W911NF-20-S-0011 ARL MANUFACTURING TECHNOLOGY FOA.pdf

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Funding Opportunity Announcement (FOA)

Overview Information

Federal Agency Name: Combat Capabilities Development Command-Army Research Laboratory (CCDC-ARL). Acquisition office through US Army Contracting Command- Aberdeen Proving Ground, Research Triangle Park (ACC-APG-RTP) Division.

Program Name: CCDC-ARL Manufacturing Technology

Funding Opportunity Announcement Title: FOA for CCDC-ARL Manufacturing Technology. This FOA seeks proposals from U.S. for-profit organizations and non-profit organizations as allowed in accordance with 32 Code of Federal Regulations (CFR) Part 37 and entities eligible for award in accordance with 10 USC 2371b.

Funding Opportunity Announcement Type: This is the initial funding announcement.

Funding Opportunity Announcement Number: W911NF-20-S-0011

Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance (CFDA) Number(s): 12.630 (applicable to TIAs)

Application Process:

The application process under this FOA consists of preparation of a proposal consistent with the requirements herein. In addition concept papers may be submitted for consideration to reduce potential unnecessary bid and proposal efforts for those concepts a potential applicant may wish to first discuss with the Government to ensure relevancy prior to a proposal submission.

Dates for Proposal: This FOA will remain open from the date of publish through 30 September 2023. Individual topics included herein may include specific proposal submission dates.

FOA Request: This notice of funding availability constitutes a competitive mechanism by which to evaluate and select proposals for award, including a merit-based competition, as described in the Department of Defense Grants and Agreements Regulations (DoDGARS), 32 Code of Federal Regulations (CFR) §22.315 for the selection of proposals to be awarded a TIA and for the competitive process for the award of OTs. A formal Request for Proposals (RFP) or any other type of solicitation regarding this program will not be issued.

ACC-APG RTP Division is soliciting concept papers and proposals, on the endeavor described herein.

The Government encourages businesses of all size, as well as institutions of higher education, to participate through teaming arrangements with the lead organization. Applicants must reflect the appropriate teaming structure and eligibility requirements as identified in this announcement.

Applicants are responsible for reviewing and addressing, as necessary, any amendment to this FOA, to include but not limited to any adjustment on submission dates or times or other submission requirements.

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Type of Contract/Instrument and Eligibility Criteria: The Government may award Department of Defense Grant and Agreement Regulations (DoDGARS)-based Technology Investment Agreements (TIA) (32 CFR Part 37) or Prototype Other Transactions (10 USC 2371b) as a result of this FOA. The Agreements Officer will make the determination as to which type of agreement will be utilized under this FOA.

A. As defined by the DoDGARS, a TIA is a special class of assistance instrument used to increase involvement of commercial firms in defense research programs and for other purposes related to integrating the commercial and defense sectors of the nation’s technology and industrial base.

TIA’s are used to stimulate or support research and are designed to: (a) Reduce barriers to commercial firms’ participation in defense research, to give the Department of Defense (DoD) access to the broadest possible technology and industrial base; (b) Promote new relationships among performers in both the defense and commercial sectors of that technology and industrial base; and (c) Stimulate performers to develop, use, and disseminate improved practices.

Per 32 CFR Part 37, several determining factors must be addressed by the Government Agreements Officer in order to award a TIA. The following factors should be evident in the proposal submission and serve as eligibility criteria for potential award of a TIA:

1. The principal purpose of the project is the stimulation or support of research, rather than acquiring goods or services for the benefit of the Government. The basic, applied, or advanced research must also be relevant to the policy objective of civil-military integration as defined by 32 CFR Part 37 Appendix A. (Reference 32 CFR 37.205)

2. A TIA may only be awarded when one or more for-profit firms are to be involved in either the performance of the research project or the commercial application of the research results. (Reference 32 CFR 37.210)

3. The recipient must show a strong commitment to, and self-interest in, the success of the project. The Government is required to seek cost sharing to ensure the recipient incurs real risk that gives it a vested interest in the project’s success. To the maximum extent practicable, the non-Federal parties carrying out the research project under a TIA are to provide at least half of the costs of the project. In the event that a lesser amount of cost sharing is impracticable, the proposal should provide justification for why that is the case and also demonstrate the potential recipient’s self-interest in the success of the project. Cost sharing may include, among other things, in-kind monetary contributions, labor contributions, facilities/equipment contributions, contributions from third parties investing in the research project.

