Differences in wear behaviour of synthetic turf systems using different infill materials

12 Mins Read

March 31, 2025

With polymeric infills to be banned from late 2031, the European synthetic turf industry has resorted to embracing organic alternatives as well as developing non-fill or mineral-filled surfaces. Yarns in these surface also experience abrasion. Matthias Schucht and Paul Pöhler of Laboratory Lehmacher | Schneider from Osnabrück, Germany have studied this phenomenon to establish the impact of the various materials.

By Matthias Schucht & Paul Pöhler, Laboratory Lehmacher | Schneider, Osnabrück

Laboratory Lehmacher | Schneider, located in the centre and working all over Europe, is a well-established product and field-testing laboratory. They test to EN, FIFA, FIH and German RAL standards. In 2020 the German Government decided to no longer fund synthetic turf projects with a polymeric infill pending the outcome of an EC-study in microplastic pollution from intentionally added microplastics. Laboratory Lehmacher | Schneider quickly realised that it would be only a matter of time before microplastic pollution from unintentionally added microplastics would be viewed as problematic too. They set up a study to investigate exactly how much influence the type and amount of infill used, has on the fibre. The results included in this article indicate that the fibre wear, as the main indicator of the durability of the synthetic turf surface, is strongly influenced by the type and amount of infill used.

Variety of factors

In general, it must be noted that fibre wear is influenced by a variety of factors. In the internal study, a large number (n = 124) of synthetic turf systems were examined. Only carpets of 30mm pile height or a higher pile were included in the study. The study did not exhibit a uniform distribution in terms of carpet construction, fibre shape and dimension, infill type and infill quantity. In addition, various additional factors such as Lisport machine used, different sand used, etc. also can have an influence on the fibre wear during the tests. Despite this, the results show noticeable differences in fibre wear in correlation with the infill used and its quantity.

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