Differential Scanning Calorimeter and a Thermogravimetric Analyzer

AMENDMENT ONE (1): The purpose of this Amendment is to release answers to quesitons to this Sources Sought Notice. Therefore, the attached Q&A document is amended to this SSN. All other terms and provisions remain unchanged. END. INTRODUCTION This is a Sources Sought notice. This is NOT a solicitation for proposals, proposal abstracts, or quotations. The purpose of this notice is to obtain information regarding the availability and capability of qualified business sources. This notice is strictly for market research and information purposes only. Your responses will assist the Government in determining the appropriate acquisition method, including whether a set-aside is possible. NIST is seeking responses from all responsible small business concerns. Small businesses are defined under the associated NAICS code for this effort, 334519 (Other Measuring and Controlling Device Manufacturing), as those domestic sources not exceeding the average number of 600 employees. Background: The Infrastructure Materials Group (IMG) of the Materials and Structural Systems Division (MSSD) in the Engineering Laboratory (EL) of the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) studies the durability and service life of materials, components, and systems composing US buildings and road- and waterways, and pipelines for resilient infrastructure. MSSD currently performs thermal analysis of infrastructure materials to understand thermal characteristics relevant to their use. Differential Scanning Calorimetry (DSC) is a system that measures heat flow signals to allow users to better understand thermal events (chemical reactions, phase transitions, glass transitions, etc.) of materials. MSSD uses DSC to understand the thermal characteristics of infrastructure materials as they relate to processing, for example the cure kinetics of thermoset polymers and kinetics of the setting of cementitious materials. MSSD uses DSC also to investigate field performance, for example temperature-based transitions (e.g., glass-transitions) which may influence behavior. Thermogravimetric Analysis (TGA) is a system that measures the weight/mass of a sample as a function of temperature. Changes in mass are indicative of reactions. MSSD uses TGA to understand the degradation of infrastructure materials with temperature, volatiles evolved in processing, and other compositional information (e.g., carbon content). The MSSD currently owns and operates a DSC - Q 2000 and TGA - Q 500, which were manufactured and produced by TA Instruments - Waters. The DSC Q 2000 and TGA Q 500 are at the end of their service life. A new DSC and a new TGA are therefore required. Scope of Requirement: NIST is seeking information from all responsible small business concerns capable of developing and producing a new differential scanning calorimeter with sub-ambient cooling capability and a new thermogravimetric analyzer. These new systems will replace the existing, outdated DSC Q 2000 and TGA Q 500 instruments. A dedicated DSC for measuring the heat flow into samples as a function of time and temperature is required. Similarly, a dedicated TGA is required to measure the mass loss of samples as a function of time and temperature. The two instruments are required to ensure accurate measurements and flexibility in their use, i.e., running experiments on the two instruments simultaneously. The Contractor shall deliver a quantity of one DSC and associated computer system, a quantity of one (1) cooling system for the DSC, and a quantity of one (1) TGA and associated computer system. The delivery shall be inclusive of FOB Destination delivery, installation, warranty and training. Minimum Requirements: The Contractor shall provide a system that meets, or exceeds, all technical specifications identified below. All items must be new. Used or remanufactured equipment will not be considered for award. Experimental, prototype, or custom items will not be considered. The use of - gray market components that are not authorized for sale in the U.S. by the Contractor are not acceptable. All line items shall be shipped in the original manufacturer's packaging and include all original documentation and software, when applicable. Requirement 0001: DSC and the Associated Computer System Description: The contractor shall provide a DSC and computer for running the instrument and subsequent thermal analysis, in accordance with the essential characteristics identified in this Statement of Requirements. The DSC shall be a heat flux design, as opposed to a power compensated design. The DSC shall have a large temperature range, as specified, for versatility in testing the wide variety of infrastructure materials (e.g., gasket materials of pipe joints, cementitious materials). The DSC shall have a robust cell and a flat instrumental baseline with low variability between runs, as specified. This reduces the need for blank runs, ensures observed changes in heat flow reflect the sample rather than the instrument during an experiment, and permits comparable signals across experiments. The instrument shall meet or exceed the following specifications. Quantity: 1 A. Technical Specifications of the DSC a. Heat flux design b. A temperature range of the DSC from -150'C or lower to 725'C or higher. c. Heating rate range from 0.2'C/min or slower to 50'C/min or higher. d. Temperature accuracy of - 0.05'C or smaller and temperature precision - 0.005'C or smaller. e. Accommodates at least two integrated and installed gasses simultaneously (i.e., the gasses shall be supplied by the Government). f. A DSC cell with warranty. g. Baseline flatness ?5 - W and baseline repeatability <10 - W over a temperature range of -50'C to 300'C, without baseline subtractions. h. Capable of modulated DSC i. Sine wave amplitude range: 0.05'C or lower (quasi-isothermal) to 3'C. ii. Sine wave period range: 10 s or lower to 200 s or higher. i. An autosampler featuring at minimum 30 positions. j. An instrumental touchscreen for ease of viewing instrument status k. Platinum and aluminum DSC pans. l. DSC standards for calibration featuring certified indium reference material and sapphire. B. Technical Specifications of the Associated Computer System a. Compatible with the quoted instrument and analysis software b. Consists of the Windows Operating System c. Contains a Flat Panel Monitor with at least a 24 in. dimension. C. Software Requirements a. Software must be compatible with historical data generated by the Infrastructure Materials