A muga surface (multi-use games area) is an artificial sports surface that is used to play numerous different types of sports. These surfaces are popular within schools as they provide the opportunity to have a range of activities taking place at the same time without causing too much damage to the actual surface itself.
MUGA surfaces can be constructed from tarmac, polymeric or synthetic turf. MUGA pitches can be either a type 1 or 2 – the type 1 pitch is built using a porous macadam which is open graded and frost resistant, this will be applied in two layers – one layer for stability and strength and the other as a playing surface where markings are painted to distinguish between the various different sports played on it.
Exploring the World of Muga Surfaces: A Comprehensive Guide
Polymeric surfaced areas are suitable for ball rebound sports like netball, five-a-side football and tennis and training areas for non-ball sports such as athletics, these surfaces can be sand filled, sand dressed or have an all-weather needle punch synthetic surface. These surfaces are also ideal for wheelchair sports as they have an excellent level of shock absorbency.
Plasma treatment of muga fibers results in the decomposition of amino acids such as glycine and alanine along with the scission of side chain groups resulting in the loosening of the molecule. This enables the water molecules to penetrate into the molecule and increase the water contact angle, thus improving the hydrophobicity of the muga fiber. Increasing the RF power and treatment time results in the deterioration of the properties of the treated muga fibers as the surface roughness increases.