Biofouling

The Journal of Bioadhesion and Biofilm Research

ISSN: 0892-7014 (Print) 1029-2454 (Online) Journal homepage: http://www.tandfonline.com/loi/gbif20

A comparison of the antifouling performance of

air plasma spray (APS) ceramic and high velocity
oxygen fuel (HVOF) coatings for use in marine
hydraulic applications

Richard Piola, Andrew S. M. Ang, Matthew Leigh & Scott A. Wade

To cite this article: Richard Piola, Andrew S. M. Ang, Matthew Leigh & Scott A. Wade (2018) A
comparison of the antifouling performance of air plasma spray (APS) ceramic and high velocity
oxygen fuel (HVOF) coatings for use in marine hydraulic applications, Biofouling, 34:5, 479-491,
DOI: 10.1080/08927014.2018.1465052

To link to this article: https://doi.org/10.1080/08927014.2018.1465052

View supplementary material

Published online: 18 May 2018.

Submit your article to this journal

Article views: 24

View Crossmark data

Full Terms & Conditions of access and use can be found at

http://www.tandfonline.com/action/journalInformation?journalCode=gbif20
BIOFOULING, 2018
VOL. 34, NO. 5, 479–491
https://doi.org/10.1080/08927014.2018.1465052

A comparison of the antifouling performance of air plasma spray (APS) ceramic

and high velocity oxygen fuel (HVOF) coatings for use in marine hydraulic
applications
Richard Piolaa,d, Andrew S. M. Angb,d, Matthew Leighc,d and Scott A. Wadeb,d
a
Maritime Division, Defence Science and Technology, Melbourne, Australia; bFaculty of Science, Engineering and Technology, Swinburne
University of Technology, Hawthorn, Australia; cMacTaggart Scott Australia, Adelaide, Australia; dDefence Materials Technology Centre,
Melbourne, Australia

ABSTRACT ARTICLE HISTORY

Maritime hydraulic components are often exposed to harsh environmental conditions which Received 28 November 2017
Accepted 10 April 2018
can lead to accelerated deterioration, reduced function, equipment failure and costly repair. Two
leading causes of maritime hydraulic failure are biofouling accumulation and corrosion. This study KEYWORDS
examined the antifouling performance of three candidate replacement high velocity oxygen fuel Biofouling; piston; corrosion;
(HVOF) coatings relative to the performance of the current baseline air plasma spray (APS) ceramic protective coatings; thermal
coating for protection of hydraulic actuators. Following 20 weeks immersion at tropical and spray
temperate field exposure sites, the control APS ceramic accumulated significantly greater levels of
biofouling compared to the HVOF coatings. More specifically, the magnitude of growth of real-world
nuisance hard fouling observed on in-service hydraulic components (eg calcareous tubeworms
and encrusting bryozoans) was significantly greater on the APS ceramic relative to HVOF coatings.
Possible explanations for the observed patterns include differences in surface topography and
roughness, the electrochemical potential of the surfaces and the colour/brightness of the coatings.

Introduction hard biofouling. In addition, post-application sealants are

Maritime hydraulic machine components, including
exposed sections of shafts, splines and valves, can often
see regular wetting and drying or full immersion in sea-
water. This leads to potential problems with biofouling
and corrosion on these critical components, which require
costly repairs to bring the equipment back to operational
performance. One potential solution to this issue is the
use of an engineered coating layer that offers high wear
resistance as well as biofouling and corrosion protection.
One of the current standard coatings used for hydraulic
actuator piston rods in marine vessels is an air plasma
spray (APS) coating of ceramic, such as alumina-titania
(Al2O3-TiO2). Being an inert oxide material, APS Al2O3-
TiO2 coatings offer corrosion protection to the underlying
substrata by providing a physical barrier. Although ceramic
coatings can offer good wear resistance and are generally
corrosion resistant, they are brittle and can delaminate due
to poor coating adhesion, physical abrasion and through
mechanical damage caused by the removal of accumulated
commonly required to be applied to close off the intrinsic
porosity of APS coatings, which if not done properly is
another processing variable that can lead to premature
coating failure (Oksa et al. 2004).
The high velocity oxygen fuel (HVOF) technique is a
potential alternative to the APS method. This technique
has been successfully used to produce coatings with
low porosity, high bond strengths, high hardness and
low oxide content (Ang et al. 2016b); all characteristics
that are required for surface modification of hydraulic
components. These coatings have significant advantages
over existing coating methods such as electroplated hard
chrome (EHC), plasma spray coatings, plasma transferred
arc or laser cladding, including the elimination of micro-
cracks that can cause corrosion of base material (com-
pared to EHC; Picas et al. (2011)), low porosity resilient
coatings with higher bond strength (compared to plasma
spray; Oksa et al. (2004)), and the elimination of large
brittle diffusion zones that can result in part distortion

CONTACT Richard Piola richard.piola@dst.defence.gov.au

The supplemental material for this paper is available online at https://doi.org/10.1080/08927014.2018.1465052
© 2018 Informa UK Limited, trading as Taylor & Francis Group
480 R. PIOLA ET AL.
Figure 1. Photographs showing (a) damage to the hydraulic
cylinder seals and scrapers caused by hard biofouling, (b) damage
to the corrosion protection coating on the piston rod as a result
of mechanical removal of hard biofouling, (c) corrosion (in this
case pitting) of the underlying piston rod material where the
protective coating is no longer present and (d) a hydraulic piston
rod jammed in a brass scraper due to hard calcareous biofouling.
due to high heat flux (as seen in plasma transferred arc
or laser cladding; Zhou et al. (2008).
Since the 1990s HVOF coatings have become the
method of choice to replace EHC on components used
in various severe service applications. Whilst there has
been an extensive programme of validating the HVOF
coating as the method of choice to replace EHC plating on
components for commercial and military aircraft (Bolelli
et al. 2006; Picas et al. 2011; Berger 2015), little research
has been done on its potential use in marine applications.
With the recent commercial availability of new carbide
feedstock products containing nickel-based metal binder
components, such as Inconel® and Hastelloy®, the HVOF
process has the potential to deposit coatings with superior
corrosion resistance in seawater environment. As has been
demonstrated previously (Ang et al. 2016a, 2016b), the
HVOF technology and carbide-based coatings are tech-
nically viable candidates in maritime hydraulic platforms;
however, due to the novelty of such coating research, there
is still a paucity of available data regarding the corrosion
and antifouling performance of these HVOF coatings.
One of the potential issues with hydraulic components
in locations subject to intermittent immersion and high
fouling pressure is the build-up of hard calcareous foul-
ing. If left uncleaned, the accumulation of hard biofoul-
ing on hydraulic piston rods after periods of inactivity
often results in damage to the hydraulic cylinder seals and
scrapers when cycling eventually does occur (Figure 1).
However, on coated Al2O3-TiO2 hydraulic piston rods,
methods to mechanically remove (ie scraping) the hard
calcareous fouling prior to cycling can result in delami-
nation of the protective coating due to the brittle nature
of Al2O3-TiO2 ceramic (Figure 1b), which in turn can
lead to corrosion of the underlying piston rod material.
Ultimately, this can lead to a ‘catch-22’ scenario whereby
hydraulic components with accumulated hard biofoul-
ing are not being regularly cycled, for fear of damaging
hydraulic seals, but are often also not cleaned of hard
fouling, for fear of damaging the protection coating and
causing corrosion of the piston rods. Understandably,
such a scenario eventually leads to the required expensive
replacement of the entire hydraulic powered unit.
The overall aim of the current research was to evaluate
possible alternate protective coatings for marine hydrau-
lic piston rods against corrosion and the accumulation
of hard biofouling. More specifically, this study focused
on the antifouling performance of three candidate HVOF
coating types relative to the performance of the current
baseline air plasma spray (APS) ceramic coating for
protection of hydraulic actuators. This was undertaken
through an extended field exposure trial of candidate
materials at several marine exposure locations around
Australia. As part of the trial, the accumulation of both
micro- and macrofouling was assessed, along with surface
characterisation of the coatings in an attempt to explain
the biofouling patterns observed. The observations of bio-
fouling from both a short-term and an extended 20-week
period of exposure are the focus of this paper.
Materials and methods
Sample preparation
Samples of four types of coatings were tested. Three coat-
ing types were novel high velocity oxygen fuel (HVOF)
carbide-based coatings, while the fourth coating was an
air plasma spray (APS) ceramic (which represents a com-
mon baseline material currently used on marine vessels
for hydraulic actuators).
The substratum material used in this trial was Monel
K500. All substratum samples were degreased, preheated
and grit blasted before coating procedures. The HVOF
spray process uses a hypersonic flame jet to melt and accel-
erate feedstock particles onto the component surfaces. The
selected HVOF coating materials used for this study (and
their metal compositions) have previously been described
in Ang et al. (2016b) and comprised (1) Cr3C2-25NiCr, (2)
WC-10Ni-5Cr, and (3) WC–18 Hastelloy® C (hereafter
referred to as CrC, WCN and HAS, respectively). For each
coating, the metal binder ratio is expressed as a weight per-
centage (wt%) of the total constituents, such that Cr3C2-
25NiCr has 25 wt% of NiCr alloy, WC-10Ni-5Cr has 10

