Cone Calorimeter Requirements Final.pdf

Statement of Need / Required Specifications Cone Calorimeter with Annual Maintenance

Background The Engineering Laboratory (EL) at the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) promotes U.S. innovation and industrial competitiveness by advancing measurement science, standards, and technology for engineered systems in ways that enhance economic security and improve quality of life.

The Flammability Reduction Group (FRG) within the EL develops, advances, and deploys measurement science to reduce fire hazard to building contents and construction materials. The FRG carries out mission-related measurement science research and services to reduce material ignition probability, fire growth and spread, and environmental impacts; and develops codes and standards for cost-effective, fire-safe building contents and construction materials. The FRG requires a device to assist with its research of measuring oxygen consumption under forced combustion among materials and products.

Purpose The purpose of this acquisition is to procure a Cone Calorimeter device to measure heat release rate, mass loss rate and visible smoke release rate for materials and products using oxygen consumption calorimetry according to ASTM E1354-17. The cone calorimeter will be used to run tests on multilayered specimens with the NIST developed “Cube test” sample holder.

Description of Requirements

Base Requirements (CLIN 0001)

The contractor shall provide one (1) Cone Calorimeter in accordance with the following salient characteristics. Specifically, the contractor shall provide an instrument system that meets the following technical specification requirements. The Contractor shall deliver the instrument to the NIST Gaithersburg Campus and provide warranty/support and training as described below.

CONE CALORIMETER

1.1 The cone calorimeter shall be compliant with ASTM E1354,including a gas analyzer for oxygen, carbon monoxide/carbon dioxide.

1.2 The distance between the cone heater and the supporting plate (plate on which the specimen pan is sitting in a horizontal test configuration) shall reach a value of at least 170 mm.

1.3 The load cell shall allow the use of specimen/specimen holder assemblies of at least 2.5 kg.

1.4 The instrument shall come with software which is able to mark custom events (including name of event and time) during experiments. The instrument and software shall include an electronic product manual that at minimum indicates the instrument specifications and software procedures.

GAS ANALYZERS

1.5 The gas analyzer shall measure the volume fraction of carbon monoxide (CO), carbon dioxide (CO2), and oxygen (O2) by the principle of non-dispersive infrared (NDIR) absorption according to ASTM E1354 requirements.

1.6 The gas analyzer shall provide an analog signal output for each gas channel.

1.7 The gas analyzer shall measure CO over a total range of 0 ppm to 3000 ppm. The gas analyzer shall measure CO2 over a total range of 0 ppm to 30,000 ppm.

1.8 The variation of output signal for each channel of the gas analyzer shall be less than 1% of the smallest range for the channel.

1.9 For each channel of the gas analyzer, the zero drift of the output signal over a period of 1 week shall be less than 1% of the measurement range.

1.10 For each channel of the gas analyzer, the span drift of the output signal over a period of 1 week shall be less than 1% of the measurement range.

1.11 For each channel of the gas analyzer, the repeatability of the output signal shall be less than 1% of the measurement range.

1.12 For each channel of the gas analyzer, the deviation from a linear response shall be less than 0.5% of full scale.

1.13 The gas analyzer shall be capable of responding to a step change of 90% of full scale in less than 20 seconds.

1.14 The gas analyzer shall be equipped with an internal pressure sensor for pressure correction.

1.15 The gas analyzer shall have an auto-calibration feature.

1.16 The gas analyzer shall have an Ethernet or Serial communications interface.

1.17 The O2 gas analyzer shall be of the paramagnetic type with a range from 0 to 25 % oxygen

1.18 The O2 analyzer shall exhibit a linear response and drift of not more than ±50 ppm of oxygen over a period of 30 minutes.

1.19 The analyzer shall have noise of not more than 50 ppm of oxygen (root-mean-square value) during this same 30 min period.

1.20 Since oxygen analyzers are sensitive to stream pressures, the stream pressure shall be regulated (upstream of the analyzer) to allow for flow fluctuations, and the readings from the analyzer compensated with an absolute pressure regulator to allow for atmospheric pressure variations.

