Being prominent suppliers of artificial
grass in Perth, we have a great interest in the history of our
products and their developments. Today, we are pleased to share with
our readers and customers an insight into just one of the technical
aspects of the artificial grass and the effects of UV rays on
it.
It is widely known that early varieties
of synthetic grass suffered from degradation through exposure
to UV rays. The two major effects of ultra violet light were:
- Loss in the tensile strength of the strands
- Whitening or fading of the blades (a chalky appearance)
In countries that receive direct
sunlight for maximum number of hours, the degradation of artificial
grass starts to show within as early as 2 years.
NOTE: To be fair, this effect relates
to all the products made up of plastics and synthetic fibers. For
example, the plastic climbing frames installed in the gardens for
children to play becomes whiter after several years due to their
exposure to direct sunlight.
The actual damage done by ultra violet rays can be complicated by various other factors also such as the actual ambient temperature and the interaction of the product with humidity. So, when assuming the likely life of the plastic-made products, you also need to know the geographical factors of the area where the products will be used.
How to protect the artificial grass from the harmful effects of UV?
Thankfully, after thorough and
extensive research over the years, the developers have found
techniques to tackle this problem. They found that the addition of
stabilisers, absorbers or blockers to synthetic grass can counteract
the UV damage. Here at AGAP, all the products are tested to ISO
standards for UV resistance.
