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A numerical assessment of microtopographies with varied geometries in relation to biofouling control
Wong, Felicia Yen Myan1, Lam, Kuo Min2, Lim, Chin Hong3, James Walker4.
Biofouling is the unwanted attachment of organisms and microorganisms to a
submerged surface. It is a natural phenomenon that results in negative impacts on
man-made industries such as the marine industry, food industry, water treatment
among others. Studies have shown that the application of surface topography with
varied geometries and sizes have the potential to prevent biofouling. This
research aims to assess microtopographies of varied geometries and shape in
relation to biofouling control. The size and dimensions of the topographies were
kept the same at 150 µm. This research is computational where simulations of
flow in three-dimensional (3D) models were performed with ANSYS Fluent, a
Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) software. With the aid of CFD,
simulations of fluid flow in 3D models that consist of surface topographies with
varied geometries and defined boundary conditions were conducted. The
topographies investigated include pillars, octagonals, cross shaped grooves and
square grooves. Hydrodynamic variations of interest that were analysed upon
completion of the simulations include wall shear stress and velocity. Analysis of
simulations show that the presence of topographies disrupt uniform flow and
creates hydrodynamic fluctuations that discourage biofouling settlement.
Simulations indicate that the pillars topography would likely have the best
antifouling potential because it is the least likely to result in the formation of
many vortices and also because shear stresses at the peaks of this topography are
the highest among the four investigated topographies.
Affiliation:
- Taylor's University, Malaysia
- Taylor's University, Malaysia
- Taylor's University, Malaysia
- University of Nottingham Ningbo, China
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Indexation |
Indexed by |
MyJurnal (2019) |
H-Index
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0 |
Immediacy Index
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0.000 |
Rank |
0 |
Indexed by |
Scopus (SCImago Journal Rankings 2016) |
Impact Factor
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- |
Rank |
Q3 (Engineering (miscellaneous)) |
Additional Information |
0.193 (SJR) |
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