Multiple Approaches for Testing Novel Marine Coatings in the Laboratory and in Pearl Harbor

Abstract

Abstract The Principal Investigator and his associates will provide to ONR-collaborating chemists who are formulating experimental marine coatings the following tests: (1) static field-immersion testing of accumulation of macrofouling organisms in Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, coupled with periodic digital photography, estimates of percent cover, and water-jet or mechanical forcegauge measurements of adhesion strength of hard-fouling organisms; and (2) evaluation of the invertebrate and microbial communities growing on test surfaces in Pearl Harbor. (3) In the laboratory, we will evaluate: (a) the settlement and attachment of tropical fouling animals, especially the tube worm Hydroides elegans, the abundant harbor oyster Dendostrea sandvichensis, and the ascidian Phallusia philippinensis; (b) fluid shear forces necessary to remove fouling organisms from coated coupons in a calibrated turbulent flow cell; and (c) mechanical force necessary to remove submerged fouling organisms with a precision motorized force gauge. Overall, we will provide significant and rapid evaluation of experimental coatings in a tropical setting where marine biofouling is rapid and severe throughout the year. We will also continue on a time-available basis exploration of the diversity of biofilm bacterial species now known to induce the recruitment of major biofouling organisms, especially H. elegans.

Document Details

Document Type
DoD Grant Award
Publication Date
Aug 12, 2016
Source ID
N000141512658

Entities

People

  • Michael Hadfield

Organizations

  • Office of Naval Research
  • United States Navy
  • University of HawaiĘ»i System

Tags

Fields of Study

  • Environmental science

Readers

  • Aquatic Ecology
  • Coastal and Marine Engineering/Sediment Transport/Hydraulic Engineering
  • Underwater engineering and Marine Technology.

Technology Areas

  • Biotechnology