FOUO - SSJ_PWT_LCI _1_May_2020- Col G Signed-Redacted-Final_Redacted.pdf

Sole Source (Including Brand Name) Justification - Simplified Procedures for Certain Commercial Items

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AFTC/PZI (Arnold) is the contracting agency and organizational activity responsible for this proposed contracting action. The contracting officer is Robert Mosley.

This document is a Justification for Other Than Full and Open Competition with intent to award to ABB Inc., 514 Progress Dr. Ste G., Linthicum Heights, MD, 21090-2214, as the only responsible source. The proposed contract vehicle is a firm fixed price contract, in accordance with FAR 16.202-1. Contract deliverables include two commercial-off-the-shelf (COTS), field- proven turnkey replacement Load Commutated Inverter (LCI) control systems (including the labor, materials, documentation and training) that are fully compatible with the existing ABB power electronics hardware. The anticipated award date is June 31, 2020. The anticipated delivery date is 12 months ARO.

Procurement package FA9101-20-R-0003/FA9101-20-C-0040 has been prepared to acquire the materials, expertise, and necessary labor which are sufficient to replace the obsolete control systems in the two ABB MEGADRIVE LCIs that are used to operate the two 60,000 horsepower Main Drive motors, M2 and M3.

Without M2 and M3, the 16-foot wind tunnels in PWT (critical to national defense programs and in extremely high demand) cannot operate. The downtime required to perform this work must be kept to an absolute minimum (no longer than two weeks) as 16T is completely booked in FY21 with Major Defense Acquisition Programs and FY22 is starting to fill up. AEDC has already been forced to turn away 1-2 customers per month with medium to high priority tests as they are out-prioritized by other, more urgent, national needs.

The power sections and cooling systems of the ABB MEGADRIVE LCIs are in very good condition and sustainable for the next 15+ years. However, the control section (including the controller – Model No.

ABBPSR2) is obsolete. The control system has been in operation for over 16 years. The hardware and software design of the ABB MEGADRIVE LCI, including control and safety algorithms and interfaces, are company proprietary. Replacement parts are no longer obtainable, and repair is no longer possible. Key requirements of the replacement controllers include:

- Must be fully compatible with the existing ABB hardware and hardware proprietary logic

- Must support all of the functions and features that the original system supported

- Must enhance the safety and reliability of operation

- Must not increase maintenance requirements or decrease availability

- Must be replaced with minimum downtime (two weeks or less)

For this contract, three separate CLINS are desired:

CLIN 01 Design- $500,000.00 (Estimated Value) A completed and approved design will satisfy the first CLIN of this procurement. The design will consist of all the drawings, parts lists (including software products), analysis documentation, configuration parameters, manuals, and activity schedules as necessary to uninstall and dispose of the obsolete LCI control system and to install, configure and commission a new commercial, off-the shelf, LCI control system for the two ABB MEGADRIVE LCIs in PWT.

CLIN 02 Delivery- $1,150,000.00 (Estimated Value) The second CLIN will be satisfied upon delivery of the new system.

CLIN 03 Install and Checkout- $1,150,000.00 (Estimated Value) The final install and checkout will satisfy the final CLIN of the project.

This acquisition is funded under the Air Force TIPP project, 14424, Improve Transonic Plant Capabilities.

Sole Source (Including Brand Name) Justification - Simplified Procedures for Certain Commercial Items

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FAR 13.501 in accordance with 41 U.S.C 1901

The ABBPSR2 control system was placed on the Market in 1999. It was purchased from ABB in 2002 and commissioned in 2004. The controller’s design, components and associated electronics are based on technology that is over 21 years old. The system has been in operation in an industrial environment for over 16 years. The industry standard for replacement (obsolescence) of a control system is 10 years. ABB has stopped technical support for the ABBPSR2 control system. Spare parts (processors, backplanes, computer cards, interface cards, etc.) are unattainable. As such, the ABBPSR2 controllers are long overdue for replacement - leaving PWT running at considerable risk of control system failure that will potentially halt testing for months.

The replacement controller must interface with the ABB MV-GDR gating circuits. The time available to perform the physical replacement must fit into an outage no longer than 14 days. ABB owns all proprietary information such as drawings, software, hardware, and the manuals needed to execute this controller upgrade. Per the ABB sales representative, ABB does not and will not share their proprietary control approach, data, or designs with other vendors. ABB is the only supplier that has a field-proven system that is fully compatible with the existing ABB hardware and fully capable of supporting all the functions and features required. Therefore, no other vendor can provide a COTS control system with historical data that substantiates its reliability, availability and maintainability.

On 10 October 2019, a Sources Sought synopsis titled, M2/M3 Motor Load Commutated Inverter Controls Upgrade/ Improve Transonic Plant Capabilities, was posted to Federal Business Opportunities (FBO) with a response date of 24 October 2019.

The Sources Sought synopsis requested that potential suppliers respond if they offered a commercial, off-the-shelf solution to upgrade the existing ABB PSR2 Control System used to control the MEGADRIVE Load Commutated Inverters (LCIs) for the M2 and M3 motors in PWT. The synopsis described the purpose and function of the motors - to start and sync M1 and M4 - and further explained that M2 and M3 are 60,000 HP motors that are started and can be operated at variable sub-synchronous speeds using the two independent ABB MEGADRIVE LCIs.

