Procuring Testing Services and Simulated Service Environments for Agricultural NH3 Nurse Tanks

This notice is amended to provide the link to Notice I.D. 326-02 - https://beta.sam.gov/opp/7fdefe1ac8b64333b84028f212f49cf6/review BACKGROUND: The U.S. DOT's Volpe National Transportation Systems Center (Volpe) is currently conducting a research study to analyze the fatigue life of agricultural anhydrous ammonia (NH3) nurse tanks of interest under normal operations. The purpose of the research is to determine if the NH3 nurse tank requirements dictated by the hazardous materials regulations (HMR) provide an equivalent level of safety as the requirements for other cargo tanks. The HMR currently allows specification cargo tanks to operate indefinitely if periodic inspection and requalification of cargo tanks are met through 49 CFR Part 180. Some cargo tanks have been operating for 30+ years, without incident; however, no information or data exists on whether these cargo tanks would exceed the tanks useful life (i.e., the endurance limit) for the remainder of their operations. Nurse tanks, a subset of cargo tanks, are exempt from 49 CFR Part 180 if they meet American Society of Mechanical Engineers (ASME) code specifications and commodity limitation requirements. In recent years, the performance of NH3 nurse tanks has been questioned. There have been cases where nurse tanks have failed and caused significant hazardous materials (hazmat) release to the environment and affected public safety. Information on nurse tank performance is limited, since the current HMR exempts nurse tanks from periodic hydrostatic tests at test pressure during periodic intervals and no cyclic tests are required for these tanks. The ultimate goal of this Volpe study is to use simulation and modeling technologies to analyze the fatigue life of NH3 nurse tanks of interest/concern to inform the Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration (PHMSA) on whether potential changes to the HMR are needed to protect public safety. It is anticipated that the study will include obtaining NH3 nurse tanks and running gear test specimens from manufacturers, retailers, or current owners of such equipment, conducting full-scale nondestructive and destructive testing, and developing finite element (FE) engineering models of nurse tanks using data collected from the full-scale testing. A subsequent phase is expected to include using the FE models to evaluate the performance of nurse tanks under a variety of conditions. The type and quantity of tests to be performed in this study are both currently unknown. Some potential types of tests include: nondestructive hydrostatic testing with instrumented (e.g. strain gages, pressure transducers) NH3 nurse tanks, destructive hydrostatic testing (e.g. hydrostatic burst testing of tanks) with instrumented NH3 nurse tanks, and actual or simulated service conditions (e.g. filling/emptying, on-road and off-road dynamic loads, etc.) for a nurse tank mounted on running gear. The availability of tanks of various designs (e.g. varied capacity, materials of construction, vintage, manufacturer, etc.) with or without running gear are unknown. Due to the potential large and diverse fleet of nurse tank designs, Volpe seeks to subject a variety of NH3 nurse tanks of different ages and design details to a variety of tests, as practical. Performing a variety of tests on a variety of NH3 nurse tanks is planned to help determine whether nurse tanks of different designs exhibit similar behaviors under a variety of conditions that may be encountered during service. SCOPE: Volpe is seeking responses to this RFI from federal laboratories, academic and research institutions, entities that currently perform testing or inspections on NH3 tanks (nurse tanks or other DOT specification tanks), NH3 nurse tank owners, NH3 nurse tank users, and any consulting firms with the capability and experience in conducting experimental testing on pressure vessels and/or dynamic vehicle tests. Responses may address the following items that Volpe finds critical to conduct the agricultural NH3 nurse tank study: Descriptions of your facility, equipment, experience, test capacity and staff preparedness for testing and/or inspecting NH3 nurse tanks or other DOT specification tanks. Experience and capability for conducting hydrostatic tests to failure (i.e. burst) of ASME specification pressure vessels. Experience and capability for developing a load spectrum representative of - typical NH3 nurse tank service environment. Of particular interest is information related to the number of load/empty cycles an NH3 nurse tank experiences in a given period of time, how many miles and at what speeds the tank is transported via paved roads, how many miles and at what speeds the tank is transported via unpaved roads, and how many trips a given tank may make in a given period of time. Experience and capability for conducting field measurements on in-service agricultural equipment, prior work done in this type of environment, and information related to challenges associated with conducting field measurements on in-service agricultural equipment. Experience and capability for conducting simulated service environment testing and data collection of towed highway vehicles in both roadway and off-road environments. Recommendations for instrumentation for measuring service loads, strains/stresses, internal pressure, or other quantities of interest from NH3 tanks in an actual or simulated service environment. Experience and capability for handling anhydrous ammonia within a tested tank during non-destructive testing. Experience conducting tests and inspections on NH3 tanks (whether nurse tanks, DOT specification tanks, or other specification tanks). Of particular interest is experience related to the types of indications or outcomes observable using different testing and/or inspection techniques, typical reasons for NH3 tanks requiring repair or removal from service, and any observations related to whether NH3 nurse tank inspections result in different indications from other types of NH3 tanks you may have experience with. Recommendations on test requirements, number of repeated tests to establish repeatability, instrumentation, and post-test examination for non-destructive (e.g. hydrostatic) tests. Recommendations on test requirements, types of component-level tests to be conducted, number of repeated tests to establish repeatability, instrumentation, and post-test examination for destructive (e.g. burst) tests. Recommendations on test requirements, spectrum of load conditions, critical inputs, duration to establish repeatability, instrumentation, and post-test examination for in-service or simulated service condition tests. Recommendations on variations in NH3 nurse tank design (e.g. capacity, vintage, materials of construction) or nurse tank running gear design that could be included in matrix of test articles (see related RFI on tank and running gear procurement - Notice I.D. 326-02 - https://beta.sam.gov/opp/7fdefe1ac8b64333b84028f212f49cf6/review). Respondents need not provide information on all of the above items, partial responses will be appreciated as well. Any other comments that can help Volpe better define the research scope and direction and ultimately yield technical data beneficial to both the government and the industry are welcome. Please note the related RFI on procuring tank and/or running gear specimens from agricultural NH3 nurse tanks - Notice I.D. 326-02 - (https://beta.sam.gov/opp/7fdefe1ac8b64333b84028f212f49cf6/review). This is a long term requirement with both immediate and future needs. As such, Volpe encourages respondents to submit their information by June 18, 2021, so that the information may be immediate, but also encourages responses through the end of November 2021. This is a Request for Information (RFI) to be used for market research purposes only. This is not a Request for Quote (RFQ). This notice is issued solely for informational and planning purposes and it does not constitute a promise to issue an RFQ in the future. Responses to this RFI are not considered offers or proposals and the Government will not award a contract based on this RFI. The Government is not soliciting for proposals and will not accept unsolicited proposals. Respondents are advised that the Government will not pay for the information submitted in response to this RFI or any costs incurred in responding to this RFI. All costs associated with responding to this RFI will be solely at the interested parties' expense. It is the responsibility of the potential responder to monitor the website for additional information pertaining to this requirement. All responses must be sent electronically via email to the Primary Point of Contact and Secondary Point of Contact listed on this posting. Any other responses, such as mail or telephone, will not be accepted.