Surfaces for sports areas - Determination of shock absorption

This European Standard specifies a method for the determination of shock absorption characteristics of sports surfaces.
NOTE   The method specified is commonly known as the Artificial Athlete (Berlin) method.

Sportböden - Bestimmung des Kraftabbaus

Diese Europäische Norm legt ein Verfahren zur Bestimmung des Kraftabbaus von Sportböden fest.

Sols sportifs - Détermination de l'absorption des chocs

La présente Norme européenne spécifie une méthode de détermination des caractéristiques d’absorption des chocs des sols sportifs.
NOTE   La méthode spécifiée est communément désignée sous le nom de méthode de l’athlète artificiel (Berlin).

Podloge za športne dejavnosti – Ugotavljanje ublažitve udarca

General Information

Status
Published
Publication Date
28-Feb-2006
Technical Committee
SPO - Sports
Current Stage
6060 - National Implementation/Publication (Adopted Project)
Start Date
01-Mar-2006
Due Date
01-Mar-2006
Completion Date
01-Mar-2006

Overview

EN 14808:2005 (CEN) defines a standardized method to determine the shock absorption characteristics of sports surfaces. Commonly known as the Artificial Athlete (Berlin) method, the standard provides a repeatable test procedure used by test laboratories, manufacturers and facility managers to assess impact performance and inform safety or product design decisions.

This European Standard covers test-piece preparation, conditioning, apparatus requirements, measurement procedures and reporting requirements for area-elastic, point-elastic, combined-elastic and mixed-elastic sports surfaces.

Key Topics

  • Principle: A defined mass is allowed to fall onto a spring-mounted testing foot placed on the test piece. The peak impact force on the surface is recorded and compared with a reference measurement on concrete to compute force reduction.

  • Test pieces:

    • Area-elastic and combined-elastic surfaces: assembled sample 3.5 m × 3.5 m on required substrate.
    • Point-elastic and mixed-elastic surfaces: minimum sample 1.0 m × 1.0 m, including supporting layers and attachment method.
    • Laboratory preparation of synthetic turf or textile samples is referenced to EN 12229.
  • Conditioning: Laboratory tests require conditioning the test piece for a minimum of 40 h at (23 ± 2) °C. On-site tests use prevailing ambient conditions which must be recorded.

  • Apparatus: The method specifies a falling mass (20 ± 0.1 kg), a linear spiral spring assembly, guiding tube, a testing foot with defined dimensions and mass, and a force sensing and recording system with specified frequency response and sampling characteristics.

  • Measurement and calculation: A reference peak force Fr is measured on a rigid concrete floor. The test peak force Ft is measured on the surface. Force reduction R is calculated as:

    R = (1 − Ft / Fr) × 100

    Results are reported as the mean of the second and third impacts at a test position and rounded to the nearest whole percentage.

Applications

  • Performance verification of sports flooring for safety and athlete protection
  • Quality control in manufacturing and installation of sports surfaces
  • Comparative testing for product development and certification
  • On-site acceptance testing for new or refurbished sports facilities

Benefits include consistent measurement of impact attenuation, clear test-piece and apparatus definitions, and a standardized report format useful for procurement, compliance and risk assessment.

Related Standards

  • EN 12229 - Preparation of synthetic turf and textile test pieces (referenced for laboratory sample preparation)
  • ISO 6487 - Instrumentation and measurement techniques for impact tests (referenced for recording and signal conditioning)

For test reporting EN 14808:2005 requires inclusion of the reference to the standard, surface identification, ambient conditions, force reduction result, value and date of the reference force Fr, surface condition (wet/dry) and statement of uncertainty.

Frequently Asked Questions

SIST EN 14808:2006 is a standard published by the Slovenian Institute for Standardization (SIST). Its full title is "Surfaces for sports areas - Determination of shock absorption". This standard covers: This European Standard specifies a method for the determination of shock absorption characteristics of sports surfaces. NOTE The method specified is commonly known as the Artificial Athlete (Berlin) method.

This European Standard specifies a method for the determination of shock absorption characteristics of sports surfaces. NOTE The method specified is commonly known as the Artificial Athlete (Berlin) method.

SIST EN 14808:2006 is classified under the following ICS (International Classification for Standards) categories: 97.220.10 - Sports facilities. The ICS classification helps identify the subject area and facilitates finding related standards.

SIST EN 14808:2006 is available in PDF format for immediate download after purchase. The document can be added to your cart and obtained through the secure checkout process. Digital delivery ensures instant access to the complete standard document.

