Aviation Applied Technology Directorate, U.S. Army Aviation and Missile Command, Attn: AMSAM-AR-TC, Building 401, Lee Blvd, Room 117, Fort Eustis, VA 23604-5577

A -- RESEARCH & DEVELOPMENT -- BROAD AGENCY ANNOUNCEMENT SOL DAAH10-99-R-0006 DUE 070299 POC Tremayne W. Terry, Contract Specialist, Phone No.: (757) 878-4825 E-MAIL: AATD, tterry@aatd.eustis.army.mil. The Aviation Applied Technology Directorate (AATD) is soliciting technical and cost proposals for conduct of Research and Development (R&D) programs. Proposals are required to be submitted in accordance with the guidelines set forth herein. This Broad Agency Announcement (BAA) constitutes the total solicitation. There will be no formal Request For Proposals (RFPs), other solicitation requests, or other information regarding these requirements. Subject areas of interest include: TOPIC 01-99: Complex Composite Structural Concepts. TECHNICAL DESCRIPTION: Complex composite parts are difficult to design for manufacture using co-curing technologies. Typical designs incorporate multiple cure cycles with bond and assembly jigs to maintain proper alignment and tolerances. We desire research to develop methods of designing and producing complex composite components so that the resultant product is dimensionally accurate, structurally sound, and fully cured with minimal residual stresses. Proposed solutions should include innovative designs, reduce required assembly labor per pound by at least half, allow for single step co-cured assemblies, and have no adverse impact on inspection or quality analysis costs. Proposed concepts should improve part alignment, bond-line consistency and, bond-line integrity. Technology solutions should address representative helicopter components that are sufficiently complex to benefit from a redesign effort integrating several subassemblies for cost effectiveness or structural efficiency. Proposals that demonstrate concepts likely to provide required cure and consolidation energy input to sections of significantly varying thickness will be judged most favorably. Methods to include metal lugs and fittings into net cured parts are also desired. Proposals should establish an assembly labor, inspection, quality, and cost baseline for technology application. The envisioned effort should include: 1) Technology concept trade-off and product quality studies; 2) Concept modeling and simulation for risk mitigation; 3) Full-scale fabrication demonstration; 4) Pilot production evaluation in terms of established baseline; and 5) Technology transfer and production implementation. ANTICIPATED FUNDING LEVEL AND PERFORMANCE PERIOD: The Government requires a cost sharing effort on this partially ManTech funded program. Government funding is available from 4th Quarter Government FY99 through FY01. Planned funding for this research is about $1,700K total over 3 Government fiscal years for all awards. Proposals must follow the guidelines described in this solicitation. In addition, proposals must include sections describing the technological approach, outlining the qualifications of the researchers, presenting a cost sharing proposal, and describing a technology transfer plan. TOPIC 02-99: Adaptive Landing Gear Concepts. TECHNICAL DESCRIPTION: Military helicopter landing gears are designed to withstand a variety of hard landing and crash conditions. The landing gears have to absorb energy and protect the aircraft occupants at sink speeds from 6 feet per second (fps) to 42 fps with various forward velocity and roll/pitch requirements. Current Army fleet helicopters now operate at mission weights that exceed original design structural gross weights by up to 90%. The result is a reduction in sink speeds that can lead to increased component wear rates, more maintenance, and greater threat to aircraft occupants. The objective of this program is to develop new technology that results in enhanced energy absorption capability for conventional helicopter landing gears at any operational weight, without the weight penalty of scaling up a traditional landing design. Possible solutions include active, semi-active, or passive control; novel shock strut concepts; and advanced materials. Proposed technology solutions should not include redesign of airframe fittings. Designs should be validated through limited testing. The proposed solution should: 1) Make use of current modeling tools for design and analysis; 2) Attenuate peak loads; 3) Meet 12 fps normal landing (ADS-29) and 20 fps with no fuselage contact (ADS-36) requirements; 4) Eliminate ground resonance at onset; and 5) Provide a flexible design solution for a range of conditions to include normal operations, air transport loads, taxi