A -- DESIGN AND MANUFACTURE OF AN ADVANCED CROSS DECK PENDANT

Notice Date

January 16, 2001

Contracting Office

Naval Air Warfare Center Aircraft Division, Contracts Department, Building 129-2, Highway 547, Lakehurst, NJ 08733-5083

ZIP Code

08733-5083

Solicitation Number

N68335-01-BAA-002

Response Due

March 2, 2001

Point of Contact

Barbara Petrzilka, PH: 732-323-2067, or Amy Hayward at 732-323-2921

Description

The Naval Air Warfare Center (NAWC) is interested in receiving proposals (technical and cost) for the design and manufacture of an Advanced Cross Deck Pendant (ACDP) that utilizes advanced fibers and/or composite construction. The objective of this initiative is to identify the feasibility of applying advance material and manufacturing technologies to the design of an ACDP. A full qualification for the ACDP for use by the Navy is not intended as a part of this effort. Based on success of this project, follow-on design efforts may be proposed. If the required material and manufacturing technologies are shown to be insufficient, it is the intent of this initiative to identify the areas of shortfall, make an assessment on what is required to foster development, and project when maturation will occur. During normal aircraft recoveries, the aircraft's arresting hook engages one of several cables situated across the aircraft carrier's flight deck. These cables are known as the Cross Deck Pendants (CDP's). The force of the aircraft's forward motion is transferred via the hook to CDP interface to the Arresting Gear Engine, which provides the force to stop the aircraft. The engagement of the aircraft tailhook traveling in excess of 120 knots to the stationary CDP results in a series of dynamic kink waves that causes undesirable spikes in the loading of the CDP and the airframe. The taming of these dynamic induced spikes is an important technical challenge. The weight and stiffness of the current steel CDP's are factors that contribute to the propagation of the kink wave. It has been determined that a lighter, less stiff CDP has the potential of eliminating the detrimental effects of the dynamic kink wave and reduce the complexity of the aircraft recovery system. The ACDP is not limited by material, design, or construction method. A weight of 0.3 to 0.9 lb./ft and a stiffness of 3.2 x 106 lbs. to 10.0 x 106 lbs. are desired, but not mandatory. The length of the CDP is 110-ft +/- 3.3 inches. The maximum allowable permanent stretch during service is 4 ft. The ACDP shall interface with the existing aircraft hookpoint. Terminal hardware shall be provided for both ends of the ACDP to mate with the existing interface. The desired weight of each end terminal hardware component is a maximum of 18 lbs. The maximum working load of the ACDP experienced during the recovery of an aircraft is 105,000-lbs. A Safety Factor of at least 2 is desired for the ACDP, but it will ultimately be assigned based on ACDP performance and engineering judgment. The desired working service life of the ACDP shall be a minimum of 125 normal aircraft recoveries. The ACDP shall be compatible to the environment found on an aircraft carrier's flight deck. The ACDP will be subject to incidental contact or immersion from sea water, deck cleaning detergents (pH 10 to 13), high pressure water rinses, and aqueous film forming foam mixed with sea water; incidental contact from jet fuel, petroleum lubricants, and hydraulic fluids; and organic solvents (rarely). The ACDP will be exposed to full sun throughout its service life. The ACDP shall be exposed to ambient temperate ranging from -20 degrees F to 160 degrees F. The ACDP must be able to perform its function while subjected to exposure to these stated conditions. The ACDP shall not suffer any permanent deformation or loss of tensile properties when subjected to rollover by taxing and landing aircraft. The typical aircraft weight is 65,000 lbs. The ACDP will be subject to severe abrasion from two different sources during use: when an aircraft lands off-center to the flight deck, and from dragging across the shipdeck nonskid surface. When the aircraft lands off center, the tailhook slides on the ACDP. This is high speed sliding wear and an undetermined amount of heat will be generated at the hookpoint. The hookpoint has a bend radius of 3 inches and a groove radius approximately .76 inches. The sliding distance depends on the distance the aircraft is off-center to the deck but is generally less than 10 ft; however it may be up to 20 ft in extreme cases. Following the arrestment, the ACDP is dragged 345 feet across the flight deck back to its battery position. The flight decks are coated with an epoxy-based nonskid coating composed of aluminum flake in accordance with MIL-DTL-24667. The