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

A -- ECONOMICAL CARBON-CARBON COMPOSITES SOL PRDA 96-28-MLK DUE 032996 POC Michael G. Grommon, Contract Negotiator, WL/MLKN, (513) 255-5051. A--INTRODUCTION: Wright Laboratory (WL/MLBC) is interested in receiving proposals (technical and cost) on the research effort described below. Proposals in response to this PRDA shall be submitted by 29 March 1996, 1500 Eastern Time, addressed to Wright Laboratory, Directorate of R&D Contracting, Building 7, Area B, Attn: Mr. Michael Grommon, WL/MLKN, 2530 C Street, Wright-Patterson AFB OH 45433-7607. This is an unrestricted solicitation. Proposals submitted shall be in accordance with this announcement. This PRDA may be amended to allow for subsequent submission proposal dates. Proposals received after the cutoff date specified herein shall be treated in accordance with restrictions of FAR 52.215-10, copies 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 that may be published. Offerors should request a copy of the WL Guide entitled, ''PRDA and BAA Guide for Industry.'' This guide was specifically designed to assist offerors in understanding the PRDA/BAA proposal process. Copies may be requested from WL/MLKN, 2530 C Street, Wright-Patterson AFB OH 45433-7607, telephone 513/255-5051. B--REQUIREMENTS: (1) Technical Description: The purpose of this effort is to develop and demonstrate innovative, low-cost methods of producing an affordable carbon-carbon composite material for structural and/or thermal applications. Carbon-carbon composites (i.e., a carbon reinforcement in a carbon matrix) have been demonstrated to have unique thermal and structural properties over a wide temperature range. In order to get the composites into the applications that can utilize these properties, the composite costs and the processing time must be significantly reduced. This program will provide payoffs in innovative, lower cost processing approaches, i.e., one-step processing methodologies, reduced densification time, and/or fiber/matrix co-processing, that also reduce the time required to process the composite. The program shall include process controls and understanding to maximize reproducibility and facilitate scale-up to production level sizes/quantities. Current systems as well as other government programs shall be used to define the requirements for the selected application. Innovative material options, such as lower cost fibers, non-conventional reinforcement materials, and/or high char yield resins, shall be explored to provide carbon-carbon composite materials which are capable of providing the strength, stiffness, and/or thermal conductivity required for the identified application. Mechanical, thermal, and other evaluations shall be conducted to define and optimize material performance and processing requirements. (2) Deliverable Items: The following deliverable data items shall be proposed: (a) R&D Status Report, DI-A-3002A/T, bi-monthly, (b) Funds and Man-Hour Expenditure Report, DI-FNCL-80331/T, bi-monthly, (c) Project Planning Chart, DI-MGMT-80507A/T, bi-monthly, (d) Contract Funds Status Report (CFSR), DI-F-6004B/T, quarterly, (e) Presentation Material, DI-3024A/T, as required, (f) Informal Technical Information Contractor's Billing Voucher, DI-S-30593/T, monthly, (g) Scientific and Technical Reports, DI-MISC-80711/T, (draft and reproducible final), and (h) representative samples for evaluation by the government shall be submitted as appropriate. (3) Security Requirements: It is anticipated that work performed under this contract will be unclassified and that performance of the effort will not require access to classified material. (4) Other Special Requirements: International Traffic in Arms Restrictions apply. Offerors are required to have a DD Form 2345 covering the pertinent technology on file with the Defense Logistics Service Center, Battle Creek MI 49016 (1-800-352-3572). C--ADDITIONAL INFORMATION: (1) Anticipated Period of Performance: The total length of the technical effort is estimated to be 40 months. The contractor shall also provide for an additional four months for processing/completion of the final report. (2) Expected Award Date: September 1996. (3) Government Estimate: The government anticipates approximately two $1,104,000.00 awards with funding profiles of FY96, $7K, FY97, $207K, FY98, $450K, FY99, $440K each for a total procurement of $2,208,000.00. (4) Type of Contract: Cost Plus Fixed Fee or Cost (no fee). Any grants or cooperative agreements shall be cost (no fee) or cost share. (5) Government Furnished Property: None contemplated. (6) Size Status: Firms responding shall indicate whether they are or are not a socially and economically disadvantaged business, a historically black college or university/minority institution, and/or a woman-owned business and should also indicate their size status. For the purpose of this acquisition, the size standard is 500 employees (SIC 8731). (7) Notice to Foreign-Owned Firms: Such firms are asked to immediately notify the Air Force point of contact cited below upon deciding to respond to this announcement. Foreign contractors should be aware that restrictions may apply which preclude their participation in this acquisition. (8) An associate contractor agreement is anticipated between the awardees of this PRDA and the PRDA entitled ''Thermal Component Development'' (PRDA No. 96-03-FIK), where generated data shall be exchanged only between awardees. (9) The offeror shall identify any proprietary data issues that will arise as a result of the proposed