A NAICS code of 335314, Relay and Industrial Control Manufacturing, was selected by the acquisition team to ensure the maximum amount of capable vendors were solicited, and no set-aside was selected for the Sources Sought. ABB, Inc. was the only vendor who responded to the Sources Sought.

Because of receiving only one response from the Sources Sought, an internet search was performed. The search revealed three other major power conversion companies; Toshiba Mitsubishi-Electrical Industrial Systems Corporation, General Electric Power Conversion, and Siemens. After direct contact with all three companies and multiple follow-on inquiries, it was bilaterally determined that none of the three had the ability to provide the necessary compatibility with the ABB power system electronics. Additional information to support this analysis is found in section VIII.

This will be a negotiated sole source award and will utilize FAR 13.106-3(a)(2) to determine the price fair and reasonable prior to award.

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The market research conducted for this acquisition came from the Sources Sought synopsis posted to FBO on 10 October 2019 and from extensive direct contact with three major power conversion vendors.

The Sources Sought document posted on FBO expressed the need, "to maintain the current ABB MEGA DRIVE LCI system and replace/upgrade only the control system, Arnold Air Force Base is seeking potential vendors who have the capability to provide and install a control system that is compatible with the current ABB, Inc. MEGADRIVE-LCI system currently in place." To ensure that vendors understood the purpose for this requirement, the Sources Sought document included the following background information; "This potential procurement includes system design and installation to upgrade the existing ABBPSR2 Control System used to control the MEGADRIVE Load Commutated Inverters (LCIs) for M2 and M3 motors in the Propulsion Wind Tunnel (PWT) Main Drive at Arnold Air ForceBase,TN. The PWT facilities are powered by a 'Main Drive' composed of 4 motors (M1, M2, M3, and M4). M1 and M4 are 83,000 horsepower synchronous motors. M2 and M3 are 60,000 horsepower motors that are used to start and sync M1 and M4. M2 and M3 are started and can be operated at variable sub-synchronous speeds using two independent ABBMEGADRIVE LCIs. These LCIs are comprised of three distinct parts: power electronics, a cooling system, and a control system." Only one response was received to the Sources Sought and it was ABB, Inc.

Because we received only one response to the Sources Sought, the acquisition team performed a web search for other potential suppliers. The search yielded three other major power conversion vendors who appeared to have capability to execute this requirement. Each vendor was contacted to determine their ability to meet our specific requirement to fully retain the power and cooling sections (with the interface point at the ABB MV- GDR gating circuitry) and our requirement that the outage not be any longer than 14 days. The results were as follow:

Toshiba Mitsubishi-Electrical Industrial Systems Corporation (TMEiC), "http://www.tmeic.com/" www.tmeic.com, was first contacted. TMEiC offers a control upgrade for legacy General Electric (GE) systems.

The sales representative stated that they are able to upgrade certain legacy GE systems as they own the intellectual property needed to perform those upgrades. They do not, however, own the intellectual property required to upgrade an ABB system. Consequently, they are not able to provide a controller that would meet our requirements. This information was confirmed telephonically on 15 January 2020.

General Electric (GE) Power Conversion was contacted. GE was initially very interested. Upon further technical discussion, however, GE noted that their controller does not have the ability to interface with the ABB firing circuits. Their solution would require wholesale replacement of the ABB firing circuits with GE firing circuits. Upon understanding our requirement to keep our ABB power system intact, the sales representative conveyed to us that GE was no longer interested and could not quote this effort. This information was confirmed telephonically on 23 January 2020.

Siemens was contacted to determine their ability to provide a controller to interface with the ABB MEGADRIVELCI. The sales representative stated that Siemens does not offer such a system. This information was confirmed via email on 30 January 2020.

In the interest of due diligence, the team went back to GE and Siemens with just the requirement to upgrade our obsolete LCI control system with one that is modern and reliable. This time, we did not specify the outage time or interface point. In the interest of keeping it simple, no desired performance or safety enhancements were discussed.

The results and conclusions are as follow:

On 2 March 2020, sales representative of General Electric (GE) Power Conversion responded via a short email.

GE simply offered to replace all 96 ABB gating circuits with GE gating circuits and then replace the ABB control system with a GE control system. There was no technical explanation provided as to how the GE control system logic and gating circuits would work and interface with the remaining ABB proprietary power hardware.

Sole Source (Including Brand Name) Justification - Simplified Procedures for Certain Commercial Items

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ASSESSMENT: It is the considered opinion of our technical experts that it would be a very high-risk venture to mix a GE control system with an ABB power system. The ABB power system was designed specifically to interface (electrically, logically and functionally) with an ABB controller. Interfacing another controller with the ABB power system encompasses far more than just the gating cards mentioned by GE. The replacement control system must also precisely connect, electrically and logically, with the multiple power system sensors that provide operating and safety information such as motor speed, power, phase angle, arcing potential, torque, temperatures and reactive power. The replacement controller must be configured to exactly match the sensors’ voltage and logic levels and the controller must also be programmed with full understanding of each sensor’s purpose, how it is used in the control and safety logic, and the intended response to sensor anomalies.

