SATPC0039363 Tab 04 4 SOW..pdf

STATEMENT OF WORK

1. Objective/Requirements NASA requires procurement and installation of a turnkey 36” x 36” x 38” or greater internal dimension vacuum chamber and pump with suitable optical access to enable various plume-surface interaction (PSI) experiments and to enable the development of various experimental methods to study the PSI phenomenon. The system shall be versatile, allowing atmospheric and vacuum operation with and without lunar regolith simulant. The current procurement is for the vacuum chamber only and excludes any pressurized (> 1 atm) hardware. The system shall be modifiable to handle lunar regolith simulant, to permit low flowrates, and operation with nitric oxide, which is toxic and corrosive, at a later time. The chamber and electronics shall also be able to add and control a turbopump for lower operating pressures. These modifications are excluded from the current procurement, but hardware shall be capable of and compatible with operating under these conditions. System shall be Ideal Vacuum ExploraVac-Unlimited chamber and DV300 roughing pump with customized window, or equivalent.

2. Characteristics, Scope, and Specs NASA Langley is studying PSI both on ground tests and in flight with a so-called

Stereo Cameras for Lunar Plume Surface Studies (SCALPSS) photogrammetry system.

SCALPSS uses cameras to measure the shape of the resulting crater in lunar regolith. It can also measure the ejecta by itself or in combination with lasers. The facility being procured will be used for the following:

• Perform PSI experiments using a plume of gas interacting with a regolith bed.

Regolith simulant to consist of 0.1 micron to 1 mm scale, irregularly-shaped dust and sand from various origins. The regolith simulant will be blown around the chamber using a plume of air, so a filter shall be placed on the inlet to the vacuum pumps to prevent pump damage. Also, the inlet to the pump shall be mounted on a side wall of the chamber to reduce the amount of dust entering the filter and pump under the influence of gravity.

• Develop improvements to SCALPSS which requires optical access from several directions. The SCALPSS cameras have square or rectangular format and are in the visible spectral regime so large square or rectangular tempered glass windows will be acceptable for several of the windows.

• Perform planar laser induced fluorescence (PLIF) of Krypton and Nitric Oxide (NO) that would be seeded into the flow at low levels (<5%). Note that PLIF requires a UV laser sheet, so at least 3 of the round and/or elongated windows in the facility will need to be transparent down to 210 nm. UV-Grade Fused Silica is required on the UV windows. Also, since the NO is corrosive, copper gaskets shall not be used. Rather, gaskets compatible with NO are required on all flanges and seals.

The vacuum chamber shall have the following specifications:

o The vacuum system shall have dimensions of 36”x36”x38” or greater with a 36”x36” door on one side, hinged on one side, that can be opened by releasing two levers.

o The vacuum system, including the pump, shall be mounted onto a rolling cart to enable use in multiple laboratories. Adjustable feet shall raise the cart off the wheels to stabilize the system during operation. The height of the middle of the chamber shall be 35-40" above the ground floor for easy operation.

o The system shall have a touch screen control console to operate the system. The controller shall operate with the “Ideal Vacuum AutoExplor Software” (basic, lifetime license) or equivalent. Controller shall operate pump(s), vent valve and shall control and read out various instrumentation packages provided. Controller shall contain an emergency stop button and a button to control chamber lighting.

o Pressure instrumentation shall include two capacitance-manometer-type pressure gauges in the ranges of 1000 Torr (for atmospheric operation) and 10 Torr (for operation in rough vacuum). Transducer accuracy shall be better than or equal to 0.25% of reading. Shall be MKS 626D 1000 and 10 Torr Baratron Absolute Capacitance Manometer, Vacuum Pressure Gauge Sensors, Vacuum Fitting KF-16, PNs 626D13TDE and 626D11TDE or equivalent.

o Temperature instrumentation shall consist of 16 Type T thermocouples that shall penetrate the pressure shell through a KF-40 flange and read out by the controller.

o Premium version of Ideal Vacuum AutoExplor (1 year license) or equivalent will provide data logging of transducers. Output will be provided in .csv format.

o The “right” side wall shall have a removable 6” x 12” plate for future use.

o Chamber shall be designed, manufactured and sealed to be operable at 3x10^-8 Torr

(if a turbopump is attached).

o Chamber shall meet DO-160 and MIL-STD 81 OG pressure testing requirements.

o All wetted metal surfaces including exposed window frames shall be stainless steel to enable use with up to 5% NO, with balance of N2 without corrosion.

