TenCate (Netherlands)

The purpose of this study was to investigate the interaction of skin with natural grass and artificial turf at clinical, histological and immunohistochemical level. Therefore, 14 male volunteers performed slidings on dry natural grass, wet natural grass and artificial turf. Directly and 24 h after the slidings, a clinical picture and a 3-mm punch biopsy of the lesion were taken. Paraffin sections (6 µm) were hematoxylin-eosin stained. Immunohistochemistry was performed for CD3, hBD-2, K16, K10, Ki67 and HSP70. Clinically, a sliding performed on artificial turf caused less erythema but more abrasion compared to natural grass. At histological level, artificial turf or dry natural grass damaged the stratum corneum the most. Directly after the sliding, CD3, hBD-2, K16, K10, Ki67 and HSP70 expression was normal. 24 h after a sliding on artificial turf or dry natural grass, an increase of K16, hBD-2 and HSP70 expression was observed. In this pilot study it was not possible to clearly distinguish between skin damage induced by a sliding on artificial turf and natural grass. However, small differences at clinical and histological level seem to exist. This demonstrates the potential of the skin as readout system to evaluate artificial turf systems and mechanical skin damage.

From automobile industry to aerospace, thermoformed composites are more and more in use. Thermoplastics offer a number of attractive applications in commercial use like short production times, tailored solutions, recyclability and lower cost. The thermoforming process allows for producing carbon fiber-reinforced parts in a wide range of different geometric shapes. On the other hand this benefit requires a demanding nondestructive testing procedure especially for security relevant parts. A contactless method which is able to fulfil this requirement is the extension of the ultrasound technique with laser technology. It opens up new opportunities for quality assessment during manufacturing like inspection of complex surfaces including small radii, remote observation and nondestructive testing of hot items directly after the thermal forming process. We describe the successful application of laser-based ultrasound on small complex thermoformed composite parts (Cetex® PPS). Cetex consists of semicrystalline polyphenylene sulfide thermoplastics providing outstanding toughness and excellent chemical and solvent resistance. It is qualified in aircraft industry for multiple structural applications. For instance, Cetex is used in the Airbus A380 engine air intakes and the wing fixed leading edge (J-Nose). We investigated several test samples with intentionally introduced defects. The smallest flaw size detected was 2 mm in diameter for delaminations and 6 mm in diameter for porosity.