(Reference 32 CFR 37.215)

B. Prototype Other Transaction (OT)

As specified in the DoD “Other Transactions Guide”, Prototype OTs (November 2018) provide the Government with access to state-of-the-art technology solutions from traditional and non-traditional defense contractors (NDCs). OTs can help: (a) foster new

P a g e 3 | 29 relationships and practices involving traditional and NDCs, especially those that may not be interested in entering into FAR-based contracts with the Government; (b) broaden the industrial base available to Government; (c) support dual-use projects; (d) leverage commercial industry investment in technology development and partner with industry to ensure DoD requirements are incorporated into future technologies and products; and (f) collaborate in innovative arrangements.

In order to be compliant with 10 USC 2371b, awards made as a Prototype OT must meet at least one of the following eligibility conditions:

1. There is at least one NDC or non-profit research institution participating to a significant extent in the prototype project.

2. All significant participants in the transaction other than the Federal Government are small businesses [including those participating in the Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) or Small Business Technology Transfer (STTR) programs].

3. At least one-third of the total cost of the prototype project is to be paid out of funds provided by parties other than the Federal Government. OR

4. The senior procurement executive (SPE) for the agency determines in writing that the exceptional circumstances justify the use of a transaction that provides for innovative business arrangements or structures that would not be feasible or appropriate under a contract, or would provide an opportunity to expand the defense supply base in a manner that would not be practical or feasible under a contract.

Estimated Program Funding: The estimated amount of funding available for projects under this FOA is currently unknown. The Government will review and evaluate proposals in accordance with this FOA in order to make decisions on awards. Proposals are subject to available funding and a technical evaluation resulting in award. There are no limits on either the dollar amount or period of performance for agreements made as a result of this FOA.

Anticipated Number of Awards and Award Period: CCDC-ARL and ACC-APG RTP Division intend to make multiple awards (i.e., to enter into multiple TIAs/OTs with industrial and academic institutions and teams) but reserve the right to make no award under this FOA.

The anticipated award period of a TIA/OT between the Government and an awardee will be based on the proposal and its research goals.

Brief Program Summary: The topics in Section I.A are intended to help ARL execute manufacturing technology (ManTech) programs to address the highest priority needs of the US Army. The goal of these programs is to demonstrate and ultimately transition improved and cost-effective manufacturing solutions for Army platforms and Warfighter systems. Strong transition planning is essential to program success and requires a clear path to implementation.

Program stakeholders typically include proponents from the acquisition community, technology managers, manufacturing facilities, and industry. Program investment areas are aligned with Department of Defense (DoD) directives, and currently include technologies oriented towards: 1) future platforms, 2) legacy platforms, and 3) the organic industrial base. Alignment to the Army Modernization Priorities is also required, and these priorities are: 1) Long-Range Precision Fires, P a g e 4 | 29

2) Next Generation Combat Vehicle, 3) Future Vertical Lift, 4) Army Network, 5) Air and Missile Defense, and 6) Soldier Lethality.

CCDC ARL seeks proposals to develop and demonstrate manufacturing and/ or repair improvements for Army materiel, which includes items and materials associated with combat vehicles, armaments, vehicle and personal protection systems, etc. These manufacturing and repair improvements should provide cost, schedule, and risk reduction benefits compared to current baseline processes. Detailed descriptions of topics of interest are included below.

Full Text Announcement

I. PROGRAM DESCRIPTION

The U.S. ACC-APG (RTP Division), is soliciting concept papers and proposals consisting of Volume I, Technical and Volume II, Cost on the research efforts described below:A. TOPICS:

Topic 1: INTELLIGENT, MOBILE, ADAPTIVE MANUFACTURING CELL (IMAC)

FORMING MT

Background:

