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Artificial turf technical glossary

Search the terminology used by manufacturers, laboratories, installers, municipalities, and researchers. Definitions describe the term; they do not turn it into a quality ranking.

Aggregate base

Prepared granular layer below turf that supports loads, establishes grade, and may store or move water. Its material, gradation, thickness, compaction, and outlet must fit the site.

Antimicrobial claim

A claim that a treatment controls specified microorganisms under stated conditions. It requires the active technology, target organisms, method, duration, use limits, and regulatory basis.

ASTM

Standards organization that publishes voluntary consensus test methods, specifications, guides, and practices. The document number, edition, scope, and adoption by a contract or authority matter.

Backing

Layers that carry and anchor turf fibres. A primary backing receives tufts; a secondary coating or layer helps secure them and affects stability and drainage construction.

Ball roll

Measured distance or behaviour of a ball moving across a surface under a defined sports or putting protocol. It is use-specific and changes with slope, pile, infill, moisture, and maintenance.

Batch / lot

Traceable production quantity made under defined conditions. Lot identification helps connect the delivered roll to manufacturing and test records.

Blade profile

Cross-sectional shape of a turf filament, such as flat, ribbed, C-shaped, or diamond. Shape can influence reflection, feel, recovery, and splitting but is not a standardized quality grade.

Bulk density

Mass of a loose material per bulk volume, including spaces between particles. Used when translating infill or aggregate volume and mass.

Catch basin

Drainage structure that receives surface water and connects to an approved outlet. It requires accessible maintenance and cannot compensate for an unsuitable downstream system.

Chain of custody

Record of who selected, handled, transported, stored, and tested a sample. Strong chain of custody reduces uncertainty about whether a report covers the actual product.

Compaction

Mechanical densification of soil or aggregate. Equipment, moisture, lift thickness, material, and verification affect support and drainage; “compacted” alone is not a specification.

Critical fall height

Maximum laboratory-determined drop height at which playground surfacing material meets the ASTM F1292 impact criteria under the specified conditioning. It does not by itself demonstrate the condition or performance of the installed surface; field testing and inspection address different questions.

Crumb rubber / SBR infill

Granular material often made from recycled tires and widely studied on sports fields. Findings for crumb rubber do not automatically apply to other infills or residential systems.

Denier

Yarn linear-density unit equal to grams per 9,000 metres. It describes mass per length, not complete product durability.

Dimensional stability

Resistance of turf fabric to shrinkage, expansion, curling, or distortion under moisture, heat, frost, or other conditions.

Downspout

Pipe carrying roof water from an eavestrough. Its discharge location can dominate yard drainage and must remain away from foundations and neighbouring property as locally required.

Drainage outlet

Approved destination or route that receives water from a surface or drainage layer. An outlet needs sufficient elevation and downstream capacity.

Drainage rate

Measured flow through a specified specimen or system under a defined method. Units and test configuration are essential; the value is not a guarantee against yard flooding.

Dtex

Yarn linear-density unit equal to grams per 10,000 metres. A larger dtex is not automatically softer, stronger, denser, or better.

Edge restraint

Perimeter detail that controls movement, protects cuts, manages transitions, and may help contain infill. It must not unintentionally dam water.

Environmental product declaration (EPD)

Standardized disclosure of modelled environmental impacts for a defined product and lifecycle boundary. It is not an environmental endorsement and depends on assumptions.

EPDM

Ethylene propylene diene monomer elastomer sometimes used as performance infill. Exact formulation, additives, test evidence, ageing, and intended use still matter.

Extractable organic fluorine (EOF)

Analytical measure of organic fluorine that can be extracted under a method. It can capture more than a targeted PFAS list but does not necessarily account for all fluorine.

Face weight / pile mass

Mass of pile yarn above the backing per unit area when used in its conventional sense. Confirm whether a supplier’s number includes backing or thatch.

Filament

Individual continuous or cut element forming part of a yarn or tuft. A tuft can contain several yarn ends and many filaments.

Filament bind

Resistance to pulling one monofilament from a tuft bundle under a defined test. It is different from withdrawing the entire tuft.

Geotextile

Permeable textile used for separation, filtration, reinforcement, protection, or drainage. Its purpose and properties must be designed; placing fabric everywhere can create unintended interfaces.

Grade / grading

Elevation and slope of the land or prepared surface. Grading determines where surface water flows and how transitions meet buildings and boundaries.

Gauge

Spacing between tuft rows, usually inherited from tufting-machine needle spacing. Gauge does not state stitch rate or total fibre mass.

G-max

Peak acceleration measured in an impact test. Used with other criteria in playground and sports surface evaluation; it is not a general softness score.

Head Injury Criterion (HIC)

Measure derived from impact acceleration and duration, used in defined impact-attenuation tests. It estimates relative impact severity within the method’s scope.

Infill

Loose material placed between fibres to provide functions such as ballast, pile support, feel, or sports performance. Type, grading, quantity, maintenance, and containment matter.

ISO/IEC 17025

International standard for competence, impartiality, and consistent operation of testing/calibration laboratories. Accreditation is method- and scope-specific.

Latex coating

One family of secondary backing/coating used to anchor tufts. Formulation and ageing properties matter more than the family name alone.

Lifecycle assessment (LCA)

Method for modelling environmental impacts across defined product stages. Results depend on functional unit, boundary, geography, service life, maintenance, replacement, and end-of-life assumptions.