Table 1. Information on the field exposure site location used in this study to evaluate the AF performance of APS and HVOF coatings.
Site Location Climate
Melbourne 37°51′41.42ʺS144°54′38.06ʺE Temperate
Adelaide 34°46′58.82ʺS138°30′37.27ʺE Temperate
Cairns 16°57′45.00ʺS145°47′35.94ʺE Tropical
The information presented includes the geographic coordinates of the sites, predominant climate type, average yearly temperatures and the number of overall
test samples deployed at each location.
wt% Ni and 5 wt% Cr and WC–18 Hastelloy® C has 18 wt%
Hastelloy® C. These feedstocks are commercially availa-
ble as agglomerated powders with a size distribution of
15–45 μm. All powders were supplied by Oerlikon Metco
AG (Wohlen, Switzerland). The HVOF-coated samples
were produced using a kerosene-fuelled system (GTV
HVOF K2, GTV Verschleißschutz GmbH, Luckenbach,
Germany), which operates using the fuel gas of kerosene
combusted at a high pressure. The HVOF coating param-
eters used have been optimised and are described in the
previous works of Ang et al. (2016a, 2016b).
The APS (Al2O3 40TiO2) coatings were produced
using powders of nominal powder size of 5–45 μm. The
Plasmadyne SG-100 system (Plasmadyne Corp., Santa
Ana, California, USA) was employed to deposit the coat-
ings. The plasma torch uses a single cathode and anode
configuration to generate a plasma jet from ionising gases.
The APS coating parameters used are presented in the
Supplemental material (Table S1).
Final sprayed coatings were ground in accordance
with Aerospace Material Specification AMS2449 (SAE
International 2010) and then further super-finished
to AMS2452 requirement (SAE International 2011).
Individual rod samples were approximately 125 mm in
length with a diameter of 40 mm and had a coated sec-
tion of 120 mm (ie 2.5 mm shoulders on each end was
not coated).
Field sites and deployment
Between October 2015 and November 2016, a total of 102
HVOF coated samples were deployed and sampled across
three field exposure sites in Australia (Table 1). Field expo-
sure sites were selected to represent a range of exposure
conditions with varying climates, water quality, physical
conditions and biofouling pressure. Two temperate region
sites were selected, one at Williamstown in Melbourne,
Victoria and the other on the Port River, Adelaide, South
Australia. A single tropical region exposure site was cho-
sen in Trinity Inlet, Cairns, Queensland.
This part of the study was specifically aimed at testing the
antifouling (AF) performance of the coated hydraulic cyl-
inders housed within submerged semi-enclosed, low flow,
low light locations. For this reason, samples were deployed
BIOFOULING 481
Water temperature (°C)
Average high Average low Samples
22 10 40
21 14 32
30 20 30
within a custom-built immersion rig designed to mimic the
dark, restricted flow environment under real-world opera-
tional conditions (Figure S1). The immersion rig comprised
an inverted 0.27 m3 plastic barrel (Ø 0.56 m, 1.1 m height)
with eight holes located around the sides and top to facilitate
limited water exchange. Located inside the barrel was a two-
tiered steel mounting frame (comprised of three 10 mm
steel plates around a PVC pipe backbone) capable of holding
eight coating samples. In order to best replicate the actual
operating environment, the steel mounting plates were
coated with copper-based AF paint system (International
Intershield 300, Intergard 263 and Intersmooth 360, Akzo
Nobel Pty Ltd, Arnhem, Netherlands).
Monel K500 is an alloy made from nickel and copper
and is a noble metal compared to the mild steel used for
the immersion rig mounting plates (which is anodic).
To minimise the potential for galvanic reaction the sam-
ples were isolated from the steel mounting plates during
deployment by PVC washers (located at the top and bot-
tom of the sample) and held in place using PVC bolts at
the base. Furthermore, all coated samples were galvanic
protected by connecting to a replaceable zinc anode (Ø
25 × 15 mm) using a 316L stainless steel bolt at the top
(Figure S2).
A total of 13 immersions rigs were deployed across
the three exposure sites (five in Melbourne and four at
both Adelaide and Cairns). In Melbourne and Cairns, rigs
were suspended from permanently moored exposure rafts
belonging to the Defence Science and Technology Group.
In Adelaide, rigs were suspended from a floating pontoon.
All immersion rigs were deployed at a constant depth of
~2 m (from the top).
Sample surface characterisation
Contact surface roughness measurements of all coat-
ing types were recorded within a sub-section of pristine
sample rods (prior to field deployment) and following a
20-week field deployment. Pre-deployment measurements
were made on a single (n = 1) randomly selected repre-
sentative sample, while post field deployment measure-
ments were made on a randomly selected sample from
Melbourne and Adelaide test sites (n = 2). Prior to meas-
urements being taken on post-field deployment samples,
the rods were cleaned using 0.25 mol HCl and gentle
482 R. PIOLA ET AL.
scrubbing with a stiff bristle polymer brush, then rinsed
in clean distilled water. Roughness was assessed using a
Mitutoyo Surftest-210 (Mitutoyo Corporation, Takatsu-ku,
Kawasaki, Kanagawa, Japan). The cut-off filter length of
0.8 mm was chosen for a statistical evaluation in this work.
The contact stylus selected had a tip radius of 5 μm and
application force of 4 mN on the coating surface. The stylus
tip radius embodies the measuring device’s accuracy and
features smaller than its radius cannot be measured. The
measured 2-D trace of the surface was then used for cal-
culations based on the ANSI roughness standard and for-
mulas discussed earlier. An average of 20 sampling lengths
was taken for each coating. The following parameters were
measured (as defined in Howell and Behrends (2006)): (1)
Ra, the average surface roughness of all points from a plane
fit to the test part surface; (2) Rt, the maximum peak to
valley height over the sample, the absolute value between
the highest and lowest peaks; (3) Rq, the root mean square
(RMS) deviation from a plane fit to the sample surface,
describing the average amplitude in the height direction;
(4) Rz, the ten-point height, or average absolute value of the
five highest peaks and five lowest valleys; (5) Sk, the skew-
ness, a measure of symmetry of the profile about the mean
line; and (6) Ku, kurtosis, a measure of the randomness of
profile heights, and of the ‘sharpness’ of a surface. The Ra
and Rt readings are particularly important for hydraulic
rod applications, with the ideal roughness being around
0.3 μm and 3.7 μm for Ra for Rt, respectively. The Rt value
can be seen as a single flaw parameter and is sensitive to
detect the deepest pit on the surface.
Microfouling assessment
Fluorescent microscopy was used to investigate the early
stage formation of diatom biofilms on APS and HVOF
coatings. Due to time and logistical constraints, this
assessment compared only one of the available HVOF
coating types (CrC) to the baseline APS coating (ALO).
Specific flat coupons (25 × 50 × 6 mm) were used (Figure
S3) for this aspect of the work, with coatings prepared and
finished as per the rod samples described above.
A total of eight HVOF and eight APS coupons were
suspended in a pier side flow-through seawater tank at
the Melbourne exposure site for a period of six weeks.
After this time, samples were transported to the labora-
tory in field seawater then gently rinsed and placed into a
Petri dish of clean seawater for microscopic analysis. UV
fluorescence microscopy was used to determine the set-
tlement and composition of living diatoms present in the
surface biofilm. UV fluorescence microscopy takes advan-
tage of the fact that live organisms containing chlorophyll
(such as diatoms) emit visible light when irradiated with
ultraviolet radiation at a specific wavelength (Lichtman
and Conchello 2005; Dobretsov et al. 2014). An Olympus
BX51 upright microscope (×10 objective) equipped with
EXFO-XCITE120-153 fluorescence illumination system
(using U23LBD, U25L42 and UP03 filters) was used.
Assessments were conducted within 48 h of sample recov-
ery and for each coupon at least five images (each meas-
uring 1.4 mm2) were taken at random locations across the
coated surface of the coupon (measuring 1,000 mm2). The
five images for each coupon were averaged to produce a
single percentage surface cover of live organisms per cou-
pon. Images were recorded using an Olympus (Shinjuku,
Tokyo, Japan) DP21 microscope mounted camera, with
ImageJ v1.47 (National Institutes of Health, MD, USA)
software used for image analysis and post-processing.
Macrofouling assessment
Assessment of the level and composition of biofouling
accumulating on rod samples was conducted at three time
intervals (12, 16 and 20 weeks). The percentage cover of
biofouling on samples was determined using photographs
and image analysis. Samples were positioned on a purpose
built photographic mount (Figure S4a) to ensure consistent
and replicable image capture both between samples and
across sampling periods. The photographic mount included
an indexed mounting plate that was fitted to one end of the
sample (Figure S4b), allowing the sample to be suspended
horizontally on a holding bracket. Index markers on the
mounting plate allowed the samples to be rotated 90° in the
holder. Four photographs were taken of each sample at the
0°, 90°, 180° and 270° positions. The camera was mounted
on a tripod at a predetermined fixed distance from the sam-
ple to further ensure consistency between images. Post-
field image analysis was used to superimpose a transect line
along the length of the sample at the four rotational orien-
tations (indicated by yellow line in Figure S4c). The types
and numbers of taxa present directly beneath 10 equidistant
points along that transect were recorded, resulting in 40 dis-
crete sampling points per sample (ie 10 sampling points for
each 90° orientation of the sample). Prior to image capture,
the 0° index marker on the mounting plate was carefully
aligned to a position marker on the sample to ensure that
the exact same sampling points could be repeatedly refer-
enced and analysed across multiple sampling periods.
Macrofouling recorded on test samples were cate-
gorised into 13 broad taxonomic groups comprising
serpulid, spirorbid and sabellid tubeworms, barnacles,
oysters, encrusting and arborescent bryozoans, hydroids,
solitary and colonial ascidians, mussels, sponges and
amphipod tubes. For the purposes of analysis and ease of
comparison, each taxonomic group was defined as being
either hard or soft fouling, based upon its morphology
and growth form (Table 2).

