BAA-RQKPD-2015-0001-Call3-NOCA.pdf

NOTICE OF CONTRACT ACTION (NOCA)

For

BAA-RQKPD-2015-0001 Call#3

CERTIFICATION OF COMPOSITES – COMPOSITE AIRFRAME LIFE EXTENSION

BROAD AGENCY ANNOUNCEMENT TITLE: CERTIFICATION OF COMPOSITES –

COMPOSITE AIRFRAME LIFE EXTENSION

BROAD AGENCY ANNOUNCEMENT TYPE: This is Call #3 to the Open Broad Agency Announcement

BROAD AGENCY ANNOUNCEMENT NUMBER: BAA-RQKPD-2015-0001 Call#3

AMENDMENT TOPIC TITLE: “ASSESSING THE DURABILITY AND DAMAGE

TOLERANCE OF ADVANCED COMPOSITE STRUCTURAL FEATURES”

TECHNICAL POC: Dick Holzwarth, AFRL/RQVS, Phone 937-656-8825, email:

richard.holzwarth.1@us.af.mil. Mailing address: 2790 D ST, B20065 R300W, Wright-Patterson

AFB, OH 45433

CONTRACTING POC: Ryan Huffman, (Primary), Contract Negotiator, (937) 713-9927, email: ryan.huffman@us.af.mil; Jennifer Kleiv, (Secondary), Contracting Officer, (937) 713- 9975, Email: jennifer.kleiv.1@us.af.mil. Mailing address: AFRL/RQKPD, Bldg. 45, Area B, 2130 8th St., Wright-Patterson AFB, OH 45433-7801

BACKGROUND

This is a NOCA informing potential offerors of the upcoming third Call for the “Certification of Composites – Composite Airframe Life Extension” acquisition.

The “next generation” of DoD tactical and mobility aircraft will have to meet very challenging goals for performance, affordability and economy of operation. The airframe weight reductions sought to achieve these goals will require revolutionary airframes implementing composite materials applied to structural concepts not in use in Air Force aircraft today. There are significant technical issues related to verifying the initial and continuing airworthiness of such structures are sufficient to meet the lifetime structural integrity requirements of the United States Air Force. Similar issues exist with respect to certification of composite structure for civilian aircraft.

The Air Force Research Laboratory intends to execute a technology development and demonstration initiative to reduce the scope of the technical effort required to establish the initial and the continuing airworthiness of airframe structure manufactured from advanced composite materials. The long term objective of this effort is to reduce the risk of implementing large scale, unitized composite structures in future airframes. The program will identify and select, develop, and demonstrate technology which will improve our ability to assess and predict, control and increase the structural integrity of composite structure as a function of its constituent mailto:Pat.Marshall@wpafb.af.mil mailto:Pat.Marshall@wpafb.af.mil mailto:ryan.huffman@us.af.mil mailto:jennifer.kleiv.1@us.af.mil materials, configuration, features, and manufactured state, and as influenced by its known history and expected future service environment and loads.

Technologies of interest will reduce reliance on empirical methods for demonstrating design requirements have been exceeded, and will increase reliance on analytical methods to assess the airworthiness of composite structure with respect to future, and perhaps unanticipated, usage requirements. Technologies of interest will provide Air Force airframe structural integrity experts with the capability to safely extend the service lives of existing composite airframes.

Technologies of interest will allow airframe designers and airframe airworthiness experts to extend the principles of damage tolerant design to composite airframe structures, but without absolute reliance on mechanical fastening techniques.

The overall intent of the program is to equip all those involved in the design, development, manufacture, maintenance, and management of composite airframe structure with better decision making information regarding the actual or likely airworthiness of such structure, at any time.

The program will not attempt to make or promote changes in air vehicle structural integrity requirements, nor will it attempt or promote changes in certification standards. It may, however, produce technical data that would substantiate appropriate changes. Such technical data will be provided to appropriate airworthiness authorities for their review, and if appropriate, action.

OBJECTIVE

The contractor shall demonstrate the use of recent advances in modelling the durability and damage tolerance of advanced composite structures to predict the onset and propagation of failure in advanced composite structures due to cyclic loading through the design and test of Common Feature Test Components. The contractor shall design the CFTCs to be similar to aircraft structure with respect to configuration and features, but shall design the CFTCs to allow failure initiation and propagation during the testing proposed to achieve the objectives of the program. The contractor shall predict the initiation and propagation of failure(s) the CFTC will experience due to the application of varying cyclic fatigue loads. The contractor shall produce CFTC articles for testing under varying cyclic fatigue loads. The contractor shall compare the predictions of damage initiation and propagation in the CFTCs to the results obtained from CFTC article testing to assess the performance of the selected models and make recommendations for additional development and improvement if necessary. The contractor shall document the technical results of the program through required reports and presentations to industry.

The 4 specific objectives of this program are as follows:

1.) Predict the durability and damage tolerance of structural features of advanced composite airframes.

2.) Demonstrate the accuracy and performance of selected durability and damage tolerance predictions.

3.) Demonstration of the robustness of the selected durability and damage tolerance predictive methods.

4.) Document and report results to relevant U. S. government agencies and U. S. Industry.

OPSEC

Operations Security (OPSEC) must be an integral part of our daily activities. As we maintain security on our future technologies that are vital to national interest, we must recognize and prepare for the threat poised against our technology. Department of Defense policies mandate a high degree of security throughout the acquisition process. However, heightened security awareness and threat-based countermeasures are particularly essential during the research and development phase when our technology is most vulnerable to espionage, sabotage, or exploitation. It is the obligation of each employee or persons involved on this contract be constantly aware of and strictly adhere to security requirements designed to protect sensitive unclassified and other information and resources produced by acquisition, research and development, and technological security efforts outlined in this NOCA. The contractor shall ensure employees receive training and follow appropriate Operations Security (OPSEC) measures during the performance of the contract.

PROGRAMATIC

A Cost-Reimbursement/Fixed Fee contract type is contemplated with one $2,200,000 award for a 24 month effort, 21 months for the technical effort and 3 months for the final report. The anticipated amount is an estimate only and is NOT a promise of funding. Funding is uncertain and is subject to change. Changes in availability occur at the discretion of the Government.

A one step process will be used for this solicitation. As such, a full technical and cost proposal will be requested from the upcoming BAA/SOO announcement.

DO NOT SUBMIT ANY DOCUMENTATION AT THIS TIME. THIS IS NOT A CALL FOR

WHITEPAPERS OR PROPOSALS. ANYTHING RECEIVED OTHER THAN CAGE CODE

AND BUSINESS SIZE WILL BE DISREGARDED.