o Leybold DV300 vacuum pump or equivalent to allow sufficient exhaust to continuously flow air into the chamber at >5 SLPM when the chamber is at 1 Torr. See Figure 1 below.

o Leybold DV300 or equivalent pump shall be connected to the chamber through an ISO-63 port located on the “right” side wall of the chamber.

o The rouging pump shall have a filter suitable for preventing lunar regolith from entering the pump.

o System shall take no longer than 4 minutes to pump down from atmospheric pressure to 30 mTorr when empty and no gas flowing into the chamber.

o There shall be an ISO-200 port on the “right” side wall of the chamber capable of supporting a HighPace 450 or equivalent or larger turbopump in the future. A blank ISO-200 flange will cover this opening. Prior to turbopump operations in the facility, NASA researchers will clean the facility of particles and/or a filter will be installed in front of the turbopump.

o All windows must meet a factor of safety of 10 per NASA requirements.

o Finite Element Analysis stress reports for the vacuum chamber and non-standard windows shall be provided.

o Number of, shape of, type of windows as specified in the attached Table 1.

o Number of, shape of, type of flanges as specified in the attached Table 1.

o Layout of penetrations on front, back, left, right, top panels as specified in the attached Figure 2 and Table 1.

o Bottom panel shall have no penetrations though it shall have mounting points located on the inside to allow an impingement plate to be rigidly attached.

Specifically, twenty female ¼-20 tapped fastener locations shall be evenly spaced on the floor of the facility and 10 ¼-20 tapped fastener shall be evenly distributed on each side and on the top of the chamber for fastening hardware.

o The system shall be warrantied for at least 12 months.

3. Place of Performance Upon completion of preliminary system design, contractor agrees to hold a virtual Critical Design Review (CDR) to include NASA stakeholders. Items will manufactured, assembled, leak checked, and functionally tested at Ideal Vacuum in Albuquerque, NM.

System to be shipped to and installed by the manufacturer at NASA Langley Research Center, and Langley researchers will receive training on the operation of the system.

4. Period of Performance Delivery date by Feb 28, 2026.

Attachments:

Table 1: List of equipment, penetrations, windows, frames and other hardware to be provided:

Item Details QTY

36x36x38 turnkey system including chamber control console, software, roughing, vacuum pump, purge, stand, 16TC's, capacitance manometer upgrade kit (Two gauges), convector gauge kit 1 ports ISO-200 Port 1 CF 2.75 Port 2 cf6 1 cf8 16 kf-50 2 kf-40 1 kf-25 2 1/2" tempered pane 3 cube ports 12x12" port 8

6x12" port 1 flanges P1011809 for UVFS CF8 3 similar to P109369 but SS 12x12" tempered 8 6x12" SS blank 1

P102250 CF8 blank non rotatable, Through Holes 16 P102249 CF6 blank non rotatable, Through Holes 1 CF 2.75 SS Blank, Non-Rotatable, Through Holes 2

ISO-200 Blank 1 iso63 blank 1

12x12" SS blank 2 remaining small flanges less than $100 all together 1 rectangular window feature 4"x30" clear aperture 3 pump filter 1 Full chamber FEA report 1 R&D FEA report for 4"x30" aperture window for vacuum forces only, no temperature or vibration 1 12x12 cube window FEA report 1

Figure 1: Pumping rates of different pumps sold by Ideal Vacuum, compiled from product literature. P is the chamber pressure and mdot is the pumping rate in standard liters per minute

(SLPM).

Chamber layout figures:

Figure 2.1: Chamber wall/door nomenclature definitions

Top This is the top of the chamber. All placement of ports should be symmetrical.

Figure 2.2: Top of Chamber

• 12x12” Port and Tempered Glass Viewport (4x) o Please see Note 1

Similar to P109369, with stainless steel frames.

o As close to corners of inside of the chamber as possible.

• CF 8.0 Port and Blank (5x) o Center port and blank should be exactly centered.

o Outer four blanks: as close to the edge of the inside of the chamber as possible.

Centered laterally between the 12x12” viewports.

o Blanks paired with ports.

Front (door) This is the chamber door, also referred to as the “front side”. Placement of ports should be symmetrical on either side of the door and should be centered vertically.

Figure 2.3. Front View of Door

Since the door is not flat, we will name the three main sides of the door as Panel 1, Panel 2, and Panel 3, as seen below in Figure 4. Please note that since we do not have the CAD for this chamber, this model is not drawn to scale.

