Sport textile is one of the branches of
Technical textile, which deals with sport related materials, sports wear and
equipments etc. Sport textiles can be classified under following categories.
Sports Equipments: Includes ball, bat, bike
frames, sport nets, tennis rackets, ski and surf equipments.
Sports Wear: Includes shoes, helmets,
swimwear, t-shirts, socks etc.
Sport Nets:
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| Fig- Sports Net |
Sport nest are used in various sports like
cricket, badminton, foot ball, basket ball, Volley balls, hand ball, Tennis
etc. They are also used by cricket players in practices areas. Other types of
nets in the field include Windscreens, field house nets, divider nets, divider
curtains.
Materials Requirements and Technology:
Manufacture by using Nylon, Nylon + Polyester
and Polypropylene are widely used.
Produced by two methods either by knotting or
may be knotless.
The knot from patterns of simple squares,
hexagonal or some of them have elaborated design and construction.
The advantages of knots are that they allow
wide range of stretch in all direction and some amount of flexibility depending
upon the material used during manufacturing and knot size.
Types of Sport Nets:
Tennis nets, foot ball nets, volley ball
nets, hand ball nets, cricket nets, golf net, badminton nets etc.
Properties of Sport Nets:
- The net should offer transparency; it should be visible to the players.
- The nets should have patterns to hold the ball.
- They should have adequate strength and should be durable.
Balls:
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| Fig- Tennis Ball |
Tennis balls are manufactured by weaving and
needled felts. Foot balls are manufactured by both traditional and modern
method, the former is not being used lately. The traditional ball was produced
by pigskin during cold weather.
Butyl rubber bladder is used these days as it
provides easier grip in cold weather but the only drawback is that it is less
durable. The multi layer arrangement of polyurethane bladder, 3-ply high
performance spun polyester lining and Kevlar 29 seams.
Artificial Turf:
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| Fig- Artificial Turf |
The artificial turf is a surface manufactured
from synthetic fibers to look natural. It is often used for sports played on
grass. It is sued as a substitute for natural grass as natural grass is
expensive to maintain and establish.
The major advantage of using textiles for
this purpose is that it posses uniformity, and suitable for all weather playing
surfaces and provides constant performance with little deterioration.
The fibers used for manufacturing artificial
turf are polypropylene, polyamide, polyester and acrylic fibers.
It has two types:
- Pile carpets (Artificial grass)
- Felt structure
Pile carpet (Artificial Grass):
The pile carpet is constructed by two major
components, pile fibers and base fabric.
Pile fibers:
- Consists of tape fibers made of nylon6,6 for wear resistance
- Knitted into a tough backing fabric
- They are crimped to improve resilience and density for uniform and consistent bounce of the ball.
Base Fabric:
- The fabric is mostly made up of polyester tire cord yarns with high strength.
- It is the laid on foam underpad for providing cushioning effect and safety against hard falls.
Requirements of Artificial Turf:
- Should not cause damage to the player’s skin upon contact during sliding
- It Should be paintable for marking field lines
- It should posses low moisture regain for outdoor sports
- Easy replacement of worn of worn out section
- It should be resistant to photochemical and biodegradation (outdoor sports)
- It should offer resistance against stain and damage
- It should be durable and posses ability to be cleaned.
Advantages and Disadvantages:
- It is suitable for all climates
- Reduces the cost of maintenance
- The drawback is that it tends to become hot and rubber infills contain heavy metals
- Friction between skin and turf cause high burning.
Testing Methods:
The fibers are tested by lisport wear tester
Some other tests are:
Shock abrasion, vertical deformation, ball
roll and slip resistance rebound.
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