Table 2. Summary of the broad taxonomic groups assigned to
biofouling cover recorded for test sample treatment after four
months deployment, including the definition of each group as
either hard encrusting or soft fouling.
Taxonomic group Fouling definition
Serpulid tubeworms Hard encrusting
Spirorbid Hard encrusting
Barnacle Hard encrusting
Oyster Hard encrusting
Mussels Hard encrusting
Bryozoan (encrusting) Hard encrusting
Bryozoan (arborescent) Soft
Hydroids Soft
Ascidian (solitary) Soft
Ascidian (colonial) Soft
Sabellid worm Soft
Sponge Soft
Amphipod Soft
Physico-chemical measurements
The temperature, salinity, pH and dissolved oxygen con-
centrations were measured periodically at the Melbourne
and Cairns sites using a YSI 6920 Water Quality Sonde
(YSI Incorporated, Yellow Springs, OH, USA) and in
Adelaide using a Sper Scientific 850048 Water Quality
Meter Kit (Scottsdale, AZ, USA). The additional parameter
of turbidity was also recorded in Melbourne and Cairns. A
data logger (Tidbit v2, Onset Computer Corporation, MA,
USA) was also deployed in a single immersion rig at each
test site to provide continuous water temperature readings
during the longer term macrofouling tests (recording tem-
perature every 30 min).
A build-up of copper (Cu) within the immersion test
rigs, as a result of leaching from the AF paint used on some
surfaces of the assembly, may have detrimental effect on
the accumulation and composition of fouling assemblages
observed on the coating test samples. Chemical analysis of
water samples collected from both inside and outside the
experiment units was conducted to record and compare
total Cu levels inside and outside the test environment. In
order to collect water from inside the experimental units
without excessive mixing or disturbance, a length of hose
was inserted into the enclosure and water was drawn up
to the surface using a drill-powered pump. Inductively
coupled plasma mass spectrometry (ICP-MS) analysis of
water samples was performed by Eurofins mgt, Melbourne
(limit of reporting of 0.001 mg l−1).
Statistical analysis
The percentage cover of diatoms on HVOF and APS
coupons was compared using one-way ANOVA. Fouling
coverage of sample treatment surfaces was analysed
as a two-factor repeated measures analysis of vari-
ance (RM-ANOVA), with sample treatment surface
BIOFOULING 483
(Surface) and field deployment location (Location) the
between-subjects effects, and time being the repeated
measure. Separate analyses were conducted for total
fouling coverage, hard fouling coverage and calcareous
tubeworm coverage. All data were assessed for normality
using Q-Q plots. Data were square-root(x) transformed to
improve homogeneity of variances, which were examined
with residual plots. Greenhouse–Geisser adjusted p-val-
ues were used when the assumption of sphericity was not
met (when Mauchley’s test of sphericity was significant
at p < 0.05). Tukey’s post hoc tests were used to identify
significant difference between treatments. Analyses were
performed using the statistical analysis package SPSS v.22
(IBM Corporation, Armonk, NY, USA). All data are pre-
sented as means ± standard error (SE).
Results
Coating surface characterisation
Overall the baseline APS coating (ALO) exhibited greater
surface roughness, both pre- and post-field deployment,
across all parameters measured relative to the three HVOF
coatings. The next roughest coating was CrC (at approx-
imately half the roughness of ALO), while both HAS and
WCN coatings recording similarly lowest surface rough-
ness values. Tabulated surface roughness measurements
are summarised in Table S2.
The average surface roughness (Ra) of the pristine
pre-deployment baseline ALO coating (0.26 μm) was
62–77% greater than the HVOF coatings (0.06–0.10 μm;
Figure 2a). While Ra for the ALO coating did decrease
slightly (0.23 μm) after 20 weeks field exposure, the relative
average roughness remained around 60–75% greater than
that of CrC, HAS and WCN coatings which were at 0.06,
0.09 and 0.07 μm, respectively (Figure 2a). The average Ra
value for all coatings was below the ideal threshold (0.3 μm)
recommended for hydraulic applications (Figure 2a).
The maximum peak-to-valley height (Rt) of pris-
tine ALO (4.67 ± 1.16 μm) was approximately double
that of CrC (2.44 ± 1.42 μm) and eight times greater
than values recorded for HAS and WCN (0.56 ± 0.14
and 0.57 ± 0.05 μm, respectively; Figure 2b). This trend
remained evident even after 20 weeks field deployment
(Figure 2b), though the magnitude of difference between
the APS and HVOF coatings was less (with Rt 2–5 times
greater for ALO). The ALO coating was also the only
one to record Rt values that exceeded the recommended
threshold (3.7 μm) for hydraulic applications; however,
values remained within the margin of error.
The Rq roughness measurements indicate that the ALO
coating surface has approximately four times the average
amplitude in the height direction relative to the HVOF
484 R. PIOLA ET AL.

