A special test for manufacturers of sports hall flooring and impact protection surface systems for walls is the product development test. It entails the collaborative design of a new product or the further development of an existing one between the laboratory and the manufacturer. The process involves ongoing laboratory testing during product development to ensure that the product remains compliant with the relevant standards at various stages of the process. The manufacturer and laboratory also exchange information in order to make joint progress in the development process.

ISP GmbH – Institut für Sportstättenprüfung provides all of the aforementioned test methods. As an accredited institute with our own in-house testing laboratory, we are well-equipped to conduct initial tests in accordance with the standards DIN EN 18032-2, DIN EN 14904 and DIN 18032-7. Our comprehensive range of services also includes product development testing, which we carry out in close cooperation with the manufacturers. Furthermore, we offer on-site control testing and testing during the service life of your existing sports hall using standardised test equipment. Following each test, a comprehensive report on the testing of your sports hall flooring or impact protection surface systems for walls will be provided.

A very important property of sports flooring is the nature of the surface. It must not be too smooth, because slipping can quickly lead to injuries. However, it must not offer too much resistance either, because here too the risk of injury is high. For example, in basketball, the players often stop abruptly during the match.

A floor with too much resistance could put excessive pressure on the knees and cause serious damage such as cruciate ligament tears. For this reason, the sliding behaviour of the sports flooring is analysed in a specific test. The ‘Gleitmessgerät Stuttgart’ (Stuttgart Sliding Measurement Device) used for this purpose is very complex. A test foot with a sole on the underside, attached to a spindle, which simulates the foot of an athlete, is guided in a torque-like manner over the floor covering.

A ball bearing and the special design of the testing device ensure that a constant force acts on the test foot, which is fundamental for the test procedure. An electronic measuring sensor then measures the frictional resistance in the first phase when the sole ‘begins to slide’ after placing the sole on the surface. The so-called ‘sliding friction coefficient’ is then measured on the basis of a specific formula and compared with the specifications in the standard.

Impact protection surface systems for walls are tested for impact resistance, among others, to determine whether they can withstand the loads specified in the standard. In this test, a weight is dropped onto the test body from a fixed height via a drop tube at different points.

During this process, different forces (increasing) are exerted on the impact protection surface systems for walls. Twenty-four hours after each test (with a single force), the test specimen is then examined for damage. The force at which the test specimen remained undamaged is the result of the test. This value must be within the range specified in the standards.