Polymeric MUGA is a tough material used in many applications like sports flooring and play surfaces for both children’s and adult’s playing facilities. It is made from synthetic or natural rubber. Added to this, it is usually combined with other materials to give it more desirable properties such as fillers, processing oils and vulcanizing agents. This can include anti-slip coatings in a range of colours and line markings for sports such as tennis, football, basketball and rugby.

Rubber is a large molecule that has many carbon (C) atoms and hydrogen (H). Polymers are made from many smaller molecules called monomers. Monomers can be simple, such as two carbon atoms and three hydrogen atoms, or more complicated, such as a ring-shaped structure containing a dozen or more chemical elements.

Exploring the Benefits of Polymeric Rubber Surfaces in Sports and Playgrounds

The properties of natural rubber depend on a complex series of physical changes known as vulcanization. These changes occur because the chainlike molecules of a natural rubber are swollen by hydrocarbon oils and react with oxygen and ozone, thereby breaking some of their carbon-carbon bonds and softening the material. Fortunately, the undesirable properties can be overcome by a controlled chemical reaction that converts the chains into a cross-linked network and adds new, advantageous qualities to the material.

Most modern rubber is a blend of natural and synthetic polymers, primarily polyisoprene, styrene butadiene and polybutadiene. In addition, the rubber mixtures are combined with reinforcing fillers such as silica and carbon black, vulcanizing agents and other processing chemicals. The result is a highly engineered composite, in which only about 10% of the rubber in a tire is actually natural.