The DOD is seeking proposals to develop and demonstrate improvements for the manufacture of combat vehicle hulls/structures, to reduce labor-intensive practices and processes on the production floor that exist today to produce vehicle structures. The fabrication of ground combat vehicles poses a set of unique challenges, which are naturally distinct from those of the automotive and aerospace industries. While both automotive and aerospace primarily utilize sheet or thin plate or extrusion product forms, ground combat vehicles are manufactured from welded thick armor plate to form the base hull/ structure, which makes automation much more challenging as compared to thin plate manufacturing processes. Inherent to thick-plate welding are not only the potential for weld defects, but the increased possibility for the workpiece to become distorted. As more plates and subsections are welded together, the likelihood of weld defects and distortions rise, and the end product (i.e. vehicle hull) can contain defects and deviations from its as-designed tolerances (where everything should fit together perfectly) that result in costly and inefficient rework. Each vehicle, particularly legacy platforms, is thus unique to some extent. This environment is different than the commercial automotive or aerospace platforms where more advanced forming techniques, precision and automation have been the norm. Hence, forming techniques that unify components to minimize joining have rapidly progressed and automation within these industries can be “hard-programmed” because the production environment is high volume, low mix, and high precision. In contrast, the production environment for combat vehicles is relatively low volume, high mix, and lower precision where more intelligence is required to adjust or compensate.

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Recent advances in materials and forming technologies have allowed the automotive industry to consolidate multi-part, complex assemblies into one formed component. Through the utilization of high strength steels and hot stamping (press hardening), along with shape optimization algorithms, have enabled automotive designers to not only lighten automotive structural weights (in excess of 10%), but offer the flexibility of producing components with optimal gradient properties. While utilization of these processes for the automotive industry has dramatically increased over the past five years, this technology has lagged in application to defense products.

Forming of high hardness armor steel alloy components has seen some maturation and inclusion in armored vehicles in Europe (and the civilian armored automobile market), the armor thicknesses for ground combat vehicles has limited its application to these systems. However, recent advances in armor steel, aluminum and titanium alloys and forming technologies has shown that application of these manufacturing technologies is possible, along with synergetic coupling of formed components with metal additive manufacturing processes. Maturation of the processes to consolidate armor vehicle component parts and minimize welds are enablers to advance the fabrication of combat vehicles and maintain program cost and schedule.

Up to this point in time, the most effective way to address workpiece deviations inherent to thick-plate combat vehicles has been to use a person-in-the-loop. As an experienced worker on the factory floor, the operator has knowledge to make decisions to compensate and still maintain performance requirements. However, there are drawbacks to this approach, first of which is the fact that individuals make individual decisions, which may or may not be consistent with other workers operating in-parallel on the production line. Part deviations resulting from individual decision-making can compound and cause greater, unforeseen assembly issues downstream, potentially leading to part non-conformance and expensive and time-consuming rework. Second, many manual assembly tasks are repetitive and time-consuming, and are often regarded as choke points in the production process requiring multiple workstations in multiple locations to maintain throughput.

Production of Army combat vehicles will benefit from the maturation and use of advanced manufacturing technologies to consolidate parts and decrease the number of welded components, along with robotics and automation to reduce the number of direct man-hours required to manufacture a combat vehicle in order to reduce production time, rework, and increase capacity.

The robots must be configured for this environment by being intelligent and flexible. The required intelligence will be based on artificial intelligence and machine learning technology applied to the manufacturing environment. Intelligent robotics will know the operations to be performed, identify any dimensional differences, compensate where possible, notify an operator as necessary, perform the required operations, and inspect the results.

Requirements:

The objective for the maturation of advanced manufacturing technologies will be first to identify multi-part combat vehicle components and then develop the appropriate process or combination of manufacturing processes to consolidate the multi-part component into one part, thereby eliminating the need for welding, reducing cost and increasing performance. The manufacturing processes that can be considered include 1) hot forming (press hardening), 2) hot forming

P a g e 6 | 29 followed by a separate quench and age or temper, 3) machining of thick armor plate, 4) a combination of hot forming, machining and metal additive manufacturing as separate discrete processes and 5) hybrid manufacturing whereby these are combined in one machine. Materials to be considered include roll homogeneous armor (RHA) steel, high hardness (HH) armor steel, ultra-high hardness (UHH) armor steel, armor aluminum and titanium alloys.