Table 3. Summary of RM-ANOVA for the (a) total fouling coverage,

(b) hard fouling coverage and (c) calcareous tubeworm fouling
coverage recorded on APS ceramic and HVOF coated test samples
deployed for 20 weeks at marine exposure sites at Melbourne, Ad-
elaide and Cairns.
Source df MS F p
a. Total fouling coverage
Between-subjects
 Location 2 318.01 89.15 0.000
Surface 3 205.25 57.54 0.000
 Location × surface 6 7.54 2.11 0.061
Error 80 3.57
Within subjects
Time 2 117.41 62.1 0.000
Time × location 4 28.63 15.15 0.000
Time × surface 6 3.71 1.96 0.074
Time × location × surface 12 9.24 4.89 0.000
Error 160 1.89

b. Hard fouling coverage

Between-subjects
 Location 2 28.60 8.07 0.001
Surface 3 141.03 39.81 0.000
 Location × surface 6 3.68 1.04 0.407
Error 80 3.54
Within subjects
Time 1.72 122.54 89.313 0.000a
Time × location 3.44 24.50 17.86 0.000a
Time × surface 5.16 1.49 1.09 0.370a
Time × location × surface 11.98 2.40 1.75 0.074a
Error 137.69 1.37

c. Tubeworm fouling coverage

Figure 2. Measurements of surface roughness average recorded Between-subjects
for coating samples prior to field deployment (ie in pristine  Location 2 50.50 22.60 0.000
Surface 3 164.57 73.66 0.000
condition; black bars) and following a 20-week field deployment
 Location × surface 6 1.08 0.49 0.818
(after cleaning; white bars). Dotted lines represent the ideal Ra Error 80 2.23
and Rt surface roughness values for hydraulic rod applications. Within subjects
Values represent means ± 1SD. (a) Ra, average surface roughness; Time 1.70 26.62 23.84 0.000a
(b) Rt, total height surface roughness profile; (c) Rq, root mean Time × location 3.40 7.70 6.89 0.000a
Time × surface 5.10 3.17 2.84 0.017a
square deviation; (d) Rz, root mean square deviation; (e) Sk, Time × location × surface 10.20 0.77 0.69 0.738a
skewness; (f) Ku, kurtosis. Error 135.97 1.12
p-values in bold represent significant differences at α = 0.05, p < 0.000 de-
notes values < 0.001.
coatings (at ~0.4 μm versus ~0.1 μm, respectively) both a
Denotes use of Greenhouse–Geisser epsilon adjusted p-values due to as-
pre- and post-field deployment (Figure 2c). Similarly, the sumption of sphericity violation (when Mauchley’s test of sphericity was
significant at p < 0.05).
Rz for pristine and post field deployment ALO was ~3 μm,
indicating it was 2.5–8 times rougher that pristine HVOF
coatings (Table 3a) and 3.7–5 times rougher that post-ex- a less random and more repetitive the surface profile
posure HVOF surfaces (Figure 2d). (Howell and Behrends 2006). ‘Spiky’ surfaces have a high
The Ku and Sk are statistical descriptors that give the Ku value, while ‘bumpy’ surfaces have a low Ku value. By
average behaviour of the surface height. Negative Sk values this definition, Ku values recorded for both ALO and CrC
indicates a predominance of valleys, while a positive value coatings (15–19) indicate that they have repetitive ‘spikey’
indicates a surface with more peaks (Howell and Behrends surfaces with little randomness (Figure 2f). In contrast, Ku
2006). Recorded Sk values indicated that the ALO coating, values for HAS and WCN were closer to 3 (at 3.47–4.44),
and to a lesser extent the CrC coating, were valley-domi- suggesting near perfect randomness and a more ‘bumpy’
nated surfaces (with Sk values of –3 and –1.9) respectively; topography (Figure 2f).
Table 3; Figure 2e). In contrast, the surface measurements Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) of the four coat-
of HAS and WCN coatings indicate a more even distri- ings (Figure 3), imaged at the coating free edge, provides
bution of peaks and valleys (Sk values between –0.54 and clear visual support that the 12 month immersion did not
–0.35; Figure 2e). degrade the surface condition or the surface roughness
With respect to kurtosis, a perfectly random surface has measurements described above. The APS (ALO) coat-
a Ku value of three, and any further deviation represents ing is shown to have a much coarser microstructure and
 BIOFOULING   485

Figure 3. SEM images showing the different surface properties of the APS ceramic (ALO) and HVOF (CrC, HAS and WCN) coatings at the
coating free edge. The images represent cross sectional views of the rod samples and depict (from top to bottom) air, the coating/air
interface, and the coating itself. The APS image coating image clearly shows significantly increased roughness, voids and deeper valleys
at the coating/air interface, as well as large voids (appearing as white and black features) throughout the coating matrix compared to
the three HVOF coatings.

increased inherent porosity (ie a greater number and mag-

nitude of voids) relative to the three HVOF coatings. These
characteristics translate to a visibly rougher surface finish
for the ALO with considerably deeper valleys and exposed
inherent voids, even when the coating is superfinished.