ACDP is routinely pulled out and dragged back into battery position during equipment readiness checks and maintenance. The ACDP shall be resistant to the generation of debris that might be ingested by and cause damage to a jet engine, or be harmful to personnel if propelled by the force of jet engine exhaust. It is desired that the synthetic pendant incorporate indicators that might show when the pendant is damaged, or has lost sufficient strength and should be removed from service. ACDP candidates will be tested at the NAWC Lakehurst Jet Car Track Site. This test facility contains a functional aircraft recovery system that is used to stop jet-propelled deadload vehicles. The deadload vehicles are equipped with an aircraft tailhook, and are propelled at a range of speeds equivalent to aircraft speeds. ACDP candidates will be subjected to a series of deadload arrestments in this test program. Testing will be paid for and performed by the government. Testing is expected to begin in June 2001 and conclude in September 2001. The awarded contractor(s) shall construct a sample lot of two 110-ft. ACDP candidates (each candidate shall include terminal connections and connecting hardware), and one 50-ft length of ACDP rope material. The awarded contractor(s) shall provide certified results of the ultimate strength of the ACDP. The structural integrity of each ACDP shall be certified by proof testing each ACDP candidate to a tensile load of 105,000-lbs. At the conclusion of the government deadload test program, the manufacturer may be requested to perform residual life testing on their ACDP candidate(s) that have successfully completed the deadload test program with little or no apparent damage (as determined by Government personnel.) As a minimum, residual life testing will be performed on the hook impact area and each termination. More than one award will be made from this announcement. An offeror may submit multiple designs for consideration. Award decisions will be based on the following criteria: (1) Technical merits of the proposal as they apply to the probability of success in meeting the performance requirements and physical characteristics. (2) Cost. The cost of the ACDP candidates, and the ultimate strength/residual life testing shall be listed separately. (3) The offeror's capabilities, related experience, facilities, techniques or unique combinations of these qualities as they may relate to meeting the stated requirements. (4) The capability of the proposal party in meeting the delivery schedule for test candidates. (5) Originality of the idea, concept, or design. (6) Quality and thoroughness of proposed approach (7) Technical proposals should be limited to no more than twenty-five (25) pages, including graphs, figures, or related data. The cost of preparation of this response to this BAA is not considered an allowable direct charge to the resulting contract or any other contract. Proposals are hereby solicited to demonstrate the key technologies associated with an ACDP and to meet the requirements contained herein. Offerors shall submit an original plus four (4) copies of the technical proposal. Additionally, the offeror must identify restricted rights to any part of the offer, if any, and mark all pages that contain proprietary or restricted use data. This announcement will be open for 45 days after publication. Proposals may be submitted at any time during this period, however submission within 30 days of this announcement is strongly encouraged. Offerors are encouraged to request a detailed requirements package (through the Contracting Officer) that describes in greater detail the system level requirements and interface drawings. Note that information contained in the detailed requirements package is subject to Export Control Laws. A certified DD Form 2345 must be submitted to the Contracts Department at Lakehurst prior to release of a requirements package. To request this certification, contact the Defense Logistics Services Center at 800-352-3572. Point of contact for technical issues are Peter Lee, (732) 323-2871 and David Piatkowski, (732) 323-2716. Point of contact for contractual matters is Barbara Petrzilka, (732) 323-2067. Offerors may contact these individuals, at any time, for clarification of technical/contractual issues and cost response format. Offerors are cautioned that only Contracting Officers are legally authorized to commit the Government. No formal solicitation will be issued; this BAA is the solicitation. Exterior markings on the response shall be as follows: N68335-01-BAA-002, Naval Air Warfare Center, Attn: Barbara Petrzilka, Code 2.5.2.3 (Contracts Division) Building 129-2, Highway 547, Lakehurst, NJ 08733-5082.

Record

Loren Data Corp. 20010118/ASOL015.HTM (W-016 SN50A9J6)