99--BAA - Development of Electrical Wiring Interconnect System Test and Inspection Systems

Broad Agency Announcement (BAA) TCBAA-03-000R Development of Electrical Wiring Interconnect System Test and Inspection Systems 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 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 BAA is to support development of testing and inspection systems, technology, and techniques that identify or characterize the material or structural flaws which may impair the safe and effective transmission of electrical power and signals. The proposed systems, technology, and techniques shall exhibit potential utility for either infrequent comprehensive examinations or frequent focused inspections in an airline maintenance environment. 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. 3. Submission Deadlines Technical summary proposals (see section 4) prepared in accordance with this synopsis will be accepted through 30 June 2003 or until fiscal year 2003 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 two-page technical summaries prior to submitting a formal proposal. The two page technical summary shall meet the requirements described below. Mail the two page technical summaries to: William J. Hughes Technical Center Code AAR-480 (Attn: R. Pappas) Atlantic City Int'l Airport, NJ 08405 In addition (not as a substitute for the paper copy), an electronic version of the summary proposal will be emailed to contact@example.gov. The electronic version shall be provided in Microsoft Word or Adobe Acrobat format. Thirty days after receipt of the two-page technical summaries, the FAA will respond to offerors in one of three ways: a. Request for the submission a formal technical proposal. b. Recommendation to submit a formal technical proposal if certain changes are made or conditions met. c. Rejection of the summary proposal. If requested, the offeror shall submit a formal technical proposal, containing a detailed discussion of the item presented in the two-page technical summary. The formal technical proposal shall address the requirements described in the "Formal Proposal Requirements" section of this announcement. The formal technical proposal will be mailed to the FAA at the same address as the summary proposal. An electronic copy must also be provided. 5. Two-Page Technical Summary Requirements There is no specific format for the two page technical summary. The summary may be preceded by a cover letter, but the cover letter will not be considered in the evaluation, nor will pages in excess of two. At a minimum the summary shall contain the following items: a. The specific purpose of the system, technology, or technique. b. Description of the system, technology, or technique. c. Description of the class of applications for which the device is useful. d. Description of how the device will be useful to the aviation community. e. Information regarding interest or endorsements of aviation concerns. f. Current state of development of the system, technology, or technique. g. Estimated time for development, test, and validation, of a commercial prototype. h. Estimated funds required for the proposed effort, including in-house funds. 6. Formal Proposal Requirements a. Offerors shall specify the development of a 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.). b. Offerors will identify a partner within the aviation community (i.e. an airframer or aircraft operator) who will serve as an advisor and advocate for the effort. Proof of commitment by the partner will be provided with the proposal (The proof need not be a contract). Matching funds or services-in-kind from the partner are not required but will be considered positively during proposal evaluation. c. If the proposal includes means for test and inspection of aircraft wiring, offerors will select Polyimide, and one 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). d. 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 offerers proposal shall contain specific and detailed performance specifications for the proposed system. e. Offerors shall propose to 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. f. 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, +1 (555) 000-0000, 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. g. Offerors shall prepare an implementation and technology transfer plan, describing how the proposed technology will developed into commercial products practical for use in the inspection and maintenance of older aircraft. h. The proposal shall identify all areas risk related to development, implementation, and technology transfer, 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. i. 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. 7. 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. Cost and cost realism will be evaluated as acceptable or unacceptable only. Acceptable proposals will have costs commensurate with the work load proposed and will not be in excess of $400,000 in any fiscal year. 8. Period of Performance: Efforts lasting between one and four years will be considered. Multiyear efforts will be funded in yearly increments, providing measurable and adequate performance is shown prior to each new funding increment.