Redacted Simplified Acquisition Sole Source Justification.pdf

Control No: JA-20-Adel-329 Contractor: Linseis Inc

Supply/Service: Quenching Dilatometer

JUSTIFICATION REVIEW DOCUMENT FOR COMMERCIAL ITEMS

FAR PART 13 SIMPLIFIED ACQUISITION JUSTIFICATION AND APPROVAL FOR

OTHER THAN

FULL AND OPEN COMPETITION

Programs/Equipment: Purchase of one complete L78 RITA/Q/D/T dilatometer from Linseis Inc with cryogenic quenching, compression and tension deformation, differential scanning calorimetry, and an optical displacement sensor for the U.S. Army Research Laboratory (ARL) [REDACTED]

Authority:

41 U.S.C. 1901(e)(2), implemented by FAR 13.501(a) -- Only One Responsible Source and No Other Supplies or Services Will Satisfy Agency Requirements.

Amount: $301,211.00

Prepared by: [REDACTED] Contracting Officer: Phillip Amador DSN: 258-3523 Contracting Officer Date: 20 July 2020 Email: Phillip.j.amador.civ@mail.mil

Technical: [REDACTED] Requirements: [REDACTED] Reviews: I have reviewed this justification and find it adequate to support other than full and open competition.

Program Manager:

X Program Manager

Supply/Service: Quenching Dilatometer

FAR PART 13 SIMPLIFIED ACQUISITION JUSTIFICATION AND APPROVAL FOR

OTHER THAN

FULL AND OPEN COMPETITION

1. Contracting Activity: Army Contracting Command – Aberdeen Proving Ground (ACC-APG) Adelphi Contracting Division

2. Description of Action: The U.S. Army Research Laboratory (ARL) requests a firm-fixed price (FFP) contract with Linseis Inc, 109 North Gold Dr, Robbinsville NJ 08691 for the purchase of a L78 RITA/Q/D/T dilatometer. The Government projects award for July 2020 and fiscal year 2020, RDT&E funds will be used.

X An acquisition plan is not required because this procurement either does not meet the threshold at Defense Federal Acquisition Regulation Supplement 207.103(d)(i), or is an R&D acquisition and does not meet the definition of services in 10 U.S.C. 2330(c)(2).

3. Description of Supplies/Services: The U.S. Army Research Laboratory (ARL) requires the purchase of one (1) L78 RITA/Q/D/T dilatometer with quenching, deformation, and tension modes with associated measurement systems and required components for cryogenic quenching, local optical displacement measurement, and differential scanning calorimetry measurement. The L78 RITA/Q/D/T dilatometer system and required components shall include the following:

Qty Part Description Price 1 L78 RITA Q/D/T Main system (includes sample adapters, data analysis system, installation, and training)

[REDACTED]

1 Cryogenic operation extension

Extension to -150°C [REDACTED]

1 L75/KREG controlled cooling for LN2 [REDACTED] 1 L75/KRYO 25 L dewar for LN2 [REDACTED] 1 Dilatometer measuring system Fused silica (1000°C) [REDACTED]

1 Dilatometer measuring system

Alumina (1600°C) [REDACTED]

1 Susceptor Non-metallic samples [REDACTED] 1 L78/TCW Thermocouple welder [REDACTED] 1 L40/110 Two stage rotary vacuum pump [REDACTED] 1 L40/106 Turbo molecular pump [REDACTED] 1 L78/ODS Optical displacement sensor [REDACTED] 1 L78/DSC Differential scanning calorimetry [REDACTED]

Additional Materials and Options are as follows:

Qty Part Description Price years Maintenance Annual Maintenance additional years

[REDACTED]

Supply/Service: Quenching Dilatometer

Delivery Estimate: October 2020 Total Value: $ 301,211.00

4. Authority Cited:

41 U.S.C. 1901(e)(2), implemented by FAR 13.501(a) -- Only One Responsible Source and No Other Supplies or Services Will Satisfy Agency Requirements.

5. Reason for Authority Cited: The U.S. Army Combat Capabilities Development Command Army Research Laboratory (ARL) [REDACTED] requires a L78 RITA Q/D/T dilatometer with cryogenic quenching, compression and tension deformation, differential scanning calorimetry, and an optical displacement sensor for local displacement in the longitundinal and transverse directions. [REDACTED]. The L78 Rita Q/D/T dilatometer that ARL requires must be a single unit capable of meeting these technical demands:

The temperature range during quenching dilatometric operations must at minimum include -150 to 1600 °C with heating rates from 0.001 to 4000 K/s and cooling rates from 0.001 to 2500 K/s.

