MODIFICATION
A -- Defense Sciences Research and Technology
- Notice Date
- 7/7/2004
- Notice Type
- Modification
- NAICS
- 541990
— All Other Professional, Scientific, and Technical Services
- Contracting Office
- Other Defense Agencies, Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency, Contracts Management Office, 3701 North Fairfax Drive, Arlington, VA, 22203-1714
- ZIP Code
- 22203-1714
- Solicitation Number
- BAA04-12
- Response Due
- 2/2/2005
- Archive Date
- 2/17/2005
- Point of Contact
- Brett Giroir, Deputy Director, DSO, Phone (571) 218-4224, Fax (571) 218-4553,
- E-Mail Address
-
bgiroir@darpa.mil
- Description
- SMALL UNINHABITED AIR VEHICLE ENGINES (SUAVE), SOL BAA04-12, Addendum 6, DUE: 10/15/04. POC: Dr. William Coblenz, DARPA/DSO, Ph: (571) 218-4647, Email: baa04-12@darpa.mil; Website Submission: http://www.sainc.com/dso0412. Description. The Defense Sciences Office is interested in innovative research ideas for design and prototyping of Small Uninhabited Air Vehicle Engines (SUAVE). The SUAVE program seeks to demonstrate gas turbine engines under 10 horsepower that are highly efficient (greater than 25% thermal efficiency), power densities greater than 2 horsepower per pound, capable of utilizing heavy fuel (i.e., JP-8, JP-5), and with a durability exceeding 500 hours. Engine designs with high efficiency over a large power range would be especially useful for UAV mission profiles that typically include both sprint and loiter modes of operation. Successful offerors will combine innovative designs that exploit the high temperature capabilities of structural ceramics. It is the intent of this Broad Agency Announcement (BAA) to solicit proposals that only consider revolutionary advancements in small size scale propulsion. Background. Ceramic components are of interest for the hot section components of gas turbine engines where they enable higher turbine inlet temperatures and, therefore, higher thermal efficiencies. In most cases, the ceramic components are substituted for metal components with only minor design changes to accommodate the brittle failure mode of ceramics. The compressive strength of ceramic materials are typically a factor of 10 higher than the tensile strength, suggesting the adoption of designs in which rotating ceramic components go into compression as they spin-up. This design approach suggests ceramic blades placed on the inside of rotating cylinders rather than blades attached to a rotating shaft. Engines of this design have been referred to as either exoskeleton or inside-out designs. Design variations might include: utilization of air or magnetic bearings; radial staging of turbine and compressor sections; and/or high power density motor-generators to extract power from turbine sections and operate inlet fans. Accommodation of steady-state and transient thermal stresses is particularly important in ceramic engine components. Exploiting rapid prototyping methods that build ceramic or metal components without part-specific tooling and which can be modified to spatially control composition, may be useful in producing surface compressive stresses and thermally insulating surface layers. Commercially available gas turbine engines in this power range are typically less than 10% efficient. Design issues specific to small gas turbines related to the high surface to volume ratio to be addressed include reduction of tip clearance losses, thermal losses, and reduced transit time for combustion. Miniaturization of auxiliary equipment, such as transmissions and fuel pumps, can also be a problem at small size scale. The design of a transmission for a small turboprop gas turbine engine spinning in excess of 150,000 rpm would be particularly challenging. Since power density of electric motors and generators increases with rotational speed, turboelectric variant gas turbines might be particularly effective. Gas turbine engines designed to produce thrust directly for propulsion are also of interest in this program; however, conditions used to calculate engine efficiency must be clearly stated relative the intended use in powering small UAVs. Silicon nitride and silicon carbide have been the materials that have attracted the most interest for use in gas turbine engines. Designs that will put the ceramic components into compression and manufacturing methods (such as Solid Freeform) may justify consideration of other ceramic systems for use in engines. It is anticipated that once developed these small gas turbine engines will find additional uses, such as: generation of electrical power on the battlefield, battery recharging systems that operate on logistics fuel (JP-8), and providing emergency home power. Proposals responding to this addendum must describe a 12-month Phase I program that will design an engine, meeting program goals, and conduct design-specific critical component demonstrations. Quantitative performance milestones must be identified for each critical component of the engine. (For example: Spin test filament wound radial ceramic rotor assembly at 150K rpm; or demonstrate operation of motor-generator with > 5 HP/lb at 150K rpm.) Phase II of the SUAVE program (not to exceed 24 months) will build 