Please answer all parts!

An Irish wind farm company requires a protective coating for their wind turbines. The coating must protect the wind turbine surface from biofouling and corrosion. Three novel protective coatings labelled Coating A,B and C respectively have been developed. The coatings were applied to metal test panels and their resistance to corrosion was examined. After testing, the panels were examined using light microscopy and atomic force microscopy. (a) How can the corrosion resistance of coatings A, B and C be assessed ? Briefly outline the procedure. [8 marks] (b) Describe with the use of a diagram the atomic force microscope instrument, indicating how a signal is generated and translated to give morphological information on the coating. (c) What is biofouling? Explain why it is a problem. [15 marks] [5 marks] (d) The pencil hardness test was also carried out on these coatings. Coating A was found to have a rating of 4B, Coating B had a rating of 3H and coating C had a rating of HB. (i) Briefly describe how you would carry out this test and comment on which coating gives the best performance in this test. (ii) What other test could be used to evaluate the resistance of a coating to deformation? [12 marks]