U. S. ARMY ENGR, CEMVK-CT, 4155 CLAY STREET, VICKSBURG, MS 39180-3435

66 -- AUTOMATED BORATE FUSION FLUXING DEVICE FOR RESEARCH EFFORT, U.S.A.E. WATERWAYS EXPERIMENT STATION, STRUCTURES LABORATORY, CONCRETE AND MATERIALS DIVISION (DR. CHARLES WEISS) SOL W81EWF-8026-6049 POC Purchasing Agent MALLORIE O. IRWIN (601) 631-7270 (Site Code DACW39) The Vicksburg Consolidated Contracting Office, Dept of Army, Corps of Engineers proposes to award a purchase order to SPEX Industries, Inc. for a complete automated borate fusion fluxing device for test and evaluation purposes under authority of 10 U.S.C. 2304(c)(1). This is a notice of intent to procure on a sole-source basis. The Concrete and Materials Division of the Structures Laboratory of the Waterways Experiment Station (WES) is involved in the on-going research of concrete properties and their effect in structures. Towards this effort it has become necessary to acquire a complete automated borate fusion fluxing device capable of preparing three (3) samples as glass discs for X-ray fluorescence, or as solutions for atomic adsorption (AA) or inductively coupled plasma (ICP) mass spectrometry. The system must have at least seven (7) pre-set fluxing programs including heat level, agitation speed, and timing of each step of the program. The timing fusion should be short to minimize the loss of volatile elements. The cement, fly ash, rock, or soil sample is mixed with a lithium tetraborate flux in a platinum crucible and heated to 1100 degrees C over a butane or propane flame. The sample is agitated in a back and forth motion to hasten dissolution of the sample and mix as the flux melts. A non-wetting agent is added to the flux to prevent sticking to the crucible. The crucible is then emptied into a pre-heated mold or into a beaker of stirred dilute acid. If discs are desired, the system must cool the sample to anneal the disc. The system must also be able to make solutions of the molten flux material. The Claisse fluxer is the only automated fusion fluxer for the preparation of samples for routine chemical analyis of rocks, cements, fly ash, and soils. SPEC Industries, Inc. is the only source for this equipment in the United States. No other sources will be sought. There is no solicitation document. Any inquiries should be received within five (5) days from the date of publication. (0070)

Loren Data Corp. http://www.ld.com (SYN# 0336 19980313\66-0017.SOL)