DRAFT SOW.pdf

Characterization of Materials for Special Applications

DRAFT STATEMENT OF WORK (SOW)

1.0 BACKGROUND

The objective of this program is to provide ultra-high temperature materials testing and characterization to support materials development, design, and analysis activities in support of Naval Surface Warfare Center Carderock Division (NSWCCD) Materials for Hypersonic and Advanced Materials Branch, Code 615.

Examples of specific programs that these activities may support are including but not limited to the Missile Defense Agency (MDA) Advanced Materials Characterization Program, the MDA AEGIS Ballistic Missile Defense (BMD) Standard Missile 3 (SM3) Development Program, DARPA, Office of Naval Research (ONR), Naval Sea Systems Command, and other DoD-managed materials development programs.

2.0 SCOPE

2.1 NSWCCD requires Contractor support to provide ultra-high temperature materials testing up to and including temperatures as high as 6,000F and characterization efforts to support materials including but not limited to composite (C/C, SiC/SiC, C/SiC), ceramic (carbides, nitrides, borides), and refractory metallic materials (rhenium, niobium, tungsten) development, design, and analysis activities.

The Contractor shall support the materials characterization and testing of composite, ceramic, and metallic components, and technologies to support hypersonic vehicle materials research and development programs. This contract will allow NSWCCD to obtain unique propulsion and structural/thermal analysis support, design support, onsite test support, other high temperature materials support, analysis and phenomenological studies of high temperature material behavior, and travel/meeting support for the materials characterization work. It is anticipated that there will be a continued need for additional work to support hypersonic research in these key areas with the current customers that include, but are not limited to: MDA, DARPA, Navy SSP, Army, etc. Testing may require unique test setups and unique testing capabilities for new materials

The Contractor shall perform ultra-high temperature material characterization efforts for Department of Defense applications to include: (1) material thermal and mechanical property measurements between room temperature and 6,000F, (2) material property models, composed of the measurements, to be used in structural analysis computer codes (such as ABACUS, etc.), and (3) material property estimates as required to satisfy all inputs needed by computer codes (such as ABACUS, etc.) These materials property measurements, models, and estimates are used for the design and analysis of tactical and strategic missile components.

Additionally, the Contractor shall have specialized hypersonic ground testing support including trajectory simulation, hardware design / fabrication, instrumentation, on-site support, post-test evaluation, and development alongside flight evaluation for critical elements, including nose tips, leading edges, control surfaces and heatshields.

1. Property Characterization of High Temperature Materials, including but not limited to:

a. Rhenium, Tungsten, Niobium, Molybdenum, and other refractory metals and alloys

b. Ceramics and Ceramic Composite Materials

c. Graphite and Carbon-Composite Materials

d. Ceramic-Metal Composite Materials (or “Cermets”)

e. High-Temperature Polymeric Materials and Composites

f. Additively Manufactured Materials

g. Nickel based super alloys, Aluminum alloys, Steels, and other metal alloys

2. Support of Other Tests and Test-Related Activities at other vendors, including fabrication of specialty hardware (for example, testing in the Air Force Laser Hardened Materials Evaluation Laboratory, or “LHMEL”)

3. Procurement of Advanced Materials for Testing, and Subsequent Processing and/or Machining

4. Pre- and/or Post-Test Non-Destructive Evaluations (NDE)

5. Post-test Failure and/or Fractographic Analysis

6. Travel and Meeting Support

7. Deliverables

The Contractor shall perform tasks that fall under these categories. Some of the tasks will be continuous and others will be of limited duration. For example, the characterization of materials will be a continuous effort throughout the life of the contract, whereas support of other tests and test-related activities will require several efforts with specific time constraints; these limited efforts will occur several times during the period of the contract.

3.0 REQUIREMENTS

3.1 Property Characterization of High Temperature Materials

The Contractor shall perform mechanical and thermal property measurements on materials as directed by the Technical Instruction (TI).

3.1.1 For each material, the Contractor shall develop a test matrix appropriate for the bulk shape (plate, rod, billet, etc.) and the required level of characterization (CDRL A004).

3.1.1.1 New materials typically receive only screening characterization whereas more mature materials will be more extensively characterized.

3.1.1.2 Advanced characterization matrices may also include large numbers of tests where a significant statistical database is required.

3.1.2 Based on the requirements of the test matrices, the Contractor shall prepare cutting plans to be used for removing specimen blanks from the as-produced bulk shapes, or “billets” (CDRL A004).

3.1.3 The Contractor shall identify a procedure for tracking all materials and specimens in the program (A005).

3.1.4 The Contractor shall machine the specimen blanks and any other required hardware from the material billets.

3.1.5 Density measurements shall be made on all specimen blanks, as appropriate; velocity, open porosity, and X-ray measurements shall be performed on selected blanks as required.

3.1.6 The specimens shall be finish-machined as appropriate to the test type.

3.1.7 The Contractor shall perform the material property measurements (mechanical, thermal, etc.)

according to the TA-approved test matrices.

