JOFOC NIAR_Final_9_16_24.pdf

NATIONAL AERONAUTICS AND SPACE ADMINISTRATION

GLENN RESEARCH CENTER (GRC)

J USTIFICATION FOR OTHER THAN FULL AND OPEN COMPETITION

(JOFOC)

For Mechanical Testing of Composite Coupons, Subcomponent, and Constituent Materials

1. Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) 6.303-2(b)(1) – Identification of the agency and the contracting activity, and specific identification of the document as a “Justification for other than full and open competition.”

This document is a justification for other than full and open competition prepared by National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) Glenn Research Center.

The procuring agency is the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) and the contracting activity is Glenn Research Center.

2. FAR 6.303-2(b)(2) – The nature and/or description of the action being approved:

This justification provides the rationale for contracting by other than full and open competition to award a sole-source Indefinite Delivery Indefinite Quantity (IDIQ) contract to Wichita State University’s National Institute of Aviation for Research (NIAR) for mechanical testing in an inert environment at room and elevated temperatures of composite materials. Mechanical tests are a critical aspect of NASA’s continuing research in composite structures. Mechanical test data is used for material selection, structural design, and failure analysis.

3. FAR 6.303-2(b)(3) – A description of the supplies or services required, to meet the Agency’s needs (including the estimated value):

NASA Glenn Research Center/GRC has a requirement for mechanical testing of refractory composite materials in an inert environment at room and elevated temperatures of up to 5000°F in combination with related capabilities, which include: refractory composite material machining and instrumentation, design allowables for material property databases, coupon- and element-scale automated fiber placement, and x-ray computed tomography.

Mechanical tests are a critical aspect of NASA’s continued research to further advance refractory composite hot structures using the data acquired for material selection, structural design, and failure analysis.

The period of performance is 5 years, with a maximum potential value of $15,000,000.

4. FAR 6.303-2(b)(4) – An identification of the statutory authority permitting other than full and open competition:

The statutory authority permitting other than full and open competition is 10 U.S.C.

3204(a) (1) as implemented by FAR 6.302-1 Only one responsible source and no other supplies or services will satisfy agency requirements.

5. FAR 6.303-2(b)(5) – A demonstration that the proposed contractor’s unique qualifications or the nature of the acquisition requires use of the authority cited:

The rationale supporting the use of 10 U.S.C. 3204(a)(1) is there is only one responsible source and no other supplies or services will satisfy agency requirements, as described below.

The statement of work would supply mechanical tests required within multiple, ongoing NASA projects using the skills and methods found at NIAR. Deviating from the NIAR test facility will not meet project manufacturing and design requirements as explained below.

NIAR would serve as the sole responsible source for supplies or services that will satisfy Agency requirements which include the following:

The NIAR test facility is the only facility capable of meeting the diverse scope of mechanical testing in an inert environment up to 5000°F, including high-temperature instrumentation installation and machining per specimen, design allowables from material databases, hot-structure testing at least up to ~ 1800°F in a heated zone of at least 6 ft x 6 ft x 1 ft, automated fiber placement of composite materials for testing, and X-ray computed tomography analysis at various levels of resolution. These are required throughout NASA projects. The minimum requirements for the procurement cannot be supplied by any other contractor.

In addition, this procurement is required for continuation of existing projects while also leveraging baseline material property data generated using test results provided by NIAR.

Any contractor other than NIAR will require repetition of testing and validation exercises , and the test facilities at NIAR are frequently utilized for their low-cost, high-quality testing and database of existing material properties which allows an initial verification of material performance through equivalency. NIAR maintains a database of existing material properties, based on NIAR generated data, which allows preliminary verification of material performance through equivalency tests. In conjunction with that database, composite manufacturing documentation and raw material specifications are maintained and shared by NIAR. Finally, programs require a continuation of test data for comparative purposes, in which case it is critical the organization responsible for the testing to remain constant.

Changing the test facility would also impact project milestones and require costly repetition of coupon data generation. The expertise and test facilities at NIAR can provide coupon machining, non-destructive evaluation using X-ray analysis, ASTM standard and non-standard mechanical testing as defined by NASA, environmental conditioning/testing at elevated temperatures, data reduction, statistical analysis, and development of and access to existing material databases with allowables documented with composite manufacturing and raw material specifications.

6. FAR 6.303-2(b)(6) – A description of the efforts made to ensure that offers are solicited from as many potential sources as practicable, including whether a notice was or will be publicized as required by Subpart 5.2 and, if not, which exception under 5.202 applies:

A notice to the Government Point of Entry (GPE) website (Sam.gov) was published on March 14, 2024, in accordance with FAR Subpart 5.2. This posting informed potential sources of NASA’s intent to award this sole-source contract to NIAR. The results of this synopsis are summarized in Section 10 below.

