Ambient Aerolsol Test Chamber

A PRIMARY GOAL OF THIS RFI IS TO DETERMINE HOW NAVAL RESEARCH LABORATORY WILL PROCEED WITH A FORMAL REQUEST FOR PROPOSAL (RFP) ANTICIPATED TO BE RELEASED IN MAY 2011. NRL is issuing this Request for Information (RFI) to determine the general availability for the design, build, testing, installation, and on-site final testing of one Ambient Aerosol Test Chamber (AATC). The AATC will provide a capability for performance evaluation of developmental DoD biological and chemical warfare (BW & CW) aerosol sensors using ambient air as a background for false positive rate measurement. It is intended to serve as an intermediate step between an early developmental proof-of-concept laboratory setting, and a field-test situation, by providing NRL and DoD developers with long-term ambient air sampling located within a secure, controlled environment. The AATC will sample outdoor air at variable rates on a continuous basis, and simulate realistic attacks by interjecting known laboratory aerosols with controlled concentrations at pre-programmed times and durations into that sample. Specifically, the system must adhere to the following specifications: Installation: The Ambient Aerosol Test Chamber will be installed in the Autonomous Systems Research Laboratory, Aerosol Laboratory at The Naval Research Laboratory, Washington DC 20375. The Aerosol Laboratory is 37 x 15 x 14 high. The exterior access door is 3'0 (34.5) x 7 (68). The manufacturer is responsible for all hardware installation, start-up and demonstration of the complete Ambient Aerosol Test Chamber. The manufacturer is responsible for any precast wall and/or roof penetrations. The manufacturer is responsible for electrical connection from the supplied - disconnect on the North wall. System Features: Flow Tube 1.01 The system must provide a circular cross section with a minimum diameter of 30 centimeter. 1.02 The system must be segmented in sections from 90 to 120 cm in length that can be decoupled for scheduled cleaning. 1.03 The system must provide air-tight seals between each individual section. These seals must be capable of being taken apart for cleaning of the flow tube sections and reassembled providing the sealed environment again. 1.04 The manufacturer must provide a means of support for each individual section of the flow tube. 1.05 The main system will be located within the Aerosol Laboratory but will draw outside air in and exhaust to the outside of the building. The inlet for ambient air should be a straight, unimpeded tube that extends through the outside (west) wall of the lab and extends a minimum of 10 feet from the outside building wall. A bell-mouth inlet is preferable. Air will be exhausted through a roof mounted blower supplied with the system. 1.06 In addition to the ambient air inlet, there must be a provision for drawing outside air through a HEPA filter to provide the plenum flow of the AATC. This will require a union of the two inlet tubes (ambient and HEPA filtered) and a valve arrangement so that when one is open the other can be closed. It is preferable to have this arrangement mounted outside the building to preserve working space in the lab and to minimize the number of wall penetrations. The HEPA filter assembly and valve arrangement must be weather-proof. Velocity 2.01 The system air velocity must be controllable from 0-15 meters per second. 2.02 The system air velocity must achieve an upper limit of 15 meter per second regardless of the flow tube diameter. 2.03 The system must provide a means of monitoring flow velocity. This must be accomplished by either a flow rate monitor or flow velocity monitor. Flow 3.01 The system must provide variable flow of 0 - 60 m3/minute. The total flow rates will depend on actual diameter of the flow tube. Test section 4.01 The system test section should be designed to be utilized at a working height of 60. This height should be the centerline of the complete flow tube system (no bends or turns from the outside inlet to the test section). The test section center should be located approximately 60 from the interior north wall of the lab. 4.02 To aid in the ability to regularly clean the system the test section must be movable on a wheeled support once detached from the system. 4.03 The test section must have a square cross section with smooth transitions to circular tube sections at each end of the test section. Test Aerosol Generators 5.01 The system must provide three independent aerosol generation sources and be expandable to six independent aerosol generation sources. 5.02 The system must provide one liquid droplet generator and be expandable to three. 5.03 The system must provide one powder generator and be expandable to three. 5.04 The method by which the generated aerosol particles/droplets are introduced to the main tube flow should result in a uniform distribution of particles over a cross section of the flow just prior to the test section (above). The uniformity requirement can either be demonstrated directly or referenced to prior design test reports/evaluations. 