RF Anechoic Chamber
BACKGROUND
The Air Force Research Laboratory (AFRL) in Rome, NY is seeking information from sources that may be capable of providing a commercial product solution that meets or exceeds the following draft minimum specifications:
1. Specifications and Performance
Basic Physical Attributes:
The chamber shall be 28.0 ' long x 18.0 ' wide x 11.0 ' high.
The chamber shall fit into the existing lab (AFRL/RI Building 3, room I5-C) and utilize the existing door area for access.
The approximate dimensions of this room are 30’ 7.5” long x 19’ 11.5” wide x 12’ high.
The design of the chamber shall be such that the structural system will make chamber completely self-supported.
The design of the chamber shall meet seismic considerations for a Risk Category II, Importance Factor I, Site Class D, Seismic Design Category B.
The Chamber’s enclosure will meet or exceed the minimum functional requirements as listed herein. This includes but is not limited to the entire six-sided RF enclosure, the RF door, waveguides for HVAC and/or piping, and RF filters for electrical.
See Section 2 for additional details.
Applicable Specifications:
IEEE Std 299-1997 IEEE Standard Method for Measuring the Effectiveness of the Electromagnetic Shielding Enclosures
MIL-F-15733 Filters and Capacitors, Radio Frequency Interference, General Specification
ANSI/UL-1283 Standard for Safety, Electromagnetic Interference Filters
MIL-STD-220A - Method of Insertion Loss Measurement for Radio Frequency filters.
UL 1283 - Standard for Safety - Electromagnetic Interference Filters.
Code Considerations:
A. The design shall conform to functional and descriptive data as found in the most current issues of the following publications:
1. Air Force Handbook 32-1084, Standard Facility Requirements Handbook.
2. National Electric Code
3. National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) Life Safety Code NFPA 101
4. National Plumbing Code
5. International Building Code (I.B.C.)
6. Uniform Federal Accessibility Standards
7. AFI 32-1032, Programming Civil Engineering Resources.
B. Other project-specific Federal Standards (FED STD):
1. Unified Facilities Criteria (UFC)
2. DoD Unified Design Guidance
3. Regulations and/or Federal Specifications (FED SPECs) that shall be cited as applicable in the
Statement of Work (SOW) for each individual project Delivery Order (DO).
4. The Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR), regarding Green Procurement; specifically clauses FAR 23.202, FAR 23.403 , FAR 23.703
Frequency Range:
1 GHz to 40 GHz
RF Shielding Performance:
Unless stated otherwise, components are guaranteed to meet the following attenuation performances:
Magnetic: 55dB @ 10kHz, 95dB @ 200kHz, 100 dB @ 1 MHz
Electric: 100dB from 15kHz to 100MHz
Planewave: 100dB from 100MHz to 1GHz
Microwave: 100dB at 18GHz to 28 GHz
90dB from 28 GHz to 40 GHz
2. RF Shielded Enclosure Materials
Description:
The Chamber shall have Detailed drawing package for AFRL/RI approval, including up to 2 revisions.
A revision includes changes that are within the quoted scope of work, are minor in nature (e.g., adding/relocating vents, pipe pens, filters, etc.) and do not require a material design re-configuration or fundamental design change to the product.
The Chamber shall have Operation and Maintenance manual.
The Chamber shall have all intrusions documented, including their actual EMI filter amount.
The MSDS sheets of all absorber materials and adhesives used to install the materials shall be provided.
Door:
The Chamber shall include 1 reversible RF Shielded 36” Door, c/w hinges, latch points, low profile sill for equipment carts, phenolic lever handle, auto latch. 10 GHz to 40 GHz
The Chamber door shall be easily opened by anyone working in the area without the aid of electrical power or without any other mechanism that is prone to failure. Safety features will be incorporated to prevent any personnel from accidently being locked inside the chamber.
Floor:
The Chamber shall have RF floor system, with walkway from Test Bench to unit under test area.
