Dynamic simulations of a self-polishing antifouling paint exposed to seawater

A mathematical model for a self-polishing antifouling paint exposed to seawater was extended to handle dynamic simulations. The aim has been to investigate, quantitatively, the transient responses of the paint to changes in seawater temperature, pH, concentration of NaCl, and ship speed. The simulation study revealed that polishing and biocide release rates for a paint present on a ship bottom rarely reach stable conditions, because of the slow response of the paint to changes in temperature and ship speed. It was also found that the paint behavior stabilizes more rapidly from a temperature or speed increase than from temperature or speed reductions. These results are essential for the testing of paints on ships and useful information in the development of novel self-polishing antifouling paints. The modeling approach underlying the simulations can be applied to any type of self-polishing antifouling paint provided that sufficient kinetic, solubility, and diffusivity data are available for the pertinent rate steps influencing the paint behavior.