A--COILED BRINE RECOVERY ASSEMBLY EVAPORATOR DEVELOPMENT

NASA/JSC has a requirement for the development of a working proof-of-concept prototype of an evaporator for the Coiled Brine Recovery Assembly (CoBRA) project. These evaporators must be lightweight, compact, collapsible, thermally efficient, and ultimately disposable. To meet these requirements the evaporators will be built from softgoods materials: fabrics, polymer films, and polymer foams, for example. This project will take an incremental approach to development, starting with a simple proof-of-concept, and gradually adding capability. The Statement of Work can be viewed at: http://procurement.jsc.nasa.gov/NNJ14504906R/Coiled-Brine-Reco very-Assembly-SOW-Cascade-Designs-Contract.pdf Depending on the phase of the project, the contractor must be capable of producing evaporators that have any combination of the following features: 1. Ability to self-inflate using a construction of open-cell foam selectively bonded to an impermeable fabric/polymer film outer layer. This capability is critical to the core function of the device. 2. Multiple separate self-inflating chambers incorporated into a single device. This allows for a device that is capable of processing multiple batches of brine, or executing separate processes, such as evaporation and condensation, simultaneously. 3. Internal cells and ribs of polymer film that act as barriers to convective and radiative heat transfer. CoBRA evaporators must be thermally efficient, and thin-film barriers provide effective insulation that is lightweight and collapsible. Internal polymer film ribs may also be used as baffles to direct the flow of gases and vapors within the evaporator. Routing of gas and vapor flow is critical to achieving even brine drying. 4. Fittings for the passage of process fluids into and out of the evaporator. These fittings may be bonded to the fabric/polymer outer layer anywhere on the evaporator a surface, edge, or corner. Additionally, the fittings must incorporate quick-disconnects with internal shutoffs for connection to the CoBRA balance-of-plant. These quick-disconnects must be compatible with commercially-available third-party mating quick-disconnects. NASA/JSC intends to purchase the items from Cascade Designs, Inc. (CDI). CDI's Therm-a-Rest line of inflatable and self-inflating mattresses demonstrates CDIs ability to engineer and manufacture products that satisfy requirements 1-3. CDIs MSR water filters and dromedary bags, and Platypus bladders, demonstrate their ability to satisfy requirement 4. No other surveyed contractors offer products that demonstrate the ability to meet all four of these requirements. Furthermore, CDI also has three current U.S. patents, and one patent pending, protecting the technologies described, as well as the methods for making them. The Government does not intend to acquire a commercial item using FAR Part 12. Interested organizations may submit their capabilities and qualifications to perform the effort in writing to the identified point of contact not later than 4:30 p.m. local time on July 29, 2014. Such capabilities/qualifications will be evaluated solely for the purpose of determining whether or not to conduct this procurement on a competitive basis. A determination by the Government not to compete this proposed effort on a full and open competition basis, based upon responses to this notice, is solely within the discretion of the government. Oral communications are not acceptable in response to this notice. All responsible sources may submit an offer which shall be considered by the agency. NASA Clause 1852.215-84, Ombudsman, is applicable. The Center Ombudsman for this acquisition can be found at http://prod.nais.nasa.gov/pub/p ub_library/Omb.html .