SOURCES SOUGHT
H -- Experimental support for High Energy Arc Fault fire experiments
- Notice Date
- 3/19/2014
- Notice Type
- Sources Sought
- NAICS
- 238210
— Electrical Contractors and Other Wiring Installation Contractors
- Contracting Office
- Department of Commerce, National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST), Acquisition Management Division, 100 Bureau Drive, Building 301, Room B130, Gaithersburg, Maryland, 20899-1410, United States
- ZIP Code
- 20899-1410
- Solicitation Number
- AMDTC-14-0001
- Archive Date
- 4/15/2014
- Point of Contact
- Abdul-Kudus Yahaya, Phone: 3019758497, Mimi Robinson, Phone: 301-975-3696
- E-Mail Address
-
abdul-kudus.yahaya@nist.gov, mimi.robinson@nist.gov
(abdul-kudus.yahaya@nist.gov, mimi.robinson@nist.gov)
- Small Business Set-Aside
- N/A
- Description
- Experimental support for High Energy Arc Fault fire experiments This is a Sources Sought Notice ONLY. Requests for copies of a solicitation will not receive a response. This Notice is for planning purposes only and shall not be misunderstood as a Request for Proposal or Request for Quote or as an obligation on the part of The National Institute of Standards & Technology (NIST) for conducting a follow-on-acquisition. NIST does not intend to award a contract on the basis of this Notice, or otherwise pay for the information requested. No entitlement or payment of direct or indirect costs or charges by NIST will arise as a result of submission of responses to this Notice and NIST use of such information. NIST recognizes that proprietary data may be part of this effort. If so, respondents are responsible for identifying proprietary components, interfaces and equipment, and clearly mark restricted or proprietary data and present it as an addendum to the non-restricted / non-proprietary information. In the absence of such identification, NIST will assume to have unlimited rights to all technical data in the information paper. NO SOLICITATION DOCUMENTS EXISTS AT THIS TIME. The North American Industries Classification System (NAICS) code for this is 238210 Electrical Contractors and Other Wiring Installation Contractors. This Notice is not to be misunderstood as a commitment by NIST and does not imply an intention or the opportunity to acquire funding to support current or future efforts. Respondents will not be notified of the results of the information submitted. The National Institute of Standards & Technology (NIST) seeks information on commercial electrical contractors capable of providing technical support for High Energy Arc Fault (HEAF) experiments. The technical support will allow NIST to effectively perform the HEAF experiments. The experiments are necessary to determine the characteristics of fires caused by long duration HEAFs in nuclear power plant low, medium, and high voltage electrical equipment. The equipment consists of switchgear, circuit breakers, motor control centers, and bus ducts. The duration of the arc during the HEAF events will be approximately 2 s. A HEAF is defined as follows: High Energy Arc Faults (HEAF) are energetic or explosive electrical equipment faults characterized by a rapid release of energy in the form of heat, light, vaporized metal and pressure increase due to high current arcs between energized electrical conductors or between energized electrical components and neutral or ground. HEAF events may also result in projectiles being ejected from the electrical component or cabinet of origin and result in fire. The energetic fault scenario consists of two distinct phases, each with its own damage characteristics and detection/suppression response and effectiveness. 1. First phase: short, rapid release of electrical energy which may result in projectiles (from damaged electrical components or housing) and/or fire(s) involving the electrical device itself, as well as any external exposed combustibles, such as overhead exposed cable trays or nearby panels, that may be ignited during the energetic phase. 2. Second phase, i.e., the ensuing fire(s): is treated similar to other postulated fires within the zone of influence. An arc is a very intense abnormal discharge of electrons between two electrodes that are carrying an electric current. Since arcing is not usually a desirable occurrence, it is described as an "arcing fault". The arc is created by the flow of electrons through charged particles of gas ions that exist as a result of vaporization of the conductive material. NIST requires an experienced contractor to receive international shipments, transport equipment, refurbish equipment, modify equipment to cause arc faults, assemble heavy experimental measurement equipment, and work in conjunction with test facility personnel to provide experimental support. The experiments will be performed at the KEMA-Powertest facility at 4379 County Line Road, Chalfont, PA, 18914. The contractor shall have the following capabilities and experience: Receive, unload and store NIST furnished heat release rate calorimetry hood and gas analyzer instrumentation rack. Store the equipment to be tested within a warehouse or enclosed facility that provides protection from the environment (rain, sun, snow, etc.), ideally, within 10 miles of KEMA. Receive, unload, and store electrical cabinets, switchgear equipment, and bus ducts that have been shipped by freight line from domestic sources or foreign countries. Store the equipment to be tested within a warehouse or facility that provides protection from the environment (rain, sun, snow, etc.), ideally, within 10 miles of KEMA. Repair and prepare equipment for experiments. Provide a preparation work area with electrical utilities, lighting, and heat for the NRC, NIST, NRC contractors, and electrical contractors (ideally, within 10 miles of KEMA) to work on the electrical equipment and to perform teardown activities. Provide a workspace with electrical utilities, lighting, and heat located near the KEMA-Powertest facility (ideally, within 10 miles) where NRC, NIST, NRC contractors, and the electrical contractors can perform preparation work and teardown activities, including any necessary instrumentation set-up and electrical testing. In addition, this task requires storage of the equipment supplied by NIST, the NRC, or its contractors. Perform Hi-pot test(s) on equipment to ensure that the proper arcing will occur during the experiments. Hi-pot testing is to be performed by qualified personnel