µCT-Based Topography Analysis of Inaccessible Surfaces Exemplified by a Biofouling-Covered Plastic

authored by

Florian Bittner, Hans Josef Endres

Abstract

The measurement of surface topographies is usually restricted to surfaces that are directly accessible to tactile or optical sensing. With this paper, the application of micro-computed tomography to measure characteristics of surfaces that are covered by solid films and thus not directly accessible is demonstrated. The method is first validated by comparative measurements of a plastic sample with µCT and conventional optical profilometry. Afterwards, the µCT-based method is successfully applied to a polyhydroxybutyrate plastic sample covered by biofouling after exposure to marine environment, providing insight into the degradation processes.

Organisation(s)

Institute of Plastics and Circular Economy

Type

Article

Journal

Chemie-Ingenieur-Technik

Volume

94

Pages

186-193

No. of pages

8

ISSN

0009-286X

Publication date

24.01.2022

Publication status

Published

Peer reviewed

Yes

ASJC Scopus subject areas

General Chemistry, General Chemical Engineering, Industrial and Manufacturing Engineering

Sustainable Development Goals

SDG 14 - Life Below Water

Electronic version(s)

https://doi.org/10.1002/cite.202100170 (Access: Open)
https://doi.org/10.15488/12510 (Access: Open)