World Cup athletes in high-tech equipment can not be separated from the chemical industry

China Paint Online News Information
This time, I believe that many people after work after dinner, they will be in front of the television, cheering for their support of the team. While enjoying the highest level of football in the world, you may not know that the contribution of the chemical industry to a great football match is not only the athletes, coaches, referees and fans. The development of football itself is the microcosm of the development of material science, artificial turf has promoted the further promotion and development of football, and football players a high-tech equipment, but also rely on the chemical industry.
rubber technology
create the perfect football
in the appreciation of the highest level of football, or when you play your own football, have you ever wondered, football is made of what materials? TV naysitors often call footballs "skinballs", are they really made of leather?
, in fact, when football was just developing, material technology became the key to standardization and formal sports. This is because, a ball movement can move towards standardization, depending on whether a material can be found, so that the ball can maintain the size, weight and internal pressure of the stability, not to be kicked; At the same time, this material ensures that the ball can be produced to standards in every part of the world. In the past, people used animals' bladders, stomachs, etc., and then wrapped in leather and kicked around. Obviously, such football can easily be kicked out and cannot meet the requirements of the widespread promotion of football.
1838, this difficulty was solved by an American chemist, charles Goodyeot. His invention of rubber vulcanization technology not only became the foundation of today's global rubber industry, but also the achievement of football. To this day, all football's guts are rubber.
with the continuous improvement of the level of competition, modern football for the air tightness of the ball more and more demanding, often used in cars and aircraft tire inner tubes of butyl rubber has become the preferred material for football guts. Not only that, butyl rubber also has excellent water resistance and heat resistance, which allows today's football to maintain a stable shape in a variety of venues and environments.
, football can not only have guts, after all, simple rubber ball kick is also very uncomfortable. In the mid-to-late 19th century, football manufacturers in the rubber inner gut outside, coupled with the outer layer of leather, these footballs also became the earliest standardized football image, then football, can be said to be the true meaning of the "skin ball." However, there are obvious problems with such treatment: leather is easy to absorb water, if playing in the rain, football will become more and more heavy, with the foot to play football and with the torso to stop the ball, until the need to use the overhead ball, water storage ball and head collision, that taste really bad.
football players were plagued by dementia, according to a British study, which included the use of leather football. However, because the development of synthetic materials at that time could not meet the needs of football, leather football was used until the 1970s.
1974, Adidas teamed up with what was then Bayer Materials (now Cosco) to develop polyurethane football outer layer materials, which were used at that year's World Cup. This material makes football more flexible, and does not absorb water, does not decay, become the football outer layer of material is not the first choice. By the 1986 World Cup, leather materials had completely withdrawn from the World Cup stage.
the Russian World Cup ball named "Telstar 18", the use of 3 yuan ethyl propylene rubber (EPDM) polymerization technology, raw materials extracted from sugar cane, but also effectively reduce hydrocarbon emissions, to achieve natural pollution-free.
artificial turf
allows football to be promoted
in fact, the vast majority of football matches we see on television are played on natural turf courts. However, this also brings about a problem, the natural lawn course needs to be regularly maintained, watering, pruning, deworming, if some areas are too hot, too cold, too dry, too wet, can not guarantee the normal maintenance of natural turf, operating costs will be greatly increased. This is impractical for some schools, communities and public places. So, where do the usual football matches and training take place? The maintenance cost of natural turf is so high, how to make football more popular?
believe that everyone has come up with the answer. Yes, this is the time when artificial turf shows its useful use. The so-called artificial turf, is the imitation of grass leaf-like synthetic fibers, implanted in the base cloth of the machine, the back of the coating that has a fixed effect.
man-made turf consists of a base layer, a buffer layer, and a turf layer. The base layer consists of a solid earth layer, a gravel layer and an asphalt or concrete layer. Above the foundation layer is a buffer layer, usually made of rubber or foam. Rubber elasticity is moderate, thickness of 3 to 5 mm. Foam is less expensive, but less elastic, so the thickness needs to be 5 to 10 mm. The buffer layer should be firmly pasted on the base layer, usually pasted with white latex or adhesive. The surface of artificial turf is the turf layer, according to the surface shape is divided into fluffy turf, circular curly nylon silk grass, leafy polypropylene fiber grass, nylon silk made of permeable turf, etc. , the main materials used are polyethylene, polypropylene and polyamide, etc. , must also be glued to rubber or foam with latex.
