REQUEST FOR WIRE SYSTEM SAFETY RESEARCH INFORMATION INTRODUCTION: This notice is a request for information to assist government agencies identify and develop science and technology to predict or detect problems in copper, optical or other wiring systems where a malfunction of the wiring system can result in adverse safety and health effects. On February 12, 1997, The White House Commission for Aviation Safety and Security chaired by Vice President Gore issued a report to the President recommending that FAA-DOD-NASA expand their cooperative aging aircraft program to include aging wiring issues in commercial aviation. They now have an aggressive program underway. On March 7, 2000, NASA?s Space Shuttle Independent Assessment Team also identified aging wiring as a safety issue for Space Shuttle operations. As a result of a review of existing research and wire safety efforts underway at FAA, DOD, and NASA we have concluded that aging wiring is an issue of national concern that extends beyond aviation. Therefore, we have formed a Wire System Safety Interagency Working Group (IWG) that will become the focal point for wire safety technology in the U.S. This group will be responsible for ensuring that federal research is coordinated and communicated in a timely way to improve safety for air, space and other areas where aging wiring is a safety issue. The IWG will look forward to develop and share S&T that will ensure the safety of systems from trains to nuclear power plants, where the system as a whole lasts longer than the electrical or optical wiring system within it. Each Department/Agency has the responsibility to address wire safety issues under its area of responsibility. The IWG will ensure that federal S&T is coordinated and communicated in a timely way to facilitate its rapid implementation by each agency and associated industry. In order to ensure that wire safety issues are addressed in the most expeditious way and that federal science and technology (S&T) efforts are not duplicating efforts underway outside the government, we are seeking information from US industry and academia concerning S&T that will predict or detect problems in wiring systems so that they can be fixed before they cause an incident or accident. BACKGROUND: The United States Government has a wide range of programs and efforts regarding wiring use. In aviation for example, FAA, NASA and DOD have standards and requirements governing the use of wiring, its installation and maintenance. Manufacturers of aircraft also have their own standards or requirements that involve design specifications for wire performance in various applications. These requirements are usually in addition to those required by the government to guide manufacturers wire selection based upon its characteristics for meeting functional and design requirements. As with other technologies, the types of wire available over the years has changed with technological advances. Each type of wire has advantages and disadvantages, e.g., some wires have excellent flame resistance, low smoke generation, improved size and weight, and improved temperature rating, but are subject to arc tracking phenomena especially under adverse environmental conditions. Others have excellent fluid resistance, flammability, and temperature rating, but requires thicker insulation. Knowledge of how wire performs over time is learned from the service history. An excellent example of this concept is the U.S. Navy, who learned, after a period of time, that polyimide wire is damaged by the high-pH cleaning fluids commonly used on Navy aircraft to remove salt residue and dirt. This damage resulted in numerous in-service problems. The Navy discontinued use of these cleaners. However, polyimide wire used in interiors of aircraft, in pressurized areas, has performed well over the years in both commercial and military aviation environments. Each wire type in use was introduced with the idea that it had improvements to offer the industry. Service experience has shown that each wire type introduced to date also has service history weaknesses, some of which were unexpected at the time of introduction. As a result, many Government agencies have begun programs to gather information on wiring performance over time in effort to learn how wire ages in their environments. Research programs have been established to determine what effects aging may have on various wire types and to determine whether these aging effects present a safety hazard. In general, agencies have activities that address the following: 1. Research or in-service feedback programs to understand how wire ages over time. This is accomplished through non-destructive and destructive inspection methods and programs; or through gathering data on the performance of wire over time, e.g., service difficulty/maintenance information. 2. Assess or promote the development of new technologies. This is accomplished through cooperative res! earch efforts for new technologies such as development of arc-fault circuit interrupters, a wire malfunction mitigation device; intelligent systems such as standing wave refectometry for identifying wire faults; and through cooperative interagency and industry evaluations and employment of new technologies. REQUEST FOR INPUTS: The Wire System Safety IWG is seeking inputs by August 28, 2000 from the U.S. industry, academia, and representatives of the nonprofit sector regarding existing S&T initiatives that will predict or detect problems in copper, optical or other wiring systems where a malfunction of the wiring system can result in adverse safety and health effects. More specifically, we would like to learn about initiatives that include; 1) a better understanding of degradation mechanisms, 2) detection/inspection techniques, 3) methods of mitigation, and 4) improved wiring systems. This is a request to identify ongoing non-governmental research and development activities, not a request for new research proposals. Inputs should be succinct?and organized in the following format. One project per page please. 1) Title of the S&T Project, 2) Releveance of the Research to Wiring Issue(s),3) Short Description of the Research Project (limited to a paragraph), 4) Key Products and Milestones of the Research, 5) Start Date and Project Completion Date (if releasable), 6) Research Project Cost (by year and total cost if releasable), 7) Performing Organization -- Address, Phone & Email. 8) Sponsoring Organization -- Address, Phone & Email, 9) Designate this project "approved for public release" or "company proprietary?. Information provided electronically in this format by August 28, 2000 will be included in an IWG report to the President in October if the project has been designated as approved for public release. Due to time constraints, information received that is not in this electronic format by this date and projects designated company proprietary will be provided to the IWG, but will not be included in the IWG report. Submissions should be sent to Charles Huettner, Senior Policy Advisor for Aviation, White House Office of Science and Technology Policy. E-MAIL: Wire System Safety, chuettne@ostp.eop.gov. Posted 06/29/00 (D-SN470351).

Loren Data Corp. http://www.ld.com (SYN# 0874 20000703\SP-0005.MSC)