Youth Sports

When artificial turf fields became common in my area, the high surface temperatures were impossible to ignore whenever I played on them.

Co-op Experience

Through my time spent working with cooling technologies at Copeland’s Helix Innovation Center, I was able to begin exploring what a solution to turf’s heat problem could look like.

Increasing Relevance

Environmental concerns, improved performance, and reduced maintenance have made artificial turf a desirable alternative.

Key Benefits

Turf offers a weatherproof, multi-use surface that is both chemical-free and 5x as durable as natural grass.

T°Cool Infill

The “Evaporative Cooling Technology” only offers a 30°F reduction, sustaining average surface temperatures of 110-140°F.

Prior Watering

Heavy watering beforehand is only effective for a short period of time, as temperatures rebound after only 20 minutes.

Safe

Achieve surface temperatures that are consistently safe to use, comparable to natural grass.

Effective

Provide a simple installation and maintenance experience for all involved parties.

Sustainable

Enhance turf’s sustainability by limiting the energy demand of the system.

1. Passthrough

Absorb heat and release it to the ground directly below the surface.

2. Heat Recovery

Collect heat in a way that allows it to be reused on- or off-site.

3. Geothermal

Take advantage of the naturally cool ground 4 feet below the surface.

Interviews

Conducted several meetings with professionals at Copeland’s Innovation Hub to understand likely outcomes. We collectively identified the Geothermal concept as the final direction, as it best meets the design criteria.

User Positioning

Residential applications would vary greatly in demand, shape, and budget. Focusing on the athletics segment provides a consistent need and installation process, as well as a higher availability of resources and infrastructure.

Seamless Integration

This design adds a cooling network that functions within standard artificial turf construction.

How It Works

A closed-loop piping system is embedded beneath the turf’s backing in the upper subgrade, allowing heat to be absorbed and transferred away without altering the surface experience.

Visual

Creating a live cross section of standard turf next to one of this system, which also demonstrates the flow of heat.

Tangible

Allowing viewers to actually feel the expected temperature difference.

Reflection

This project was uniquely challenging in that it forced me to consider possibilities beyond any work I had done. I learned a valuable lesson in letting the needs of the project guide my thinking, rather than forcing it to fit any notion I had of what it should be.

Acknowledgements

Special thanks to my friends at Copeland for encouraging me to take on this project and making time to offer support. Thank you to my professors and peers for all the feedback and guidance, and to my friends and family for keeping me sane along the way.