Patent ID: 8356959

Claim:
A sacrificial skin system comprising: a skin-forming material including a mixture that increases in viscosity upon exposure to sea water; a porous diffuser layer having an exterior and an interior, the exterior including the skin-forming material at a first viscosity level, the exterior having a period of limited stability at the first viscosity level, the porous diffuser layer being configured to receive the skin-forming material at a second viscosity level, the first viscosity level being higher than the second viscosity level; and a plurality of delivery channels each having a longitudinal body portion with the skin-forming material at the second viscosity level therein and a plurality of apertures extending transversely through the body portion, through which the skin-forming material flows at the second viscosity level, the delivery channels being embedded in the interior of the porous diffuser layer to expose the skin-forming material to sea water as the skin-forming material flows from the apertures into the diffuser layer.