Microfouling assessment
Assessment of biofilm formation on the HVOF (CrC)
and APS (ALO) coatings showed a similar level of dia-
tom coverage at 9.4 ± 1.1% and 11.9 ± 3.4%, respectively.
Biofilm formation was variable among individual samples
though no significant difference was recorded between the
HVOF and APS coated samples (F[1,14] = 0.487, p = 0.497).
However, it must be noted that while the coverage of dia- Figure 4. Representative images of diatoms coverage on (a, b) an
toms present on the sample on surfaces were similar, their APS ceramic (ALO) and (c, d) an HVOF (CrC) coating taken using
size composition appeared to differ. The APS (ALO) coat- fluorescent microscopy. Colour images (left column) represent
ing appeared to have fewer and larger diatom cells com- the live capture and black and white images (right column) are
pared to the HVOF (CrC) surface, which appeared to have the same image following post-processing (to more clearly
define the individual cells). Scale bars = 200 μm.
a larger number of smaller organisms (Figure 4).

exposure, the amount of bare space observed on treat-

Macrofouling assessment
Four broad surface categories were assigned during bio-
fouling image analysis of HVOF and APS ceramic sam-
ple surfaces, comprising bare space, slime/biofilm cover,
corrosion (ie corrosion by-products) and macro foul-
ing organisms (Figure 5; Table S3). After 20 weeks field
ment samples was minimal (<6% on average for any of
the coating types), and largely confined to HVOF treat-
ment surfaces in Melbourne and Adelaide (with a maxi-
mum of 5.9 ± 2.0%), although some bare space was also
observed on ALO samples from Adelaide (1.6 ± 0.8%).
In contrast, slime/biofilm accounted for the majority of
486   R. PIOLA ET AL.
Figure 5. Summary of the four broad percentage cover categories
(biofouling, bare space, slime/biofilm and corrosion) recorded
on APS ceramic (ALO) and HVOF (CrC, HAS and WCN) coatings
following 20 weeks immersion at marine exposure sites in (a)
Melbourne, (b) Adelaide and (c) Cairns.
surface coverage across all HVOF samples in Melbourne
and Adelaide (65.8 ± 3.3 – 89.3 ± 1.8%) as well as Adelaide
ALO samples (67.5 ± 4.4%). Corrosion by-products were
typically only recorded on HVOF coated samples, with
Melbourne and Adelaide recording the highest coverage
(6.8 ± 1.8 – 13.8 ± 1.2%). It should be noted that corrosion
recorded on HVOF sample surfaces was not corrosion of
the coating, but rather corrosion by-products originating
from microbial influenced corrosion of the exposed Monel
end-faces of the sample substrates (see Wade et al. 2018).
Corrosion product that built up had cascaded down the
coating surface due to their vertical orientation (Figure S5).
Nonetheless, the remaining sample surface cover was com-
prised of macrofouling organisms, of which ALO samples
recorded consistently higher levels relative to HVOF sam-
ples in the same location (a minimum of 58, 87 and 16%
greater for Melbourne, Adelaide and Cairns, respectively).
Results of the accumulation of biofouling on all coat-
ing surfaces were assessed after 12, 16 and 20 weeks
immersion. Analysis of total (ie hard and soft) biofoul-
ing coverage showed a significant interaction between
exposure site and coating surface type over time
(F[12,160] = 4.89, p < 0.001; Table 3a; Figure 6). This inter-
action was driven by the twofold to fourfold increase in
fouling coverage recorded on HVOF samples in Cairns
between 16 and 20 weeks exposure, compared to the
consistent low coverage on Melbourne and Adelaide
HVOF coatings relative to the ALO reference coating
(Figure 6). There was a significant overall difference in
the percentage cover of total fouling among different
coating surfaces (F[3,80] = 57.54, p < 0.001; Table 3a)
with all three HVOF coatings recording substantially
less fouling than the ALO reference surface (Tukey’s
HSD p < 0.001; Figure 6) yet no difference amongst
individual HVOF coating types. Overall, Melbourne,
Adelaide and Cairns all recorded significantly differ-
ent levels of total biofouling coverage (Tukey’s HSD
p < 0.001; Table 3a; Figure 6) with the highest to lowest
being Cairns > Melbourne > Adelaide.
The level of hard biofouling coverage varied over time
with respect to location (F[3.44,137.69] = 17.86, p < 0.001;
Table 3b), with Cairns samples showing greater pro-
gressive increases in fouling across all sample surfaces
over time relative to Melbourne and Adelaide (Figure 7).
Overall differences in surface coating type were observed
(F[3,80] = 39.81, p < 0.001; Table 3b), again due to markedly
lower levels of fouling on CrC, HAS and WCN HVOF
coatings compared to ALO (Tukey’s HSD p < 0.001;
Figure 7). Significant differences among exposure loca-
tions (F[2,80] = 8.07, p = 0.001; Table 3b) resulted because
Melbourne and Cairns recorded overall higher levels of
fouling compared to Adelaide (Tukey’s HSD p < 0.05;
Figure 7).
The development of calcareous tubeworm fouling dif-
fered significantly over time with respect to both coat-
ing surface (F[5.10,135.97] = 2.84, p = 0.017; Table 3c) and
location (F[3.40,135.97] = 6.89, p < 0.001; Table 3c). This was
respectively due to progressive increases in tubeworm
cover on ALO coatings (but not HVOF surfaces) over
time and the greater level of tubeworm fouling observed
in Melbourne samples over time relative to Adelaide and
Cairns (Figure 8). Consistent with patterns observed for
total and hard fouling cover, a significant overall differ-
ence in tubeworm coverage of coatings surfaces (F[3,80] =
73.66, p < 0.001; Table 3c) was a result of greater fouling
on ALO coatings relative to HVOF surfaces (Tukey’s HSD
p < 0.001; Figure 8). The overall difference among loca-
tions (F[2,80] = 22.60, p < 0.001; Table 3c) was driven by
greater tubeworm cover on Melbourne samples relative
to Adelaide and Cairns (Tukey’s HSD p < 0.001; Figure 8).

