Solicitation_Q&As.pdf

Environmental Chamber – Questions and Answers

Solicitation 2017-N-66798

1. SOW section 2)(b)(i)(2)(b) requires 2 receptacles, one per side wall, but section 2(b)(i)(3)(g) says a total of six (6) are required. Please clarify.

Answer: As noted in the SOW, the 2 receptacles required under section 2(b)(i)(2)(b) are for the interior walls of the chamber. Also as noted in the SOW, the 6 receptacles required under section 2(b)(i)(3)(g) of the SOW are for the exterior walls of the chamber.

2. SOW section 2(b)(ii)(3)(b) requires the chamber to “maintain stable condition with up to three people in the chamber…”. Fresh air make-up is a complicated and costly thing to provide throughout the temperature range of this chamber. On the most recent chamber solicitations, the government specified a temp/humidity range at which personnel could be present in the chamber and fresh air is required, and when operating outside said range no fresh air was required as no personnel were present. It is not reasonable to expect people inside a chamber operating at 70C/90% rh, or at -60C. Another complication of this chamber is jamming three people into this tiny 6’x6’ chamber and maintaining stable temp & humidity conditions. On a previous chamber, the government required an ante-room vestibule which was a fractional volume of the main chamber to mitigate fluctuation during entry, again within a range of human tolerance. This tiny chamber would have an ante-room almost as large as the main chamber, and also the same size door as a big chambers.

Answer: As per the recommendation, section 2(b)(ii)(3)(b) shall be revised to state: “The chamber will have to maintain a stable, specified temperature and humidity condition between -29oC and 38oC, in the presence of up to two three people inside the chamber (who are performing test system set-up).”