1.21 The oxygen analyzer shall have a 10 to 90 % response time of less than 12 seconds. For example, if there is a sudden variation of O2 between 10 to 90%, the response time shall not exceed 12 seconds.

CALIBRATION

1.22 The Gas Analyzer shall be factory calibrated and a calibration certificate for the analyzer shall be provided at time of delivery.

ADDITIONAL REQUIREMENTS

1.23 Raw signals from sensors in the cone calorimeter shall be available in real time.

1.24 Power Availability. The following are required:

• Voltage: 110 V OR 220 V

• Phase: Single phase

• Frequency: 60 (Hz)

• Utility connections: Compressed cylinders for nitrogen and span gas

WARRANTY AND TECHNICAL SUPPORT REQUIREMENTS

The Contractor shall include a one-year, standard warranty for the purchased equipment. The warranty shall include labor, spare parts, consumables, travel, cost and liability for returns, software updates and manuals during the warranty period.

With the warranty, the Contractor shall also provide one year of technical instrument and application support for the Cone Calorimeter. Technical Support shall include technical telephone or web conferencing response for service support as well as software and hardware telephone support by factory trained engineers available during normal business hours.

Technical requests shall be resolved within one (1) week and inquiry responses shall be submitted within two (2) business days.

OPTIONAL REQUIREMENTS

The following Optional Requirements may or may not be exercised at the sole discretion of the Government in accordance with FAR 52.217-7: Option for Increased Quantity – Separately Priced Line Item (for CLIN 0002) and FAR 52.217-9: Option to Extend the Term of the Contract (CLINs 0003 – 0006).

Optional Spare Cone Heater Assembly (CLIN 0002)

2.0: The contractor shall provide a Spare Cone Heater Assembly if this option is exercised. The Spare Cone Heater Assembly shall meet the following requirements:

2.1. The spare cone heater assembly shall comply with ASTM E1354-17 specifications.

2.2 Contractor assembly and installation is not required. However, instructions on how to replace a failed cone heater assembly with the spare cone heater assembly shall be provided.

Optional Maintenance Service (CLINs 0003 – 0006)

3.0 If options are exercised, the contractor shall provide maintenance service for the cone calorimeter for up to three (3) one-year performance periods.

3.1 The Contractor shall provide one preventative maintenance visit per year for troubleshooting and calibration. The Contractor shall be available for technical instrument and application support for the Cone Calorimeter. Technical Support shall include technical telephone or web conferencing response for service support as well as software and hardware telephone support by factory trained engineers available during normal business hours. Technical requests shall be resolved within one (1) week and inquiry responses shall be submitted within two (2) business days.

3.3 The Contractor shall be responsible for safely accessing the NIST campus if the Contractor is required to come to the NIST campus for any warranty-related repairs.

Travel No travel will be reimbursed.

Delivery Requirements

The Contractor shall deliver base requirement (cone calorimeter) and requirements associated with Optional CLIN 0002, if exercised, to the NIST Gaithersburg, MD campus. Deliveries shall be made F.O.B. Destination within the timeframes identified in the Period of Performance Section of this document.

Deliveries shall be made to the National Institute of Standards and Technology at the address identified below. Delivery shall be coordinated with the NIST TPOC.

National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) 100 Bureau Drive Building 301 Shipping & Receiving Gaithersburg, MD 20899-0001

FOB Destination means: 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.

Period of Performance Base requirements shall be delivered at a mutually agreed time between June 1, 2022 and September 1, 2022. Installation and training must be completed within one month after delivery and no later than October 1, 2022 and warranty shall commence on October 1, 2022. Delivery shall be made in accordance with the Delivery Requirements section of this document.

If the optional requirement at CLIN 0002 is exercised, the spare cone heater assembly shall be delivered within four weeks after contractor receipt of option exercise. Delivery shall be made in accordance with the Delivery Requirements section of this document. Optional CLIN 0002 may be exercised at time of award or anytime by or before 5:00 PM ET on December 31, 2022.

