Athletic Field Padding Panel With Perimeter Water Retention
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing shock pads and elastic layers in athletic fields are designed for rapid water evacuation, leading to instability and shifting when the supporting infrastructure is flat, sloped, or irregular, as they do not retain or accumulate water effectively.
Innovation Solution
A panel system with water accumulation regions defined by a pyramidal surface and a ridge along the perimeter, featuring projections and drainage holes, designed to retain water at the panel's perimeter and facilitate controlled drainage.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Speed
If the pad is designed to evacuate water as quickly as possible, then water drainage speed is improved, but the pad shifts and stability is reduced
Solution Approach 1:
The pad is divided into distinct functional zones: a central rapid drainage region with upward slopes and perimeter retention regions with downward slopes to the ridge. This segmentation allows different parts of the pad to perform different functions - the center evacuates water quickly while the perimeter retains water for stability, resolving the contradiction between drainage speed and stability.
Solution Approach 2:
Different regions of the pad have different slope directions and water management properties. The central region has upward slopes toward the perimeter for rapid evacuation, while the perimeter region has downward slopes to the ridge for retention. This local differentiation of quality allows the pad to simultaneously achieve fast drainage in the center and stability at the edges.
2Adaptability or versatility
If the supporting infrastructure is flat, sloped, or irregular, then installation flexibility is improved, but water repartition problems occur
Solution Approach 1:
The pad creates an artificial equipotential water management system through its pyramidal shape and ridge structure. Regardless of the underlying infrastructure's slope or irregularity, the pad's geometry establishes controlled water flow paths that ensure uniform water distribution and retention at the perimeter, eliminating water repartition problems while maintaining installation flexibility.
Solution Approach 2:
The pad employs a pyramidal surface with sloping sides that converge toward the perimeter ridge, creating a curved water management pathway. This geometric curvature ensures that water from any location on the pad surface is directed toward the perimeter retention zone, providing uniform water repartition regardless of the supporting infrastructure's flat, sloped, or irregular condition.
3Ease of manufacture
If the pad follows the slope of the supporting infrastructure, then installation simplicity is improved, but water retention capability is reduced
Solution Approach 1:
The pad incorporates pre-formed geometric features (pyramidal surface, perimeter ridge, drainage holes) during manufacturing that automatically create water retention and drainage functionality. This preliminary structuring allows the pad to retain water effectively without requiring complex post-installation adjustments or additional components, maintaining installation simplicity while enhancing water retention volume.
Solution Approach 2:
The pad acts as an intermediary layer between the supporting infrastructure and the athletic field surface. Its pyramidal geometry and perimeter ridge structure mediate water flow, capturing and retaining water at the perimeter while allowing controlled drainage through the center, thereby increasing water retention volume without complicating installation since it simply follows the infrastructure slope.
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
Enhances stability and uniformity on athletic fields by managing water retention and drainage, providing ease of assembly, durability, and resistance to weather changes while maintaining safety.
Implementation Method 1
a pyramidal surface that slopes downwards from a center of the panel to distal edges of the panel such that the center has a height relative to a ground surface greater than the distal edges of the panel
Implementation Method 2
The panel can include a plurality of drainage holes. The plurality of drainage holes can be positioned within individual ones of the plurality of projections or in water channels.
Data Source
AI summary
Various embodiments for a panel that may be combined with other similar panels to form a padding layer of an athletic field, or other surface, are disclosed. The panel for use in a padding layer of a panel system includes at least one water accumulation region positioned at or near a perimeter of the panel. The at least one water accumulation region is defined by a pyramidal surface that slopes downwards from a center of the panel to distal edges of the panel such that the center has a height relative to a ground surface greater than the distal edges of the panel, a plurality of projections projecting from the pyramidal surface, and a ridge projecting from the pyramidal surface, the ridge extending along a perimeter of the panel, wherein the ridge has a projection height sufficient to retain water at the perimeter of the panel.