and in accordance with ANSI/NETA Standard for Acceptance Testing Specifications (ATS) for Electrical Power Equipment and Systems. At minimum, a qualified test engineer and technician will be required to perform the testing, along with any other associated individuals required to be present during testing by the electrical contractor and the testing laboratory. Transport heat release rate calorimetry hood, support scaffolding, and gas analyzer instrumentation rack to KEMA and assemble. The electrical contractor must be able to be granted access to the KEMA-Powertest facility and should contact KEMA directly to see if they have any additional requirements. Transport equipment to KEMA test cell and assemble. The electrical contractor must be able to be granted access to the KEMA-Powertest facility and should contact KEMA directly to see if they have any additional requirements. Connect equipment to KEMA voltage/current sources. Disassemble heat release rate calorimetry hood and support scaffolding. Remove equipment from KEMA test cell and refurbish for additional experiments. Transport equipment from KEMA test cell and site to contractor shop or storage area for additional experiments. The electrical contractor shall provide a staging facility and shop near the test facility (ideally, within 10 miles) for prep work and teardown activities. Transport heat release rate calorimetry hood, scaffolding, and gas analyzer instrumentation rack to contractor shop or storage area for additional experiments. Provide test data and as-built drawings of tested equipment, instrumentation, and test cell. Provide all supporting electrical test documentation (such as hi-pot testing results) as well as the supporting documents for the individual HEAF tests that are performed (such as photos and as-built drawings). Destroy used equipment and document destruction. Dispose of used equipment. Capability criteria: Experience - Substation work, routine maintenance of testing facility, data acquisition system, generator protection relays, generator bus maintenance, test cell fit out, installation of low and medium volt test feeder cables - Connection of electrical equipment to low and medium voltage sources in KEMA test cells. Experience providing experimental support for HEAF experiments. - At least 2 years of experience within the past 3 years providing support of HEAF experiments in low and medium voltage electrical equipment, switchgear, motor control centers, etc. - Supported experiments in at least five (5) low voltage (480 V) cabinets - Supported experiments in at least four (4) medium voltage (7 kV) cabinet lineups. - Experience includes cabinet refurbishment. - Experience includes installation of slug calorimeters, pressure transducers, and thermocouples. - Experience includes fabrication and installation of insulated and uninsulated frame mounts and structural supports for electrical cabinets. - Experience includes fabrication, installation, and wiring of cable trays. - Experience includes the installation of arcing wires. - Experience includes documentation of hi-pot test results and providing as-built drawings of equipment and experimental setup in test bays. Shop and storage location. - It is preferred that Refurbishment / electrical equipment set-up shop and storage location is within 10 miles or less of KEMA location. Should interested party location be in excess of 10 miles a narrative on how interested parties logistical plan to support this requirement is required, detailing how they will be able to support short notice requirement. Short notice means within 72 hours. Experience rigging and moving large heavy items with overhead cranes and fork lifts. - At least two (2) years of experience, within the past three (3) years, moving large heavy items. Experience refurbishing low and medium voltage electrical cabinets, breakers, switchgear, motor control centers, and bus ducts. Refurbish is defined as repairing a malfunctioning, damaged, and burned cabinet or equipment to a fully operable level with an appearance similar to new equipment. - At least two (2) years of experience within the past three (3) years. - Performed at least four (4) refurbishments of electrical cabinets. Special industry certifications / qualifications for working on high / medium voltage equipment, refurbishment, working at KEMA, etc. - Electricians shall have completed Pennsylvania approved accredited electrician apprenticeship program. - Project manager / Project Engineer overseeing the electricians shall be a licensed Professional Electrical Engineer in Pennsylvania, with at least ten (10) years of experience with low and medium voltage testing and equipment. Project Manager / Project Engineer shall have at least two (2) years of experience within the past three (3) years overseeing electricians during HEAF experiments. Special industry certifications / qualifications for the moving / rigging / scaffolding - Crane and forklift operators shall be licensed in at least one U.S. State or the District of Columbia. Interested vendors are requested to submit Technical capabilities Information that includes, but not limited to the following: 1) Reference Sources Sought number; 2) Company name, address, telephone number, and website address (if available); 3) The type of business (large or small); 4) Company's Cage Code and Duns numbers, 5) The name, telephone number, and e-mail address of a technical point of contact having the authority and knowledge to clarify responses with Government representatives and 6) A narrative that provides enough information to support submitters' ability to support this requirement and logistical plan of supporting this requirement is required. After results of this market research are obtained and analyzed, and specifications are developed, NIST may conduct a competitive procurement and subsequently award a Purchase Order for the High Energy Arc Fault fire experiment support. If at least two qualified small businesses are identified during this market research stage, then any competitive procurement that resulted would be conducted as a 100% small business set-aside. Companies are requested to submit the aforementioned Technical Information to the point of contact identified below by no later than 3:00PM Eastern Time March 31, 2014. Abdul-Kudus Yahaya, Contract Specialist abdul-kudus.yahaya@nist.gov Phone: 3019758497
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