V3242018_SSJ_V1_Redacted.pdf

Procurement Request No. V3242018

V220T.12 (01/15)

DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

OFFICE OF THE ASSISTANT SECRETARY FOR RESEARCH AND TECHNOLOGY

VOLPE NATIONAL TRANSPORTATION SYSTEMS CENTER (VOLPE CENTER)

ENVIRONMENTAL MEASUREMENT AND MODELING DIVISION, V324

SOLE SOURCE JUSTIFICATION

A. Description of Supplies/Services. The Advanced Acoustic Model (AAM) is a suite of computer programs that predicts far-field noise for single or multiple flight vehicle operations of fixed wing or rotary wing aircraft. It is a time simulation model, evolved from Noisemap Simulation Model (NMSim) and the Rotorcraft Noise Model (RNM) that computes time varying noise levels for each stepin a user-defined flight trajectory. It also fits within the current NOISEMAP system of aircraft noise modeling, and will eventually replace NOISEMAP as updated noise sources are developed. The AAM was specifically developed in response to a need to address nonlinear sound propagation and complex directivity patterns from modern high thrust combat aircraft.

The Air Force Civil Engineer Center (AFCEC) is transitioning aircraft noise prediction modeling from the integrated-based NOISEMAP to the simulated-based AAM. The transition to AAM affords an improved representation of aircraft noise from military aircraft. However, during the transition, AFCEC has identified numerous enhancements which would make the NOISEMAP software more usable and user friendly. Given the continued use of NOISEMAP during the transition period, coordinated AAM and NOISEMAP enhancements which would make the software more usable and user friendly are warranted. The Volpe Center is tasked with testing these enhancements and communicating this information to AFCEC. The Volpe National Transportation Systems Center (Volpe Center) is providing subject matter expert review of all noise modeling algorithms, simulations, and data methodologies as part of this process. In particular, the Volpe Center is tasked with testing these enhancements and communicating this information to AFCEC.

The specific objective of this work is for Wasmer Consulting, the sole contractor with rights to the copyrighted NOISEMAP source code and experience with the AAM software to implement specific enhancements which would make the NOISEMAP software more usable and user friendly.

B. Market Research. Market research was conducted by the Volpe Center technical lead, Cynthia Lee, to determine potential firms suitable for conducting this support. Volpe staff are active in a number of groups/organizations such as the SAE Technical Committee A-21 “Aircraft Noise Measurement and Aircraft Noise/Aviation Emission Modeling” the Transportation Research Board Committees including ADC40 “Committee on Transportation Noise and Vibration” and multiple FAA ASCENT projects. Through these activities, Volpe technical staff are aware of the active researchers, firms and participants and their skillsets and capabilities. As the proprietary owner of the NOISEMAP software and online distribution website, Wasmer Consulting was identified as the only firm able to meet the project needs.

Wasmer Consulting is a small business software development firm specializing in scientific and engineering applications for DOD, aerospace, aviation, and industrial clients. Wasmer Consulting’s projects include: NMPlot, an application for analyzing and displaying gridded data sets; NMGF, a standard file format for storing georeferenced gridded data; and BaseOps, a graphical user interface for the NOISEMAP suite of aircraft noise models; .

C. Supporting Rationale.

(1) Sole Source: Only one responsible source and no other supplies or services will satisfy agency requirements.

(i) Volpe has conducted an assessment of the useability of NOISEMAP to model fixed-wing aircraft and nonlinear propagation effects for tactical military jets. As the sole developer with rights to the copyrighted NOISEMAP software source code, Wasmer Consulting is in the unique position to to implement specific enhancements which would make the NOISEMAP software more usable and user friendly and coordinate these enhancements into AAM.

(ii) Not contracting with Wasmer Consulting will result in limiting the usability of NOISEMAP and thus AAM. The Volpe Center risks the following consequences if Wasmer Consulting is not contracted to perform the work described in the

SOW:

• No other research institute is known to have the experience with both AAM and NOISEMAP; and

• The Volpe Center's ability to improve the usability of NOISEMAP. It is in the Volpe Center's best interests to to implement specific enhancements which would make the NOISEMAP software more usable and user friendly, only possible with the support of Wasmer Consulting, to Volpe, AFCEC, and other DOD stakeholders.

(2) Brand Name: N/A.

Procurement Request No. V3242018

V220T.12 (01/15)

(3) Unusual and Compelling Urgency: N/A.