R&D Contracting Division, Bldg 7, 2530 C Street, WPAFB OH 45433-7607

A -- SCANNED EDDY CURRENT CRACK DETECTION SYSTEM. THIS ANNOUNCEMENT IS IN TWO PARTS. THIS IS PART 1 OF 2 PARTS SOL PRDA 96-27-MLK DUE 031596 POC Janet Cahill, Contract Negotiator, (513) 255-5830 or Phil Nelson, Contracting Officer, (513) 255-5830. A--NOTICE: This announcement is in two parts. PART 1 of 2 PARTS: INTRODUCTION: Wright Laboratory (WL/MLLP) is interested in receiving proposals (technical and cost) on the research and development effort described below. Proposals in response to this Program Research and Development Announcement (PRDA) shall be submitted by 15 March 1996, 1500 hours, local time, addressed to Wright Laboratory, Directorate of R&D Contracting WL/MLKM, Area B, Bldg 7, 2530 C Street, Attn: Janet Cahill, Wright-Patterson AFB, OH 45433-7607. This is an unrestricted solicitation. Small businesses are encouraged to propose on all or any part of this solicitation. Proposals shall be submitted in accordance with this announcement. Proposals received after the cutoff date specified herein shall be treated in accordance with restrictions of FAR 52.215-10, a copy of this provision may be obtained from the contracting point of contact. There will be no other solicitation issued in regard to this requirement. Offerors should be alert for any PRDA amendments which may be published. The announcement may be amended to provide for subsequent dates for submission of proposals. Offerors should request a copy of the WL Guide entitled ''PRDA & BAA Guide for Industry.'' This guide was specifically designed to assist offerors in understanding the PRDA/BAA process. Copies may be requested from WL/MLKM, Attn: Janet Cahill, Wright Patterson AFB, Ohio, 45433-7607, telephone (513) 255-5830.B -- Requirements:(1) Technical Requirements: The U.S. Air Force in its Aircraft Structural Integrity Program (ASIP) is addressing the issue of Multi-site Fatigue Damage. This requires that large areas of aircraft structures be nondestructively inspected for small fatigue cracks in multilayered structures. Specifically, the requirement is to reliably find deep 0.050 inch fatigue cracks emanating from fastener holes in multilayered metallic structures with thickness ranging from 0.25 to 0.50 inch, such as in an aircraft wing, with a rapid scan rate. A target inspection rate is 10 seconds per hole for typical aircraft spanwise or chordwise fastener patterns. A portable low frequency eddy current scanning system is needed to meet this requirement. Low frequency eddy current systems have been developed and shown feasibility to find fatigue cracks around fastener holes. It is the intent of this effort to further develop and automate a portable scanning system that has shown feasibility for finding fatigue cracks in deep multilayered metallic structure around fastener holes. For convenience of description and subsequent program requirements discussion, the Nondestructive Evaluation (NDE) system is divided into functional areas which include: (1) Eddy Current (EC) Probes, (2) Signal Generation/Detection, (3) Display/Recorder (4) Signal Processing, (5) Mechanical Positioning, (6) Calibration Processes, (7) System Computers/Software, (8) Information/Data Base Archive. Following, as a minimum, are the improvement and enhancement needs to be addressed in these eight areas: (1) EC Probes - Potential areas of improvements, as a minimum, are advanced probe design alternatives with increased sensitivity, stability, and repairability which are compatible with a rapid area scanning system. The longevity and sensitivity of the probes is a major issue, (2) Signal Generation/Detection - The advanced signal generation and detection system needed to meet the high speed requirements of a scanning system, (3) Display/Recorder -Improvement opportunities will be considered. An imaging capability is desirable, (4) Signal Processing-The advanced signal processing needed to meet system requirements, (5) Mechanical Positioning - Automated probe design to increase inspection speed which might include a motorized centering over fastener holes, motorized scanning, or robotized scanning. A highly innovative approach is felt necessary to achieve, or even approach, the target inspection rate. A combination of motorized centering and scanning might result in a most economical and applicable system, (6) Calibration Process - Eliminate, or minimize, the requirement for standards for each inspection application. Interpolation between standards representing different physical configurations of inspection geometries is a suggested approach for eliminating the need for a standard representing each geometry, (7) Computers/Software - The computer/software requirements needed for an advanced scanning system. An expert system for defect identification, location and sizing will be considered, (8) Information/Data Base Archive - The system will have capability to electronically store inspection data and have hard copy readout. This program shall consist of three successive tasks. Multiple contract awards are anticipated. Based upon the evaluation criteria, awards may consist of all three tasks, or one or two selected tasks to allow for a better assessment for future efforts. The three tasks are: (1) Breadboard Development, (2) Prototype Development and Evaluation, (3) Full Scale Field Inspection System/Validation. Task I, which will run approximately twelve months, provides for further development of a system which has already demonstrated feasibility for meeting the objectives stated above. Concept development includes modification/development of proposed methodology, necessary tests and evaluations to demonstrate proof of concept, assembly of information to support the proposed NDE technique, generation of a preliminary design model, the assembly of the model, and plans for demonstrating the breadboard model's capabilities. The laboratory breadboard shall be used to transition to the more detailed advanced development in the follow-on Prototype Development and Evaluation Task effort. A technical presentation and an interim report will document the results of this task. In the Prototype Development and Evaluation (Task II) effort, which will be approximately twelve months, the proposed inspection technique shall be further refined to optimize the inspection methodology emerging from the breadboard effort. The development of the selected inspection method shall lead to fabrication, demonstration testing and depot evaluation of the inspection methodology. Representative demonstration test articles shall be fabricated or made available by the contractor. Preliminary testing and troubleshooting of the prototype inspection system shall be conducted to examine all parameters that define the system's capabilities (i.e. resolution, defect sensitivity, scanning speed, data storage and retrieval, types of materials, thickness variations, geometric component variations, and component location on the aircraft). Throughout testing, technical modifications shall be continually incorporated into the prototype to optimize its inspection capability. Recommendations for additional technique modifications identified in the evaluation of the prototype model shall be included in the analysis of this system. The third task (Task III), which will run approximately seven months, will be the Full Scale Field Inspection System/Validation task. This task will incorporate the recommendations and improvements of the prototype system (Task II) to produce a field-ready portable unit, including the final demonstration involving aircraft inspection in a field environment. In this task, the contractor shall build a system which has the laboratory prototype unit's capabilities optimized and applied in a field environment situation with the physical manipulation and data acquisition aspects of the inspection being specifically addressed. Components and structures for demonstration shall be representative of those anticipated for aircraft inspection. The contractor shall plan for the demonstration of the field inspection system and execute the plan, incorporating modifications identified to optimize the capabilities of this system. The offeror shall address issues related to the proposed system's capability to operate in remote locations. The final results and capabilities of the inspection system demonstrations shall be evaluated. Successes and shortcomings of the system towards meeting the goals of this program shall be documented by the contractor. Further modifications capable of enhancing this system and its capabilities shall be annotated. Additionally, the contractor will propose and execute a test plan for determining the POD (Probability of Detection) capability of the scanned eddy current inspection system in a field environment. END OF PART 1. (0025)

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