Figure 6. Total biofouling percentage cover recorded on APS
ceramic (ALO) and HVOF (CrC, HAS and WCN) coatings following
12, 16 and 20 weeks immersion at marine exposure sites in
(a) Melbourne, (b) Adelaide and (c) Cairns. Values represent
means ± SE.
Physico-chemical parameters
A summary of the physico-chemical measurements
recorded at the marine exposure sites is presented in Table
4. Mean water temperatures observed over the 20 week
experimental period were approximately 9°C warmer
at the Cairns site than at Melbourne and Adelaide. The
Cairns site also recorded the lowest salinity (32.6), pH
(7.8) and dissolved oxygen (4.7 mg l−1) levels of the three
sites, and had around 20 times greater turbidity than
Melbourne. All these differences are representative of the
fact the Cairns site is located in a tropical estuary that
receives large inputs of freshwater and organic matter
during regular rainfall events.
Water samples collected at all three marine exposure
sites showed variable background levels of total Cu in
the water column, ranging from very low at Melbourne
(<0.001 mg l−1), low at Cairns (<0.01 mg l−1) and relatively
high at Adelaide (0.035 mg l−1). This largely contrasted
BIOFOULING   487
Figure 7. Hard biofouling percentage cover recorded on APS
ceramic (ALO) and HVOF (CrC, HAS and WCN) coatings following
12, 16 and 20 weeks immersion at marine exposure sites in
(a) Melbourne, (b) Adelaide and (c) Cairns. Values represent
means ± SE.
with the greater Cu levels observed inside the exper-
imental treatment units (ie inside the sample housing)
due to the controlled release of the antifouling coatings,
which were measured at 0.083, 0.11 and 0.063 mg l−1 at
Melbourne, Cairns and Adelaide, respectively.
Discussion
Following 20 weeks of immersion at both tropical and
temperate field exposure sites, the control APS ceramic
hydraulic coating (ALO) accumulated significantly
greater levels of biofouling compared to the candidate
replacement HVOF coatings. APS samples deployed in
the tropics accumulated in the range of 90% total fouling
after 12 weeks immersion, as would be expected based
on the increased water temperatures and resultant higher
fouling pressures (Maréchal and Hellio 2009). What was
unexpected was the comparable lack of fouling (≤20%) on
HVOF coatings in this same environment over the same
488 R. PIOLA ET AL.
Figure 8. Calcareous tubeworm percentage cover recorded
on APS ceramic (ALO) and HVOF (CrC, HAS and WCN) coatings
following 12, 16 and 20 weeks immersion at marine exposure
sites in (a) Melbourne, (b) Adelaide and (c) Cairns. Values represent
means ± SE.
time period (and persisting even further out to 16 weeks).
Only after 20 weeks of tropical exposure did some of
the HVOF coatings (namely WCN and HAS) begin to
approach the same levels of total fouling (~70–80%) as the
APS coating. A similar trend was observed at the temper-
ate exposure sites, albeit with a lower overall magnitude of
fouling accumulation. Importantly for this study, however,
the levels of fouling on HVOF coatings never approached
those found on the APS ceramic at temperate sites.
When attempting to explain the greater overall accu-
mulation of biofouling on the APS ceramic coating over
the HVOF surfaces, it seems likely that differential surface
characteristics, and in particular surface roughness, may
be an important contributing factor. The levels of surface
roughness recorded for the test coatings examined in this
study are all ≤ 500 nm (Rq), which classifies them as hav-
ing nano-scaled topographies (ie 1 to < 1,000 nm; Myan
et al. 2013; (Verran and Boyd 2001). There are several
established theories which suggest a direct correlation
between different nano-topographic characteristics and
the settlement behaviour of macrofouling invertebrates
(Beigbeder et al. 2008; Rosenhahn et al. 2008; Gunari et
al. 2011). It could be argued that many larger larvae of
marine organisms ‘view’ nano topographies below a cer-
tain scale as being essentially ‘flat’; however, some studies
have shown that nano topography can affect the settle-
ment densities of marine microorganisms such as bac-
teria, with increasing densities of bacteria recorded with
increasing nano-scale surface roughness (in particular at
Rt scales > 0.015 μm; Kerr and Cowling 2003). This is
likely due to the increased nano-roughness providing a
greater surface area for extracellular polymeric substances
(EPS) which assist attachment of bacteria (Verran and
Boyd 2001). In turn, differential bacterial and biofilm
composition can have the flow-on effect of influencing
(and altering) the settlement (Rod, Sat, Qian, Huang,) and
composition of larger macrofouling organisms (Rodríguez
et al. 1993; Qian 1999; Zhao et al. 2003; Hung et al. 2009;
Sweat et al. 2017). Relative to the HVOF coatings, and
based on the surface roughness definitions provided by
Howell and Behrends (2006), the APS ceramic (ALO) had
a rougher (greater Ra and Rq), ‘spikey’ repetitive surface
(high Ku) with a much greater maximum peak-to-valley
height (Rt) that was dominated by valleys (negative Sk). A
study by Wouters et al. (2010) assessing the biofilm for-
mation on nanocomposite coatings with different surface
roughnesses found coatings with an Ra = 0.25 μm recorded
2.5 times greater biofilm formation than coating with an
Ra of 0.08 μm. These respective Ra values are compara-
ble to those of ALO (0.26 μm) and the HVOF coatings
(0.06–0.10 μm) in this study. It is possible that the surface
characteristics of ALO provide more refuge and suitable
attachment points for bacteria and microorganisms and
may even promote different bacterial community com-
positions, which could impact the type of macrofouling
assemblages that follow (Freckelton et al. 2017).
In addition to bacteria, settlement densities of other
marine taxa have also been shown to be affected by sub-
strata with varying nano topography (Myan et al. 2013).
Gunari et al. (2011) found that the settlement of barnacle
cyprid larvae (Amphibalanus amphitrite) and algal zoo-
spores (Ulva sp.) differed significantly amongst xerogel
surfaces with varying nanometer-scale topographies
(ranging from 0.20 to 1.15 nm Rq). Similarly, Scardino et
al. (2009) found that superhydrophobic coatings (SHCs)
with differing levels of surface roughness (ranging from
0.31 to 0.48 μm Rq, similar to values for APS in this study)
recorded significantly different levels of larval settlement
for a range of major fouling taxa that included diatoms,
macroalgae, bryozoans and barnacles. It has been argued