3.1.8 Elevated temperatures shall be selected by the cognizant TA to provide the most meaningful data from the perspectives of the applications and expected material behavior. The Contractor shall utilize vendor-owned high temperature test equipment and facilities as appropriate to the sample geometries, for example, using ring-testing facilities and equipment to test materials provided as rings or cylinders.

3.1.9 The Contractor shall conduct post-test inspection as required to document both typical and anomalous behavior. (CDRL A001 and CDRL A002)

3.1.10 Photography, optical microscopy, scanning electron microscopy (SEM), and fractographic analysis shall be used as necessary depending on the nature of the material failure or fracture mode. (CDRL A001 and CDRL A002)

3.1.11 The virgin microstructure of materials shall be analyzed (for example, by SEM) to evaluate and compare virgin and tested materials response to the test environments (load, temperature, atmosphere, etc.). (CDRL A001 and CDRL A002)

3.2 Support of Other Tests and Test-Related Activities, including fabrication of specialty hardware (for example, testing in the Air Force Laser Hardened Materials Evaluation Laboratory, or

“LHMEL”)

3.2.1 The Contractor shall support other tests and test-related activities not previously identified by the SOW. These activities could include, but are not limited to:

3.2.1.1 Rocket motor tests conducted at Aerojet-Rocketdyne, Northrop Grumman, Valley Tech Systems, and Naval Air Warfare Center Weapons Division (NAWC-WD China Lake),

3.2.1.2 Arc-heater testing at the Arnold Engineering Development Center (AEDC) or the NASA- Ames Research Center,

3.2.1.3 Air Force LHMEL high power laser facility, or other appropriate ground testing facility

3.2.2 The Contractor shall develop test protocols and hardware to achieve maximum test efficiency while meeting Navy testing goals (CDRL A001 and CDRL A002).

3.2.3 The Contractor shall participate in the development of test matrices and the selection of the test conditions for the particular material and application (CDRL A001 and CDRL A002).

3.2.4 The Contractor shall supply final machined and instrumented specimens, specimen holders and all supporting hardware associated with the specimens and models to the testing site before the testing is scheduled, as required.

3.2.5 When authorized and approved by the Contracting Officer’s Representative (COR), the Contractor shall travel and be on-site when these outside tests are performed by another Contractor. As required, the Contractor shall conduct on-site inspections of the specimens and model hardware after they are mounted in the test facility.

3.2.6 The Contractor shall carry out post-test inspections of specimens tested in the various test facilities.

The post-test inspections can include, but not be limited to photographic documentation, interpretation data, profilometry and surface morphology, surface and in-depth microstructural analyses (CDRL A001 and CDRL A002).

3.3 Procurement of Advanced Materials for Testing, and Subsequent Processing and/or Machining

3.3.1 The materials to be characterized under this effort will either be Government Furnished Material (GFM) which will be provided by NSWCCD, or the materials shall be purchased by the Contractor per the appropriate specification or description as directed by the cognizant NSWCCD TA. The procurement of materials may require the support of multiple vendors to produce the desired test material (CDRL A003).

3.3.2 The Contractor shall purchase material and machining services, as necessary, to support mechanical, thermal, or simulation tests conducted in-house and for subscale tests performed (CDRL A003).

3.4 Pre- and/or Post-Test Non-Destructive Evaluations (NDE)

3.4.1 The Contractor shall perform nondestructive evaluation (NDE) of the materials as dictated by the type and maturity.

3.4.1.1 Typical inspections and measurements could include, but are not limited to: visual inspection, bulk density, alcohol wipe, in-plane and/or a cross-ply velocity (or attenuation), X-ray, C-scan, and computed tomography (CT) (CDRL A001 and CDRL A002).

3.5 Post-test Failure and/or Fractographic Analysis

The Contractor shall assist NSWCCD in post-test failure analysis of materials tested both in-house and in subscale tests performed by other Contractors of NSWCCD. When determined necessary by the

Contractor and is in the best interest of the Navy, the Contractor shall procure consultant services with specific areas of expertise.

3.6 Travel and Meeting Support

The Contractor shall support the various team meetings for the required coordination of these efforts (as required by the TA), and to support the Navy’s Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) efforts from which many of the test materials will come. Meetings include those for SM3 and other DoD program reviews [test readiness review (TRR), preliminary design review (PDR), critical design review (CDR)], Materials Working Groups, and other Integrated Product Teams (IPTs). The Contractor shall support other Technical Interchange Meetings as required to meet the technical requirement of particular tasks. In addition, the Contractor shall prepare and present technical briefings as required for particular tasks and the cognizant TA. Travel to and from the following locations include but is not limited to:

Birmingham, AL

Huntsville, AL Lancaster, CA

Los Angeles, CA Sacramento, CA

Washington, DC Newark, DE St. Augustine, FL Elkton, MD Manchester, NH Reno, NV Cleveland, OH Dayton, OH King of Prussia, PA Manassas, VA Bordeaux, France

