A Pilot Study on the Feasibility of Using Shock Waves for Hull Grooming

Abstract

The objective of this one-year research project is to investigate the feasibility of using well-controlled shock waves to remove calcareous fouling organisms (e.g., barnacles) from surfaces painted with a silicone-based fouling release (PR) coating, without damaging the coating. We have developed a fluid-solid coupled simulation model and performed a series of exploratory simulations. We have also conducted a series of laboratory experiments using barnacle models (i.e. pseudobarnacles). Both the simulations and the experiments have shown that a sequence of shock waves with peak pressure in the range of 5 to 45 MPa and duration of 1 to 5 ps can remove pseudobarnacles from silicone-based PR coatings, without damaging the coating. Our simulations also suggest that tuning the waveform and magnitude of the shock wave can improve the efficiency. This project has led to one research article published in the International Journal of Solids and Structures, and several conference presentations.

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Document Details

Document Type
Technical Report
Publication Date
Apr 06, 2019
Accession Number
AD1084560

Entities

People

  • Kevin G. Wang
  • Xingsheng Sun

Organizations

  • Virginia Tech

Tags

Communities of Interest

  • Biomedical
  • Energy and Power Technologies

DTIC Thesaurus Topics

  • Acoustic Impedance
  • Acoustics
  • Computational Fluid Dynamics
  • Dynamic Response
  • Engineering
  • Fluid Dynamics
  • Fluid Flow
  • Fouling Organisms
  • Generators
  • Literature Surveys
  • Materials
  • Mechanical Properties
  • Mechanics
  • Physical Properties
  • Shock Waves
  • Simulations
  • Test Facilities

Fields of Study

  • Physics

Readers

  • Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD)
  • Materials Science and Engineering.
  • Neuroscience