Request for Information - Bubble Sweepdown 6-3.pdf

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Request for Information (RFI) National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA)

Office of Marine and Aviation Operations (OMAO) Platform and Infrastructure Acquisition Division (PIAD)

Bubble Sweepdown Prediction Methods

North American Industry Classification Code (NAICS Code):

Product Service Code: 3990 - MISCELLANEOUS MATERIALS HANDLING EQUIPMENT NAICS Code: 336611 - Ship Building and Repairing

Product Service Code: R - SUPPORT SVCS (PROF, ADMIN, MGMT) NAICS Code: 541690 - Other Scientific and Technical Consulting Services

Product Service Code: R499 - SUPPORT- PROFESSIONAL: OTHER NAICS Code: 541990 - All Other Professional, Scientific, and Technical Services

Place of Performance:

USA

Disclaimer

This announcement constitutes a RFI only, as defined in FAR 15.201(e), for the purpose of determining market capability of sources or obtaining information. It does not constitute a Request for Proposals (RFP), a Request for Quotation (RFQ), or an indication that the Government will contract for any of the items and/or services discussed in this notice. Any formal solicitation that may subsequently be issued will be announced separately through the Government-wide Point of Entry (GPE) SAM.gov. Submission of a response to this RFI is entirely voluntary. The voluntary submission of a response to this RFI shall not obligate NOAA to pay or entitle the submitter of information to claim any direct or indirect costs or charges or any other remuneration whatsoever.

All information received will be safeguarded from unauthorized disclosure. Please do not submit any proprietary or classified information.

Purpose

The purpose of this RFI is to obtain information related to state-of-the-art practices to design and predict bubble sweepdown performance for a new ship design. NOAA hopes to use this information to aid in the development of bubble sweepdown and acoustic sensor performance requirements for its new fleet of fisheries survey vessels (Class C). In addition to a comparison of bubble sweepdown performance, NOAA is also interested in the capacity to compare resistance, dynamic stability, and seakeeping of the offered hull forms, so if any of the programs/methods/etc. used also relate to these, we request additional information.

Introduction

NOAA OMAO is one of the significant operational arms of NOAA, conducting vital mission work via marine and aircraft operations. Through its headquarters office in Silver Spring, MD, OMAO operates, 2 | Page maintains, and manages critical vessel acquisition programs to meet NOAA's prioritized National Marine Fisheries Service requirements.

Background

NOAA anticipates issuing an RFP for Class C, its next generation of fisheries survey vessels (FSV), which will be smaller than the Dyson Class FSV. NOAA is seeking a highly efficient vessel with good mission effectiveness and part of maximizing mission effectiveness is ensuring minimal interference of bubble sweepdown on the transducers. At present, NOAA intends for the hull form to be proposed by the bidder and expects that the ship will have all or most sensors mounted on a retractable centerboard.

Historically, many research vessels have had significant issues with bubble sweepdown performance with many requiring post-delivery installations of various modifications (gondolas, blisters, diverting fences, etc.) that usually have a negative impact on propulsive performance and can increase the draft and subsequently limit operations in some areas.

Our concern is that the predictive methods typically used in the design phases may not ensure “good” real world performance and often performance is only really understood after the ship has been delivered and modifications to the hull would be very costly.

Ship Requirements and Characteristics

Class C will focus on National requirements for Assessment and Management of Living Marine Resources. This vessel will have the capability to conduct near-shore and off-shore, shallow draft, limited range, trawl based at sea data collection activities for Assessment and Management of Living Marine Resources including Protected Resources, Science and Management, Fisheries Science and Management, and Habitat Conservation and Restoration.

This ship design will focus on capabilities for mid-water and bottom trawling, with size appropriate lab and sample sorting spaces and equipment.

The following are notional requirements for Class C, subject to change:

I. Structural Requirements

A. General

1. The Class C will be designed to meet or exceed ABS structural rules. This ship will utilize existing commercial design options and will focus on capabilities for pelagic and benthic trawling.

B. Propulsion

1. The propulsion configuration will be capable of continuous and unrestricted speed control. The propulsion system will be designed, installed, and tested as an integrated system. The components of the propulsion system will be designed to function continuously in the required modes of operation including the cyclical variations imposed by dynamic positioning. The propulsion system will include features for operation in rough weather.

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C. Electrical

1. Ship service power systems will meet the requirements of IEEE Standard 45 and will utilize U.S. standard nominal voltage and frequency ratings.

