Design Modules for Corrosion Prevention

This publication constitutes a Request for Information (RFI); no formal Request for Proposals (RFP), solicitation, and/or additional information regarding this request will be issued. The Naval Research Laboratory (NRL) will not issue paper copies of this request. The responses to this RFI will be considered in the planning and definition of Future Naval Capabilities (FNC) programs. This is not a commitment to fund any effort submitted in response to this request. The Government will not reimburse any costs associated with the development and submission of materials in response to this request. This RFI is issued by NRL. It solicits industry and academic sources to express their capability to provide a response to the NRL program on Design Modules for Corrosion Prevention (DMCP) - analytical software resources that are able to assess corrosion risks for multiple modes of corrosion pertinent to Department of Defense (DoD) assets. The objective of the DMCP program is to create a software based design system which will incorporate corrosion knowledge into the current computational added design process used in the design of DoD assets. While the resulting computational tools can be applied to any DoD asset the focus during the development will be on Naval platforms. The DMCP is part of the ONR Future Naval Capability program Corrosion Mitigation Technologies and Design Integration. The software products developed as a part of DMCP are intended to incorporate design for corrosion avoidance seamlessly in the design of new systems. Incorporation of corrosion considerations early in the design process will deliver decreases in the lifecycle costs associated with corrosion. This RFI addresses three specific areas of interest. The first topic of interest is the development and deployment of software tools that can effectively convert complex geometric CAD/CAE drawings and objects into open-architecture model formats suitable for interfacing with computational algorithms. This topic addresses how existing CAD/CAE packages will interface with the DMCP. This includes definitions of geometry, materials and coatings, contact interfaces, lubricants or topical chemicals, and connectivity to components that may be defined by more than one CAD/CAE file or source. The second topic of interest is the development of robust corrosion modeling algorithms that can be applied to components during design. This topic addresses the details of how the corrosion models identified are to be incorporated into the DMCP. The materials of interest, modes of corrosion and service environments are those that are pertinent to DoD assets deployed in the seagoing environment and near-shore zones where high corrosion rates are prevalent. Robustness of corrosion analysis algorithms will be a key element of this development effort. The stated intent of the DMCP program is the development of corrosion analysis tools that can be deployed on a designer's desktop - engineering pertinence, computability and robustness are key components of such analytical tools. The target computational platform for the DMCP is at most a high end desktop workstation. Ability to work on a typical PC platform would be a valuable attribute. The third topic of interest is the development and deployment of information technology tools that select and implement the appropriate corrosion analysis algorithms for given combinations of materials and service environments. This topic involves the development of the decision aid that will take into consideration the combination of geometry, material and environment combination and will automatically select the appropriate model from those included in the DMCP. The tool development will have some level of autonomy in order to automatically select which of the multiple corrosion models is appropriate for the defined situation. It is anticipated that the DMCP corrosion analysis program will integrate corrosion analysis algorithms with DoD design guidelines for specific service environments. The important physical attributes of individual connections and components (size, location, material type, and coating) will be incorporated by that portion of the DMCP analysis tool acting on CAD/CAE geometry files. All components in the platform design will be reviewed in a systematic manner. Potentially problematic corrosion interactions will be identified and flagged for further action by the DMCP. The flagging by DMCP would require action by the designer allowing for incorporation of corrosion countermeasures or design revisions at a very early stage in the design process. The intent is to minimize corrosion risks and life cycle costs related to corrosion susceptibility prior to construction. The DMCP will be designed so that it can be applied to the platform design process early enough to allow corrective action with minimal impact on schedule and cost. It is recognized that not all offerors can address each topic. Therefore individual white papers on each of the topics listed can be submitted. White papers can be submitted on components within each topic listed. Collaboration and teaming between academic and industry partners is encouraged to achieve the technical goals and capability. An Industry Day will be held on October 12, 2011 to provide additional information and discussion on this topic. Time will be available on October 13, 2011 for discussions as detailed below. Details and registration information may be found at https://secure.onr.navy.mil/events/regdetail.asp?cid=792 Attendance is voluntary and not required to respond to this RFI; however, registration is required to attend the Industry Day. Time will be allowed during the industry day for potential offerers to interface with other interested commercial and academic parties. Time will be allocated during the industry day on October 12 for potential offerers to meet one-on-one with government technical experts. If necessary, time will be allocated on the following day (October 13) for these one-on-one meetings. Time slots will be available for sign up on a first come basis on October 12 at the check-in for the industry day. Submissions To minimize costs to potential contractors in responding to the subject announcement, each contractor is encouraged to submit an initial White Paper of no more than five (5) pages in length for each specific technology offered. A single source may submit multiple White Papers. White Papers may be submitted via e-mail to the Points of Contact Listed below. Alternatively, hard copies (1 original + 2 copies) may be mailed to the Points of Contact. All White Papers must be received by the requested due date. The Navy requests that White Papers be provided by 14 November 2011. Technology maturity and manufacturing capability shall be included. Each source should also provide a two (2) page maximum resume or curriculum vitae for the Principal Investigator. Immediate questions should be addressed in writing to Mr. Edward Lemieux, Naval Research Laboratory, Code 6130, 4555 Overlook Ave SW, Washington DC 20375. Mr. Lemieux's FAX number is (202) 767-1525and the e-mail address is Edward.Lemieux@nrl.navy.mil. White papers should also be sent to Mr. Lemieux. The secondary POC is Dr. Airan J. Perez, Office of Naval Research. Dr. Perez may be reached via conventional mail at: Dr. Airan J. Perez, Office of Naval Research, 875 North Randolph Street, Arlington, VA 22203. Dr. Perez's e-mail is airan.perez@navy.mil with a FAX number of 703-696-0934. The White Paper should also be sent to Dr. Perez by the date listed above via conventional mail or via e-mail. No phone calls please.