The replacement controller must also interface with and exactly match other emergency, safety and control outputs. Like the sensor interfaces, the outputs must be an exact match, electrically and logically, and with total understanding of the proprietary control logic used. Even if AEDC provided unfettered access to the power system hardware, GE would still be required to figure out how ABB’s software uses and controls the inputs and outputs. Without access to the ABB software code, it is not reasonable to believe that GE could provide a functionally equivalent system. If GE somehow managed to provide an operational system, AEDC would effectively be operating a mission critical asset with an unproven solution having no historical reliability, availability and maintainability data. Unlike a field-proven, off-the-shelf system, a hybrid system such as GE’s proposal - with one-of-a-kind software patches and hardware interfaces – would greatly complicate vendor support and make future upgrades and repairs difficult at best. Maintenance and repair support would likely require representatives from two suppliers to trouble-shoot a failure or operational anomaly and warranty repairs would be far more difficult to enforce (who's at fault) when a failure occurs. It would actually be less risk to continue operating with the obsolete system than to replace it with a hybrid.

To obtain a second industry opinion, Siemens was also asked about the potential of replacing gating circuits and using a non-ABB control system. Siemen's response was as follows: "NOT interested. Siemens would more than likely not go down this path. Too much risk and we think it would be cost prohibitive. AAFB would end up with a drive that was a Frankenstein Drive with a lot of finger pointing if it did not work or if it needed repairs in the future."

TMEiC also indicated no interest in attempting to interface their controller with ABB's power section without access to the appropriate proprietary information.

Siemens and TMEiC are industry-recognized experts in Load Commutated Inverters. Their conclusion - that a hybrid system is too risky - is entirely consistent with the opinions of AEDC's subject matter experts. Our SMEs believe that operating PWT's Main Drive Motors with a mixed-vendor LCI system introduces excessive and unnecessary risk to AEDC's equipment and test mission. Confidence in safety, long term reliability, availability, and maintainability is much higher with a single vendor for the entire LCI system. Siemens and TMEiC's conclusion regarding risk with a hybrid system is sound and entirely consistent with AEDC subject matter expert's opinions.

Siemens responded on 28 February 2020 with a comprehensive technical proposal for a wholesale LCI replacement including power section and cooling system. The proposal was for a basic LCI with no performance or safety improvements. Siemens declined to give an outage period, however, we know from past experience (and it is common industry knowledge) that a complete LCI replacement would be on the order of 4+ months.

ASSESSMENT: A wholesale replacement of the LCI would indeed allow for full and open competition.

However, an entirely new system is unnecessary and cost prohibitive as the power section and cooling system have been exceptionally reliable and their useful life is expected to last beyond the life of the replacement controller.

PWT's Load Commutated Inverter is a unique and complex electrical power system used to operate the Main Drive Motors in PWT. The PWT Main Drive Motors power the compressors that provide air to the 16T and 16S wind tunnels. When the LCI is inoperable, the Main Drive Motors are inoperable and we cannot test in either

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16T or 16S. 16T is heavily used by the DoD to support RDT&E for ACAT I & II programs as well as urgent and joint urgent operational needs. Also, the Government is currently investing well over $100M to rapidly revitalize 16S in order to support other urgent RDT&E programs for our national defense. These tunnels are (and will continue to be) in very high demand with several critical programs depending on them for timely test support. Downtime (whether it's for maintenance, repair or investment work) is extremely costly to AEDC.

When Tunnel 16T is down, just the cost of personnel that would otherwise be charging to testing is over $35K per day. In terms of lost opportunity; PWT averages 350 user occupancy hours per month which means that a 4-week downtime translates to approximately $3.3M in lost revenue to AEDC. The impact to national need is even more compelling. With PWT testing on the critical path to Major Defense Acquisition Programs, unplanned or excessive downtime can result in day-for-day slips in delivering needed capability to the warfighter effort and to the start of other urgent follow-on test programs. 16T is booked through FY21 with FY22 starting to fill up. During FY20 AEDC is being forced to turn away 1-2 customers per month with medium to high priority tests as they are out-prioritized by other, more urgent, national needs. It is, therefore, essential that we ensure AEDC’s tunnels continue to run, safely and reliably with zero impact to national defense test schedules.

ABB Inc.

514 Progress Dr. Ste G.

Linthicum Heights, MD, 21090-2214

GE Power Conversion 104 Beta Dr.

Pittsburgh, PA 15238

The life-expectancy of the ABB AC800PEC Controller in this acquisition is reasonably 10-15 years. At that point, the ABB MEGADRIVELCI system will be 30+ years old. Therefore, the next upgrade will involve the full replacement of the entire LCI system including power electronics hardware and the cooling system. As a result of these upgrades, full and open competition will likely be the appropriate method of procurement.

As evidenced by my signature above, I have determined this document to be both accurate and complete to the best of my knowledge and belief.

As evidenced by my (our) signature(s) above, I (we) certify that any supporting data contained herein, which is my (our) responsibility, is both accurate and complete