Group with the older TA Instruments - Waters DSC Q 2000 and associated software that is being replaced. b. Software license for unlimited users c. Capable of performing thermogram analysis, e.g., glass-transition fitting, calculation of onsets, endsets, and enthalpies of transitions and reactions, determination of reaction peak temperatures, heat capacity analysis; capable of exporting graphs. The software shall be compatible with the Q-series .00X files that have been produced from the existing TA-Waters unit for which this requirement shall replace, namely the software shall be able to open and process them or convert them to a file format which is usable by the software. Requirement 0002: Cooling System for the DSC Description: The contractor shall provide a refrigerated cooling system that must be compatible with the DSC instrument and software, in accordance with the following essential characteristics Quantity: 1 A. Technical Specifications of the Cooling System a. A refrigerated cooling system capable of not requiring the use of consumable liquid nitrogen. b. The system shall be able to achieve a minimum temperature of -90'C. c. The system shall be able to cool the materials being analyzed from a temperature of at least 500'C. d. The system should be able to cool at an average rate of 20'C/min, from 500'C to 20'C, or faster. Requirement 0003: TGA and the Associated Computer System Description: The contractor shall provide a TGA and computer for running the instrument and subsequent thermal analysis. The TGA shall be capable of running modulated TGA and high resolution TGA, so that complex thermal events of materials can be thoroughly examined by gravimetric analysis. The TGA shall meet or exceed the following specifications. Quantity: 1 A. Technical Specifications of the TGA a. A temperature range from the ordinary, ambient, temperature of an environment or lower to 1000'C or higher. b. Heating rate range from 0.1'C/min or slower to 100'C/min or higher. c. Ability to provide temperature accuracy and temperature precision to - 1'C. d. Accommodates at least two integrated and installed gasses simultaneously. e. Contains a TGA furnace with a warranty. f. Mass resolution 0.1 - g or less over the range of 50'C to 1000'C, with no baseline subtractions g. Baseline weight drift 25 - g or less over the range 50'C to 1000'C, with no blank subtractions h. Has a sample weight capacity and dynamic weighing range of 1000 mg or more? i. Capable of modulating the temperature with the following features: i. Sine wave amplitude range: 0.05'C or lower (quasi-isothermal) to 10'C or higher ii. Sine wave period range: 100 s or lower to 500 s or higher j. Contains high resolution capability. i. High resolution TGA will provide possible use of a variety of techniques to examine thermal events more precisely, including isothermal or quasi-isothermal hold programmability and capability, and the mass-loss informed/controlled heating rates. k. Capable of recording a differential thermal analysis (DTA) signal l. Contains an autosampler with a minimum of 20 different positions. m. Contains a platinum and aluminum TGA pans to fill the autosampler positions. n. Contains a TGA calibration set featuring Curie temperature reference materials. B. Technical Specifications of the Associated Computer System a. Compatible with the instrument and analysis software b. Consists of a Windows Operating System c. Contains a Flat Panel Monitor with at least a 24 in. dimension. C. Software Requirements a. Software must be compatible with historical data generated by the Infrastructure Materials Group with the older TA Instruments - Waters TGA Q 500 and associated software being replaced. b. Software license for unlimited users c. Capable of performing thermogravimetric analysis with graphical methods using plots of mass, time, and temperature, e.g., analysis of mass, mass loss, e.g., percentage mass loss, rate of mass loss, determination onset and endsets points of reactions, and the analysis of the DTA signal for reaction information (e.g., DTA enthalpy of reaction calculations); capable of exporting graphs. The software shall be compatible with the Q-series .00X files that have been produced from the existing TA-Waters unit for which this requirement shall replace , namely the software shall be able to open and process them or convert them to a file format which is usable by the software. QUESTIONS REGARDING THIS NOTICE Questions regarding this Sources Sought Notice may be submitted via email to Mr. Hunter Tjugum, Contract Specialist, at contact@example.gov. Questions are due by or before 3:00 PM ET on April 18, 2024. Questions will be anonymized and answered via sources sought notice amendment following the question submission deadline. RESPONSE INSTRUCTIONS All responsible small business sources able to provide the supply and services described above are asked to email a response to Mr. Hunter Tjugum, Contract Specialist, at contact@example.gov by or before 3:00 PM ET on April 25, 2024. Respondents should include the following information in the response: 1. Name of company authorized to provide services, along with their address and a point of contact for the company (name, phone number, and email address). 2. The company's primary NAICS, size classification, and socio-economic status (i.e., Small Business, Woman Owned Small Business, Service-Disabled Veteran Owned Small Business, etc.). 3. Specific description of experience and capabilities in relation to the requirements identified in this notice. 4. Information on any GSA Federal Supply Schedules (FSS) or other Government-wide contracts through which the company offers these services, if applicable. 5. Any other relevant information that is not listed above which the Government should consider. Responses are limited to a maximum total of five (5) pages in MS Word or searchable PDF format. IMPORTANT NOTES This notice is not to be construed as a commitment by the Government to issue a solicitation or ultimately award a contract. Responses will not be considered as proposals or quotes. No award will be made as a result of this notice. The Government will not be responsible for any costs incurred by the respondents to this notice. The Government reserves the right to use information provided by respondents for any purpose deemed necessary and legally appropriate. No proprietary, classified, confidential, or sensitive information should be included in your response; however, NIST will recognize as restricted or proprietary data which is clearly marked such.