HVAC:
The Chamber shall have (4) four RF waveguide air vents / 2 supply, 2 return, in the ceiling - sized min. 12 x 12 each, For attachment of HVAC ductwork by AFRL.
Power, Communications, RF Penetrations and Filters:
Power & Penetrations
All power shall be filtered external to the Chamber before entering Chamber.
The Chamber shall have adequate grounding for all equipment and Test Bench, which is UL certified and complies with all local building codes.
The Chamber shall have a single point ground.
The Chamber shall N number of 110V 20 Amp circuits located near the Test Bench, a transmitter location, and positioner location.
The Chamber shall N number of 220V 50 Amp circuits located near the Test Bench, a transmitter location, and positioner location.
Communication, Connectors & Penetrations
Any communications cabling penetrating the Chamber’s perimeter shall be fiber optic cable.
The Chamber Shall have N number of:
10/100/1000 Base T Ethernet Fiberoptic Filters
GPIB Fiberoptic Feedthrough
USB Fiberoptic Filters
RS232/485 Fiberoptic Filters
BNC RF Coaxial Feedthroughs
SMA RF Coaxial Feedthroughs
TNC RF Coaxial Feedthroughs
RF
The Chamber Shall have a bulkhead Panel, for mounting RF Feedthroughs
N Port Fiber Optic Feedthrough, for up to 40 GHz applications
N number of NPT Brass Feedthrough Waveguides (Up to 6.5 GHz)
Alarms, Sprinkler and Sprinkler Interface:
The Chamber shall have a Fire Alarm c/w filter.
The chamber shall have (6) sprinkler heads inside, piped through the ceiling with piping for single point connection, For attachment of sprinkler piping by AFRL/RI.
Sprinkler specifications:
Quick response
Upright heads in the pendant position
11.2 k-factor minimum
Maximum spacing 9 ft with maximum of 80 sqft of coverage per head (0.6 gpm/sqft)
Sprinkler drops minimum of 11" below tip of the absorber (for 22" absorbers)
Location and design of the sprinklers inside chamber shall be such as to minimize RF Shielding Performance negative impacts.
Lighting:
The Chamber shall have N number of LED lights, c/w any fixtures to illuminate inside chamber.
The Chamber shall have a battery powered emergency lighting, c/w any fixtures.
The Chamber shall have an illuminated emergency exit sign.
Locations of all lights/fixtures inside the Chamber shall be such as to minimize RF Shielding Performance negative impacts.
3. Absorber Materials
The Chamber shall have complete coverage of all internal walls, ceiling, floor, any vents, etc. with absorber to meet RF Shielding Performance.
The Chambers absorber material shall be:
Pyramidal Polystyrene absorber
Closed Cell, uniform carbon loading, light weight
Resistant to humidity
Compliant with fire retardancy ISO 11925-2 Class E
Power handling 600 W/sq m
4. Chamber’s Internal Equipment
Test Bench:
The Chamber shall contain QTY 1 Electrostatic Discharge Compliant Test Bench
Includes LED lights to illuminate entire bench and power strip running the length of the bench with outlets.
Power strip plugs in standard wall outlet.
Test Bench location such that such as to minimize RF shielding performance negative impacts.
Future Considerations:
The Chamber shall provide considerations (Power and Signal) for future equipment.
QTY 1 Positioner (Quote as an Option):
QTY 1 Hardened HD Camera System (Quote as an Option):
5. RF Acceptance Testing
The Chamber shall be Certified for RF Shielding Effectiveness at 1 GHz, and 40 GHz, to IEEE 299, and a Certified report shall be provided.
6. Freight to: Rome, NY 13441
7. Installation
Vendor will utilize only factory-trained personnel for the erection of the anechoic chamber. Workmanship will be consistent with the highest industry standards and/or commercial practices.
AFRL/RI will provide direction/support from electricians.
Electrical from building to Chamber will be performed by AFRL/RI
AFRL/RI will provide direction/support from HVAC and Fire Suppression.