Standards Content (Sample)


SLOVENSKI STANDARD
01-marec-2006
Podloge za športne dejavnosti – Ugotavljanje ublažitve udarca
Surfaces for sports areas - Determination of shock absorption
Sportböden - Bestimmung des Kraftabbaus
Sols sportifs - Détermination de l'absorption des chocs
Ta slovenski standard je istoveten z: EN 14808:2005
ICS:
97.220.10 Športni objekti Sports facilities
2003-01.Slovenski inštitut za standardizacijo. Razmnoževanje celote ali delov tega standarda ni dovoljeno.

EUROPEAN STANDARD
EN 14808
NORME EUROPÉENNE
EUROPÄISCHE NORM
December 2005
ICS 97.220.10
English Version
Surfaces for sports areas - Determination of shock absorption
Surfaces de sols sportifs - Détermination de l'absorption Sportböden - Bestimmung des Kraftabbaus
des chocs
This European Standard was approved by CEN on 28 November 2005.
CEN members are bound to comply with the CEN/CENELEC Internal Regulations which stipulate the conditions for giving this European
Standard the status of a national standard without any alteration. Up-to-date lists and bibliographical references concerning such national
standards may be obtained on application to the Central Secretariat or to any CEN member.
This European Standard exists in three official versions (English, French, German). A version in any other language made by translation
under the responsibility of a CEN member into its own language and notified to the Central Secretariat has the same status as the official
versions.
CEN members are the national standards bodies of Austria, Belgium, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France,
Germany, Greece, Hungary, Iceland, Ireland, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Slovakia,
Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland and United Kingdom.
EUROPEAN COMMITTEE FOR STANDARDIZATION
COMITÉ EUROPÉEN DE NORMALISATION
EUROPÄISCHES KOMITEE FÜR NORMUNG
Management Centre: rue de Stassart, 36  B-1050 Brussels
© 2005 CEN All rights of exploitation in any form and by any means reserved Ref. No. EN 14808:2005: E
worldwide for CEN national Members.

Contents Page
Foreword .3
1 Scope.4
2 Normative references.4
3 Terms and definitions.4
4 Principle.4
5 Test piece.5
6 Conditioning and test temperature.5
7 Apparatus.5
8 Measurement of reference force, F .6
r
9 Procedure.6
10 Expression of results.6
11 Test report.8

Foreword
This European Standard (EN 14808:2005) has been prepared by Technical Committee CEN/TC 217 “Surfaces for
sports areas”, the secretariat of which is held by BSI.
This European Standard shall be given the status of a national standard, either by publication of an identical text or
by endorsement, at the latest by June 2006, and conflicting national standards shall be withdrawn at the latest by
June 2006.
According to the CEN/CENELEC Internal Regulations, the national standards organizations of the following
countries are bound to implement this European Standard: Austria, Belgium, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Denmark,
Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Iceland, Ireland, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta,
Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland and United Kingdom.

1 Scope
This European Standard specifies a method for the determination of shock absorption characteristics of sports
surfaces.
NOTE The method specified is commonly known as the Artificial Athlete (Berlin) method.
2 Normative references
The following referenced documents are indispensable for the application of this European Standard. For dated
references, only the edition cited applies. For undated references, the latest edition of the referenced document
(including any amendments) applies.
EN 12229, Surfaces for sports areas — Procedure for the preparation of synthetic turf and textile test pieces
ISO 6487, Road vehicles — Measurement techniques in impact tests — Instrumentation
3 Terms and definitions
For the purposes of this European Standard, the following terms and definitions apply.
3.1
area-elastic sports surface
sports surface, to which the application of a point force causes deflection over a relatively large area around the
point of application of the force
3.2
point-elastic sports surface
sports surface, to which the application of a point force causes deflection only at or close to the point of application
of the force
3.3
combination-elastic sports surface
area-elastic sports surface with a point-elastic top layer, to which the application of a point force causes both
localized deflection and deflection over a wider area
3.4
mixed-elastic sports surface
point-elastic sports surface with an area-stiffening component
NOTE A mixed-elastic sports surface has deflection characteristics between those of an area-elastic surface and a point-
elastic surface.
3.5
shock absorption
ability of a sports surface to reduce the impact force of a body falling onto the surface
NOTE Shock absorption is a physical quantity consisting of damping and resilience due to a certain impact.
4 Principle
A weight is allowed to fall onto a spring placed on the test piece and the maximum force applied is recorded. The
difference between this force and the maximum force measured on a hard surface is reported as the force
reduction.
5 Test piece
For
...

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