Project summary
Gluing things together under water poses a significant challenge. In seawater this is even more difficult due to the salt content, and currently the performance and durability of of seawather adhesives is very limited. This is a problem for applications in marine industry such as underwater robotics, underwater repair, and subsea sealants.
The SEAD project aims to develop novel environmentally friendly materials that can act as a durable and permanent glue for use in seawater. This can be used for repair of sub-sea structures, attachment of sensors, etc. In addition, we aim to develop reversible adhesion (post-it note effect) for the feet of marine robots and other non-permanent attachements.
In order to achieve the desired effect we will combine knowledge from the mechanisms marine life utilizes to stick to surfaces under water (biomimicking) with advanced chemistry and adhesion physics.
The project is financed by the Research Council of Norway under the program Researcher Project for Technological Convergence Related to Enabling Technologies. This is a 4 year project, which started on the 1st of October 2023. The project is a collaboration between Østfold University College, Norwegian University of Science and Technology, and SINTEF.