Atch 1 - SDAMPT On-Site Basic SOO.pdf

FA8650-21-S-5002

Attachment 1

2/10/2021

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FOUO

STATEMENT OF OBJECTIVES

FOR

SELECTION, SCREENING, DISCOVERY, AND DESIGN OF ALLOYS AND ADVANCED METALS

PROCESSING TECHNOLOGIES (SDAMPT)

1. BACKGROUND

The United States Air Force (USAF) has a longstanding need to reduce the time to market for new alloys and metals processing technologies to affordably sustain a technological advantage over adversaries. Over the next decade, the United State Space Force (USSF) intends to accelerate efforts to maintain space superiority and secure our current and future national interests in space. The Air Force Research Laboratory (AFRL), Materials and Manufacturing Directorate (AFRL/RX), Structural Materials Division (AFRL/RXC) research teams execute on-site research efforts at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base (WPAFB) addressing challenges related to the science and technology (S&T) needs of the USSF and USAF, as identified in the National Defense Strategy, the Air Force Science and Technology Strategy for 2030, and the Defense Space Strategy Summary. Metallic components typically make up >50% of airframes and >80% of turbine engines by weight. A substantial portion of this weight comes from workhorse alloys that also find use in commercial aviation and other industrial sectors, such as Inconel 718 and Ti-6Al-4V, taking advantage of economies of scale, despite better performing alloys being available for a given structural component. Many novel alloys with unique combinations of properties do not transition to use in aerospace components due to the costs of limited production runs. To circumvent the ‘valley of death’ for transitioning new alloys, affordable small batch processing is needed. Thermomechanical processing often comprises approximately half of the cost of metallic aerospace components, and the buy-to-fly ratio is often more than 20-to-1 for titanium parts fabricated from plate or sheet. Cost reductions can be achieved for workhorse aerospace alloys through pushing the limits of conventional processes, automation, and further development of near-net-shape processing technologies.

Diversifying the palette of alloys that are economically viable for USAF and USSF aerostructural components can be expected to deliver returns on investment in performance and capability.

The AFRL/RXC Metals Branch seeks to perform cutting-edge basic and applied research that rapidly transitions to USSF and USAF applications.

2. DEFINITIONS

Metallic materials are defined as pure metals, dilute and conventional alloys, high and medium entropy alloys, complex concentrated alloys or multi-principal element alloys, intermetallics, cermets, hybrids, and composites with a metal or alloy matrix. Processing is defined as the steps required to produce a metallic aerospace component, including synthesis, melting, casting, open & closed die forging, extrusion, rolling, atomization, isostatic pressing, compaction, joining, sintering, and machining. Processing encompasses all routes to component

-2-production, inclusive of powder metallurgy, wrought metallurgy, additive manufacturing, and additive-subtractive manufacturing. Property screening is defined as the determination of suitability and processability of a material for a given application, considering the applied loads and operating environment to determine functionality and feasibility of existing and future metallic materials for use in components.

3. SCOPE

The Contractor shall work daily with government scientists and engineers to conduct research and development and assist with operation of AFRL/RXC laboratories at WPAFB, OH, to address USAF and USSF needs in:

1. Modeling, simulation, and analysis of responses of metallic materials to processing routes, applied loads, fields, and environments;

2. Evaluation of the effects of composition and processing path on microstructure and material properties, including phenomena occurring under transient thermo- and chemo- mechanical conditions and extreme environments;

3. Prediction and rapid assessment of properties for the purposes of screening of novel alloy compositions and processing routes;

4. Quantitative characterization and statistical analysis of metallic microstructures, including fusion of multimodal data from modeling, destructive and nondestructive characterization, and testing;

5. Assessment and advancement of additive, additive-subtractive, metamorphic, and other advanced manufacturing approaches for metallic materials.

The contractor shall work with government scientists and engineers to prepare authoritative reports, papers, presentations, technical data, and best practices guidance for the purposes of assisting the USAF and USSF to assess new metals technologies, materials selection for emerging applications, and transition advancements in metallic materials and processing to the defense aerospace supply chain.

4. OBJECTIVE

The objective of all tasks comprising this contract are to assess new alloys and metallic materials processing technologies for potential of delivering new or improved capabilities to current and future USAF weapons systems, facilitate reductions in acquisition and sustainment costs of metallic components, assist in reducing time-to-market for transitioning of technologies to the USAF and USSF supply chain, and enable reduction of risks associated with insertion of new materials technologies into aerospace applications.

5. TECHNICAL REQUIREMENTS

This contract will consist of multiple tasks as needed to meet the program objective. Specific program thrusts will be outlined in separate task orders.

