Biomechanical research

Since many years TST Terra Sports Technology investigates the interaction between the athlete and the sport surface.

The company has invested in a sophisticated Motion Capture System software which is installed at the Department of Movement Science at Maastricht University. By this system the scientists can measure the forces and torques of muscles and joints as a result of any specific movement of the player on a sport surface.

The Motion Capture has been applied to an athlet running on artificial grass surfaces infilled with different infill types, and the results showed that SO.F.TER. TPE infill gurantee a very safe and natural sport performance.

Polymer science

SO.F.TER. infill products are based on specially engineered Thermoplastic Elastomers which have been developed in the company Research Centre.

 

The SO.F.TER. Research Center is located in Forlì  where it covers an area of 1.500 sqm. and employs a staff of 15 specialized analists and chemists. It is equipped with state-of-the-art technologies which are necessary for measuring all materials properties and their ageing behaviour.

 

The accelerated ageing tests are very important in the case of infill materials, because they simulate the effect of UV rays and other weathering agents on the TPE granules and allow to test the performance of polymeric materials in their future real life application.

 

All the tests carried out both in house labs and in external agreed Laboartories proved that SO.F.TER. infill product maintain their elasticity and mechanical properties even after 3000 hours of exposure to UV lamps.