Figure 2.4: Top View of Door

• CF 8.0 Port and Blank (2x) o Centered horizontally on Panel 1 and Panel 3.

o Centered vertically on door.

• 7x33” (4x30” clear aperture) Port and Tempered Glass Viewport (1x) o Please see Note 1.

o Please see Note 2.

o Please see Note 3.

o Centered horizontally on Panel 2.

o Centered vertically on door.

Back This is the side opposite of the door, where the DV300 pump, instrumentation feedthroughs, and potential future turbo pumps will connect through. It is also referred to as the “plumbing side”.

See Note 4.

Figure 2.5. Back Side of Chamber

• A) CF 8.0 (1x) o Port, blank, and UVFS Viewport.

o Centered horizontally and vertically.

• B) CF 6.0 (1x) o Port and blank.

o Centered horizontally.

• C) CF 2.75 (2x) o Can be placed as deemed appropriate. Please allow room for tools and hardware between ports.

• D) ISO-63 (1x) o This is where the DV300 roughing pump should connect. Please verify that this is the correct flange size for the DV300 pump.

o Centered vertically. Please allow space for tools, hardware, and attachments for the DV300 pump.

• E) ISO-200 (1x) o This is where a potential future turbo pump would connect. Please verify that this is the correct flange size for the nEXT 1230 turbo pump.

o Centered vertically. Please allow space for tools, hardware, and attachments for the turbo pump.

• F) KF-25 (2x) o Please see Note 5.

• G) KF-40 (2x)

• H) KF-50 (2x)

• I) 6x12” (1x) o This will be used for thermocouple and other instrument feedthroughs. However, please refer to Note 6.

o Centered horizontally.

o Bottom of flange is 1.5” up from chamber floor.

Side (Left) This side is the left wall of the chamber, as viewed from the front door, and is directly adjacent to the door. The left and right sides of the chamber are identical, with the exception that the left side has two CF 8.0 UVFS viewports in place, while the right side only has CF 8.0 blanks. All ports on the left side of the chamber should be identical to the right side.

Figure 2.6. Left Side of Chamber

• 12x12” Port and Tempered Glass Viewport (2x) o Please see Note 1.

Similar to P109369, with stainless steel frames.

o As close to upper corners of inside of chamber as possible.

• CF 8.0 Port and UVFS Viewport (2x) o Centered vertically.

o As close to edge of 7x33” viewport as possible.

• CF 8.0 Port and Blank (2x).

o Horizontally aligned with above CF 8.0 viewports.

o Vertically as close to above CF 8.0 viewports as possible.

• 7x33” (4x30” clear aperture) Port and Tempered Glass Viewport (1x) o Please see Note 1.

o Please see Note 2 o Please see Note 3.

o Centered horizontally.

o Centered vertically.

Side (Right) This side is the right wall of the chamber, as viewed from the front door, and is directly adjacent to the door. See Note 4. The left and right sides of the chamber are identical, with the exception that the right side has only blanks in all four CF 8.0 ports. Please refer to specifications for left side.

Figure 2.7: Right Side of Chamber

Additional parts In addition to the designs above, we would like to purchase additional blanks.

• CF 8.0 Blanks (2x)

• 12x12” Blanks (2x)

Notes Note 1 All windows must have stainless steel mounting assemblies to accommodate exposure to nitric oxide.

Note 2 The most important part is ensuring a clear aperture of 4x30”. Any frame dimensions that are necessary to meet this, and fit within the geometry, are acceptable.

Note 3 We would like to be able to interchange these with UVFS panes in the future, so this pane must be the same thickness as a UVFS pane that satisfies the Factor of Safety.

Note 4 This is different from our previous meeting with IdealVac. Previously, the “plumbing side” was on the right side of the chamber, but this since has been changed.

Note 5 Can be placed as deemed appropriate. Please allow room for tools and hardware between ports.

Note 6 We would like to be able to swap this out for a 6x12” UVFS viewport in the future.

Please create port and blank to accommodate a future 6x12” UVFS viewport (P1010576 or similar).

Additional Requirements:

• All windows must maintain a Factor of Safety of 10 or greater.

• All blanks must be stainless steel.

• All CF blanks must be non-rotatable with through holes.

• There must be room for tools and hardware to be used between all flanges.

Figure 2 (Figures 2.1-2.7): Layout of the Front, Back, Left, Right walls and Top of the chamber. Floor of chamber has no penetrations but does have mounting points.