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5.1. Advance the State-of-the-Art in Aerospace Materials and Conducting Research on

Metallic Materials with High Potential Impact to the USAF and USSF (TRL 1-4)

5.1.1. Conduct technology maturation and on-site research and development at

WPAFB in support of the program scope as outlined in section 2, and coordinate research efforts with the stated priorities of AFRL/RXC and USAF.

5.1.2. Support AFRL civilian and military personnel in executing in-house research efforts in support of the program scope and objective.

5.1.3. Develop collaborations with academia, industry, and other government laboratories to perform research and development activities constructively aligned with USAF and USSF needs within the scope of this contract.

5.1.4. Utilize and improve upon established approaches and standards for conducting comparative evaluations of various metallic material systems and processes with alternative materials systems.

5.1.5. Maintain awareness of developments in relevant fields through technical exchanges with academia, industry, and other government laboratories; through monitoring relevant major domestic and international research activities; through participation in relevant conferences, workshops, and symposia; and through following relevant publications within the open literature and US government reports.

5.2. Develop and Maintain the Human Resources for Rapid Response to USAF and USSF Needs for Expertise in Metallic Materials and Processing

5.2.1. Engage with universities, other government laboratories, and industry to recruit and interact with the brightest scientific and engineering minds in the field, and to develop successful collaborations with technical and thought leaders in metallic materials.

5.2.2. Provide technical leadership within national and international metallic materials research communities in order to develop collaborative relationships to exploit technical capabilities in emerging metallic materials and processes application areas.

5.2.3. Maintain expertise through active participation in relevant projects involving the fundamentals of physical metallurgy, phase transformations, materials characterization, advanced manufacturing, process automation, high throughput and rapid assessment techniques, data science, and relevant computational techniques to rapidly deliver assessments and develop technical understandings of new and emerging application requirements and metallic materials technologies.

5.2.4. Anticipate human resource needs to execute the USAF S&T mission as it relates to this contract, identify and address skills gaps that pose a risk to successful execution of the research within the scope of this contract, and identify development opportunities to ensure the successful completion of the objectives of this contract and the broader AFRL S&T mission.

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5.2.5. Develop, implement, and execute a technician skills cross-training plan to ensure that all equipment can be operated by more than one person within the metals branch of AFRL/RX, thereby ensuring work continuity and training of future technicians.

5.3. Maintain and Improve the Research Infrastructure for Metals Processing and Screening at AFRL/RXCM

5.3.1. Support and perform research activities at Wright-Patterson AFB, OH, throughout the period of performance, with occasional use of off-site facilities as coordinated with the technical effort managers and contract manager.

5.3.2. Maintain current documentation of all equipment and capabilities within the metals processing laboratory space in AFRL/RXCM

5.3.3. Deliver expedient high quality research results, making use of project management systems that facilitate documentation and tracking of progress toward completion of tasks involved in executing the research efforts comprised in this contract, and provide assistance in identification of bottlenecks that limit research efficiency.

5.3.4. Assume responsibility for research support activities including but not limited to maintenance, upgrade, and development of specialized on-site laboratory equipment at WPAFB, fixtures, computers, databases, data repositories, and software as necessary for successful execution of research efforts.

5.3.5. Develop and initiate implementation of a laboratory modernization plan in collaboration with AFRL government civilian and military personnel to identify and prioritize research capability gaps, physical infrastructure needs, information technology capabilities, equipment maintenance and upgrade needs. Example modernization activities may include installation of programmable controllers for unattended and automated heat treatment cycles or elevated temperature hardness testing equipment, and interfacing such equipment with a data and project management system.

6. EQUIPMENT

In this effort, the contractor will have access to government-owned unique synthesis tools, thermomechanical processing and characterization facilities, and high performance computational resources to accomplish the required research. The synthesis tools include a laboratory arc melter and other lab scale synthesis facilities. The thermomechanical processing equipment includes a 1,000 ton forging press, 700 ton extrusion press, a rolling mill, a variety of instrumented furnaces (including vacuum heat treat and hot isostatic press facilities) and custom designed tension-torsion and hot compression rigs in which induction heating is used to maintain isothermal conditions. The data generated on these pieces of equipment can be used to develop and validate materials processing models which are run on local and high-performance computers. The microstructure of the materials processed in-house can be evaluated in the Materials Characterization Facility (MCF) in AFRL/RX which

-5-has a variety of analytical tools available. These include light optical, scanning electron and transmission electron microscopy, electron backscatter diffraction, energy and wavelength dispersive spectroscopy, atomic force microscopy and x-ray diffraction. These data streams can be collected, compiled, and analyzed in order to produce meaningful results.