7. FAR 6.303-2(b)(7) – A determination by the contracting officer that the anticipated cost to the Government will be fair and reasonable:

The Contracting Officer’s signature on this document indicates that the Contracting Officer has determined that the anticipated cost to the government will be fair and reasonable. The Contractor shall be required to submit a proposal to be evaluated and negotiated by the Government. Prior to execution of the contractual instrument, a proposal analysis will be performed. The proposal analysis will ensure that the final agreed-to price for the contract action is fair and reasonable.

The guidance and techniques specified at FAR 15.404 and NFS 1815.404 will be followed during the proposal evaluation. If appropriate, price analysis and technical analysis per FAR 15.404-1(b) and (e), and NFS 1815.404-1(e) will be performed to determine and negotiate a fair and reasonable price. If price analysis is not appropriate, then cost analysis and technical analysis, per FAR 15.404-1(c) and (e), and NFS 1815.404-1(e) will be performed to determine and negotiate a fair and reasonable price.

8. FAR 6.303-2(b)(8) – Description of the market research conducted, and the results, or a statement of the reasons market research was not conducted:

Prior requirements submitted notice of NASA’s intent to award sole-source action were synopsized on the GPE website (Sam.gov) per FAR Subpart 5.2. The Statement of Work was posted on December 5, 2019, and closed on December 20, 2019. No responses were received to the Sam.gov posting.

On March 14, 2024, a notice of NASA’s intent to award a sole source action was synopsized on the GPE website (Sam.gov), per FAR Subpart 5.2. It closed on March 29, 2024. No responses were received.

Additional market utilized was a search of the Strategic Sourcing Repository and the Government Wide Procurement Equity on March 7, 2024 did not yield any potential offerors with the NAICS codes 541330 and 541713 and Product Code AF12 required for this procurement.

A market research study performed in 2024 has found that Wichita State University offers unique capabilities not found elsewhere in the industry for the qualification of composite material systems, the development of long-standing material databases made available to the public, elevated mechanical testing capability in cooperation with Spirit AeroSystems, and specialized unique features related to automated development of composite material systems.

A search of Wichita State University (WSU) website yielded documentation of acceptability information for the specific capabilities required in the statement of work. In 2010, the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) provided a memorandum to all directorate managers and aircraft certification officers on the acceptance of material specification and allowables developed by the National Center for Advanced Material Performance (NCAMP), one of Wichita State University’s NIAR lab centers, for engine and propeller applications [see link (1)]. In 2014, the European Union Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) issued a certification memorandum regarding acceptance of composite material data developed specifically using the NCAMP shared database process, which has been developed during the last 15 years to improve standardization of lower test pyramid data for refractory composite materials, similar to that commonly accepted for metals using the well-established mature standardization process [see link (2)]. In 2022, Composites World published an article that discusses how NCAMP continues its efforts to make material property databases available to the public, demonstrating its sole source credibility to conduct material equivalence testing for not only ceramic matrix composites, but also polymer matrix composites [see link (3)].

Also in 2022, Composites World published another article that found NIAR as a “robust, sprawling, dynamic university research and design institute that is, arguably, one of a kind in the United States”. The article explores a plant tour of the NIAR lab centers, noting that NIAR is best known for its NCAMP facility, which has for decades worked with the FAA, the US Department of Defense and industry partners to qualify composite material systems and populate a shared materials database accessible by the public (this is an important factor that supports Section 11 of this document to break barriers to competition). The article also discusses the unique capabilities that NCAMP has to offer, including a 5000°F mechanical testing system, as part of local and national cooperation with Spirit AeroSystems, to evaluate ceramic matrix composites (CMC) and carbon-carbon materials.

Aside from NCAMP, the article mentions the Advanced Technologies Lab for Aerospace Systems (ATLAS), which is spread over two buildings, (Sectors C, E, T and X) on the WSU campus, and ATLAS Sector A in a larger facility about 10 miles south, located in the Air Capital flight line on McConnell Air Force Base near the eastern edge of the Spirit AeroSystems campus. Combined, the two facilities offer a range of composites manufacturing technologies that span the gamut of composites fabrication. Activity at ATLAS on campus revolves around two large systems. The first is an eight-tow Coriolis (Queven, France) automated fiber placement (AFP) machine, mounted on a multi-axis robot. The second is a monumental Electroimpact (Mukilteo, Wash., U.S.) AFP and automated tape laying (ATL) machine. It can lay down tows 0.25 or 0.5 inch side or, after a 10-minute head change, lay down 6-, 9- or 12-inch wide tape. A third bit of machinery — smaller but not less important — is a Mikrosam (Prilep, Macedonia) tape-slitting system with eight rewinding stations, which allows the lab to slit its own tows. At ATLAS Sector A, one finds a next-gen version of ATLAS — substantially larger, with many more processing systems and equipment. This massive 120,000-square-foot space features another Electroimpact AFP machine, an enhanced SCRAM multi-axis 3D printing system (also from Electroimpact), a Cevotec (Unterhaching, Germany) fiber patch placement system, a Mikrosam dual-robot AFP system capable of toolless manufacturing, a fully-automated Engel (York, Pa., U.S.) 1,900-ton compression/injection/overmolding cell, an ASC Process Systems (Valencia, Calif., U.S.) 13-by-26-foot autoclave — “sized,” says Seneviratne, “for a next-gen single aisle fuselage section” — and in-situ AFP inspection capability [see link (4)]. These unique technologies and facilities will allow NASA to do automated fiber placement of refractory composite materials.