Deformation mode dilatometry must also be able to be performed from room temperature to 1600 °C with heating rates from 0.01 to 100 K/s and deformation rates from 0.01 to 125 mm/s applying loads in tension and compression up to 25kN.

An optical displacement sensor is also required to provide not only the bulk lateral expansion/contraction measurements necessary for precise evaluation of novel materials but also to track the local strain evolution in the longitudinal and transverse directions during deformation of multi-layered materials.

In addition to the thermo-mechanical dilatometric requirements, the required equipment must also be capable of performing differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) experiments up to 1000 °C. In order to enable the equipment to be versatile for all of the ARL [REDACTED] applications, all of the equipment control parameters must be able to be specified by the user and multi-step experiments must be able to be programmed.

Finally the required equipment must include the data analysis tools required to convert the obtained data into meaningful time-temperature-transformation (TTT) diagrams, continuous-cooling/heating-transformation (CCT/CHT) diagrams, and coefficient of thermal expansion (CTE) measurements. These requirements are due to the wide range of metallic materials being developed by ARL [REDACTED] requiring an expansive thermal range with precise control. These heat treatment protocols and operation windows must be able to be defined by ARL to enable successful transition of materials from laboratory to industrial production. This technology is essential for near-term projects to develop armor materials for the

Supply/Service: Quenching Dilatometer

Next Generation Combat Vehicles according to the US Army’s modernization priorities.

The L78 RITA Q/D/T dilatometer manufactured by Linseis Inc includes the themo-mechanical operation ranges and measurement capabilities required by ARL to study the critical heat treatment and themo-mechanical operations in the development of Army critical materials. Linseis Inc is the sole provider of an equipment platform capable of incorporating all of these needs for the intended research environment. One other manufacturer (TA Instruments) was found to produce equipment similar to the above requirements with comparable thermal ranges, heating/cooling rates, mechanical loading, and measurement sensitivity. The “TA Instruments” optical displacement sensor provides highly accurate latereal distortion of the sample during testing but is not capable of measuring the local distortion which is required by ARL. The Linseis patented “Speckle” measurement system is the only optical displacement system that is capable of providing the local displacement mapping required not just the bulk lateral distortion.

Linseis Inc provides all of the capabilities required to meet ARL WMRDs technical demands in a single piece of equipment while meeting ARL’spower and space requirements.

If this J&A is not approved, there would be a significant impact to the ARL’s ability to complete tasks outlined to modernize equipment for the warfighter, which may result in mission failure for ARL[REDACTED]. This quenching dilatometer system will enable a 20x increase in the efficiency of steel and metal alloy processing optimization enabling more rapid and accurate heat treatment evaluations, while using smaller samples and reducing material consumption. This equipment will be leveraged to support internal programs in excess of $5M per year as well as programs funded by customers including transition partners at the [REDACTED] in support of legacy systems and new systems with aggressive deadlines as a part of the Army’s Modernization Priortities.

6. Efforts to Obtain Competition:

A synopsis notice was posted on Beta.SAM.gov under reference W911QX20Q0115 for fifteen days (15) from May 19, 2020 – June 3, 2020 to notify of the Government’s intent to solicit one source, Linseis, for this requirement. TA Instruments responded to the initial synopsis posting and indicated that TA Instruments were capable of meeting the Governments requirement. Therefore, the Government determined that further market research was required and a Sources Sought Synopsis (SSS) notice under W911QX20Q0115 was posted on Beta.SAM.gov for seven (7) days from July 7, 2020 – July 13, 2020. The SSS posting on Beta.SAM.gov provided the Government’s Salient Characteristics for this requirement and allowed the public to provide capability information. Two (2) responses were received, one (1) from Linseis and one (1) from TA instruments. After compatibility statements were reviewed by the technical point of contact (TPOC) is was determined that Linseis was the only company to meet the all of the Governments requirements. It was determined that the product offered by TA Instruments did not meet the technical requirement of the optical displacement sensor.

