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Paint and Coatings Industry Standards
D4939 Standard Test Method for Subjecting Marine Antifouling Coating to Biofouling and Fluid Shear Forces in Natural Seawater
5.1 Effective antifouling coatings are essential for the retention of speed and reduction of operating costs of ships. This test method is designed as a screening test to evaluate antifouling coating systems under conditions of hydrodynamic stress caused by water flow alternated with static exposure to a fouling environment. A dynamic test is necessary because of the increasing availability of AF coatings that are designed to ablate in service to expose a fresh antifouling surface. Because no ship is underway continually, a static exposure phase is included to give fouling microorganisms the opportunity to attach under static conditions. After an initial 30-day static exposure, alternated 30-day dynamic and static exposures are recommended as a standard cycle. The initial static exposure is selected to represent vessels coming out of drydock and sitting pierside while work is being completed. This gives the paint time to lose any remaining solvents, complete curing, absorb water, and, in general, stabilize to the in-water environment.
5.2 This test method is intended to provide a comparison with a control antifouling coating of known performance in protecting underwater portions of ships' hulls. This test method gives an indication of the performance and anticipated service life of antifouling coatings for use on seagoing vessels. However, the degree of correlation between this test method and service performance has not been determined.
