Anti-fouling Mechanisms of Chopped Strand Mat Glass Fibre Composites with Polymer Coating

In anti-fouling applications, coatings play a crucial role in preventing the accumulation of fouling materials and act as a physical barrier, blocking the accumulation of unwanted particles, contaminants, and microorganisms. However, up to date, it has been found that there are no coating materials that could resist fouling growth. Depending on the specific application, applying certain fouling agents or antifouling paint on substrate surface still poses challenges due to harsh operating conditions and environment exposure. This study investigates the effect of different coating materials on anti-fouling mechanisms development on chopped glassGlass fibreFibre composite plates. The research focuses on Polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE) and Polyvinylidene Fluoride (PVDF) coatings. The main objective of this work is to evaluate the performance of these coating materials after exposure to the marine environment for specific time intervals of 0, 14, 28, 60, 90 and 120 days. Physical characterisation involves the visual inspection of the exposed samples, in which the observation was conducted at those specific time intervals. After immersionImmersion in the seawaterSeawater, the chopped strand mat glassGlass fibreFibre with PTFE coating samples exhibited efficient foul-detach capacity against macrofoulers. This shows that the material has great potential as a biofouling resistance material that will support the creation of long-lasting structures with minimal maintenance requirements. Thus, from the perspective of a commercial application, it provides a significant advantage.