Underwater shear-based grooming of marine biofouling using a non-contact Bernoulli pad device.

Underwater shear-based grooming of marine biofouling using a non-contact Bernoulli pad device. Biofouling. 2020 Oct 25;:1-14 Authors: Kamensky KM, Hellum AM, Mukherjee R, Naik A, Moisander PH Abstract The biofouling removal ability of a shear-based device was tested on two submerged surface types, Garolite G-10 and Intersleek 1100SR. Each surface was groomed at four frequencies along with a control group. The seven-week grooming study was conducted in Narragansett Bay, Rhode Island. The Bernoulli pad device uses confined radial outflow to generate both surface-normal forces to grip the submerged surface and shear stress to groom the surface without contact. An image-processing algorithm was developed and used to assess the effectiveness of the various grooming protocols, along with direct measurements of chlorophyll a per surface area. The image-processing data showed that the grooming resulted in ∼50% cleanliness on the Garolite at the end of the study whereas the Intersleek was continuously restored to nearly its initial clean state. Chlorophyll a data supported these overall conclusions. These results indicate that surface cleanliness can be maintained effectively on Intersleek using frequent shear-based grooming. PMID: 33103474 [PubMed - as supplied by publisher]
Source: Biofouling - Category: Molecular Biology Authors: Tags: Biofouling Source Type: research