Factors that influence elastomeric coating performance: the effect of coating thickness on basal plate morphology, growth and critical removal stress of the barnacleBalanus amphitrite

Abstract

Silicone coatings are currently the most effective non-toxic fouling release surfaces. Understanding the mechanisms that contribute to the performance of silicone coatings is necessary to further improve their design. The objective of this study was to examine the effect of coating thickness on basal plate morphology, growth, and critical removal stress of the barnacle Balanus amphitrite. Barnacles were grown on silicone coatings of three thicknesses (0.2, 0.5 and 2 mm). Atypical (''cupped'') basal plate morphology was observed on all surfaces, although there was no relationship between coating thickness and i) the proportion of individuals with the atypical morphology, or ii) the growth rate of individuals. Critical removal stress was inversely proportional to coating thickness. Furthermore, individuals with atypical basal plate morphology had a significantly lower critical removal stress than individuals with the typical (''flat'') morphology. The data demonstrate that coating thickness is a fundamental factor governing removal of barnacles from silicone coatings.

Surface Sensing and Settlement Strategies of Marine Biofouling Organisms

“…As for the zoospores of algae, antifouling tests targeting barnacles frequently focus on the sessile stage, which are cyprids that hatched from the adult organisms [91][92][93]. The two conventional approaches to study the interaction of these microorganisms with a surface involve settlement assays of competent larvae [97] and/or the mechanical removal of adults organisms in order to estimate the adhesion strength [42,44,94,95]. A simplified life-cycle of barnacles (Fig.…”

Temperature Affects Adhesion of the Acorn Barnacle (Balanus amphitrite)

“…Such factors include surface energy (Brady and Singer 2000;Anderson et al 2003), coating wettability (Dahlstrom et al 2004), modulus and thickness Wendt et al 2006), fracture mechanics and materials used (Burnell et al 1998;.…”

“…(Darwin 1851) Figure 4. Barnacle cement production diagram (Khandeparker and Anil 2007) Though not much is know about the composition of cement, many studies have successfully identified changes in barnacle removal stress from various surfaces (Berglin and Gatenholm 1999;Swain et al 2000;Berglin et al 2001;Sun et al 2004;Wendt et al 2006). The study conducted by Sun et al (2004) shows that the cement, which forms below the basal plate, is a multilayered structure of adhesive plaque.…”

“…Barnacle adhesion has been well documented (Bourget 1980;Crisp and Bourget 1985;Holm 1990;Konya and Miki 1994;Holm et al 2000;Swain et al 2000;Callow and Callow 2002;Dahlstrom et al 2004;Holm et al 2004b;Holm et al 2005; Kavanagh et al 2005;Wendt et al 2006;Wiegemann et al 2006;Conlan et al 2008;Ramsay et al 2008) making them an excellent model organism for our current study.…”

Antifouling character of ‘active’ hybrid xerogel coatings with sequestered catalysts for the activation of hydrogen peroxide

“…The most common method to minimise biofouling is to coat the submerged surface with an antifouling (AF) paint that leaches biocide(s) to prevent marine life from attaching to the surface (Yebra et al 2004). A number of alternative technologies are available commercially, the most notable being based on silicone elastomers, which release accumulated fouling under suitable hydrodynamic conditions (eg Kavanagh et al 2005;Wendt et al 2006).…”