SOURCES SOUGHT
A -- Research, development, test, and engineering of materials and processes to prevent corrosion or degradation of metallic alloy systems and non-metallic systems including polymer composites and glasses.
- Notice Date
- 1/15/2015
- Notice Type
- Sources Sought
- NAICS
- 541330
— Engineering Services
- Contracting Office
- ACC - Warren (ACC-WRN)(DTA), ATTN: AMSTA-AQ-AMB, E Eleven Mile Road, Warren, MI 48397-5000
- ZIP Code
- 48397-5000
- Solicitation Number
- W56HZV-15-MS-DT01
- Response Due
- 1/28/2015
- Archive Date
- 3/16/2015
- Point of Contact
- Troy Haarala, 5862829643
- E-Mail Address
-
ACC - Warren (ACC-WRN)(DTA)
(troy.r.haarala.civ@mail.mil)
- Small Business Set-Aside
- N/A
- Description
- Environmental Degradation of Metallic and Non-Metallic Systems Market Survey DESCRIPTION OF INTENT: This is a Market Survey. No contract will be awarded from this announcement. This is not a Request for Proposal (RFP) or an announcement of a forthcoming solicitation, nor is it a request seeking contractors to be placed on a solicitation mailing list. Response to this market survey is voluntary and no reimbursement will be made for any costs associated with providing information in response to this market survey and any follow-on information requests. Data submitted in response to this market survey will not be returned. No solicitation document exists at this time, and calls requesting a solicitation will not be answered. DISCLAIMER: Reference herein to any specific commercial company, product, process, or service by trade name, trademark, manufacturer, or otherwise, does not necessarily constitute or imply its endorsement, recommendation, or favoring by the United States Government or the Department of the Army (DA). The opinions of the authors expressed herein do not necessarily state or reflect those of the United States Government or the DA, and shall not be used for advertising or product endorsement purposes. OBJECTIVE: The purpose of this market survey questionnaire is to provide information to the U.S. Army Tank Automotive Research, Development, and Engineering Center (TARDEC) on technologies, research, development, test, and engineering of materials and processes to prevent corrosion or degradation of metallic alloy systems and non-metallic systems including polymer composites and glasses related to the following six Areas of Interest (AOIs): AOI 1: Cadmium Plating Replacement for Threaded Fasteners AOI 2: Improvement of Rock-Strike Damage Resistance for Transparent Armor AOI 3: Water-Dispersible Chemical Agent Resistant Coatings (CARC) Dry Time Enhancement AOI 4: Nanomaterials & Modeling for Lightweight Structures AOI 5: Military Electrical Connector Finish Standardization AOI 6: Hexavalent Chromium-Free Surface Finishing Processes and Products AOI-1: Cadmium Plating Replacement for Threaded Fasteners. This AOI focuses on developing polymer-based electrodeposition coatings over commercially available plating(s) for immediate use by Army programs. Contracts over the past few years have mandated the replacement of cadmium and hexavalent chromium. To comply with the contracts, different manufacturers are releasing different coatings with different frictional characteristics on threaded fasteners. The selected finishes often do not meet Army service life requirements. Furthermore, the proliferation of finishes is driving the release of new National Stock Numbers (NSNs) for identical fasteners with different finishes, increasing logistics burden, and increasing the risk to materiel readiness and availability. A standard finish is needed to stem the growth of these problems. This project will compare high performance coatings, with regard to corrosion resistance, fastener torque-tension characteristics, variability, and cost. In addition, the Department of Defense (DoD) market for threaded fasteners is complex. The complexity results from original equipment manufacturers (OEM), platers, coaters, and distributors producing a large number of fasteners both coated and uncoated. There are specifications, drawings, and contract documents that bear on the decisions as to which fasteners to use. In order to effectively execute a technology driven solution, accurate data is needed describing the market place and supply chain. This data will form the basis of a management of change strategy for DoD implementation. AOI-2: Improvement of Rock-Strike Damage Resistance for Transparent Armor. During vehicle transport and convoy driving, transparent armor is subject to damage from rock strikes. Once chipped, the armor becomes susceptible to cracking. Furthermore, high interlaminar residual stresses and thermal cycling stresses cause delamination of the armor