Fouling and Boring of Glass Reinforced Plastic - Balsa Blocks in a Tropical Marine Environment,

Abstract

Test blocks constructed of balsa wood coated on each side with a layer of glass-reinforced plastic (GRP) were exposed in a tropical marine harbour for 14 months. Undamaged controls and blocks with simulated minor and major damage to the GRP coating were either fully or half immersed. Molluscan borers, mostly teredinids, penetrated and damaged the balsa cores of all blocks examined, with greatest damage to fully-immersed major damage blocks. Fouling growth covered all submerged GRP surfaces but had no apparent effect on the coating. (Author)

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Document Details

Document Type
Technical Report
Publication Date
Mar 01, 1983
Accession Number
ADA131025

Entities

People

  • David J. Hall
  • John A. Lewis

Organizations

  • Defence Science and Technology Group

Tags

Communities of Interest

  • Air Platforms
  • Ground and Sea Platforms

DTIC Thesaurus Topics

  • Animals
  • Australia
  • Chemistry
  • Department Of Defense
  • Environment
  • Films
  • Fouling
  • Fouling Organisms
  • Materials
  • Materials Laboratories
  • Materials Science
  • Materials Testing
  • Organic Chemistry
  • Plastics
  • Reinforced Plastics
  • Resins
  • Wood

Readers

  • Forest Ecology
  • Reinforced Composite Materials
  • Structural Health Monitoring of Composite Structures.