5.05 For the liquid droplet generators, the primary droplet size distribution should fall primarily in the range of 30 - 60 micron diameter, and should be capable of generating a total maximum droplet rate of 100,000 to 150,000 droplets/sec. 5.06 For powder generators, the particle size distribution mean (mode) in the main flow should be as small as possible given standard powder materials (5 to 10 micron diameter for the mode size is desirable) and the maximum total powder aerosol production rate should be in the range of 100 to 50 milligrams/min (63 gm/hr). Safety Considerations 6.01 The system must provide filtration of the air flow after the test section and before going to the blower/impeller. This must be accomplished utilizing an ULPA filter, or tandem HEPA filters unit. 6.02 For safety the system must provide an optical particle counter in the exhaust outlet that triggers visual or audio alarm with programmable alarm settings. Installation 7.01 The manufacturer must provide a weather-proof and sealed housing for any HEPA filter units or blower/impeller units located outside the room. 7.02 The blower motor/impellor will be mounted on roof. The manufacturer is responsible for complete installation of the blower motor/impellor including roof penetration and electrical service from inside the laboratory. The exhaust stack from the blower must rise 10 above the parapet wall (2). 7.03 The main system will be located within the Aerosol Laboratory but will draw outside air in and exhaust to the outside of the building. The contractor is responsible for core drilling the flow tube inlet and outlet access hole. The precast concrete wall is 10 thick and the roof penetration would be through standard steel pan and roofing material. 7.04 Electrical service is supplied at an on/off disconnect inside the North wall near the anticipated AATC exhaust exit. The service is 460V 100A 3 phase, 3HP. The contractor is responsible for wiring the blower/impeller from this location. 7.05 Weather and sound proof housing for impellor, and support stand shall be included, mount locations on roof will be provided. 7.06 Consideration must be made for temperature differentials between outdoors and inside lab, so that condensation will not occur on the inside of the flow tube. 8.0 Documentation 8.01 The system must be shipped with one complete set of operation and maintenance manuals printed on plain paper as well as one electronic version in one of the following formats, CD, DVD or Thumb Drive. 9.0 Warranty 9.01 The system must be provided with a minimum 1-year factory warranty that covers all parts, labor and travel expenses for on-site support of the equipment. Any proprietary information submitted will be protected if appropriately marked. All responses are to be provided on company letterhead and limited to fifteen pages and must contain the following information: a capability statement which includes information on the type of technology used, pricing information, service history, Technological Readiness Level (TRL) if not a fielded system, and a delivery schedule. In their response, vendors should clearly mark any information that is proprietary. Offerors should have production representative systems that will be available for evaluation by May 2011 and for purchase no later than the fourth quarter of FY-2011. Pricing and delivery information should be based on the assumption that a purchase will be made in the fourth quarter of FY-2011. Responses are due by April 15, 2011. Both e-mail and mail submittals will be accepted and must be submitted in Microsoft Office format. Please send email responses to the Contract Specialist, Marilyn Clark at marilyn.clark@nrlssc.navy.mil . Mail responses should be sent to: NRL Contracting Office, Code 3235, Bldg 1008, Room 209, Attn: Marilyn Clark, Stennis Space Center, MS 39529. All packages submitted electronically or by electronic media shall be free of any computer virus. If a virus is found, the package will be destroyed and a replacement will be requested, which must be provided within three days after notification. NOTE: This Request for Information is for planning purposes only and is issued in accordance with FAR Clause 52.215-3. No solicitation document exists at this time. Issuance of this Notice does not constitute any obligation on the part of the Government to procure these items or to issue a solicitation. In addition, the Government is under no obligation to pay for information submitted in response to this RFI, and responses to this notice cannot be accepted as offers. Any information that the vendor considers proprietary should be clearly marked as such. This solicitation and other business opportunities for NRL are available at our website http://heron.nrl.navy.mil/contracts/rfplist.htm.