II. Operational Characteristics

A. A dynamic positioning system will be provided to support ship operations. Thrusters will be provided to support dynamic positioning, docking, and undocking the ship.

B. Max Draft: 20 feet C. Transit Speed: Minimum 10 knots in calm seas, fully loaded.

D. Range: 6,000 Nautical Miles at transit speed.

E. Endurance: 21 days of continuous at-sea operation (24 hours per day).

F. The Class C will be mission capable up to Sea State 5.

G. The ship, subsystems, and installed equipment will have full capability within the ranges of temperature and humidity for the following operating areas: Pascagoula, MS;

Newport, RI; Honolulu, HI; San Diego, CA; Ketchikan, AK; and Newport OR.

III. Mission Deck Equipment

A. Fixed Crane(s)

1. Crane(s), knuckle boom or other will be provided that can reach the Working Deck areas, deploy and recover equipment overboard, load and offload boats, and other mission equipment.

B. Stern Frame

1. A stern frame will be provided that is capable of towing operations off the stern.

C. Winches: Trawl and Hydrographic

1. Hydrographic winch system will be provided to service Side Station handling and hydrographic mission packages.

2. Winch system operating in conjunction with the stern frame will be provided.

3. Trawl winches will be outfitted to support stern deck operations

4. New winches will be fitted with removable lebus shells grooved for a specified wire rope size. Winch systems will also have commonality among components to the maximum extent practicable for operating controls, power systems, and level wind systems to minimize the spare parts needed to maintain operations.

D. Side Station Handling System

1. CTD and other over the side operations will be conducted from a dedicated area protected from the weather with dedicated handling equipment.

E. Boat Handling

1. Class C will be capable of launching and recovering several different kinds of workboats, i.e. dive support boats, workboats, autonomous vehicles, remote operated vehicles, and a SOLAS approved Rescue Boat (including associated

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F. Pollution Control Systems

1. The ship will be capable of operating in all domestic waters in compliance with the requirements of Annex IV of MARPOL 73/78 and 33 CFR 159. The pollution control systems will comply with applicable federal, state, international, and regulatory body environmental regulations while retaining its full scientific capabilities. Pollution control systems will treat or destroy waste onboard without being dependent on shore facilities for waste offload.

G. Sewage System

1. Black and Gray water systems will accommodate the total complement to allow the ship to operate in No-Discharge Zones for a minimum of 4 days.

Information Sought

NOAA is seeking information on bubble sweepdown related to:

A. State-of-the-art simulation programs and methodology, with a specific interest in their capability to predict performance in various sea states.

B. Additional capacity of these simulation programs to also compare resistance, directional stability and seakeeping of the offered hull forms (if applicable)

C. State-of-the-art model testing methodology, with a specific interest in their capability to predict performance in various sea states

D. Real world performance vs. CFD and Model Testing prediction, with a specific focus on performance in sea states.

E. Relationship between bubble sweepdown prediction and expected acoustic sensor performance.

F. Best practices in specifying criteria for bubble sweepdown.

G. Best practices for acoustic sensor placement, with a specific interest in optimizing performance and minimizing bubble sweepdown.

H. Methods or contractors able to do relative comparisons of various proposals.

I. Approaches that can be taken within the contract (RFP) to ensure high mission effectiveness and bubble sweepdown performance.

J. Any considerations that should be made regarding a drop keel/retractable centerboard in the chosen CFD program and model test program plan.

Response Requirements

Responses shall clearly mark any proprietary information that is contained within them. Responses shall not contain classified information. RFI responses should be submitted electronically in a pdf format to the point of contact in this notice.

Please include the following with your response:

1. The RFI number stated herein.

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2. The company name, location of home facility, CAGE code, and DUNS number, as well as the telephone number, and mail and e-mail addresses of a point of contact having authority and knowledge to discuss the submission.

3. Descriptive literature regarding capabilities and successful execution of similar efforts.

NOTE: If necessary and required based on responses to this RFI, the Government reserves the right to schedule vendor meetings and have discussions between vendor personnel and NOAA representatives regarding the capabilities of the vendor supplies/services being suggested. All vendor meetings will be authorized, approved, and conducted by the Contracting Officer to ensure they do not create a potential exclusive situation that gives competitive advantage or otherwise disadvantages participants in any potential future competition.