layers. As a result, transparent armor is weakened, soldier threat is increased, driver vision is obscured, service life is reduced, and sustainment costs are increased before the vehicle ever reaches its mission objective. In fact, an Army study determined that rock-strike damage accounted for 32% of the replacement cost of transparent armor. This AOI focuses on developing bulk materials and coatings for alternative transparent armor strike face, sacrificial strike ply, interlayer material, glass film technology, and transparent armor process parameters to provide improved resistance to rock strike and delamination. To prolong the service life of transparent armor further, this AOI will investigate the possibility of field repair procedures for cracked and chipped glass. AOI-3: Water-Dispersible CARC Dry Time Enhancement. Compared to solvent-based CARC coatings, water-dispersible CARC provides better scratch/mar resistance, prolonged color stability, and prolonged infrared signature effectiveness. Despite improved performance, defense contractors and Army depots have been slow to adopt water-reducible CARC due to its long dry-to-handle time. The extended drying time reduces production capacity and efficiency, and increases production costs. Heating painted materiel in an oven shrinks the drying time, but most facilities do not have ovens or the capital to invest in ovens. To overcome these barriers to adopting water-reducible CARC, this AOI focuses on reducing its dry-to-handle time. Interactions between solvent-based and water-reducible layers of CARC shall also be studied for impacts to overall coating performance in addition to drying time. This AOI may also include provisions for developing and verifying mitigation measures for any identified compatibility concerns. AOI-4: Nanomaterials & Modeling for Lightweight Structures. This AOI focuses on developing technologies for galvanic corrosion isolation of multi material joints and evaluation of composite component materials. Current military vehicles are exposed to increasing threat overmatches and, although traditional materials have exhibited increased mass efficiencies, vehicle weights continue to grow. Focusing on weight reduction, there are several metallic and composite materials that offer optimized performance while minimizing vehicle weight as a function of location within the vehicle structure. Thus, no single material offers optimal vehicle performance while minimizing weight. Towards this end, it is generally understood that a weight optimized design will be composed of multiple materials. These materials will require joining techniques and isolation coatings to enable long-term performance and optimal load transfer. Given lightweight materials such as carbon fiber, fiber glass, and magnesium, issues such as galvanic corrosion will have to be addressed to enable lightweight vehicle design. AOI-5: Military Electrical Connector Finish Standardization. Electrical connector shells currently used in most ground systems are cadmium plated and then sealed with hexavalent chromium. Contracts over the past few years have mandated the replacement of cadmium and hexavalent chromium. Several alternatives have been evaluated but no single solution has been identified that meets military specification requirements and is compatible with legacy cadmium electrical connectors. Many alternative coatings have resulted in corrosion issues when mated with a legacy connector. This AOI will focus on evaluation of alternative coatings and/or the development of new coatings for electrical connectors that meet the connector specifications, are compatible with legacy connectors, and reduce the total life cycle cost of the system. AOI-6: Hexavalent Chromium-Free Surface Finishing Processes and Products. Hexavalent chromium products have traditionally been used in many surface finishing processes to provide corrosion protection. These processes included, but are not limited to: conversion coatings, aluminum anodizing, sealing following plating, hard chrome plating, chromic acid stripping, and mixed metal pretreatments (wash primer). Contracts over the past few years have mandated the replacement of hexavalent chromium. Several alternatives have been evaluated for the various processes over the past several years but further studies are needed to verify solutions and support implementation. This AOI will focus on evaluation of additional products, further evaluation of products already tested, and the development of new processes/products that are hexavalent chromium-free, meet military specification performance requirements, and reduce the total life cycle cost of the system. RESPONSES: Each initial response to this market survey is requested to include: 1. A brief company description (no more than one page) summarizing the organization's history and pertinent defense industry experience. 