Biofouling is a major concern for anthropogenic structures in terms of fuel costs, maintenance and environmental concerns with greenhouse gas emissions and transport of nonindigenous species. Antifouling coatings do not effectively protect many structures and niche areas. Encapsulation has been introduced as a potential long-lasting solution to prevent macrofouling. This study aims to determine the applicability of encapsulation for complex structures that cannot be wrapped with a tight-fitting bag. An experiment was designed to test the impact of different volumes and sizes of bags on the efficacy and life span of protection. Encapsulation within one and two-foot-diameter bags prevented macrofouling on inert PVC and bronze surfaces for the entire 12-month experiment. Four-foot diameter bags prevented macrofouling on inert PVC surfaces for 8 months and bronze surfaces for 9 months. Regardless of bag size, a decrease in dissolved oxygen was observed within all bags compared to open water readings, which may play a role in decreased settlement on encapsulated surfaces. This method has proven effective for extended periods despite large enclosed volumes of water.

中文翻译：

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研究增加封装尺寸和体积对长期结垢控制的影响


生物淤污是人为结构的主要问题，涉及燃料成本、维护以及温室气体排放和非本地物种运输的环境问题。防污涂料不能有效地保护许多结构和壁龛区域。封装已被引入作为防止宏观污垢的潜在持久解决方案。本研究旨在确定封装对无法用紧密贴合袋包裹的复杂结构的适用性。设计了一项实验来测试不同体积和尺寸的袋子对保护效果和寿命的影响。在整个 12 个月的实验中，将 1 英尺和 2 英尺直径的袋子封装在惰性 PVC 和青铜表面上防止了宏观污垢。直径为 4 英尺的袋子可防止惰性 PVC 表面的宏观污垢 8 个月，防止青铜表面的宏观污垢 9 个月。无论袋子的大小如何，与开放水域读数相比，所有袋子内的溶解氧都减少了，这可能是减少在封装表面沉降的原因。事实证明，这种方法在封闭水量很大的情况下仍能长时间有效。