RFQ attachment - Requirements.pdf

STATEMENT OF REQUIREMENTS

Title: Brand-Name Only for a Differential Scanning Calorimeter and a Thermogravimetric Analyzer Requesting Lab: Infrastructure Materials Group, Materials and Structural Systems Division (MSSD), Engineering Laboratory

I. BACKGROUND INFORMATION

The Infrastructure Materials Group (IMG) of the Materials and Structural Systems Division (MSSD) in the Engineering Laboratory (EL) of the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) studies the durability and service life of materials, components, and systems composing US buildings, road- and waterways, and pipelines for resilient infrastructure. MSSD currently performs thermal analysis of infrastructure materials to understand thermal characteristics relevant to their use. Differential Scanning Calorimetry (DSC) is a system that measures heat flow signals to allow users to better understand thermal events (chemical reactions, phase transitions, glass transitions, etc.) of materials. MSSD uses DSC to understand the thermal characteristics of infrastructure materials as they relate to processing, for example the cure kinetics of thermoset polymers and kinetics of the setting of cementitious materials.

MSSD uses DSC also to investigate field performance, for example temperature-based transitions (e.g., glass-transitions) which may influence behavior. Thermogravimetric Analysis (TGA) is a system that measures the weight/mass of a sample as a function of temperature. Changes in mass are indicative of reactions. MSSD uses TGA to understand the degradation of infrastructure materials with temperature, volatiles evolved in processing, and other compositional information (e.g., carbon content).

The MSSD currently owns and operates a DSC “Q 2000” and TGA “Q 500,” which were manufactured and produced by TA Instruments – Waters. The DSC Q 2000 and TGA Q 500 are at the end of their service life. A new DSC and a new TGA are therefore required.

Purpose/Objective:

The purpose of this acquisition is to procure a new Brand Name Only differential scanning calorimeter with sub-ambient cooling capability and a new thermogravimetric analyzer. These new systems will replace the existing, outdated DSC Q 2000 and TGA Q 500 instruments. A dedicated DSC for measuring the heat flow into samples as a function of time and temperature is required. Similarly, a dedicated TGA is required to measure the mass loss of samples as a function of time and temperature. The two instruments are required to ensure accurate measurements and flexibility in their use, i.e., running experiments on the two instruments simultaneously.

II. SCOPE

The Contractor shall deliver a quantity of one Brand Name Only DSC and associated computer system, a quantity of one cooling system for the DSC, and a quantity of one TGA and associated computer system. The delivery shall be inclusive of FOB Destination delivery, installation, warranty, and training.

III. MINIMUM REQUIREMENTS

The Contractor shall provide a system that meets, or exceeds, all technical specifications and Part Number(s) (P/N) identified below. All items must be new. Used or remanufactured equipment will not be considered for award. Experimental, prototype, or custom items will not be considered. The use of “gray market” components that are not authorized for sale in the U.S. by the Contractor are not acceptable. All line items shall be shipped in the original manufacturer’s packaging and include all original documentation and software, when applicable.

This is a Brand-Name Only requirement for a Differential Scanning Calorimeter (DSC) and Thermogravimetric Analyzer (TGA) meeting the minimum requirements specified herein, manufactured by TA Instruments – Waters, LLC, located at 159 Lukens Drive, New Castle, DE 19720-2765. The DSC Q 2000 and TGA Q 500 are at the end of their service life, and a new DSC and TGA with associated software are required.

Requirement 0001: Brand Name Only DSC and the Associated Computer System Description (P/N: 973000.901): The contractor shall provide a DSC and computer for running the instrument and subsequent thermal analysis, in accordance with the essential characteristics identified in this Statement of Requirements. The DSC shall be a heat flux design, as opposed to a power compensated design. The DSC shall have a large temperature range, as specified, for versatility in testing the wide variety of infrastructure materials (e.g., gasket materials of pipe joints, cementitious materials).

The DSC shall have a robust cell and a flat instrumental baseline with low variability between runs, as specified. This reduces the need for blank runs, ensures observed changes in heat flow reflect the sample rather than the instrument during an experiment, and permits comparable signals across experiments. The instrument shall meet or exceed the following specifications.

Quantity: 1

A. Technical Specifications of the DSC

a. Heat flux design

b. A temperature range of the DSC from -150°C or lower to 725°C or higher

c. Heating rate range from 0.2°C/min or slower to 50°C/min or higher

d. Temperature accuracy of ±0.05°C or smaller and temperature precision

±0.005°C or smaller

e. Accommodates at least two integrated and installed gasses simultaneously (i.e., the gasses shall be supplied by the Government)

f. A DSC cell with warranty

g. Baseline flatness ≤5 µW and baseline repeatability <10 µW over a temperature range of -50°C to 300°C, without baseline subtractions

h. Capable of modulated DSC

i. Sine wave amplitude range: 0.05°C or lower (quasi-isothermal) to

3°C

ii. Sine wave period range: 10 s or lower to 200 s or higher

i. An autosampler featuring at minimum 30 positions.

j. An instrumental touchscreen for ease of viewing instrument status

k. Platinum and aluminum DSC pans

l. DSC standards for calibration featuring certified indium reference material and sapphire.