2. An executive summary (no more than two pages for each AOI) of the information submitted in response to this market survey. If company has no interest or capability in a specific AOI, that specific AOI need not be addressed with an executive summary. 3. Point(s) of Contact (POC) with associated contact information. RESPONSES DUE: Responses to this market survey are due by January 28, 2015. Please submit all responses and any questions prior to full response via email to demetrios.a.tzelepis.civ@mail.mil. Please format the subject line of the response email as follows: quote mark [Organization Name] response to Market Survey - Environmental Degradation of Metallic and Non-Metallic Systems quote mark RESPONSE FORMAT: Only electronic responses are requested. Please provide e-mail responses in PDF format to the Government POC(s) listed below. If you submit multiple e-mail messages, please make sure the subject lines include, for example, quote mark message 1 of 3, 2 of 3, 3 of 3, quote mark as well as [Organization Name]. All interested entities (e.g. companies, non-profit organizations, and academic institutes), regardless of size, are encouraged to respond to this request for information. All material submitted in response to this market survey must be unclassified and properly marked GENERAL INFORMATION: The Government appreciates the time and effort taken to respond to this market survey. The Government acknowledges its obligations under 18 U.S.C. 1905 to protect information qualifying as quote mark Confidential quote mark under this statute. [To avoid possible confusion with the meaning of the term quote mark Confidential quote mark in the context of quote mark Classified Information, quote mark we will use the term quote mark PROPRIETARY. quote mark ] Pursuant to this statute, the Government is willing to accept any PROPRIETARY (e.g., trade secret) restrictions placed on qualifying data forwarded in response to the survey questions and to protect it from unauthorized disclosure subject to the following: 1. Clearly and conspicuously mark qualifying data with the restrictive legend (all caps) quote mark PROPRIETARY quote mark with any explanatory text, so that the Government is clearly notified of what data needs to be appropriately protected. 2. In marking such data, please take care to mark only those portions of the data or materials that are truly proprietary (excessive breadth in marking inappropriate data as quote mark PROPRIETARY quote mark may diminish or eliminate the usefulness of your response - see item 6 below). Use circling, underscoring, highlighting, or any other appropriate means to indicate those portions of a single page which are protected. 3. The Government is not obligated to protect unmarked data. Additionally, marked data that is already in the public domain or in the possession of the Government or third parties, or is afterward placed into the public domain by the owner or another party through no fault of the Government will not be protected once in the public domain. Data already in the possession of the Government will be protected in accordance with the Government's rights in the data. 4. Proprietary data transmitted electronically, whether by physical media or not, whether by the respondent or by the government, shall contain the quote mark PROPRIETARY quote mark legend, with any explanatory text, on both the cover of the transmittal e-mail and at the beginning of the file itself. Where appropriate, when only portions of an electronic file are proprietary, use the restrictive legends 'PROPRIETARY PORTION BEGINS: quote mark and quote mark PROPRIETARY PORTION ENDS. quote mark 5. In any reproductions of technical data or any portions thereof subject to asserted restrictions, the government shall also reproduce the asserted restriction legend and any explanatory text. 6. The Government sometimes uses support contractors in evaluating responses. Consequently, responses that contain proprietary information may receive only limited or no consideration since the respondent's marking of data as quote mark PROPRIETARY quote mark will preclude disclosure of same outside the Government and, therefore, will preclude disclosure to these support contractors assisting the evaluation effort. The Government will use its best efforts to evaluate those responses that contain proprietary information without using support contractors consistent with the resources available. GOVERNMENT POINT(S) OF CONTACT: Demetrios A. Tzelepis, TARDEC-Materials Environment and Corrosion, email: demetrios.a.tzelepis.civ@mail.mil SURVEY QUESTIONS: General: 1. Describe your company's experience in executing research and development contracts in each of the six AOIs listed above. Provide specific examples for technologies that were developed under Government contracts and what relevance they have to each of the six AOIs. Please state what additional research that may be needed to adapt the technologies to the six AOIs. 2. Describe your company's experience in transitioning technology to the market place for each of the six AOIs listed above. 