B-2 RFQ SON.pdf

Statement of Need

Freeze Thaw Chamber for Fiber Reinforcer Polymer Project

BACKGROUND:

The National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) Engineering Laboratory (EL) Materials and Structural Systems Division (MSSD), with the cooperation of industry, studies the durability and service life of polymer systems and engineering materials used in infrastructure applications. NIST is working on a Fiber Reinforcer Polymer (FRP) project and one of the key research areas of this project is to understand the long-term aging properties of FRP when exposed to environmental conditions.

Environmental conditions typically consist of thermal and humidity cycles and conditions can vary widely depending on geographic location. NIST requires a freeze/thaw chamber that can closely mimic thermal cycling conditions experienced in the field.

To reproduce these conditions as closely as possible, the chamber must be able to control temperature and humidity over a large range, including temperatures as low as -20°C. The acquisition of this chamber will expand MSSD environmental testing capabilities, which are critical for collaboration with FRP research being performed in industry and the standards community. In addition to FRP testing, MSSD will benefit from the use of the freeze/thaw chamber for accelerated weathering of various infrastructure materials. This unit will be used to study FRP composite assemblies in the “Earthquake Risk Reduction in Buildings and Infrastructure” program as well as infrastructure materials following accelerated weathering exposure.

PURPOSE:

The purpose of this acquisition is to procure one freeze/thaw chamber as detailed in the product requirements below.

PRODUCT REQUIREMENTS:

The contractor shall provide one stand-alone freeze/thaw chamber that meets the following minimum requirements:

1. The freeze/thaw chamber shall have the ability to control temperature between -- -20°C and 100°C.

2. The chamber shall be able to control relative humidity between 10-95% in the temperature range of 20°C and 95°C. Humidity shall be controllable in increments of 1%.

3. The freeze/thaw chamber shall have a minimum internal volume of 25 cu ft and a maximum internal volume of 50 cu ft.

4. The chamber shall have a minimum of five (5) shelves. Each shelf shall have a minimum capacity of 100 lbs. The shelves shall be separated by a distance of 5”.

The shelves shall be a minimum of 20”x 35”.

5. Temperature accuracy shall be + or – 2 °C. Humidity accuracy shall be + or – 5

% RH.

6. The external dimensions shall not exceed a height of 80” and width of 105” with a minimum dimension of 60” high and 90” wide.

7. The interior shall be constructed of stainless steel or other non-rusting material.

8. The chamber shall have overheating and overcooling protection.

9. Chambers shall run off a 120 V power supply. A power transformer shall be provided by the contractor if the chamber does not come standard with a 120 V power supply. This transformer shall be internal to the unit.

10. The chamber shall be supplied with appropriate filters to purify municipal water prior to supply of water to the chamber or supplied with water from a reservoir which may be manually filled. This reservoir must have the capacity to supply humidity water for a minimum of seven days.

11. Chamber shall have a programable controller and shall come with an operations and maintenance manual which describes how to program the chamber to temperature and humidity requirements.

12. Chamber shall be able to output recording of temperature and humidity data over time.

13. The chamber noise level shall remain under 65 Db.

14. The chamber shall include at least 20 rectangular containers for immersion of concrete specimens in water during freezing. The dimensions of these containers shall be (L x W x H = 362 mm [or a greater length that does not exceed the depth of the chamber] x 108 mm x 108 mm) or include spacers to achieve these dimensions.

WARRANTY REQUIREMENTS

The freeze/thaw chamber shall have at least a one-year warranty which covers all parts, labor, and travel. Warranty shall commence upon successful delivery, installation, and training.

DELIVERY REQUIREMENTS

The contractor shall deliver the required product F.O.B Destination to the address below at a time mutually agreed upon between the contractor and the NIST Technical Point of Contact (TPOC), but within 120 days after receipt of order.

NIST Shipping and Receiving 100 Bureau Drive Building 301 Gaithersburg, MD 20899

Note: The NIST Gaithersburg, MD campus is under limited access restrictions due to COVID-19 and deliveries are only accepted when arranged in advance. Prior to shipment, the Contractor shall request approval of delivery method and procedures with the NIST TPOC. Additionally, the Contractor shall send pictures of the actual items by email to (and confirm receipt and conformity of the pictures by) the NIST TPOC prior to ANY shipment to NIST. The pictures must include, at a minimum, a picture of the actual item in the unopened retail packaging from the original equipment manufacturer as well as a picture that shows the item in the packaging in which it will be shipped to NIST.

Contractor failure to send (and confirm receipt and conformity of) these pictures, or to confirm delivery method and procedures, shall release the Government of any liability and may result in payment being withheld until the campus access restrictions have been lifted and the item can be physically inspected.

F.O.B destination means that the contractor shall pack and mark the shipment in conformance with carrier requirements, deliver the shipment in good order and condition to the point of delivery specified in the purchase order, be responsible for any loss of and/or damage to the goods occurring before receipt and acceptance of the shipment by the consignee at the delivery point specified in the purchase order; and pay all charges to the specified point of delivery.

INSTALLATION, OPERATIONAL CHECK, AND TRAINING REQUIREMENTS

Following delivery and at a time mutually agreed between the Contractor and NIST when the NIST campus is open, the Contractor shall install the freeze/thaw chamber at the NIST site, perform an operational check in the presence of NIST employees, and provide training to NIST employees on how to use the product.

The Contractor is responsible for all travel, labor, parts and tools, etc. required to perform installation, operational check, and training. The Contractor shall perform all connections to electricity, water, and any other required connections are sound during the installation and operational check. NIST will make the connection outlets available to the Contractor for this purpose.

For the operational check, the freeze/thaw chamber shall be powered on, run, and checked for proper operation in accordance with manufacturer specifications. The unit shall be successfully run through a minimum of two freeze/thaw cycles, two humidity cycles and one cycle independent of temperature before the operational check is determined to be successful. Upon successful completion of the operational check, the Contractor shall provide a writing record to NIST which states that the unit is functioning in accordance with manufacturer specifications. This document may be a pdf file or a printed document.

Finally, the Contractor shall remove all trash associated with the installation process.

Note: The Contractor is responsible for providing appropriate identification at the NIST Security Office to obtain access to campus. To access the campus by car, the Contractor must register their vehicle(s) with the NIST Security Office. A valid driver’s license or Government-furnished civilian ID, as well as proof of insurance and current vehicle registration must be presented to the NIST Security Office, at which time a NIST vehicle pass will be issued. The pass shall be displayed on the vehicle in accordance with NIST Security Office instructions.

INSPECTION AND ACCEPTANCE

Inspection and acceptance shall take place in two phases as follows:

1. Delivery

NIST shall review the photographs taken before shipment of the ordered products in their original packaging and in the packaging for which they will be shipped to NIST. Upon confirmation of delivery by the NIST Shipping & Receiving Division, and verification that received packaging is in conformance with photographs provided before shipment, delivery shall be accepted.

2. Installation, Operational Check, and Training

Upon successful completion of installation, operational check, and training, as identified in the Installation, Operational Check, and Training Requirements section above, NIST will accept the rest of the order in full.

PAYMENT SCHEDULE

Payment shall be made on a NET 30 basis following receipt of a proper invoice in accordance with a negotiated firm fixed payment schedule. The firm fixed price payment schedule shall include two installments: 1) Delivery and 2) Installation, Operational Check, and Testing.