B. Technical Specifications of the Associated Computer System

a. Compatible with the quoted instrument and analysis software

b. Consists of the Windows Operating System

c. Contains a Flat Panel Monitor with at least a 24 in. dimension.

C. Software Requirements

a. Software must be compatible with historical data generated by the

Infrastructure Materials Group with the older TA Instruments – Waters DSC Q 2000 and associated software that is being replaced.

b. Software license for unlimited users

c. Capable of performing thermogram analysis, e.g., glass-transition fitting, calculation of onsets, endsets, and enthalpies of transitions and reactions, determination of reaction peak temperatures, heat capacity analysis;

capable of exporting graphs. The software shall be compatible with the Q-series .00X files that have been produced from the existing TA-Waters unit for which this requirement shall replace, namely the software shall be able to open and process them or convert them to a file format which is usable by the software.

Requirement 0002: Brand Name Only Cooling System for the DSC Description (P/N: 972007.901): The contractor shall provide a refrigerated cooling system that must be compatible with the DSC instrument and software, in accordance with the following essential characteristics.

Quantity: 1

A. Technical Specifications of the Cooling System

a. A refrigerated cooling system capable of not requiring the use of consumable liquid nitrogen.

b. The system shall be able to achieve a minimum temperature of -90°C

c. The system shall be able to cool the materials being analyzed from a temperature of at least 500°C.

d. The system should be able to cool at an average rate of 20°C/min, from

500°C to 20°C, or faster.

Requirement 0003: Brand Name Only TGA and the Associated Computer System (P/N: 956500.904):

Description: The contractor shall provide a TGA and computer for running the instrument and subsequent thermal analysis. The TGA shall be capable of running modulated TGA and high resolution TGA, so that complex thermal events of materials can be thoroughly examined by gravimetric analysis. The TGA shall meet or exceed the following specifications.

Quantity: 1

A. Technical Specifications of the TGA

a. A temperature range from the ordinary, ambient, temperature of an environment or lower to 1000°C or higher

b. Heating rate range from 0.1°C/min or slower to 100°C/min or higher

c. Ability to provide temperature accuracy and temperature precision to

±1°C.

d. Accommodates at least two integrated and installed gasses simultaneously.

e. Contains a TGA furnace with a warranty.

f. Mass resolution 0.1 µg or less over the range of 50°C to 1000°C, with no baseline subtractions

g. Baseline weight drift 25 µg or less over the range 50°C to 1000°C, with no blank subtractions

h. Has a sample weight capacity and dynamic weighing range of 1000 mg or more.

i. Capable of modulating the temperature with the following features:

i. Sine wave amplitude range: 0.05°C or lower (quasi-isothermal) to 10°C or higher

ii. Sine wave period range: 100 s or lower to 500 s or higher

j. Contains high resolution capability.

i. High resolution TGA will provide possible use of a variety of techniques to examine thermal events more precisely, including isothermal or quasi-isothermal hold programmability and capability, and the mass-loss informed/controlled heating rates.

k. Capable of recording a differential thermal analysis (DTA) signal

l. Contains an autosampler with a minimum of 20 different positions.

m. Contains a platinum and aluminum TGA pans to fill the autosampler positions.

n. Contains a TGA calibration set featuring Curie temperature reference materials.

B. Technical Specifications of the Associated Computer System

a. Compatible with the instrument and analysis software

b. Consists of a Windows Operating System

c. Contains a Flat Panel Monitor with at least a 24 in. dimension.

C. Software Requirements

a. Software must be compatible with historical data generated by the

Infrastructure Materials Group with the older TA Instruments – Waters TGA Q 500 and associated software being replaced.

b. Software license for unlimited users

c. Capable of performing thermogravimetric analysis with graphical methods using plots of mass, time, and temperature, e.g., analysis of mass, mass loss, e.g., percentage mass loss, rate of mass loss, determination onset and endset points of reactions, and the analysis of the DTA signal for reaction information (e.g., DTA enthalpy of reaction calculations); capable of exporting graphs. The software shall be compatible with the Q-series .00X files that have been produced from the existing TA-Waters unit for which this requirement shall replace , namely the software shall be able to open and process them or convert them to a file format which is usable by the software.

TRADE IN EQUIPMENT

The Government has the following TA Waters equipment available for trade-in credit, with the following Tag, Model or Instrument, and Serial numbers:

DSC Q2000 TGA Q500

Tag# 629856 629857 Model# 970001.9001 953001.901 Serial# 2000-1047 0500-1100

Contractors may provide a trade-in credit for any or all of this equipment. A trade-in credit is not required to be offered; however, proposed trade-in credit shall be applied to the total amount of the quotation during price evaluation.

CONTRACT TYPE

The contract type shall be Firm-Fixed Price. All items associated with the Requirements specified herein shall be completed in accordance with Contract Line-Item Number (CLIN) 0001:

CLIN 0001: Differential Scanning Calorimeter and a Thermogravimetric Analyzer in accordance with the Statement of Requirements document (to include delivery, installation, and training)

IV. PERIOD OF PERFORMANCE/LEAD TIME

The Period of Performance shall be no longer than 20 weeks after contractor receipt of order (ARO).

