On  April 7, 1998 Turf Diagnostics and Design, Inc. was awarded US Patent No. 5,736,631 for the STRIPE Turf Impact Analysis System.  The STRIPE™ Program is a combination of technology connected by patented hardware and software developed by TD&D. The STRIPE™ Program defines the surface characteristics of turf systems and provides information as to the  construction of the field and turf management program for the field.   It has been used by TD&D to evaluate sports fields and golf courses at the high school, college, and professional level, as well as, industry suppliers. 

    Early work to quantitatively analyze soil surface conditions was done by Dr. Baden Clegg during the 1970's in Australia. In the earlier Clegg hammer apparatus, the accelerometer is connected to an instrument which detects and reads out the maximum deceleration experienced by the accelerometer, which is referred to as G-max. While peak deceleration is an important parameter, it is known that additional parameters, which can be measured or calculated from the accelerometer output signal, provide more complete information about the character of the soil surface. These include:
 

    The STRIPE™ Program determines all these values within 3-5 seconds of the impact of the hammer and offers the visual determination of the quality of the impact with a completely portable system. The STRIPE™ Program also has the capability of evaluating an unlimited quantity of data points.

    The STRIPE™ Program is critical because the vast majority of the sports fields in the United States are constructed of native soil materials without the benefit of irrigation. These fields can generate very high severity indices. In many cases, the surface conditions are harder than asphalt on a summer afternoon. The presence of a quality stand of turf does not preclude dangerous subsurface characteristics. There is a direct correlation between the severity index and cranial injuries based on reserach by the automobile industry.

    Another important factor that the STRIPE™ Program detects are sports fields that are too soft. A soft field can cause serious injuries albeit not as threatening as fields with high severity indices. The STRIPE™ Program used in conjunction with laboratory testing can indicate which turf procedures can be use to increase the safety of the field.

    Turf Diagnostics & Design also offers impact testing on artificial turf surfaces by ASTM methods F355A and F1936, using our Sports Surface Impact Test System.  For more information click here.

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