Table 4. Summary of the physico-chemical parameters recorded at marine exposure sites in Melbourne, Adelaide and Cairns over the
20 weeks of the experiment.
Water temperature
Site (°C) Salinity (ppt)
Melbourne 20.5 ± 1.6 (4) 35.5 ± 0.2 (4)
Adelaide 21.9 ± 0.6 (4) 37.9 ± 0.8 (4)
Cairns 29.8 ± 0.7 (3) 32.6 ± 0.4 (3)
Values represent means ± SE.
that one of the primary reason for the inhibition of larval
settlement on nano-topographic SHC coatings is a result
of the entrapment of ‘air pockets’ between the substra-
tum–water interface (see Myan et al. 2013 and references
therein) which impedes organisms from having direct
contact with the surface. Whether such a mechanism acts
to influence biofouling on the APS and HVOF coatings
examined in this study is unknown.
Another possible explanation for the enhanced biofoul-
ing observed on the APS ceramic surface relative to the
HVOF coatings relates to the electrochemical potential of
the surfaces. Numerous studies have shown that the elec-
trochemical potential of a surface can influence bacterial
attachment and biofilm formation, and that manipula-
tion of that potential can even enhance or inhibit biofilm
development (Busalmen and de Sánchez 2005; Schaule
et al. 2008; Duan and Lin 2011; Nithila et al. 2012; Javed
et al. 2016). Being a ceramic, the baseline ALO coating
is inert, giving it no electrochemical potential within
the material system. In contrast, all the HVOF coatings
examined in this study have either a cathodic (WCN and
HAS) or anodic (CrC) potential with respect to Monel
(Figure S6). Correspondingly, there will be a current flow
present which could inhibit bacterial attachment and
biofilm formation. Cathodic surface potentials on tita-
nium condenser plates in seawater have been shown to
significantly reduce the attachment of a range of bacteria
species (Nithila et al. 2012). As discussed previously, dif-
ferences in the development and composition of bacterial
films on a substrate can induce or inhibit the larval settle-
ment of many marine invertebrate taxa (Rodríguez et al.
1993; Satuito et al. 1997; Qian 1999; Huang and Hadfield
2003; Hung et al. 2009). Additionally, substratum surface
charges can directly affect settlement of invertebrate larvae
(Qian 1999; Zhu et al. 2015).
Finally, a further possible explanation for the difference
in overall settlement of macrofouling organism on the APS
coating versus the HVOF is the colour, or perhaps more
importantly the brightness, of the coating itself. The ALO
ceramic coating is a dark muted grey/black colour when
wet, while all the HVOF coatings appear bright metallic/
silver in colour (Figure S7). Despite the test samples being
deployed in semi-enclosed experimental housings with
little light penetration, it is possible that the openings in
BIOFOULING 489
pH Turbidity DO (% sat) DO (mg l−1)
8.1 ± 0.1 (4) 0.5 ± 0.3 (4) 97.3 ± 2.5 (4) 7.1 ± 0.3 (4)
8.4 ± 0.1 (4) – 100.9 ± 4.7 (4) –
7.8 ± 0.1 (3) 10.8 ± 1.7 (2) 73.4 ± 4.0 (3) 4.7 ± 0.2 (3)
top and sides of the test rig casings designed to allow water
transfer, also allowed sufficient light ingress to highlight
the different optical characteristics of the dark APS coating
and the shiny/light HVOP test samples. A study by Ells et
al. (2016) found that colonial and solitary ascidian species
settled in significantly lower densities on lighter surfaces
relative to dark. Similar responses have been observed in
other studies examining ascidian larvae (Nakagawa et al.
1999; Swain et al. 2006; Darbyson et al. 2009; Dobretsov
et al. 2013), as well as other macrofouling taxa including
algae (Swain et al. 2006; Dobretsov et al. 2013), barnacles
(Pomerat and Reiner 1942; Dobretsov et al. 2013) and cal-
careous tubeworms (James and Underwood 1994; Swain
et al. 2006). Debretsov et al. (2013) even found that light
and dark substrates can affect microfouling community
formation, with black substrates having higher densities
of diatoms and bacteria during initial stages of develop-
ment, with a different community composition compared
white substrates. Interestingly, studies of the same nature
using bryozoan larvae have yielded contrasting results,
with one study (Ryland 1977) showing bryozoan larvae
preferentially settle on dark/shaded surfaces, while a more
recent experiment suggests there is no preference (Ells et
al. 2016).
Irrespective of the mechanisms driving attachment, it
was evident from this study that calcareous tubeworms
and encrusting bryozoans constituted the dominant hard
fouling taxa observed on all coatings across all exposure
sites (albeit the magnitude of growth was significantly
greater on the APS ceramic relative to HVOF coatings).
This is representative of the real-world nuisance hard foul-
ing observed on in-service hydraulic components in the
types of vessel niche areas this study aimed to emulate (ie
semi-enclosed free-flood spaces), and suggests that the
study methodology was appropriate to address one of the
primary issues of concern. This study found that after as
little as 12 weeks, sufficient levels of hard fouling could
accumulate to potentially cause a system to fail (eg due
to puncturing of cylinder seals during hydraulic cycling
operations). To further evaluate this work, a new field trial
using working prototype cylinders is currently underway
to assess the full advantages of these HVOF coatings.
One of the surprising observations made during
this study was the development of corrosion products
490   R. PIOLA ET AL.
(greenish products on the metal surface, black corro-
sion products underneath; Figure S5) originating from
the exposed Monel ends of the samples (predominant on
the HVOF coated rods). This was unexpected as Monel
is typically regarded to be highly resistant to corrosion in
seawater (Shoemaker and Smith 2006) and the specific
metal binder alloys used for the HVOF coatings were
specifically chosen because they were compatible on the
galvanic series to a Monel substratum, thus minimising
the likelihood of accelerated galvanic corrosion of the sub-
stratum. Further investigation (including SRB detection
test kits, DNA sequencing, SME, EDS and XRD) since the
completion of this study suggest that this corrosion is an
artefact of the experimental design, predominantly due to
microbiologically influenced corrosion (MIC) resulting
in dealloying of the exposed Monel ends of the samples
(Wade et al. 2018); however, the occurrence of this type of
corrosion can further be avoided by minimising crevices
with the Monel. A pilot field study deployed a set of new
HVOF sampled rods, this time with sealed end-caps that
prevented immersion in seawater at the Williamstown test
site. This suggests that any issues with corrosion of the
Monel substratum of HVOF coated rods can be overcome
through quite simple design changes.
Acknowledgements
The authors would like to acknowledge the support of the
Defence Materials Technology Centre (DMTC). The DMTC
was established and is supported under the Australian Gov-
ernment’s Defence Future Capability Technology Centres Pro-
gram. They also thank Wade Hoskins, Ashley Goodwin, Mark
Ciacic and Jim Dimas (from the Defence Science and Technol-
ogy Group), Andrew Moore, Brian Dempster and Yeannette
Lizama (from Swinburne University of Technology) for valua-
ble support in field assessment activities.
Disclosure statement
No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.
References
Ang ASM, Howse H, Wade SA, Berndt CC. 2016a. Development
of processing windows for HVOF carbide-based coatings. J
Therm Spray Technol. 25:28–35. doi: 10.1007/s11666-015-
0318-z
Ang ASM, Howse H, Wade SA, Berndt CC. 2016b. Manufacturing
of nickel based cermet coatings by the HVOF process. Surf
Eng. 32:713–724. doi: 10.1179/1743294415Y.0000000031
Beigbeder A, Degee P, Conlan SL, Mutton RJ, Clare AS, Pettitt
ME, Callow ME, Callow JA, Dubois P. 2008. Preparation
and characterisation of silicone-based coatings filled with
carbon nanotubes and natural sepiolite and their application
as marine fouling-release coatings. Biofouling. 24:291–302.
doi: 10.1080/08927010802162885
Berger L-M. 2015. Application of hardmetals as thermal spray
coatings. Int J Refract Metals Hard Mater. 49:350–364. doi:
10.1016/j.ijrmhm.2014.09.029
Bolelli G, Cannillo V, Lusvarghi L, Riccò S. 2006. Mechanical
and tribological properties of electrolytic hard chrome and
HVOF-sprayed coatings. Surf Coat Technol. 200:2995–3009.
doi: 10.1016/j.surfcoat.2005.04.057
Busalmen JP, de Sánchez SR. 2005. Electrochemical
polarization-induced changes in the growth of individual
cells and biofilms of Pseudomonas fluorescens (ATCC
17552). Appl Environ Microbiol. 71:6235–6240. doi:
10.1128/AEM.71.10.6235-6240.2005
Darbyson E, Hanson JM, Locke A, Willison JHM. 2009.
Settlement and potential for transport of clubbed tunicate
(Styela clava) on boat hulls. Aquat Invasions. 4:95–103. doi:
10.3391/ai
Dobretsov S, Abed RMM, Sharp K, Skalli O, Boykins LG,
Coons L. 2014. Microscopy of biofilms. In: Dobretsov S,
Thomason JC, Williams DN, editors. Biofouling Methods.
Oxford: John Wiley & Sons, Ltd; p. 1–43.
Dobretsov S, Abed RMM, Voolstra CR. 2013. The effect of
surface colour on the formation of marine micro and
macrofouling communities. Biofouling. 29:617–627. doi:
10.1080/08927014.2013.784279
Duan DX, Lin CG. 2011. Effect of surface free energy and
electrochemical polarization on attachment of sulfate
reducing bacteria. Adv Mater Res. 199-200:1967–1972. doi:
10.4028/www.scientific.net/AMR.199-200
Ells V, Filip N, Bishop CD, DeMont ME, Smith-Palmer T,
Wyeth RC. 2016. A true test of colour effects on marine
invertebrate larval settlement. J Exp Mar Biol Ecol. 483:156–
161. doi: 10.1016/j.jembe.2016.07.011
Freckelton ML, Nedved BT, Hadfield MG. 2017. Induction of
invertebrate larval settlement; different bacteria, different
mechanisms? Sci Rep. 7:42557. doi: 10.1038/srep42557
Gunari N, Brewer LH, Bennett SM, Sokolova A, Kraut ND,
Finlay JA, Meyer AE, Walker GC, Wendt DE, Callow ME,
et al. 2011. The control of marine biofouling on xerogel
surfaces with nanometer-scale topography. Biofouling.
27:137–149. doi: 10.1080/08927014.2010.548599
Howell D, Behrends B. 2006. A review of surface
roughness in antifouling coatings illustrating the
importance of cutoff length. Biofouling. 22:401–410. doi:
10.1080/08927010601035738
Huang S, Hadfield MG. 2003. Composition and density
of bacterial biofilms determine larval settlement of the
polychaete Hydroides elegans. Mar Ecol Prog Ser. 260:161–
172. doi: 10.3354/meps260161
Hung OS, Lee OO, Thiyagarajan V, He HP, Xu Y, Chung HC,
Qiu JW, Qian PY. 2009. Characterization of cues from
natural multi-species biofilms that induce larval attachment
of the polychaete Hydroides elegans. Aqu Biol. 4:253–262.
doi: 10.3354/ab00110
James RJ, Underwood AJ. 1994. Influence of colour of
substratum on recruitment of spirorbid tubeworms to
different types of intertidal boulders. J Exp Mar Biol Ecol.
181:105–115. doi: 10.1016/0022-0981(94)90107-4
Javed MA, Neil WC, Stoddart PR, Wade SA. 2016. Influence of
carbon steel grade on the initial attachment of bacteria and
microbiologically influenced corrosion. Biofouling. 32:109–
122. doi: 10.1080/08927014.2015.1128528