HVAC from building to Chamber will be performed by AFRL/RI
Fire Suppression system from building to Chamber will be performed by AFRL/RI
HOW TO RESPOND TO THIS NOTICE
In responding to this notice, please DO NOT PROVIDE PROPRIETARY INFORMATION. Please include only the following information. Submit the response by email to the Primary Point of Contact at the bottom of this notice as soon as possible, and preferably before the closing date and time of this notice.
Provide the complete name of your company, address, name of contact for follow-up questions, their email, their phone number and, if your company has an active registration in https://sam.gov, your company’s CAGE code.
Identify equipment that your company sells that is of the nature addressed in the BACKGROUND section of this notice. Include brand name, make, model, and/or other distinguishing information.
State if your company is the manufacturer of the identified equipment or is a retailer or wholesaler that normally sells the identified equipment. If the latter, indicate whether the manufacturer authorized in writing for your company to sell the identified equipment on behalf of the manufacturer.
Describe performance capabilities and relevant or beneficial physical and functional features for any equipment you identified to satisfy the AFRL-identified minimum specifications described in this notice.
Identify any aspects of the AFRL sources sought notice, including instructions, and draft minimum specifications in the BACKGROUND section above that could be viewed as unduly restrictive or contain unnecessary barriers that adversely affect your ability to fully participate and indicate why. In such a scenario, please offer suggestions for how the market research notice and draft minimum specifications could be made more inclusive and competitive.
For the NAICS code listed in this notice:
Indicate whether your company is (a) a small business or (b) other than small business.
If you believe the NAICS code listed in this notice is not the best NAICS code for the type of product addressed in this notice, identify an alternative NAICS code that you believe would be more appropriate for the planned procurement.
Describe services that are available with the purchase of the aforementioned equipment from your company such as installation, training, and equipment maintenance.
Describe standard terms and conditions of sale offered by your company for the aforementioned equipment such as: delivery time after your company accepts the order; FOB shipping terms: manufacturer warranty (including details regarding nature and duration); if available, description(s) of available extended warranty; equipment setup and test; operator and service instruction manual(s); cleanup after installation; and if applicable, other offered services.
State whether the aforementioned equipment is manufactured in the United States and, if not, state the name of the country where the equipment is manufactured.
Identify any customers in the public or private sectors in which you provided the aforementioned or similar equipment.
Provide any other information that you believe would be valuable for AFRL to know as part of its market research for this requirement.
State if you require AFRL to provide additional information to improve your understanding of the Government’s requirement.
QUESTIONS REGARDING THIS NOTICE
Questions regarding this notice may be submitted via email to the Primary Point of Contact listed in this notice.
IMPORTANT NOTES
The information received in response to this notice will be reviewed and considered so that AFRL may appropriately solicit for its requirements in the near future.
This notice should not be construed as a commitment by AFRL to issue a solicitation or ultimately award a contract.
Responses will not be considered as proposals or quotations.
No award will be made as a result of this notice.
AFRL is not responsible for any costs incurred by the respondents to this notice.
AFRL reserves the right to use information provided by respondents for any purpose deemed necessary and appropriate.
FA875123R0012 Department of the Air Force Materiel Command Research Laboratory
6/15/23, 7:22 AM RF Anechoic Chamber
This solicitation seeks firm fixed price quotes to design, manufacture, install, test, and document an unclassified radio frequency shielded anechoic chamber meeting specifications provided. The procuring agency is the Air Force Research Laboratory located in Rome, New York. The chamber must operate effectively from 1-40 GHz, include various features and penetrations, and meet military shielding standards. Quotes are due by January 17, 2024 and will be evaluated based on price and technical capability, with award intended without discussions.
There is no set-aside designation. The NAICS code is 332999 for other communications equipment manufacturing with a small business size standard of 750 employees. The place of performance is Rome, New York, with anticipated delivery to be determined. The solicitation provides responses to questions from potential offerors to clarify requirements and seeks a single chamber as well as installation, operation manuals, and test reports from the selected contractor.
FA875123R0012 Department of the Air Force Materiel Command Research Laboratory
8/17/23, 7:16 AM