An article by Aerospace Manufacturing and Design notes NIAR’s Advanced Machining labs in ATLAS received AS9100 and ISO 9001:2015 certification with the scope of advanced composite manufacturing, machining, autoclave processing, and inspections for industry and defense programs in 2023 [see link (5)]. A search on WSU website highlights accreditations for the materials testing laboratory and mechanical testing from the National Aerospace and Defense Contractors Accreditation Program and the Assessment Accreditation Services, respectively [see link (6)]. WSU/NIAR is also certified by the American Systems Registrar for standard AS9100 for the Advanced Machining and Prototyping Lab and Advanced Technologies Lab for Aerospace Systems [see link (7)].

These certifications support NASA’s requirements to perform the required machining and mechanical testing of refractory composite materials.

All of Wichita State University NIAR’s capabilities and certifications discussed above provide NASA with an option not available anywhere else in industry with such expertise and ability within one organizational structure.

Links:

1) FSA Memo: https://www.wichita.edu/industry_and_defense/NIAR/Documents/FAA-

AIR-100-2010-120-003.pdf

2) EASA Memo: https://www.easa.europa.eu/sites/default/files/dfu/certification-docs-certification-memorandum-'final'-EASA-CM-S-004-Issue-01 Composite-Materials-- Shared-Databases PUBL.pdf

3) Article: https://www.compositesworld.com/articles/material-equivalence-testing-in-shared-composites-databases

4) Article: https://www.compositesworld.com/articles/plant-tour-national-institute-for-aviation-research-wichita-kan-us

5) Article: https://www.aerospacemanufacturinganddesign.com/news/niar-atlas-advanced-machining-labs-receive-as9100-iso-9001-certification//

6) Accreditations: https://www.wichita.edu/industry_and_defense/NIAR/accreditation.php

7) https://asrworldwide.com/look-up/verifiy-a-client-s-certification

The NASA technical team has had discussions confirming, or have knowledge of, subject matter experts in both government and industry, who regularly engage with and source requirements with NIAR as the only place in the country that can perform the desired work.

9. FAR 6.303-2(b)(9) – Any other facts supporting the use of other than full and open competition:

None

10. FAR 6.303-2(b)(10) – A listing of the sources, if any, that expressed an interest in writing in the acquisition:

A notice of NASA’s intent to award this sole-source action was synopsized on the GPE website (Sam.gov) per FAR Subpart 5.2 (See Section 6 above). The capabilities were posted on March 14, 2024, and closed on March 29, 2024. There were not any responses or alternate interested vendors who responded to the Sam.gov posting.

11. FAR 6.303-2(b)(11) – A statement of actions, if any, the agency may take to remove or overcome any barriers to competition before any subsequent acquisition for the supplies or services required:

Mechanical test data is used for material selection, structural design, failure analysis, design allowables, and database development. Database development can require more than 300 material specimens. The scope and requirements of each test matrix varies broadly in requirements. Projects often require panel machining and non-destructive evaluation, ASTM tests from the coupon to subcomponent level, non-standard tests developed in coordination with NASA, and data and/or statistical analysis of the results.

The market for coupon-level materials testing is very large, and there are many vendors who do their own version of testing. However, the testing from those vendors do not meet the specific Agency requirements in Section 5. Barriers to competition have been created as a result of this industry becoming individual experts generating their own testing requirements based on their business needs, rather than based on the needs of other businesses and agencies around the country. By publicizing the information found within the tests completed by NIAR, as mentioned in Section 8, NASA will help remove barriers to competition for any future procurement.

Mechanical Testing of Composite Coupons, Subcomponent, and Constituent Materials

JUSTIFICATION FOR OTHER THAN FULL AND OPEN COMPETITION

SIGNATURE PAGE

I certify that the facts presented in this justification are accurate and complete.

Andrew Brune Technical Representative

I hereby certify that the above justification is complete and accurate to the best of my knowledge and belief.

Ashlee Shaw Contracting Officer

CONCURRENCES:

Kurt Straub Procurement Officer

APPROVED:

Leahmarie Koury Competition Advocate Glenn Research Center

Ashlee Shaw

Digitally signed by Ashlee Shaw Date: 2024.04.09 16:31:17 -04'00'

Kurt Straub Digitally signed by Kurt Straub Date: 2024.04.12 10:32:10 -04'00'

LEAHMARIE

KOURY

Digitally signed by

LEAHMARIE KOURY

Date: 2024.04.19 11:35:56 -04'00'