Limit of detection / reporting limit

Lowest level a method can reliably distinguish or report under stated conditions. “Not detected” means below that limit, not absolute zero.

Masterbatch

Concentrated blend of pigment or additives mixed into polymer during fibre production. It may include colourants, UV stabilizers, or processing aids.

Microplastics

Small solid plastic particles. Turf fibres or polymeric infill can fragment or migrate through wear, weathering, cutting, runoff, snow handling, and waste operations.

Monofilament

Individually extruded filament used as a turf blade, often with a defined cross-sectional profile. It differs from slit-film yarn cut from a wider film.

No intentionally added PFAS

Supply-chain declaration about deliberate use. It is not the same as analytical non-detection, total-fluorine testing, or absence of incidental contamination.

Nominal value

Declared target value used to identify or describe a product. A professional data sheet should also state tolerance and method.

PAH

Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon. A report must identify which PAHs, sample/component, extraction, method, reporting limits, and comparison criteria were used.

Permeability

Ability of a material or assembly to transmit fluid under stated conditions. Turf permeability is only one part of installed property drainage.

PFAS

Large family of per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances. Targeted PFAS, total fluorine, and extractable organic fluorine tests answer different questions.

Pile direction

Direction fibres lean after manufacturing and installation. Adjacent rolls laid differently can appear to be different colours.

Pile height

Distance from backing surface to fibre tip under a defined method. Longer pile is not automatically denser, softer, or more durable.

Polyethylene (PE)

Polymer commonly used in landscape turf fibres. Resin formulation, additives, profile, processing, and construction matter alongside polymer family.

Polypropylene (PP)

Polymer often used in thatch, fibres, or backing structures. It should not be ranked without knowing component, formulation, and application.

Polyurethane (PU)

Polymer family used in some backing/coating, adhesive, or pad systems. Exact chemistry and system compatibility vary.

Primary backing

Structural textile through which turf yarn is tufted. It works with the secondary coating/backing to retain fibres and control dimensions.

Resilience / recovery

Ability of fibres or a surface system to recover after load. Test protocol, time, temperature, infill, traffic, and maintenance affect the observation.

Safety data sheet (SDS)

Workplace hazard and handling document for a chemical product or material. It does not certify total consumer or environmental safety.

Seam tape and adhesive

Materials joining adjacent turf rolls. Compatibility, weather, moisture, preparation, movement, and curing influence performance.

Secondary coating / backing

Material applied or attached after tufting to anchor fibres and contribute to strength, stability, and drainage construction.

Shock pad

Resilient layer below turf used in some sports or playground assemblies to influence impact performance. It must be evaluated as part of the installed system.

Silica sand

Mineral infill category commonly used for ballast and pile support. Cleanliness, grading, dust, particle shape, quantity, and handling are product-specific.

Slit-film yarn

Yarn produced by cutting or fibrillating wider polymer film into strips. It behaves differently from monofilament yarn and is not inherently superior or inferior.

Soft landscaping

Planning/zoning term whose legal definition varies. Toronto states artificial turf is not soft landscaping for its cited requirements; other municipalities must be checked separately.

Stitch rate

Number of tuft insertions along a tuft row over a stated length. The denominator and gauge are needed for comparison.

Subgrade

Prepared native soil or fill supporting the base system. Moisture, strength, organics, disturbance, frost, and drainage can affect settlement.

Targeted PFAS analysis

Laboratory measurement of a named list of PFAS. Compounds outside the list are not measured, so scope and reporting limits must accompany the result.

Technical data sheet (TDS)

Manufacturer document describing product properties and instructions. Ask which values are nominal, tested, declared, or warranted.

Test method

Standardized procedure for measuring a property. A method may produce a number without defining whether the number passes an application requirement.

Thermoplastic elastomer (TPE)

Family of materials sometimes used as performance infill. Formulations and constituent profiles vary, so exact product evidence is required.

Total fluorine

Measure of all fluorine detected by the method, including inorganic and organic sources. It is not automatically equal to total PFAS.

Tuft

Bundle or loop of yarn inserted through primary backing during tufting. One tuft can contain multiple yarn ends and filaments.

Tuft bind / tuft withdrawal

Force required to pull a tuft from the backing under a defined method. Conditioning and ageing can materially affect results.

Tuft density

Number of tufts per unit area, derived from gauge and stitch rate when definitions are consistent. It is not the same as filament count.

Tufting

Manufacturing process in which needles insert yarn through primary backing before fibres are anchored by a secondary system.

Underdrain

Subsurface drainage pipe or structure intended to collect and convey water. It requires filter design, sufficient grade, maintenance access, and an approved outlet.

UV / artificial weathering

Controlled exposure to light, heat, moisture, or cycles used to compare material change. Laboratory hours do not translate directly into guaranteed outdoor years.

VOC

Volatile organic compound. A report must identify compounds, sampling conditions, analytical method, time, temperature, and comparison basis.

Warranty

Written promise with defined product, party, period, remedy, obligations, and exclusions. Warranty duration is not the same as expected service life.

Water path

Route water follows across, through, beneath, and away from the turf system. Surface, vertical, lateral, and overflow paths should all be considered.

Yarn

Continuous strand or bundle used to form turf pile or thatch. Polymer, filament type, mass, geometry, colour, additives, and processing influence behaviour.

Zeolite

Mineral family sometimes marketed for adsorption or pet-area use. Mineral identity, grading, capacity, regeneration, dust, and evidence for the exact claim are required.