Antifouling piezoelectric vibratory system – PIEZOVIB

The societal demand is more and more urgent to know the quality of the water, sea waters as river waters, from bacteriological risks, accidental pollution as malicious. Traditional analyses by collecting and analysing samples in laboratory provide important information on the quality of the water but do not allow in situ and real-time monitoring. To overcome this disadvantage, manufacturers turned to submerged sensors to monitor parameters such as dissolved oxygen, turbidity, conductivity, pH and fluorescence. However, these sensors suffer a drift of their measurements due to the invasion of surfaces by bacteria, micro or micro-organisms, which is commonly called biofouling. In this context, antifouling solutions should be developed in order to maintain reliable measurements for as long as possible before maintenance is carried out.

The PIEZOVIB project, between the CEA, the MAPIEM and the IFREMER, fits into this context. The proposed solution uses the vibration of the measuring surface by the use of piezoelectric actuators, outside the measuring periods. The surfaces will be transparent or not depending on the type of measurement. This project is based on the conclusive experience acquired in this field for three years, between the MAPIEM laboratory of the University of Toulon and the CEA Grenoble. the surfaces may be, in a second step, micro-textured in order to have a combination of approaches acting synergistically. The developed system will be tested in situ, both in Brest and Toulon, to prove the full benefit of our solution.