SOURCES SOUGHT
99 -- Development of a Prototype Handheld Battery Operated, Pulse Arrested Spark Discharge (PASD) Pulser
- Notice Date
- 1/13/2005
- Notice Type
- Sources Sought
- Contracting Office
- FEDERAL AVIATION ADMINISTRATION, ACX-52 W.J. Hughes Tech Center (ACT)
- ZIP Code
- 00000
- Solicitation Number
- 3963
- Response Due
- 1/28/2005
- Description
- Development of a Prototype Handheld, Battery Operated, Pulse Arrested Spark Discharge (PASD) Pulser 1. Background The continued safe operation of aircraft well into their expected service life depends on the safe and effective transfer of power and electrical signals throughout the aircraft electrical wiring interconnect system (EWIS). This in turn requires the verification and monitoring of the EWIS physical and functional integrity. In the event that the EWIS is treated as an indefinite life item, formal periodic inspections will be necessary to ensure its continued safe operation. Whether the EWIS is eventually subject to a fixed service life, condition based monitoring, or other life management program, there will still be a need for periodic inspection to: 1) ensure the absence of accidental damage; 2) verify service life estimates; and, 3) confirm the adequacy of maintenance and repair activities on, around, and involving the EWIS. 2. Purpose The purpose of this solicitation is the development of a prototype handheld, battery operated unit using Pulse Arrested Spark Discharge (PASD) technology which can be integrated with signal processing and fault detection and location provided by another standard commercial such as portable digitizer (oscilloscope) or lap-top computer with signal input capabilities. The system shall capture and analyze impedance waveforms from at least two additional technologies The system shall require operator training not far beyond training for use of a standard Volt-Ohm meter. The contractor will develop the technology and pursue up to and including exclusive licensing rights with Sandia National Laboratories for the PASD technology. Non-destructive inspection technologies are required to: Ensure the absence of accidental damage and/or EWIS degradation due to aging and operations. Verify service life estimates. Confirm the adequacy of maintenance and repair activities on, around, and involving the EWIS. Locate and characterize EWIS damage due to aging and operation. Locate and characterize precursors to EWIS failure due to aging and operation. Determine location of arc faults when troubleshooting an arc fault condition. Determine location of open and shorted faults in the EWIS. 3. Submission Deadlines Technical summary proposals (see section 5) prepared in accordance with this synopsis will be accepted through 31 January 2005 or until funding for this effort is committed, whichever occurs first. Upon request of the FAA, formal technical proposals shall be submitted not more than thirty days after the date of the request. This request will be made via email and letter. 4. Submission Requirements Offerors will submit a formal proposal. The formal proposal shall meet the requirements described below. Offerors shall mail the Formal Proposal to: William J. Hughes Technical Center Code AAR-480 (Attn: M. Walz) Atlantic City Int'l Airport, NJ 08405 In addition (not as a substitute for the paper copy), an electronic version of the proposal will be emailed to michael.walz@faa.gov and cesar.gomez@faa.gov . The electronic version shall be provided in Microsoft Word or Adobe Acrobat format. Thirty days after receipt of the proposal, the FAA will respond to offerors in one of Two ways: a. Rejection of the proposal. b. Acceptance of the proposal 5. Formal Proposal Requirements a. Offerors shall specify the development of the device with performance and cost specifications matching the requirements of some application or class of applications of interest to some segment of the aviation community. The device may measure: 1. Physical properties of the EWIS (elastic modulus, hardness, etc.); 2. Material and structural anomalies (cuts, abrasions, chemical properties, etc.); 3. Local electrical properties of the EWIS (dielectric constants, resistance, etc.); 4. Bulk electrical properties of the EWIS (resistance, impedance, capacitance, isolation, AC&DC voltage drop, polarization ratio, dissipation factor, etc.); or, 5. Any other relevant EWIS properties (thermal excursions under load, electromagnetic fields, etc.). a. If the proposal includes means for test and inspection of aircraft wiring, offerors will select Polyimide, and two or more wire types from the list below that are inspectable by the proposed device. These selections will be used to independently validate the performance of the device. 1. PVC/Glass/Nylon (MIL-W-5086, QUAD 4, etc.). 2. Cross Linked ETFE (MIL-W-22759, Tefzel, Spec 55, etc). 3. Poly-X (alkane-imide). 4. Composite construction involving Polyimide or Teflon (TKT, etc). b. Using empirical evidence and sound logic, offerors will present a persuasive argument that the properties, states, and/or conditions (aging and non-aging conditions) measured by the device correlate with EWIS failure modes that threaten the safety of the aircraft. The offerer's proposal shall contain specific and detailed performance specifications for the proposed system. c. Offerors shall build a prototype device with the specifications identified above. For the purposes of preparing the proposal and cost estimate, the prototype shall become the property of the FAA at the conclusion of the program. d. Offerors shall propose to the FAA a validation plan, which includes double blind testing. Validation will be performed on the Standard Wiring Testbed located at Sandia National Labs, Albuquerque, NM. Contact Mr. Mike Dinallo, 505-844-0796, for more information on the testbed. If the testbed is not suitable to the validation of the proposed technology, please address the rational for this conclusion and an alternative means for validation. The proposal will address all costs related to the validation effort. Use of the Standard Wiring Testbed is free of charge. e. The proposal shall identify all areas risk related to development, and implementation, of the proposed system, technology, or technique. The proposal shall include mitigating strategies for each risk area. Proposals that do not identify risk areas will be considered non-developmental in nature and therefore outside the scope of this research program. Implementation risks are associated with logistical issues, missing/inadequate support infrastructure, etc. f. Offerors shall include in their proposals a detailed cost proposal. In-house funding, cost matching, services-in-kind, will be identified in the cost proposal as necessary. All manpower related to double blind testing and validation shall also be provided. The cost of the delivered prototype shall be identified separately. 8. Method of Evaluation Proposals will be evaluated in the seven technical areas listed in order of decreasing importance: a. Technical merit. b. Utility to the aviation community. c. Investigative team competency and experience. d. Logical and effective validation strategy. e. Technical risks and implementation risks, and the mitigation plan for each. f. Availability and quality of equipment and facilities. g. Effective project management plan. 9. Period of Performance: Efforts lasting only one year will be considered
- Web Link
-
FAA Contract Opportunities
(http://www.asu.faa.gov/faaco/index.cfm?ref=3963)
- Record
- SN00734478-W 20050115/050113211828 (fbodaily.com)
- Source
-
FedBizOpps.gov Link to This Notice
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