effort. D--PROPOSAL PREPARATION INSTRUCTIONS: (1) General Instructions: Offerors should apply the restrictive marking prescribed in the provision in FAR 52.215-12, Restriction or Disclosure and Use of Data, to trade secrets or privileged commercial and financial information contained in their proposals. Proposal questions should be directed to one of the points of contact listed elsewhere herein. Offerors should consider instructions contained in the WL PRDA and BAA Guide for Industry referenced in Section A of this announcement. Technical and cost proposals, submitted in separate volumes, are required and must be valid for 180 days. Proposals must reference the above PRDA number. Proposals shall be submitted in an original and five copies. All responsible sources may submit a proposal which shall be considered against the criteria set forth herein. Offerors are advised that only contracting officers are legally authorized to contractually bind or otherwise commit the government. (2) Cost Proposal: The accompanying cost proposal/price breakdown shall be supplied on an SF 1411, together with supporting schedules, and shall contain a person-hour breakdown per task. Copies of the above-referenced forms may be obtained from the contracting office cited. (3) Technical Proposal: The technical proposal shall include a discussion of the nature and scope of the research and the technical approach. The offeror shall define the baseline material for the application and provide justification of the proposed approach and cost reduction. A comparison of the projected cost and time savings of the proposed composite materials and process to conventional composite materials shall be included in the proposal. Additional information on prior work in this area, descriptions of available equipment, data and facilities, and resumes of personnel who will be participating in this effort should also be included as attachments to the technical proposal and are not included in the page limit. The technical proposal shall include a Statement of Work (SOW) detailing the technical tasks proposed to be accomplished under the proposed effort and suitable for contract incorporation. Offerors should refer to the WL guide referenced in Section A to assist in SOW preparation. PL 98-94 applies. Offerors must submit approved DD Form 2345, Militarily Critical Technical Data Agreement, with their proposals. Preparation of the SOW as distinct phases or tasks with the proposed cost determined separately is preferred. Any questions concerning the technical proposal or SOW preparation shall be referred to the technical point of contact cited in this announcement. (4) Page Limitations: The technical proposal shall be limited to 75 pages (12 pitch or larger type), double spaced, single sided, and 8.5 by 11 inches. Pages in excess of this limitation will not be considered by the government. Cost proposals have no limitations, however, offerors are requested to keep cost proposals to 75 pages as a goal and be broken out by year based on company's DCAA-approved accounting system. (5) Preparation Cost: This announcement does not commit the government to pay for any response preparation cost. The cost of preparing proposals in response to this PRDA is not considered an allowable direct charge to the resulting award or any other contract. However, it may be an allowable expense to the normal bid and proposal indirect cost as specified in FAR 31.205-18. E--BASIS FOR AWARD: The selection of one or more sources for award will be based on an evaluation of an offeror's response (both technical and cost aspects) to determine the overall merit of the proposal in response to the announcement. The technical aspect, which is ranked as the first order of priority, shall be evaluated on the following criteria which are listed in order of decreasing importance: (a)the offeror's innovative approaches to processing carbon-carbon composites and the ability to tailor the composite approach to meet the Air Force requirements, (b) the relevance of the applications to Air Force needs, (c) the offeror's understanding of the material performance, cost, properties, and processing goals required for the application, (d) the offeror's understanding of the scope of the technical effort, (e) soundness of offeror's technical approach, (f) the availability and use of qualified technical personnel and their experience with applicable technologies, (g) the offeror's past experience with processing carbon-carbon materials and ability to transition to manufacturing, and (h) organization, clarity, and thoroughness of the proposed SOW. Cost is ranked as the second order of priority. No other evaluation criteria will be used. The technical and cost information will be evaluated at the same time. The Air Force reserves the right to select for award of a contract, grant, or cooperative agreements any, all, part, or none of the proposals received. Award of a grant, in lieu of a contract, to universities and non-profit institutions will be considered and will be subject to the mutual agreement of the parties. F--POINTS OF CONTACT: (1) Technical Point of Contact: Engineer, Kristen M. Kearns, WL/MLBC, 2941 P Street, Suite 1, Wright-Patterson Air Force Base OH 45433-7750, 513/255-3670/9070. (2) Contracting/Cost Point of Contact: Questions related to the contract/cost issues should be directed to Wright Laboratory, Directorate of R&D Contracting, Michael G. Grommon, WL/MLKN, 2530 C Street, Wright-Patterson AFB OH 45433-7607, 513/255-5051. (0043)

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