traction Tester (LRTT) are two FIFA approved devices used in sports pitch certification thought to provide “highly comparable results”(Figure 1a,b). Traditionally these devices have been used to investigate rotational resistance properties of Styrene-Butadiene Rubber (SBR) infilled 3G Artificial Turf (AT) and natural grass surfaces. However, recent restrictions on microplastic use in the EU will likely cause a shift from polymeric to organic-based infills for 3G pitches. Preliminary investigations have shown granular characteristics of polymeric infills to differ from common organic-based infills when subjected to shear and compressional forces, suggesting the method of loading may be important. Both the RTT and LRTT are designed to apply similar forces of approximately 450 ± 20 N through the test foot during rotation, however the increased initial loading from the RTT has the potential to affect surfaces with certain infills differently, possibly resulting in discrepancies between the RTT and LRTT outputs. This study aims to investigate the traction testers on two organic-based infilled 3G surfaces by comparing outputs from each device.