V. DELIVERY TERMS

Delivery shall be F.O.B Destination and shall occur in accordance with the delivery due dates provided above.

FOB Destination means: The contractor shall pack and mark the shipment in conformance with carrier requirements, deliver the shipment in good order and condition to the point of delivery specified in the purchase order, be responsible for any loss of and/or damage to the goods occurring before receipt and acceptance of the shipment by the consignee at the delivery point specified in the purchase order; and pay all charges to the specified point of delivery. The contractor shall deliver all Line Items to:

National Institute of Standards and Technology Shipping and Receiving 100 Bureau Drive, Building 301 Gaithersburg, MD 20899 Steven McCabe, RWB-G

VI. INSTALLATION

The system shall be installed by the Contractor and meet contract specifications no later than six weeks after delivery. Installation, at a minimum, shall include uncrating/unpackaging of all equipment, set-up and hook-up of the system, and removal of trash. Onsite installation shall be done at NIST (Gaithersburg, MD- Building 226, Rm.

B325).

VII. TRAINING

The contractor shall conduct a training session for up to five users at NIST. The training shall provide a thorough demonstration of all system/solution functions, maintenance, data administration, and basic troubleshooting. The training shall be completed at NIST Monday – Friday during the operating hours of 8:00 AM to 5:00 PM, as mutually agreed upon between the Contactor and NIST. The training and demonstration of specifications and must be completed no later than 30 days after installation. The contractor providing the training shall be a field service engineer, designated as such by the supplier of the instrument.

VIII. INSPECTION & ACCEPTANCE

In addition to the inspection and acceptance terms articulated in FAR 52.212-4, the Government reserves the right to perform such performance tests and evaluations as defined below to verify specified system performance. Such tests and evaluations, if performed, shall be conducted within the environment that the system is to be operated.

The Contractor has the right to be present during the tests and evaluations, if performed, at the Contractor’s expense.

Performance Tests to be Performed:

• Standard calibration of the DSC for temperature and heat flow.

• Standard calibration of the TGA with Curie Temperature reference materials.

Additionally, a visual inspection of the equipment will be performed by NIST to identify surface defects or any form of indication that any equipment was damaged during transport to NIST. The Government shall have sole discretion to require repair or replacement of damaged and/or nonconforming supplies at no cost to the Government. The Government at any time prior to acceptance shall reject the equipment due to defects and/or nonconformance. The vendor is responsible for latent defects discovered any time after final inspection. However, the extent of its liability shall be prorated over the useful life of the equipment.

Delivery shall occur no later than 9 weeks after award date. Installation shall occur no later than 6 weeks after the delivery date, and training shall occur no later than 30 days after installation. Installation and training shall take place on a normal business day (between 8am and 5pm) as mutually agreed upon between NIST and the Contractor. Inspection will be completed within one week after all aspects of delivery, installation, and training are completed.

IX. RISK ASSESSMENT

The contractor will not need access to a system that processes non-public or sensitive DOC information. All work to be performed under this contract is considered to be IT - Low Risk.

X. WARRANTY

The contractor shall provide a commercial warranty for the entire system, to include parts, labor, and travel. The warranty shall be in accordance with terms in FAR 52.212- 4.

XI. PAYMENT SCHEDULE

Advance payment is not authorized. The Contractor must invoice in arrears according to the payment schedule. The Contractor shall be paid, in accordance with Net 30-day payment terms, upon receipt and acceptance of a proper invoice, in accordance with the following schedule:

1. 100% after installation and acceptance by NIST of fully installed system, AND

2. After the successful completion of the testing requirements set forth in this document under, AND

3. After successful demonstration by the instrumentation that it performs IAW the technical requirements set forth in this document AND

4. After receiving an invoice submitted properly, IAW the purchase order terms and conditions.

NOTE: Partial shipments and partial invoices will not be accepted, unless otherwise requested and accepted by the Contracting Officer prior to award.

Proposed payment schedules shall be submitted with vendor’s response to the RFQ for consideration.

XII. MISCELLANEOUS INFORMATION

Safety: The Contractor employee must be responsible for knowing and complying with all installation safety prevention regulations. Such regulations include, but are not limited to, general safety, fire prevention, and waste disposal.

Security: NIST is a restricted campus. An identification badge is required for access for entry into buildings and is shown to the armed Security Police when entering the campus.

Regular Business Hours. Regular business hours are Monday through Friday, (8:00 am to 5:00 pm) Eastern Time, excluding Federal holidays and NIST closures.

Identification Badges: Contractor employees must comply with NIST identification and access requirements. Each Contractor employee must wear a visible identification badge provided by the NIST Security Office.

Vehicle Registration: All Contractor employees must register their vehicles with the NIST Security Office to gain access to the campus. A valid driver’s license, Government-furnished civilian ID, proof of insurance and current registration must be presented to the NIST Security Office, at which time a NIST vehicle pass will be issued. The pass must be displayed on the vehicle in accordance with NIST Security Office instructions.