The objective for automating combat vehicle fabrication will be to develop technology for an intelligent mobile adaptive manufacturing cell (IMAC) with up to five stations for automating combat vehicle process and assembly operations. The basic operating premise for each station will be: 1) to move the workpiece/subassembly/assembly into the cell, 2) orient the workpiece, 3) scan the workpiece, 4) identify the task to be performed, 5) adjust the path planning and process parameters to compensate for any deviations detected, 6) perform the operation, 7) post-inspect and/ or scan the workpiece to determine GO/NO-GO on further part processing or set-aside.

Manufacturing operations can include:

1) Inspection/Metrology Operations: laser, x-ray, white light

2) Machining Operations: drilling, tapping, milling, grinding

3) Joining Operations: inserts, bosses, tack and light-duty welding

4) Other: cleaning, surface preparation

The foundation of the approach is the use of artificial intelligence and machine learning to enable intelligent robotics to position sub-assemblies and to perform a multitude of tasks during production and upgrade operations for ground combat vehicle platforms. Tasks targeted for initial development are ones that are currently performed manually and that prove particularly inefficient, tedious, quality-challenged, and time consuming.

An example of a tedious and quality-challenged manual operation facing many vehicle platforms is the drill-tap-insert (DTI) process. The DTI process is necessary for preparing attachment points for applique armor and other add-ons to vehicle hulls. Depending on the platform, these attachment points can number into the thousands, and each must be positioned in a precise location and pattern. Because uncertainty associated with welding the hull sections, these holes cannot be predrilled with the required precision.

The robotic technology will automate several combat vehicle assembly operations to reduce manufacturing costs and improve production throughput. The multi-station cell will also incorporate new in-line inspection capabilities to identify, eliminate, or mitigate minor part non-conformances early on in the manufacturing process before they become a future problem. This inspection feature not only lowers manufacturing costs but also enables higher quality and consistent products coming off the line. Additionally, by virtue of its design, the technologies are inherently platform-agnostic and can address the manufacturing needs of numerous vehicles in various lifecycle stages, new production, reset, ECP, etc. Capabilities targeted for initial demonstration are scanning of hulls/ subassemblies, delivery and manipulation of work pieces, drill-tap-insert (DTI) operations, and inspection.

Robots can be tailored to perform broad classes of functions, ie. workpiece delivery, manipulation, and positioning; and process workers. The ability of a material handling robot to

P a g e 7 | 29 act as a fixture when positioning vehicle subassemblies, and the artificial intelligence required within the work cell, are desired aspects of IMAC.

Workpieces/subassemblies/assemblies/structures can differ from their as-intended designed tolerances. As such, robots performing autonomous operations on said workpieces must be able to recognize this, orient itself, and adjust its actions accordingly to compensate as required.

Workpiece deviations occur in the ground combat vehicle manufacturing environment, particularly working with legacy structures. As such, robots cannot be simply hard-programmed for their tasks the way that robots in the automotive industry are. Some artificial intelligence/ machine learning is required.

The current DTI process referenced above involves manual operations for each hole. The procedure is as follows: 1) determine the correct location for each hole template on the side of a vehicle and attach them, 2) drill a hole into the vehicle’s hull, 3) thread the hole with a tap, and

4) insert a wear-resistant insert (for accepting fasteners from applique armor and other add-ons).

The templates are custom tooling pieces, and are not transferrable between vehicle platforms. To use the templates, an operator uses a hoist to position each individually for the particular hole pattern being worked. This positioning must be precise relative to key features such as datum locations and other hole patterns, such that no “ballistic windows” are created by gaps between improperly positioned armor panels. However, small adjustments to positioning are frequently needed to eliminate such gaps, as as-manufactured parts inherently deviate from their as-designed Computer-Aided Design (CAD) models, especially in the case of thick-plate welded structures. Some development will be necessary to automate the insert function since it is easy to misalign the insert with the receiving hole, resulting in cross treading or jamming of the insert which would require rework.

Robots must recognize and orient themselves based on prescribed part features (such as datums) and adjust functions/actions according to real time measurements taken from a workpiece. They must recognize workpiece deviations and adjust actions accordingly, consistently, and within allowable tolerances.