Servohydraulic test systems can be used to screen the mechanical properties of the materials processed in-house. These tests include, but are not limited to, tension, compression, torsion, creep, and fatigue at room and elevated temperatures over a range of strain rates (e.g. ~10-5 to ~100 𝑠−1). A Gleeble 3800 Thermomechanical Simulator is available when fast heating and cooling rates are required in the presence of applied deformation (in tension, compression and torsion). A range of standard machining tools including mills, lathes and saws as well as wire electric discharge machines are available to prepare samples for processing and mechanical testing.

7. DELIVERABLES

The contractor shall deliver the following over the course of this contract:

7.1. Data in accordance with DD Form 1423-1, Contract Data Requirements List (CDRLs), as identified for each task order.

7.2. Software, as applicable and as specified on individual task orders

7.3. Reports, manuscripts, presentations, images, video files, audio files, computer codes, and other forms of documentation, as applicable and as specified on individual task orders.

7.4. Test specimens and residual material, as applicable, and as specified on individual tasks.

7.5. Hardware, as applicable, and as specified on individual tasks.

Unless otherwise specified for each task order in this contract, the Government shall have unlimited rights to data, software, procedures and manuals, reports, manuscripts, presentation materials, and material specimens delivered in the performance of the contract, such that the Government may use, disclose, publicly display, distribute, reproduce, and prepare derivative works, except for copyrighted or patented works.

8. PROGRAM MANAGEMENT AND REVIEWS

8.1. Contract administration.

8.1.1. The contractor shall exercise program, administrative, and financial management functions at the task order and project levels, including establishing activities and milestones; tracking performance, costs, and schedule; overseeing quality performance; planning; forecasting, reporting funding and funding changes; and utilize a project accounting system which can perform billing by contract accounting classification reference number (ACRN). Appropriate documentation shall be prepared and provided.

8.1.2. A formal program review shall be conducted annually within the first quarter after the conclusion of a fiscal year. Due to the nature of research work performed

-6-on-site in AFRL/RXC at WPAFB in collaboration with USAF civilian and military personnel, informal reviews of the program should be an ongoing activity. The contractor shall actively participate in research team meetings. The contractor principal investigator or program manager should establish regular meetings with the government contract and program managers.

8.2. Contract holidays. The costs include holiday observances; accordingly, the US Government shall not be billed for such holidays, except when services required of the Government are actually performed on a holiday. Federal holidays are contract holidays.

9. OPERATIONS SECURITY REQUIREMENTS

9.1. The contractor shall participate in all activities associated with the disciplines of the organization’s Industrial Security, Information Security, Personnel Security, Operations Security (OPSEC), and Antiterrorism programs, following appropriate measures in each program as required for this particular contract. Security measures are required to reduce program vulnerability from successful adversary collection, exploitation of critical information, and violations of export control requirements.

9.2. The prime contractor shall ensure all subcontractors, if applicable, conform to these requirements as required by the prime contractor.

9.3. Any potential critical program information (CPI) generated as part of this effort will be reviewed to determine the need for a PPP or to be included as part of an existing PPP.

9.4. Data Management Plan. The contractor shall submit a Data Management Plan with this proposal. Effective data management increases the pace of scientific discovery and engineering development and promotes more efficient and effective use of government funding and resources. Formal data management planning should therefore be an integral part of the research and development process. The Data Management Plan should document the stewardship of the technical data* to be used or created in the course of this proposed effort, identifying which technical data are considered necessary to validate the findings of the proposed effort. The Data Management Plan shall contain the following information:

9.4.1. A listing and discussion of the types of digital technical data to be used and/or created during the course of the project to include how the data is to be acquired, digitally processed, methods for quantification of uncertainty, and the standards to be used for data and metadata capture (Existing, accepted community standards should be used where possible. Provided metadata should be sufficient to enable someone else to reproduce the data.);

9.4.2. The file formats and file naming conventions to be used (enduring, non-proprietary, human and machine readable format and content, self-describing formats are strongly preferred);

9.4.3. Whenever possible, a description of the specific data schemata to be used;

9.4.4. Plans and criteria for delivering and/or archiving datasets, or data samples, and other digitally formatted technical data, and for preservation of access thereto;

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9.4.5. Identification of applicable access, security, and export control restrictions and controls;

9.4.6. A schedule for review and update of the Data Management Plan;

9.4.7. If, for legitimate reasons, the technical data cannot be preserved digitally, the plan shall include a justification citing such reasons.

* Technical Data (DFARS): Recorded information, regardless of the form or method of the recording, of a scientific or technical nature (including computer software documentation). The term does not include computer software or data incidental to contract administration, such as financial and/or management information.