3. Describe your company's laboratory, engineering, and manufacturing capabilities with respect to each of the six AOIs listed above. AOI Specific: AOI 1: Cadmium Plating Replacement for Threaded Fasteners 1. Has your company formulated and produced electrocoat (e-coat) for fasteners? Please explain. 2. Does your company have the capability to adjust e-coat formulations based on the characteristics of a given fastener coating? Please explain. 3. Does your company have experience modifying fastener coatings to meet supply chain specifications? Please explain. 4. Does your company have experience measuring coating thickness on fasteners? Please explain. 5. Does your company have experience adjusting fastener coating formulations in regards to friction/lubricity to obtain given torque tension characteristics? Please explain. 6. Does your company have experience conducting torque-tension testing, and developing torque curves? Please explain. 7. Does your company have experience in conducting hydrogen embrittlement testing? If so per what standard? Please explain. AOI 2: Improvement of Rock-Strike Damage Resistance for Transparent Armor 1. Has your company formulated transparent armor (TA) glass? Please explain. 2. Has your company manufactured/produced TA glass? Please explain. 3. Has your company formulated and manufactured/produced TA interlayers? Please explain. 4. Has your company formulated and manufactured/produced TA composite layers? Please explain. 5. Has your company performed Government-funded research projects to improve TA capabilities for the DoD? Please explain. 6. Does your company possess rock strike testing capability? Please explain. 7. Does your company possess full spectrum UV and environmental testing capabilities? Please explain. AOI 3: Water-Dispersible CARC Dry Time Enhancement 1. Has your company developed CARC top coating formulations? Please explain. 2. Has your company developed primer and pretreatment formulations? Please explain. 3. Does your company possess corrosion chamber testing capability? Please explain. 4. Does your company have experience using test data analysis to improve paint for manufacturing applications? Please explain. AOI 4: Nanomaterials & Modeling for Lightweight Structures 1. Describe your company's experience developing coatings for joining dissimilar metals. 2. Describe your company's experience in formulation and production of composites. 3. Describe your company's experience in formulation of adhesives which can be used for galvanic isolation. 4. Describe your company's experience designing composite material formulations to meet material requirements such as ballistics and tensile strength for light-weight replacement of metal parts. 5. Describe your company's experience building composite materials and designing around constraints such as differing thermal expansion properties of composite materials. 6. Has your company investigated and developed processes for painting composite materials with CARC? Please explain. 7. Describe your company's experience in modeling and simulation of material degradation due to corrosion, especially with multi-material joints. AOI 5: Military Electrical Connector Finish Standardization 1. Describe your company's experience developing conductive coatings. 2. Describe your company's experience evaluating and developing alternative coatings for replacement of hazardous materials. 3. Does your company have experience with meeting the Restriction of Hazardous Substance Directive, (RoHS 1)? Please explain. AOI 6: Hexavalent Chromium-Free Surface Finishing Processes and Products 1. Describe your company's experience evaluating and developing surface finish processes that include the replacement of hazardous materials.
- Web Link
-
FBO.gov Permalink
(https://www.fbo.gov/notices/9efaebcea7ac1e6fa3b83ac83c9ab493)
- Place of Performance
- Address: ACC - Warren (ACC-WRN)(DTA) ATTN: AMSTA-AQ-AMB, E Eleven Mile Road Warren MI
- Zip Code: 48397-5000
- Zip Code: 48397-5000
- Record
- SN03618264-W 20150117/150115235746-9efaebcea7ac1e6fa3b83ac83c9ab493 (fbodaily.com)
- Source
-
FedBizOpps Link to This Notice
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