bumps, hard landings, and crash. ANTICIPATED FUNDING LEVEL AND PERFORMANCE PERIOD: Planned funding for all acquisitions to satisfy this topic is about $1.7M total over four Government fiscal years, from 4th Quarter FY99 through FY02. Proposals must follow the guidelines described in this solicitation. Also, any Government Furnished Equipment (GFE) requirements should be detailed. TOPIC 03-99: Dynamically Tailored Airframe Structures. TECHNICAL DESCRIPTION: Cargo transport and self-deployment missions are typically flown at extremely high gross weight conditions. Maximum alternate gross weight and light-weight conditions may vary by 70% or more throughout a mission. The dynamic response of an airframe is expected to change continually and significantly during a mission, particularly in future planned or upgraded systems capable of extremely long mission duration. Passive vibration suppression or isolation systems will impose severe weight penalties on such large aircraft systems. Reactive smart skins have been demonstrated effective for actively suppressing external acoustic noise transmission into the cabin of a commercial test aircraft. Piezo-electric elements have also been demonstrated effective in wind tunnel tests for controlling flutter of supercritical wings in transonic and supersonic states. Actuating elements such as piezo-ceramic stacks have been shown capable of damping vibration in beam elements, and with proper control, could dampen entire truss and other type structures. We desire research and development of active vibration attenuation concepts applied to rotorcraft primary airframe structures with the purpose of altering the response frequency of the platform in response to mission conditions. Proposed technology solutions shouldaddress smart structure solutions such as: Localized or distributed vibration controls; Structural response rates and forces required; A solution to provide a de-tuned resonant frequency response (away from driving frequencies); Vibration sensing schemes; and Coordinated actuator response schemes. High efficiency, low power consumption solutions are desired. Investigation of optimal control algorithms, such as rapid genetic algorithms and neural network models, is desired. The envisioned effort should include: 1) Assessment of the benefits of dynamic structural tailoring for active tuning (or de-tuning) of a large rotorcraft airframe; 2) Investigation and recommendation of distributed and/or discrete actuation or active suppression methods; and 3) Evaluation and recommendation of vibration sensing and tuning control laws and methods for the feasible actuation methods. Hardware design, fabrication and testing, as appropriate to demonstrate or evaluate various concepts should be considered. ANTICIPATED FUNDINGLEVEL AND PERFORMANCE PERIOD: Planned funding for all acquisitions to satisfy this topic is about $1,000K total over four Government fiscal years, beginning FY99. Proposals must follow the guidelines described in this solicitation. Any Government Furnished Equipment (GFE) requirements should be detailed. DELIVERABLES: All contracts awarded under this solicitation will require delivery of the following data items: (1) Management Plan,(2) Test Plan (if applicable), (3) Bi-Monthly Cost and Performance Reports, and (4) Final Report. FINAL BRIEFING: All contracts awarded under this solicitation will include a requirement for the Contractor to present the results of their work in a final briefing at Ft. Eustis, Virginia upon completion of all technical work under the contract. EVALUATION CRITERIA: The selection of one or more sources for contract award will be based on a scientific and/or engineering evaluation of proposals (both technical and cost as it relates to technical effort) in accordance with the criteriaset forth in this section. Proposals will be evaluated on their own merit without regard to other proposals submitted under this announcement. These evaluations will result in narrative ratings which will be used to develop an order of merit listing for proposals submitted under each topic. Proposed cost will be evaluated, as appropriate, for realism and reasonableness. The evaluation criteria are: (1) The extent to which the proposed work satisfies an Army research need by use of innovative, efficient, affordable, and suitable approaches to the stated technical problem; (2) The merit of the offeror's proposed approach to accomplish the scientific and technical objectives; (3) The experience and qualifications of the scientists, engineers, technicians, and other proposed personnel;(4) The suitability and availability of proposed facilities; and (5) Cost and risk to the