70 -- LEASE/PURCHASE UPGRADE TO CASTAL AND HYDRAULICS SHIP/TOW SIMULATOR

Notice Date

December 11, 2000

Contracting Office

USACE Vicksburg District, 4155 Clay Street, Vicksburg, MS 39180-3435

ZIP Code

39180-3435

Response Due

December 29, 2000

Point of Contact

Sandra Staggs, 601/631-7248

E-Mail Address

Click here to email directly to the point of contact. (sandra.d.staggs@mvk02.usace.army.mil)

Description

The Engineer Research and Development Center, Corps of Engineers, Vicksburg, Mississippi proposes to award a sole source contract to CSC Advanced Marine, Inc., Alexandria, Virginia for a lease/purchase upgrade to the Coastal and Hydraulics Laboratory (CHL) Ship/Tow Simulator. CSC Advanced Marine is the only simulator manufacturer that offers software that is compatible with the existing system. CHL operates the Corps' only marine simulator. This simulator can be configured to function as either a ship or tow. The original simulator was purchased from Tracor Hydronautics in 1983. The simulator was last upgraded in 1994, when new hardware was purchased. Maintaining this simulator is no longer cost-effective. Procuring separate hardware items (vessel consoles, display systems, operator stations, etc.) and integrating them into the existing system is not a efficient use of personnel and will have an extreme detrimental effect upon navigation studies planned through the end of fiscal year 2001. A full schedule is expected for this simulator this fiscal year. Excessive downtime will negatively affect the mission accomplishment. Therefore, immediate lease with an option to purchase a new Ship/Tow Bridge Simulator System is recommended. CHL maintains a library of approximately 50 validated projects. The harbor databases for each project consist of an existing condition and one or more proposed conditions. These databases include the channel configuration, currents for multiple steps on the tidal cycle or different river flows, bank effects, wind and waves. The cost to develop and validate databases for a typical project is approximately $40,000.00. CHL maintains a library of approximately 80 validated vessel models. These models (for both ships and tows) contain parameters describing vessel characteristics and response to environmental conditions. Ship models are developed under contract at a cost of approximately $22,000.00 per model. Due to extreme investment in harbor and vessel databases, it is imperative that the new simulator use the same hydrodynamic response software presently used by CHL. The only simulator manufacturer offering this hydrodynamic response software is CSC Advanced Marine, Inc. The hydrodynamic model must be able to read and process CHL's existing channel and current databases from over 50 navigation projects. The coordinate system for all CHL ship simulator databases is the state plan coordinate system. The state plane coordinate system is the standard coordinate system used by the U. S. Army Corps of Engineers for navigation project. The hydrodynamic software must provide the following: full 6 degree of freedom (6 DOF) hydrodynamic; pier and fender modeling; hydrodynamic modeling of high-speed ferries; and hydrodynamic modeling for water jet propulsion. The executable and source codes develop for hydrodynamics and operation of the simulator must be furnished. Provide the same output file format as the TRACOR Hydronautics model. The Government intends to award a sole source lease/purchase contract. Inquiries should be received in this office no later than two (2) weeks from date of publication of this notice.

Record

Loren Data Corp. 20001213/70SOL001.HTM (W-346 SN508650)