If the optional maintenance requirements at CLINs 0003 – 0006 are exercised, they shall be valid for the periods as follows:

CLIN 0003: October 1, 2023 – September 30, 2024 CLIN 0004: October 1, 2024 – September 30, 2025 CLIN 0005: October 1, 2025 – September 30, 2026 CLIN 0006: October 1, 2026 – September 30, 2027

Installation Requirements (CLIN 0001 Only)

Installation and assembly of the CLIN 0001 instrument shall be performed by the Contractor within one month after delivery and no later than October 1, 2022. The contractor shall provide a vendor technician to perform the installation onsite, performing equipment setup and turnkey installation.

The instrument shall operate to manufacturer’s specifications upon installation and in accordance with the Inspection and Acceptance criteria described below. Immediately following installation, the contractor technician shall execute a standard PMMA sample on the instrument to confirm it works properly.

Calibration shall be carried out and comply with the requirements specified in Section 10.2 in the following Federal reference guide, “User’s guide for the cone calorimeter” located online at:

https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/GOVPUB-C13-db032cd616af7cca1da43c3508ff7c63/pdf/GOVPUB-C13-db032cd616af7cca1da43c3508ff7c63.pdf

Training The Contractor shall provide a training session for up to three (3) NIST personnel. The training shall be conducted on the NIST campus in Gaithersburg, MD. Training shall be provided to include, at a minimum, training on operation, maintenance and troubleshooting of the cone calorimeter system delivered. The Contractor shall adhere to campus access in accordance with the protocols identified in the section on Safety. Training shall be provided within one month of instrument delivery receipt and after the installation of the instrument to the electrical and hood system. Training must be completed by October 1, 2022.

Inspection & Acceptance

The NIST TPOC will inspect delivered products immediately following installation, or at any time not exceeding seven (7) business days after installation, to ensure that the instrument conforms to all requirements identified in this Statement of Need. If all requirements are met in accordance with the technical specifications identified above the product shall be accepted. The Contractor has the right, at its expense, to be present during the inspection.

Optional maintenance services, if exercised, shall be accepted upon receipt of written verification of the associated service period being in full effect.

SITE ACCESS AND SECURITY REQUIREMENTS

NIST is a federal facility and access is controlled at all entrances to the campus. Only Government employees may grant access to non-Government employees. All non-Government employees must be registered with security prior to site access. Non-Government employees must be escorted by Government employees at all times. Please refer to the following web site for additional Visitor Information http://www.nist.gov/public_affairs/visitor/

COVID 19 Safety Requirements:

Contractor personnel shall follow NIST Visitor and Contractor Protocols for Mitigating COVID-19 Exposure on NIST Campuses as identified at this link: https://www.nist.gov/about-nist/visit/nist-visitor-and-contractor-protocols-mitigating-covid-19-exposure-nist-campuses

Contractor personnel shall also conform to the current NIST health checklist and travel advisory requirements located at https://www.nist.gov/media/583331 (updated weekly).

It is the Contractor’s responsibility to be familiar with these sites and any updates made to them during the course of the requirement. If Contractor personnel are unable to meet all requirements for campus access identified at the link, services will need to be rescheduled and shall be rescheduled at the Contractor’s expense.

V. Payment Schedule

The contractor shall be paid, in accordance with Net 30-day payment terms, upon receipt and acceptance of a proper invoice in accordance with the following terms:

• 100% after receipt, inspection, and acceptance of base deliverables and optional deliverables if they are exercised

• Maintenance services, if exercised, may be invoiced in full for the relevant maintenance period after verification is received that the service period is in effect.

http://www.nist.gov/public_affairs/visitor/ https://www.nist.gov/about-nist/visit/nist-visitor-and-contractor-protocols-mitigating-covid-19-exposure-nist-campuses https://www.nist.gov/about-nist/visit/nist-visitor-and-contractor-protocols-mitigating-covid-19-exposure-nist-campuses https://www.nist.gov/media/583331