Government. There will be no formal RFP, other solicitation requests, or other information regarding these requirements. SECURITY REQUIREMENTS: All work performed under resulting contracts will be unclassified and will not require access to classified material. A determination has been made that performance under the contracts will require access to and/or generate technical data the export of which is restricted by the Arms Export Control Act (Title 22, U.S.C., Sec. 2751 et. seq.) or Executive Order 12470. Prior to award, the successful firm(s) will be required to provide an "Export-Controlled DoD Data Agreement" certification number issued in accordance with DoD Directive 5230.25. This certification may be requested from the Defense Logistics Services Center, ATTN: DLSC-FBA Federal Ctr., Battle Creek, MI 49017-3084, Telephone 1-800-352-3572. Participation in the programs announced in this BAA is limited to U.S. and Canadian firms. GENERAL INFORMATION: Guidance provided in this section applies to all proposals submitted under this announcement. Proposals submitted must consist of a clear statement of objectives, a technical section which should include, but not be limited to, background experience, concepts and ideas, methodology, expected contribution of the research to the Army mission, a Statement of Work (SOW) and milestones, a technical plan, a biographical section describing key personnel, a funding profile (a cost breakout for each calendar year), a cost proposal, and a program management section. The cost proposal must include cost breakdown providing man-hours by task, all pricing rates used, and equipment and materials listings, if applicable. Use of separate volumes for technical and cost data is acceptable but not required. Subcontractor proposals, if applicable, including pricing rate details, should be provided concurrent with the prime contractor's submission. This BAA topic will remain open until 4:15 p.m., EST, July 2, 1999. Proposals submitted after the cutoff date will be handled in accordance with FAR 52.214-7. A copy of this provision may be obtained from the procuring office. Awards under this announcement are anticipated to be made prior to 30 September 1999. However, unless the offeror specifies a different expiration time, proposals will be considered valid for Government acceptance through 30 December 1999. The Government anticipates multiple awards under this announcement, though no minimum or maximum number of awards can be guaranteed. The Government reserves the right to select for award any, all, part or none of the proposals received. Further, the Government reserves the right to select for award only a portion of an offer's proposal (i.e. certain tasks vs. total program). Multiple proposals from the same offeror that address different topics, that propose different solutions under a single topic, or that address only part of the problem under a topic will be accepted and evaluated independently. It is anticipated that contracts to be awarded will be either cost-plus-fixed-fee or cost-sharing type contracts. The anticipated performance periods and contract values are stated in the individual topic descriptions. This announcement is an expression of interest only and does not commit the Government to pay any response preparation cost. No pre-proposal conference will be held. Proposals must be submitted in original and four (4) copies. Proposals, excluding the cost section, shall not exceed 40 pages. Proposals should be marked with the above solicitation number and addressed to the Aviation Applied Technology Directorate, AMCOM, AMSAM-AR-T-C (T. Terry), Fort Eustis, VA 23604-5577. In accordance with FAR 52.214-6, offerors desiring an explanation or interpretation of this solicitation must request it in writing at the above address, datafax at (757) 878-0008, or e-mail: tterry@aatd.eustis.army.mil. Oral explanations or instructions given before the award of any contract will not be binding. Any information given to a prospective offeror concerning this solicitation, which is necessary in submitting offer or the lack of which would be prejudicial to any other prospective offeror(s), will be published as an amendment to this announcement. Any additional contracting and technical issues should be submitted in writing to the Contract Specialist, Tremayne W. Terry, via the above datafax number or e-mail address. All responsible sources may submit a proposal which will be considered by this agency. Offerors are cautioned that only Contracting Officers are legally authorized to commit the Government. See Numbered Note(s): 26. Posted 05/07/99 (W-SN329002). (0127)

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