RFQ attachment - Statement of Need.pdf

Statement of Need / Required Specifications NIST 6-Port Sphere

Background The Infrastructure Materials Group (IMG) at the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) conducts research to predict performance of conventional and innovative materials, components, and systems composing US buildings and infrastructure. Research is performed on these items throughout their service life by developing a fundamental understanding of the performance properties and the degradation mechanisms when exposed to intended (real world) or accelerated (laboratory) loading environments.

Predicting the durability of engineered materials exposed to outdoor weathering has been an unresolved scientific problem in modern times. To address this durability measurement issue, NIST researchers, in partnership with industrial scientists, undertook an initiative to investigate and quantitate the changes in the properties of these materials as a function of the total outdoor exposure results and compared to accelerated laboratory exposure. This effort resulted in the NIST 2m Sphere.

The NIST 2m Sphere has been in operation for almost 20 years. In the last five years, NIST designed an updated and commercially viable, smaller, 0.5m 6-port Sphere based on the original NIST 2M Sphere design. NIST now requires production of a newly modified version of this 0.5m 6-port Sphere commercial instrument.

Purpose The purpose of this acquisition is to procure production of one (1) 0.5 m 6-port Sphere based on NIST’s design and required essential features. This is a requirement for a commercial product with modifications.

Description of Required Products The contractor shall provide one (1) 0.5m 6-Port Sphere in accordance with the following minimum technical requirements and specifications:

1. A sphere-based system for uniformly irradiating six separate sample areas with high power ultraviolet (UV) light.

2. An optical solution in the form of an integrating sphere approximately 0.5 meter in diameter with the following essential features:

o Spectralon liner as the Lambertian reflecting surface ( >99% Diffuse reflectance)Two high power UV light sources, one at the top and one at the bottom.

UV lamp bulbs shall be electrode-less and energized by microwave energy

Minimum UV irradiance measured at the sphere wall: 5000 W/m2, 300-400nm spectral range. Irradiance shall be measured with a spectral radiometer traceable to a National Laboratory.

Lamp light processors (lamp housing attached to sphere) shall be designed to be “cool to the touch” for safety reasons.

Power requirements for UV lamp power supplies shall be 480VAC o A center ring at the equator between the top and bottom hemispheres which provides six receiver ports to sample the six areas.

o The orientation of the rectangular sphere cutout and the UV bulb shall be aligned.

o Compound parabolic concentrators (CPCs) at each receiver port on the integrating sphere that reflect the light to areas that are approximately 6” in diameter with 20-degree collimation.

o Light baffles shall be installed where appropriate to prevent a direct view of the UV light source into the receiver ports and detector ports.

o An interior surface of the sphere with a diffuse reflectance greater that 97% in the UV spectrum from 300 nm to 400 nm.

o A port with port cover for the future addition of a silicon detector that would monitor the irradiance inside the sphere.

o An SMA fiber connector on the integrating sphere with a 3-position filter holder between the SMA connector and the integrating sphere.

o An access port on the sphere wall for a 0.5-inch cosine receiver. This shall allow NIST to measure UV irradiance at the sphere wall with a currently owned NIST-calibrated spectral radiometer with the following specs:

Labsphere QE Series CDS-2600 spectrometer 1m Fiber-optic bundle with a 0.5-inch cosine receiver Irradiance calibrated to a National Laboratory reference This port shall be baffled if necessary.

o Warranty: All materials shall be UV resistant, optically stable, and thermally stable for a minimum of 5 years of continuous use of high UV irradiance, except the CPCs which shall have a minimum of 1-year warranted lifetime.

3. A physical solution in the form of a free-standing hexagonal structure that contains the integrating sphere and CPCs and provides for the mounting of NIST’s environmental chambers with the following features:

o A quartz window at each port.

o Capability of attaching and supporting NIST’s environmental chambers using a structure with the same design as the existing system. Please see the attached drawings for reference.

o A solenoid operated shutter at each port.

o A slide-out filter holder at each port.

o Side shields that are 30” in height and are easily removeable.

o All side paneling shall use thumb screws.

o A 29”x8” rectangular cutout at the bottom platform of the system.

o Access holes above and below each chamber with opaque pass throughs.

Six (6) each above and below each chamber position o At least three (3) additional holes in the center platform.

Warranty Requirements

A minimum of one-year manufacturer’s commercial warranty is required for the entire product. A minimum of a three-year warranty on UV lamps (excluding bulbs, magnetrons and dichroic reflectors which shall have a one-year warranty). A five-year warranty on the Spectralon liner and lamp light processors.

Additional Contractor Responsibilities

The Contractor shall be responsible for UV Testing station and light sources.

• Burn-in testing of the 0.5m 6-port SPHERE system. Sphere and UV lamps on for at least 50 hours. This test is required for testing stability of the system

• Measure the spectral irradiance at the sphere wall o Minimum UV irradiance measured at the sphere wall: 5000 W/m2, 300-

400nm spectral range. Irradiance shall be measured with a spectral radiometer traceable to a National Laboratory.

Delivery Requirements

Delivery shall be made F.O.B. Destination within four (4) months after Contractor receipt of order to the National Institute of Standards and Technology at the address identified below.

National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) 100 Bureau Drive Building 301 Shipping & Receiving Gaithersburg, MD 20899-0001

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.

Note: The NIST Gaithersburg, MD campus is a controlled-access facility and is also under limited access restrictions due to COVID-19. Deliveries are only accepted when arranged in advance. The Contractor shall request approval of delivery time with the NIST Technical Point of Contact (TPOC) in advance of shipment. The Contractor shall comply with the NIST Visitor and Contractor Protocols for Mitigating COVID-19 Exposure on NIST Campuses as identified at this link: https://www.nist.gov/about-nist/visit/nist-visitor-and-contractor-protocols-mitigating-covid-19-exposure-nist-campuses.

Contractor failure to confirm delivery method and procedures and to receive TPOC approval prior to shipment shall release the Government of any liability and may result in payment being withheld until the campus access restrictions have been lifted and the item can be received and physically inspected.

Installation Requirements

N/A. The Contractor is not responsible for installation. NIST will install the sphere following delivery and NIST will be responsible for air sources/main supply/exhaust and purified water supply for the sphere.

Inspection & Acceptance

NIST will inspect delivered products within ten (10) business days after delivery to ensure that they conform to the requirements identified in this Statement of Need. If all requirements are met and the equipment is operational, the product shall be accepted.

The Contractor has the right, at its expense, to be present during the inspection. The place of inspection and acceptance shall be: NIST, 100 Bureau Drive, Gaithersburg, MD 20899.

https://www.nist.gov/about-nist/visit/nist-visitor-and-contractor-protocols-mitigating-covid-19-exposure-nist-campuses https://www.nist.gov/about-nist/visit/nist-visitor-and-contractor-protocols-mitigating-covid-19-exposure-nist-campuses https://www.nist.gov/about-nist/visit/nist-visitor-and-contractor-protocols-mitigating-covid-19-exposure-nist-campuses