Page 35 - 201902 SCA February 2019 Volume 56 Number 1
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FEBRUARY
                                                                                                          2019


          A supersonic combustion flame jet (i.e. flame thrower) is used to apply the coating.
          Photo credit: Swinburne University of Technology.















          The hydraulic parts are often exposed to harsh operating conditions
          and are part of the critically important machinery on a ship.
          Photo credit: POIS Yuri Ramsey, Navy Imagery Unit, Department of Defence









                                                          These highly corrosion resistant coatings are new ways to combat biofouling.
                                                          Photo credit: DMTC Limited
























          The team tested the protective coating on more than   The Canberra and her sister ship HMAS Adelaide
          100 test samples, immersing them in seawater at   are providing the Australian Defence Force with one
          three field sites around Australia from 2015 to 2017.  of the most capable and sophisticated air-land-sea
                                                          deployment systems in the world.
          The impact of preventing corrosion              Dr Ang won the 2018 Fresh Science competition in
          Dr Richard Piola, from Defence Science and      Victoria for his work.
          Technology, says the new surface coatings could
          make a huge difference to the operational availability   Fresh Science
          of Navy ships, and significantly reduce the cost of   Fresh Science is a national competition run
          maintenance and repairs.                        by Science in Public, which helps early-career
                                                          researchers find and share their stories of discovery.
          “If the coating can double the length of time a ship
          can be at sea or available to be deployed – before   Fresh Science Victoria is supported by the Royal Society
          it needs to be docked and cleaned – it could save   of Victoria, La Trobe University, Monash University,
          costs and also increase operational readiness for the   The University of Melbourne, Deakin University, RMIT
          Defence Force,” Dr Piola says.                  University, CSIRO and Swinburne UoT.
          The team is now testing the protective coating on a   Read the original research paper by Dr Andrew Ang,
          prototype system in the field, and have been invited   Matthew Leigh and Associate Professor Scott Wade
          to conduct the trial on HMAS Canberra.          (bit.ly/2Ry50Pe). n


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