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Bioinspired Fouling‐Release Smart Skin Powered by Twisted Spiral Artificial Muscles (TSAMs)
Journal article   Open access   Peer reviewed

Bioinspired Fouling‐Release Smart Skin Powered by Twisted Spiral Artificial Muscles (TSAMs)

Parth Kotak, Tatum Johnson and Caterina Lamuta
Advanced materials technologies, Vol.8(4), 2201262
02/24/2023
DOI: 10.1002/admt.202201262
Appears in  UI Libraries Support Open Access
url
https://doi.org/10.1002/admt.202201262View
Published (Version of record) Open Access

Abstract

The buildup of marine organisms on submerged surfaces, known as biofouling, poses a major threat to the maritime industry. Biofouling on seafaring vessels increases hydrodynamic drag, fuel consumption, and leads to the spread of invasive species. Despite considerable research, a cost-effective and environmentally friendly strategy for preventing biofouling remains elusive. Silicone-based fouling release coatings (FRCs) that rely on hydrodynamic shear forces to remove attached biofilms have recently been proposed as a non-toxic solution for biofouling. However, FRCs are susceptible to fouling in still water or near-still water conditions. In this study, a smart skin bioinspired by the shape-changing behavior of octopi for removing biofilms in near-still water conditions is proposed. Active deformation of the smart skin powered by twisted spiral artificial muscles (TSAMs) leads to the detachment of biofilms. The efficacy of the smart skin is evaluated in both a laboratory setting and a field environment. A maximum of 87% of a laboratory grown and 79% of a heterogeneous field biofilm is detached by the active motion of the skin surface. The results indicate that the actively deformed smart skins bioinspired by octopi are a promising candidate for removing marine biofilms in still or near-still water environments.
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