SOLICITATION NOTICE
A -- Heat Transfer Analysis of Occupied Refuge Alternatives
- Notice Date
- 6/24/2011
- Notice Type
- Presolicitation
- NAICS
- 541330
— Engineering Services
- Contracting Office
- Department of Health and Human Services, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Acquisition and Assistance Field Branch (Pittsburgh), Post Office Box 18070, Cochrans Mill Road, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, 15236-0070
- ZIP Code
- 15236-0070
- Solicitation Number
- 200-N-13528
- Archive Date
- 7/7/2011
- Point of Contact
- Cynthia Y. Mitchell, Phone: 412-386-6434, Cynthia Y. Mitchell, Phone: 412-386-6434
- E-Mail Address
-
akq9@cdc.gov, akq9@cdc.gov
(akq9@cdc.gov, akq9@cdc.gov)
- Small Business Set-Aside
- N/A
- Description
- The National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH), Office of Mine Safety and Health Research (OMSHR), Pittsburgh, PA desires assistance concerning a mining related heat transfer problem. In the event of an underground coal mine disaster, mine workers are taught to attempt to escape or exit the mine to reach the surface/outside as quickly as possible. If a mine worker cannot facilitate self escape, they are instructed to proceed to the nearest mine refuge chamber. A mine refuge chamber is an enclosed structure that provides a breathable atmosphere, food, and water to provide 96 hours of life support for the number of occupants for which the chamber was intended. These chambers, which are currently portable and are moved forward as the mine face advances, are either a steel box or an inflatable tent-type structure. The tents are inflated after the mine disaster by the arriving miners. Refuge chamber capacities range from 12 to 36 occupants. Mine operators can choose chamber capacity based on the number of miners "reasonably expected" to use the refuge in the event a disaster occurs. Once inside the chamber, miners seal the door, activate the oxygen, assemble and activate the carbon dioxide scrubbing system, and then wait for rescue. The hope is that rescuers reach the chamber within the 96-hour life support window. A NIOSH/OMSHR goal is to provide mine workers with the most survivable refuge alternatives by addressing technical barriers or knowledge gaps that are hindering miners' acceptance of refuge alternatives. The overarching objective of this research is to solve engineering problems or develop engineering guidelines associated with the occupation of a refuge alternative after a mine disaster, specifically the heat issues inside the refuge. The proposed work will be used to establish engineering specifications and practical guidelines for designing refuge alternatives and contending with heat and humidity inside an occupied refuge alternative. Through the use of modeling techniques such as Finite Element (FE) or Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) or other means as deemed appropriate: • Describe the heat-transfer mechanisms associated with refuge chamber occupation; • Determine the effect of refuge chamber wall materials on heat transfer out of the chamber; • Provide an analysis of what affects the heat transfer process more--the mine air temperature, or the temperature of the surrounding coal ribs, roof, and mine floor; • Analyze how increases in ambient mine air affect the heat transfer from inside the chamber to outside the chamber and the resulting interior temperatures; • Determine the effect that the direct contact of a refuge chamber with the mine floor has on heat transfer and the depth into the mine floor that the heat will transfer; and • Determine if the mine structure (roof, ribs, and floor) act as an infinite heat sink. The CDC intends to award a single Firm-Fixed Price contract for this requirement. The anticipated performance period will be 10 months. The complete solicitation document will be available approximately 15 to 30 calendar days after the posting date of this notice.
- Web Link
-
FBO.gov Permalink
(https://www.fbo.gov/spg/HHS/CDCP/CMBP/200-N-13528/listing.html)
- Place of Performance
- Address: United States
- Record
- SN02482411-W 20110626/110624235203-0d9cc547fb7fa1d95cc24970a6c3d6af (fbodaily.com)
- Source
-
FedBizOpps Link to This Notice
(may not be valid after Archive Date)
| FSG Index | This Issue's Index | Today's FBO Daily Index Page |