4.0 Deliverables

All information and property data generated on the materials shall be collected and reported in data packages as identified in the applicable CDRL. The data shall also be maintained in computer files and provided to the Navy in electronic format as required. Comparisons of properties and behaviors measured on various other materials and/or test techniques shall be compared with baseline material properties where appropriate. Required deliverables are as follows:

CDRL Number CDRL Title

A001 Technical Report- Study/Services

A002 Contractor’s Progress, Status, and Management Report (Weekly/Monthly)

A003 Performance and Cost Report

A004 Material Test Plan (Test Plan, Procedures, and Reports)

A005 GFM Inventory/Usage Log

5.0 Government Furnished Property (GFP) and Government Furnished Information

(GFI)

The COR/Alternate Contracting Officer’s Representative (ACOR) and/or TA will provide the GFP specified in Attachment TBD and GFI listed in Section 3.0 of this SOW within 30 days from time of award. Additional GFP and GFI may be provided specific to TIs.

6.0 Security

Work performed under this requirement is classified up to the SECRET level.

6.1 Controlled Unclassified Information (CUI)

The Contractor requires access to CUI in the performance of this effort. CUI is defined as information the Government creates or possesses, or that an entity creates or possesses for or on behalf of the Government, that a law, regulation, or Government-wide policy requires or permits an agency to handle using safeguarding or dissemination controls. However, CUI does not include classified information or information a non-executive branch entity possesses and maintains in its own systems that did not come from, or was not created or possessed by or for, an executive branch agency or an entity acting for an agency.

The contractor shall comply with DODI 5200.48 DOD Controlled Unclassified Information and/or local government agency policy guidance when handling CUI, and monitor CUI for aggregation and compilation based on the potential to generate classified information pursuant to security classification guidance addressing the accumulation of unclassified data or information.

Contractor personnel requiring access to CUI or user level access to US Navy information networks and systems, or to system resources providing visual access and/or ability to input, delete, or otherwise manipulate sensitive information shall have and maintain security clearance eligibility.

6.2 Security Requirements

All security requirements in SOW Section 6.0 apply to contractor employees who require any of the following: physical access to any area of a federally controlled installation, facility or activity; or access to a Department of Navy (DON) computer/network/system.

6.3 Access to Federal Facilities

Contractors are considered visitors and access to Government facilities/installations is at the discretion of the Government. The Government reserves the right to rescind access at any time.

The Contractor, while on the installation, shall comply with all policies and requirements involving installation entry control and security.

Contractor employees shall complete all command specific in-processing requirements with the Government Security Activity (GSA) upon arrival and out-process prior to departure at the completion of the individual’s performance under the Task Order.

The Contractor shall provide a personnel roster of all prime and subcontractor personnel to the COR/ACOR and the Common Access Card (CAC) Trusted Agent via e-mail no later than 30 business days following award of the Task Order. This shall be updated when changes occur, however not less than monthly.

6.4 CAC Issuance

The CAC will be used as the identification credential for on-site TO personnel. A Contractor shall possess a valid need for physical access to government facilities and/or valid need to access to DON Information Systems (IS). The COR/ACOR is the competent authority in determining whether Contractor support requires CAC issuance.

Contractor employees who are issued CACs, shall display the CAC at all times on outer garments, above the waist, when in DON spaces and remove them from view when not in DON spaces. CACs or badges shall not be worn outside the installation nor used as personal identification, unless in performance of this TO.

6.5 Access to DON Information Systems

Contractor employees who require access to DON IS or networks shall be required to obtain a

CAC.

User–Level access to DON IS is authorized when the individual has attained interim access eligibility. Continued access is contingent upon a favorably adjudicated T3 (or similar) background investigation. Completion and approval of a System Authorization Access Request Navy (SAAR-N) form is required. The decision to authorize access to a Government IS or network is inherently governmental. The Contractor supervisor or Program Manager is not authorized to sign the SAAR-N block 16, and shall be signed by the COR/ACOR.

For Contractor employees without current eligibility, the COR will provide a list of names to NSWC Carderock Security (Personnel Security) for assistance with necessary personnel security investigations.

7.0 Travel

All travel under this effort must be requested and authorized in writing by the COR, and must show the appropriate order number, the number of people traveling, the number of days for the trip, the reason for the travel, and any high or unusual costs expected. The Contractor is not authorized to perform any travel that is not in conjunction with this effort. Travel costs shall be in accordance with FAR 31.205-46 and the Joint Travel Regulations.

8.0 Non-Personal Services/Inherently Governmental Functions

The Government will neither supervise Contractor employees nor control the method by which the Contractor performs the required tasks. The Government will not direct the hiring, dismissal or reassignment of Task Order personnel. Under no circumstances shall the Government assign tasks to, or prepare work schedules for, individual Contractor employees. It shall be the responsibility of the Contractor to manage its employees and to guard against any actions that are of the nature of personal services or give the perception that personal services are being provided. If the Contractor feels that any actions constitute or are perceived to constitute personal services, it shall be the Contractor's responsibility to notify the KO immediately in accordance with FAR clause 52.243-7 Notification of Changes.