Kerr A, Cowling MJ. 2003. The effects of surface topography on
the accumulation of biofouling. Philos Mag. 83:2779–2795.
doi: 10.1080/1478643031000148451
Lichtman JW, Conchello JA. 2005. Fluorescence microscopy.
Nat Methods. 2:919. eng.
Maréchal J-P, Hellio C. 2009. Challenges for the development
of new non-toxic antifouling solutions. Int J Mol Sci.
10:4623–4637. doi: 10.3390/ijms10114623
Myan FWY, Walker J, Paramor O. 2013. The interaction
of marine fouling organisms with topography of varied
scale and geometry: a review. Biointerphases. 8:30. doi:
10.1186/1559-4106-8-30
Nakagawa M, Miyamoto T, Ohkuma M, Tsuda M. 1999.
Action spectrum for the photophobic response of Ciona
intestinalis (Ascidieacea, Urochordata) larvae implicates
retinal protein. Photochem Photobiol. 70:359–362. eng. doi:
10.1111/php.1999.70.issue-3
Nithila SDR, George RP, Anandkumar B, Kamachi Mudali
U, Dayal RK. 2012. Effect of applied potential to control
bacterial adhesion on titanium a condenser material of
nuclear power plants. Trans Indian I Metals. 65:251–258.
doi: 10.1007/s12666-012-0126-9
Oksa M, Turunen E, Varis T. 2004. Sealing of thermally
sprayed coatings. Surf Eng. 20:251–254. doi:
10.1179/026708404225016346
Picas JA, Punset M, Teresa Baile M, Martín E, Forn A. 2011.
Tribological evaluation of HVOF thermal-spray coatings as
a hard chrome replacement. Surf Interface Anal. 43:1346–
1353. doi: 10.1002/sia.v43.10
Pomerat CM, Reiner ER. 1942. The influence of surface
angle and of light on the attachment of barnacles and
other sedentary organisms. Biol Bull. 82:14–25. doi:
10.2307/1537933
Qian P-Y. 1999. Larval settlement of polychaetes. In: Dorresteijn
AWC, Westheide W, editors. Reproductive strategies and
developmental patterns in annelids. Dordrecht: Springer
Netherlands; p. 239–253.
Rodríguez SR, Patricio Ojeda F, Inestrosa NC. 1993. Settlement
of benthic marine invertebrates. Mar Ecol Prog Ser. 97:193–
207. doi: 10.3354/meps097193
Rosenhahn A, Ederth T, Pettitt ME. 2008. Advanced
nanostructures for the control of biofouling: the FP6 EU
Integrated Project AMBIO. Biointerphases. 3:IR1–IR5. doi:
10.1116/1.2844718
Ryland JS. 1977. Chapter 12, Taxes and tropisms of bryozoans.
In: Woollacott RM, Zimmer RL, editors. Biology of
bryozoans. New York: Academic Press; p. 411–436. doi:
10.1016/B978-0-12-763150-9.50018-0
BIOFOULING 491
mSAE International. 2010. AMS2449: grinding of HVOF
sprayed tungsten carbide coatings applied to high strength
steels. Warrendale (PA): SAE International; p. 12.
mSAE International. 2011. AMS2452: superfinishing of HVOF
applied tungsten carbide coatings. Warrendale, PA, USA:
SAE International; p. 13.
Satuito CG, Shimizu K, Fusetani N. 1997. Studies on the
factors influencing larval settlement in Balanus amphitrite
and Mytilus galloprovincialis. Hydrobiologia. 358:275–280.
doi: 10.1023/A:1003109625166
Scardino AJ, Zhang H, Cookson DJ, Lamb RN, de Nys R.
2009. The role of nano-roughness in antifouling. Biofouling.
25:757–767. doi: 10.1080/08927010903165936
Schaule G, Rumpf A, Weidlich C, Mangold K-M, Flemming
H-C. 2008. Effects of electric polarization of indium tin
oxide (ITO) and polypyrrole on biofilm formation. Water
Sci Technol. 58:2165–2172. doi: 10.2166/wst.2008.529
Shoemaker LE, Smith GD. 2006. A century of monel metal:
1906–2006. JOM. 58:22–26. doi: 10.1007/s11837-006-0077-x
Swain G, Herpe S, Ralston E, Tribou M. 2006. Short-term
testing of antifouling surfaces: the importance of colour.
Biofouling. 22:425–429. doi: 10.1080/08927010601037163
Sweat LH, Swain GW, Hunsucker KZ, Johnson KB. 2017.
Transported biofilms and their influence on subsequent
macrofouling colonization. Biofouling. 33:433-449. eng. doi:
10.1080/08927014.2017.1320782
Verran J, Boyd RD. 2001. The relationship between
substratum surface roughness and microbiological and
organic soiling: a review. Biofouling. 17:59–71. doi:
10.1080/08927010109378465
Wade SA, Ang ASM, Piola R, Neil W. 2018. Microbiologically
influenced corrosion of UNS N05500 in seawater. Mat
Perform. 57:66–69. doi: 10.1080/08927010109378465
Wouters M, Rentrop C, Willemsen P. 2010. Surface structuring
and coating performance. Prog Org Coat. 68:4–11. doi:
10.1016/j.porgcoat.2009.10.005
Zhu X, Jańczewski D, Guo S, Lee SSC, Parra Velandia FJ, Teo SL-
M, He T, Puniredd SR, Vancso GJ. 2015. Polyion multilayers
with precise surface charge control for antifouling. ACS
Appl Mater Interfaces. 7:852–861. doi: 10.1021/am507371a
Zhao B, Zhang S, Qian P-Y. 2003. Larval settlement of the
silver- or goldlip pearl oyster Pinctada maxima (Jameson) in
response to natural biofilms and chemical cues. Aquaculture.
220:883–901. doi: 10.1016/S0044-8486(02)00567-7
Zhou S, Zeng X, Hu Q, Huang Y. 2008. Analysis of crack
behavior for Ni-based WC composite coatings by laser
cladding and crack-free realization. Appl Surf Sci. 255:1646–
1653. doi: 10.1016/j.apsusc.2008.04.003