Paper BI-TuP2
Dynamic Field Testing of Fouling Release Coatings by a Rotating Disk System

Tuesday, October 31, 2017, 6:30 pm, Room Central Hall

The development of materials with the capability to resist the accumulation of biomass on surfaces in contact with seawater (marine fouling) is both, economically and ecologically desired. To rank the performance of novel coating technologies, different lab and field screening methods have been established. While technical coatings are tested over several months, methods for short-term testing of thin film chemistries are missing. We developed a setup for dynamic, short term field testing of coatings. To obtain a constant shear stress during colonization, a rotating disc was used. The rotating disc was designed to be easily transported and installed at various marine testing sites. The shear situation above the disk was theoretically simulated and adjusted to shear ranges identified in recent laboratory experiments to be suited to distinguish the fouling-release potential of surfaces [1]. To validate the setup, self-assembled monolayers with well characterized physicochemical properties were tested under similar shear conditions, as in our recently reported laminar flow lab assay. The same discriminations with the same trends as in the lab assay were obtained for a mixed population of marine diatoms in the ocean. In the future, the setup will be used to compare the results of lab tests of new promising coating chemistries with short term dynamic field exposure.

[1] K. Nolte, J. Schwarze, A. Rosenhahn, Biofouling 2017, in press