Tough, Ultra-Rapid Restructuring Marine Coatings with Broad-Spectrum Anti-Fouling Behavior

The Navy currently has a need for passive solutions to mitigate biofouling on ship hulls that are not externally activated and do not leach harmful biocides into the environment. The fouling of ship hulls is a serious and persistent problem that increases drag, which leads to increased fuel consumption. This necessitates periodic maintenance whereby the ships are docked and their hulls are scrubbed to remove any adherents. Therefore, TRI Austin will work with TAMU to use a previously developed in-house broad-spectrum anti-fouling silicone that contains a surface modifying additive (SMA) and integrate the SMA into an in-house polyurethane coating. The coatings are easily synthesized and applied to various substrates, but more importantly, cure when in contact with water while the surface restructures and becomes lubricative. Furthermore, the coating does not need a tie coat, in contrast to U.S. Navy Standard Coatings, and has undergone static testing in the Atlantic (20 weeks) and Indian Oceans (16 weeks) resulting in negligeable biofoul coverage when compared to a copper standard. In conclusion, the coating is low cost, easily synthesized and applied, will completely remove the need for scrubbing the hull while docked, and will reduce the drag coefficient, resulting in improved fuel consumption.