Compared to natural turf, artificial turf has similar properties, strong weather resistance, wide range of applications and very low maintenance costs, making it ideal for use in areas and places that are not suitable for growing natural turf, and is also conducive to public fitness. Because of this characteristic of artificial turf, FIFA is also very willing to promote artificial turf. In winter in Iceland and Bhutan in the highland climate, artificial turf pitches have been set up, which has also helped countries such as Iceland and Bhutan to develop rapidly. The 2015 Women's World Cup became the first international event to use artificial turf. Most of the pitches around us use artificial turf.
, however, artificial turf also has many disadvantages and is not a substitute for natural turf. First of all, natural turf has a significant cooling effect, while artificial turf does not, in summer competitions, artificial turf court will be very hot; Second, the "grass species" of artificial turf are harder than natural turf, which increases the risk of scratching an athlete's skin. In addition, football has less elasticity on natural turf, scrolls faster, and helps players control the ball. As a result, some footballers have also become opponents of artificial turf.
Synthetic materials
empower players to play better
according to FIFA rules, footballers are equipped with jerseys, shorts, socks, shoes and leggings, and gloves are required if they are goalkeepers. And the production of these equipments are basically inseparable from high-tech chemical products.
take jerseys and jerseys, modern jerseys require maximum help for players to dissipate heat and sweat, while the fights and pulls that often occur in sports require the jerseys to be very resilient. As a result, traditional natural fabrics are not up to the task. As the synthetic resin industry developed, jersey fabrics quickly ditched wool and cotton in favor of polyester and nylon. Today, the fabric for the premium jersey is made of Lyca, a polyurethane fiber (spandex). This material has excellent elasticity, is not easy to absorb water, and can be mixed with other fabrics, has become the preferred fabric for athletes jerseys.
the 2018 World Cup, about 60 per cent of the players' sportswear was recycled from mineral water bottles. This plastic extraction of environmentally friendly yarn made of environmentally friendly jerseys, not only light breathable, but also can quickly sweat.
look at football shoes, which consist of three parts, namely, uppers, soles and nails. Kangaroo skin has long been the first choice for top-of-the-line shoe surface materials. With the development of synthetic materials industry in recent years, polyester, nylon microfibre composite materials are becoming the new favorite of upper materials. At present, the top synthetic materials can overcome the shortcomings of natural leather water absorption, wear resistance, but also inherit all the advantages of natural leather, and more durable, lower raw material costs.
sole material is mainly thermoplastic polyurethane (TPU), with tough, wear-resistant and low-cost properties, very in line with the requirements of football shoes high-intensity confrontation. If you think the TPU material is heavy, lighter but slightly less effective nylon is also a good choice.
nail material is more exquisite, depending on the use of the site and climate, shoe nail material also has different choices. Steel nails and rubber long nails are the most common for professional athletes who usually play on natural turf.
Let's take a look at the goalkeeper gloves, it is not ordinary knitwear, the technical core of the gloves is the palm material, generally using natural rubber and specific synthetic rubber combination, its thickness of 3 to 4 mm, requires a strong viscosity and coefficient of friction, can help the goalkeeper better catch the flying ball. Until these materials developed, goalkeepers rarely wore gloves. If we see "butter hands" at the World Cup, remember, it must be the goalkeeper's fault.
the protective leg plate to protect the athlete's calves, and its material is the most technical of all equipment. At present, leggings are mainly made of glass fiber, foaming rubber, polyurethane, plastic and metal. The fiberglass is lightweight and structurally strong, and is the best leg plate material. Recently, with the development of high-performance fiber composite materials, carbon fiber and titanium fiber composite materials have also become the top leg plate manufacturing materials, in order to provide adequate protection for athletes, but also do not put a burden on athletes, do not affect the movement of players.
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