Grooming using rotating brushes as a proactive method to control ship hull fouling

Abstract

Grooming may be defined as the frequent and gentle cleaning of a ship hull coating, when it is in port or idle, to prevent the establishment of fouling. This study assessed the effectiveness of grooming with a five-headed rotating brush system on epoxy, ablative copper and two silicone fouling release (FR) coatings. These coatings were placed under static immersion at Port Canaveral, FL on a weekly and biweekly frequency. The results showed that grooming reduced fouling on all surfaces and was able to prevent fouling on the ablative copper and FR coatings when performed weekly. It was concluded that the grooming tool used for these tests was sufficient to remove biofilm and most hard fouling. However, when fouling pressure increased or when grooming was performed less frequently, insufficient forces were imparted by the brush to remove all of the established hard fouling organisms.

Keywords:

• ship hull
• grooming
• brush
• adhesion
• shear stress
• fouling

Acknowledgements

The authors would like to thank all of the members of The Center for Corrosion and Biofouling Control at the Florida Institute of Technology and SeaRobotics Corporation for all their support in this work.

Conflict of interest disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Additional information

Funding

This study received financial support from the US Office of Naval Research [Award No. N00014-10-1-0919].