Supply/Service: Quenching Dilatometer

The government requires the optical sensor to provide measurement over an area ranging from 2.0 millimeter (mm) x 2.0 mm to 11.0 mm x 11.0 mm with a resolution of 1024 x 1024 pixels. The TA optical displacement sensor is not an area detection sensor and is only capable of measureing the maximum sample diameter.. Therefore, it is determined that the Linseis patented “Speckle” measurement system is the only optical displacement system that is capable of providing the area range and resolution measurement required.Competitive proposals are not anticipated for this procurement based on the determination made during the efforts to obtain competition

7. Actions to Increase Competition: This requirement is for the one-time purchase of L78 RITA Q/D/T dilatometer. It is not anticipated that this will be a recurring requirement.

However, ARL will continue to pursue web searches and hold discussions among the dilatometric community to help locate other sources that can provide items that are capable of meeting the requirements as discussed in section 5 above. Any known sources that can provide the necessary components and experimental conditions will be sought after for competitive interest in the future. Until such potential sources are revealed, Linseis will provide the required dilatometer. Any known sources that can provide the requirement will be sought for competitive interest.

8. Market Research: Market research was conducted from February through March 2020 by contacting knowledgeable people and companies regarding the feasibility of furnishing technical equipment with the required features. Additionally, Government-wide databases were queried, internet searches performed, and catalogs and product literature were reviewed throughout the market research process. The Market research was conducted by [REDACTED], who has 10 years of materials science engineering experience. Of the two companies offering quenching dilatometers in their portfolios, it was determined that only one offered the combination of features and critical thresholds required for ARL’s technical tasks, see section 6 above. Market research will be continually performed to survey the market’s capabilities and identify any other vendors who are reasonably expected to submit offers that are competitive in terms of market price, quality and delivery if the requirement reoccurs.

9. Interested Sources: As discussed above in section 6, a synopsis notice under reference W911QX20Q0115 was posted on Beta.SAM.gov for fifteen days (15) from May 19, 2020 – June 3, 2020. A SSS under W911QX20Q0115 was posted on Beta.SAM.gov for seven (7) days from July 7, 2020 – July 13, 2020. TA Instruments responded that they could meet the Governments requirement, however, it was determined that TA Instruments does not meet the Governments requirement, see section 6.

10. Other Facts:

a. Procurement History

There is no procurement history for these same requirements, this is a first time buy for the required quenching dilatometer system.

b. Other facts. Provide any other facts necessary to justify limiting competition that were not previously stated. N/A

11. Technical Certification: I certify that the supporting data under my cognizance which are included in the justification are accurate and complete to the best of my knowledge and belief.

Signer’s Title: Materials Engineer

Technical Certifier (Tech)

12. Requirements Certification: I certify that the supporting data under my cognizance which are included in the justification are accurate and complete to the best of my knowledge and belief.

Signer’s Title: Branch Chief

Requirements Certifier

13. Fair and Reasonable Cost Determination: I hereby determine that the anticipated cost or price to the Government for this contract action will be fair and reasonable.

This determination will be made using the following:

__ Cost analysis _X_ Price analysis __ Should-cost

__ IGE

__ Audit:

_X_ Other: : Detailed documentation and justification of cost/price reasonableness

Supply/Service: Quenching Dilatometer will be disclosed in the official contract file to include a published price list, and comparison of the proposed price with prices found reasonable on previous purchases. Cost or Pricing data is not required, in accordance with the threshold at FAR 15.403-4(a) (1).

As a part of this basis, certified cost or pricing data:

__ will be required.

_X_ will not be required and the following exception applies (FAR 15.403):

__ Prices that will be agreed upon are based on adequate price competition.

__ Prices that will be agreed upon are based on prices set by law or regulation.

_X_ A commercial item is being acquired.

__ A waiver has been granted by the head of the contracting activity (HCA) in accordance with DFARS PGI 215.403-1.

__ The contract action is a modification to a contract or subcontract for commercial item(s).

__ The estimated cost of the contract action is less than the threshold for certified cost or pricing data.

Contracting Officer (KO)

14. Contracting Officer Certification: I certify that this justification is accurate and complete to the best of my knowledge and belief.

Approval

Based on the foregoing justification, I hereby approve the procurement of Purchase of one complete L78 RITA/Q/D/T dilatometer from Linseis Inc with cryogenic quenching, compression and tension deformation, differential scanning calorimetry, and an optical displacement sensor for the U.S. Army Research Laboratory (ARL) [REDACTED], for an estimate of $301,211.00 on an other than full and open competition basis pursuant to the authority of 41 U.S.C. 1901(e)(2), subject to availability of funds, and provided that the services or supplies herein described have otherwise been authorized for acquisition.