3 flight-weight engines at least one of which meets program goals including a 500 hour durability test with 50 engine on/off cycles. The discussion of engine designs and suggested materials of construction in this addendum are given as examples of possible technical approaches and do not limit what may be proposed in meeting program goals. Teaming. Progress in the SUAVE program will be dependent on the formation of well-managed, interdisciplinary teams that should possess the necessary expertise in design of gas turbine engines, design and fabrication of subsystems (fuel injector, electric motor-generators, rapid prototyping of ceramic aerospace quality components, testing). There are no definitive requirements for the types of institutions (industry, university, etc.) that make up any particular team. Members of the interdisciplinary teams will be required to work collaboratively and collectively maintain sharp focus toward achieving the objectives. A web page has been established to facilitate teaming for the benefit of parties interested in forming or joining a team at: http://suave.walcoff.com. Non-proprietary information may be entered on this web page. White Paper and Proposal Information. We invite white papers (8 pages or less) in response to this announcement. Proposers are strongly encouraged (but are not required) to submit white papers (pre-proposals) in advance of full proposals. The paper shall be organized in the following manner: (1) An Executive Summary. A clear statement of the uniqueness of the idea. We are looking for ideas that will generate revolutionary capabilities if the proposed work is successfully completed over a 3 year period of performance; (2) A concise statement of the scientific and technical challenges, unique approaches, and anticipated potential technical solutions to the challenges that will be addressed. This statement should demonstrate that the proposer has a clear understanding of the state-of-the-art; (3) Explicit timelines and milestone achievements by which progress toward the goals can be evaluated. These milestones must reflect a period of performance of 12 months for Phase 1. Milestones must be associated with demonstrable metrics of performance; (4) A cost estimation for resources required for the proposed timeline. This should include a clear description of the human resources needed as well as funding; (5) A brief summary of the technical expertise of the proposed principal investigator and other key team members and a management plan for multi-organizational teams. White papers sent in response to this addendum are due no later than 1600 hours ET, August 31, 2004. Proposers submitting white papers will be notified within 15 business days of that date as to whether a full proposal is requested. Not withstanding disposition of white papers, DARPA will accept full proposals for this addendum. To facilitate the submission of white papers, a website http://www.sainc.com/dso0412/ has been set up. For more detailed instructions on submitting white papers, please refer to the instructions for BAA04-12 found at the website http://www.darpa.mil/baa/baa04-12P1.htm. Format and Content of Full Proposals. Follow the general guidelines for full proposal format and content provided at: http://www.darpa.mil/baa/baa04-12P2.htm. To receive consideration under this addendum, PROPOSALS ARE DUE AT DARPA NO LATER THAN 1600 ET OCTOBER 15, 2004. Proposals received after that date will be considered under the open BAA only. A website http://www.sainc.com/dso0412/ has been established to facilitate the submission of full proposals electronically. This site will allow the filling in of contact information and the uploading of a full proposal created with the requirements listed in this addendum and in accordance with the original BAA04-12 published. Note: if the website is not used, please use the U.S. mail system at the address listed below or the BAA e-mail account. Proposal Evaluation. Evaluation of proposals will be in accordance with BAA04-12. For general administrative questions and complete details on writing a full proposal, please refer to the original FedBizOpps solicitation, BAA04-12 of February 2, 2004, http://darpa.mil/dso/solicitations/solicit.htm. Address for Submission of Unclassified White Papers or Full Proposals: DARPA/DSO, ATTN: BAA04-12, Addendum 6, 3701 North Fairfax Drive, Arlington, VA 22203-1714, E-Mail: baa04-12@darpa.mil. General Information. In all correspondence, reference BAA04-12, Addendum 6. Technical Point of Contact. Dr. William Coblenz, DARPA/DSO; Phone: (571) 218-4647; Email wcoblenz@darpa.mil . Original Point of Contact. Dr. Brett Giroir, Deputy Director, DSO, Phone (571) 218-4224, Fax (571) 218-4553, Email bgiroir@darpa.mil. NOTE: THIS NOTICE WAS NOT POSTED TO WWW.FEDBIZOPPS.GOV ON THE DATE INDICATED IN THE NOTICE ITSELF (07-JUL-2004). IT ACTUALLY APPEARED OR REAPPEARED ON THE FEDBIZOPPS SYSTEM ON 08-JUL-2004. PLEASE CONTACT fbo.support@gsa.gov REGARDING THIS ISSUE.
- Record
- SN00617529-W 20040710/040708213150 (fbodaily.com)
- Source
-
FedBizOpps.gov Link to This Notice
(may not be valid after Archive Date)
| FSG Index | This Issue's Index | Today's FBO Daily Index Page |