REQUEST FOR INFORMATION (RFI) Deflagrated Products

Request for Information for Deflagrating Products Responses Accepted: Until 12:00 PM (Central Standard Time) on 10 May 2019. INTRODUCTION: This is an invitation to participate in a conference call/meeting. The purpose of this request is to have discussions between the Jacksonville District Corps of Engineers (CESAJ), the US Army Engineer Research and Development Center (ERDC), the marine blasting industry, dredging companies, and companies which manufacture deflagrating products. These discussions will be considering the viability of using low explosive/deflagrating products in an aquatic environment to pre-treat (fragment) bedrock prior to excavation (dredging). This is not a solicitation for proposals and no contract will be awarded from this notice. Responses to the posted invitation to participate are voluntary and the Government will not reimburse respondents for any costs incurred to participate. Event Date: May 14, 2019. Time: TBD. Participants interested in attending must reply to the following expressing their interest to particpate no later than 12:00 p.m. CST Time, May 10, 2019. keary.o'flaherty@usace.army.mil Jody.R.Criss@usace.army.mil Omar.G.Flores@usace.army.mil David.V.Senor@usace.army.mil NO QUESTIONS WILL BE ANSWERED DURING THIS NOTICE PERIOD. The reply must include the following: Agency/Company Name: Participant(s) Name(s) and email address(es): Telephone Number: Location: Teleconference. A call in number will be sent to the participant(s) upon receiving notification of interest to participate. The Jacksonville District Corps of Engineers (CESAJ) is planning several dredging projects, which have bedrock within their dredging prisms. Typical dredging equipment is unable to break up or remove material in the rock formation; therefore, alternative means are required to fracture the rock and enable dredging in these areas. Conventional high explosives are a common solution for rock demolition, but they are a challenge in this application due to environmental restrictions related to the resultant shock effects in sensitive aquatic environments. Deflagrating products (DPs), also known as low explosives (LEs), have been identified as a possible harmless alternative to high explosives (HEs). DPs do not detonate (no shockwave produced), and therefore they produce much lower impulse and lower amplitudes as compared to high explosives, with the anticipated result being benign impact on marine life from deflagrating products, which has basis in limited previous research. The purpose of conducting this research effort is to determine if these products can be used as a substitute for high explosives, when necessary in order to protect marine life and/or nearby structures, due to the lower vibration levels associated with LEs. Still, the effectiveness for rock fracture and the acceptability of their use in Jacksonville's scenarios of interest has yet to be validated. Conventional high explosives have been proven to be effective, and many blasting experts consider detonation shock wave as an essential element in fracturing rock; however other blasting experts do not agree with the shockwave assertion, believing that expansive gasses produced from deflagration can satisfactorily fracture rock by exploiting naturally existing rock fissures, without the need for detonation shock wave. Regardless of these different viewpoints, blasting in the aquatic environment is more complex than the terrestrial environment for several reasons: Higher powder factors (more explosives) are needed to overcome the high hydrostatic pressure being applied to the bedrock at the bottom of a harbor environment; drilling boreholes and loading holes is more challenging, with angled drilling being very limited (angled drilling is a means for improving explosives performance); furthermore, pressure waves tend to propagate in an aquatic environment making them a significantly larger concern than in a terrestrial environment, where these same waves tend to attenuate relatively quickly; therefore, more research is necessary to determine if LEs can be safely and effectively applied as a substitute for HEs in a harbor environment, where more challenges and limitations exist. This is a Request for Information (RFI) only, as defined in FAR 15.201(e), and seeks to identify existing industry capabilities for the generation of requirements and standards. This RFI is for planning purposes to obtain situational awareness for requirements, standards, delivery, integration, or other market information. This RFI is not a request for competitive proposals or quotes therefore, responses to this notice are not considered offers or quotes and cannot be accepted by the Government to form a binding contract. Companies that respond will not be paid for the information submitted. No telephone calls will be accepted requesting a bid package or solicitation. There is no bid package or solicitation. Please do not submit any classified information. INDUSTRY DAY MEETING ON DEFLAGRATION PRODUCTS RFI: The purpose of this meeting is to facilitate discussions between the CESAJ, the ERDC, the marine blasting industry, dredging companies, and companies, which manufacture deflagrating products regarding the viability of using these products in an aquatic environment to pre-treat (fragment) bedrock prior to excavation (dredging). The CESAJ and ERDC have been conducting research on the feasibility of using these products. This research has included two phases of field investigations, referred to as Phase I and Phase II, respectively. Phase I was conducted in a terrestrial environment as a proof of concept investigation to establish the ability of these products to fracture rock, as compared to high explosives. Phase II was conducted in an aquatic environment to obtain information on the underwater acoustical signatures of the products compared to high explosives, and also to establish their basic functional abilities in an aquatic environment. The CESAJ undertook this research effort because deflagration products are believed to have reduced impacts on the environment as compared to high explosives. This is essential when working in sensitive areas, but scientific data on their use in the aquatic environment were inadequate; therefore, it was inherent that marine blasting companies would be hesitant to use them on a large scale without more evidence of their viability and the Corps would be hesitant to use them without evidence of their environmental advantages. Industry Day discussions are expected to provide all of the interested parties with a perspective different from their own, and is anticipated to be beneficial for all participating parties. The meeting will be structured to occur in two sessions: 1. Session I will be conducted by CESAJ and ERDC in order to provide background information on Phase I and Phase II testing. A question and answer session will be included at the end. The entire session is expected to last approximately 1 hour. 2. Session II will be comprised of individual breakout discussions and session will enable the CESAJ, ERDC, marine blasting contractors, and others to have discrete conversations with each deflagration company. Conversations are expected to last approximately 1 hour each and will be conducted sequentially.