FA9101-25CoaxialThermocouple - Sources Sought Final.pdf

DEPARTMENT OF THE AIR FORCE

HEADQUARTERS AIR FORCE TEST CENTER

(AFMC)

9 December 2024

MEMORANDUM FOR VENDORS REGISTERED UNDER NAICS CODE 334519 – OTHER

MEASURING AND CONTROLLING DEVICE MANUFACTURING

FROM: AFTC/PZI (Arnold)

Attn: Robert T. Mosley 100 Kindel Drive Suite A332 Arnold AFB TN 37389-1332

SUBJECT: FA9101-25CoaxialThermocouple – AEDC Tunnel 9 Coaxial Thermocouple Requirements - Market Research / Sources Sought

1. Disclaimer

THIS SOURCES SOUGHT IS FOR INFORMATIONAL PURPOSES ONLY. THIS IS NOT A

REQUEST FOR QUOTATION / PROPOSAL (RFQ / RFP). THIS SOURCES SOUGHT DOES

NOT CONSTITUTE A SOLICITATION AND SHALL NOT BE CONSTRUED AS A

COMMITMENT BY THE GOVERNMENT. RESPONSES IN ANY FORM ARE NOT OFFERS

AND THE GOVERNMENT IS UNDER NO OBLIGATION TO AWARD A CONTRACT AS A

RESULT OF THIS ANNOUNCEMENT. NO FUNDS ARE AVAILABLE TO PAY FOR

PREPARATION OF RESPONSES TO THIS ANNOUNCEMENT. ANY INFORMATION

SUBMITTED BY RESPONDENTS TO THIS TECHNICAL DESCRIPTION IS STRICTLY

VOLUNTARY. THIS NOTICE SEEKS INFORMATION ON COMMERCIAL OFF THE

SHELF ITEMS

2. Introduction

This Sources Sought is a request to gain more information to see what vendor has the ability to provide Coaxial Thermocouples that meet the specifications noted in Section 4 – Required Capabilities and Specifications.

The result of this market research will contribute to determining the method of procurement for a five (5) - year IDIQ contract, if a requirement materializes. Based on the responses in regards to this Sources Sought notice / market research, the requirement may result in a single source acquisition, may be set-aside for small businesses (in full or in part), or may be procured through full and open competition. Telephone inquiries will not be accepted or acknowledged, and feedback or evaluations may or may not be provided to companies regarding submissions.

3. Program Background

The majority of the heat transfer measurements made in the AEDC Hypervelocity Wind Tunnel 9 facility have been collected using coaxial thermocouples mounted directly into a stainless steel substrate (15-5PH or 17-4PH stainless steel) test article. Typical wall thickness of the steel substrate generally ranges between 0.25”- 0.5”, and the interior volume to route lead wires can be limited. These installation limitations require the sensor length to be similar to the wall thickness, and the transition from the sensor shell to the lead wires must occur close to the base of the sensor.

Finally, a thin layer of temperature sensitive paint is often applied directly on the wind tunnel model after the coaxial thermocouples have been installed and contoured to the test article.

Type-E, Chromel-Constantan, coaxial thermocouples have been successfully utilized for over 30 years in the unique and stressing Tunnel 9 hypervelocity test environment due to their high durability, fast-response times, and their ability to be contoured to the outer mold lines of the test article. Surface temperature response is acquired during the test run using a coaxial thermocouple and the heat transfer is derived using the coaxial thermocouple temperature data as a boundary condition to a finite-differencing solution of the transient heat conduction equation for a finite thickness wall.

4. Required Capabilities and Specifications

1. NIST-traceable Type-E, Chromel-Constantan thermocouple materials (outer sheath

Chromel and inner pin Constantan)

2. Outer sensor cylinder diameters of 0.061” and 0.031”

3. Sensor length options of 0.375” and 0.5” or longer

4. The sensor length may be trimmed down for installation in thinner walls or to fit into limited internal volume of the model without adverse effects to sensor operation

5. Sensor to be installed into test article using adhesives such as Loctite #271 or #620

6. Sensor can be contoured to outer-mold-lines of a test article after adhesive fully cured

7. Thermocouple junction at the outer surface of the model created by abrasion (file and/or sand paper).

8. Fast response time to metal wall surface temperature changes, typically on the order of microseconds

9. Transition from coaxial thermocouple body to lead wires to occur close to body, approximately 0.15 or less”

10. Any strain relief applied between the coaxial thermocouple body and lead wires cannot be larger than the cylindrical diameter of the coaxial thermocouple body

11. Lead wires from coaxial thermocouple assembly to be provided as Type-E thermocouple wire. Lead wires should be no larger than 30 AWG Teflon insulated solid wires.

5. Eligibility

The applicable NAICS code for this requirement is 334519 – Other Measuring and Controlling Device Manufacturing, with a Small Business Size Standard of 600 Employees. The Product Service Codes (PSC) is 6685.

6. Submission Details

Interested vendors should submit a brief capabilities statement package demonstrating their ability to provide a product that meets the specifications listed in Section 4 – Required Capabilities and Specifications. If your company has the ability to provide a product that meets the required specifications, please provide the following information:

1) The organization’s name, address, primary point(s) of contact email address(es) & telephone number(s), website address, Cage Code, DUNS # and business size (small or large).

2) A tailored capability statements addressing the specifications of this notice with sufficient documentation supporting the vendor’s claim on their ability to provide a technically acceptable product.

a. Respond to each of the characteristics/features as standard or non-standard.

b. Respond with the method provided to meet the non-standard characteristics/features.

c. Provide a specification sheet of the product solution for characteristic/feature comparison.

d. Provide a statement about product warranty.

e. State if your product has been utilize in a hypersonic wind tunnel testing environment or other similar application as described above? If so, what applications, facilities and/or organizations have they been utilized?

3) Provide the expected delivery lead-time for 30, 60 or 90 sensors.

4) Provide budgetary pricing to support the vendor’s claim (shipping costs shall be included).

a. AEDC White Oak 10905 New Hampshire Ave.

Silver Spring, MD 20903-1050

5) Indicate if your company is an authorized distributer or the actual manufacture.

6) The submission should outline the vendor’s available contract vehicle(s) to obtain the product: GSA (provide schedule), Open Market (SAM.gov), etc.

The vendor’s response to this Sources Sought shall be electronically submitted to the Contracting Officer, Robert T. Mosley:

- Email: robert.mosley.3@us.af.mil o Email Subject Line Reference: FA9101-25CoaxialThermocouple – AEDC Tunnel 9 Coaxial Thermocouple Requirements

- Response Date: 10 January 2025, 1:00 PM Central Time

- DO NOT SUBMIT CLASSIFIED MATERIAL.

- All data received in response to this Sources Sought that is marked or designated as corporate or proprietary will be fully protected from release outside the Government and technical team.

Attachments:

- N/A

ROBERT T. MOSLEY

Contracting Officer mailto:robert.mosley.3@us.af.mil