Due to the flexibility sought for the cell, there are several intended tasks that must be performed in each substation. Each task requires a specialized end effector; specialized not for its application to a particular workpiece or platform, but specialized for its function such as drilling holes, cutting threads, welding, machining, inspection, etc. Another challenge is the need to maximize the efficiency of the tasks to be performed in low-bay shop floor space, which restricts the way the hulls and subassemblies can be manipulated into favorable orientations for the tasks to be performed.

To initiate any activity assigned to a substation, the robots must be able to recognize the assembly, subassembly, or components that they will be working on. The material handling robot must then orient the structure into the proper position for a worker robot to perform the assigned functions or place it into an appropriate fixture. The worker robot will already have the necessary manufacturing data in memory to validate the workpiece is ready and to perform the assigned functions. The worker robot will be equipped with image recognition and sensors such

P a g e 8 | 29 as lasers to be able to measure critical parameters on the workpiece, identify datums, and to adjust as necessary any path planning to perform the assigned functions.

Post-process inspections are important to overcome quality issues. It is important to identify the issues and take corrective action as soon as possible to prevent them from becoming problems.

Inspections can include visual, laser, low dose X-ray to validate dimensional tolerances, and material integrity. Thorough inspection in the cell can enable repairs to be performed within the cell rather than cause disruptions and delays downstream with increased delay and cost.

Each sub-station may contain its own independent material handling system for positioning a workpiece or hull into the best, pre-programmed orientation(s) for tasks to be performed.

“Worker robots” will then be used to actually perform the work at hand. These worker robots will be capable of travelling between sub-stations to perform the operations listed above (i.e.

inspection, machining, and joining). A set of worker robots and a common repository for end effectors, combined with independent material handling in each sub-station, means that different vehicle platforms and workpieces in various stages of fabrication can be handled at once. It is not intended to be a station-by-station, iterative march-along for the workpieces that go through

it. Rather, for ultimate flexibility, any sub-station that is open can accept any workpiece at any time for any programmed operation.

Topic Point of Contact (TPOC): Bryan Cheeseman; 301-943-7410;

bryan.a.cheeseman.civ@mail.mil

Topic 2: DEVELOPMENT OF MANUFACTURE TECHNOLOGIES AND PROCESSES

FOR VERSITALE TACTICAL POWER AND PROPULSION

ARL advances new concepts and technologies for the Army's future force, and provides the means to exploit scientific breakthroughs and avoid technological surprise. These concepts and technologies impact the development of new power and propulsion systems for current and future unmanned aircraft systems (UASs) and unmanned ground vehicles (UGVs) in support of the Future Vertical Lift and Next Generation Combat Vehicle Modernization Priorities. UAS currently suffer from inadequate performance, suboptimal reliability and increased life-cycle costs because they use propulsion systems that have been designed for civilian ground applications and single fuels rather than the harsh conditions associated with military operating environments. To address the needs of the Army Modernization Priorities and create new tactical unit independence capabilities, ARL seeks to improve and expand the domestic industrial knowledge and manufacturing base to meet the energy, power and propulsion system requirements (power density, range, reliability) unique to next generation Army air and ground operational environment. ARL also addresses capability gaps and supply chain risks characterizing the current generation of unmanned aircraft systems (UAS) and seek to avoid them for future systems and platforms. Research is needed into the underlying science and methodologies that improve manufacturing technologies and processes in support of engine and powertrain technologies to improve the performance, operational capabilities, and sustainment of Army vehicles. Further, process prototyping and pilot demonstration are needed to develop or modify manufacturing technologies for the Army's use. Efforts support the VICTOR ARL

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Essential Research Program and include manufacturing capability and processes that support ignition and control with multiple fuels, robustness and reliability of materials and mechanical components with multiple fuels and harsh combustion conditions, hybrid-electrification and turbocharging for specialized Army configurations, and power storage and distribution in a multi-agent teaming environment.

Subtopics:

a. Ignition and Control.

Manufacturing technologies are needed that will enable the development of novel lightweight, high power density, and multi-fuel capable propulsion systems for next generation UAS. Current propulsion systems for these UAS are unable to operate on a wide range of fuel properties and extreme conditions, resulting in low performance and reliability, and high cost. In the future battlefield, UAS will require robust, reliable power generation with improved performance and tolerance to fuel variability. To address fundamental research gaps in multi-fuel ignition control strategies and other multi-fuel tolerant propulsion technologies, efforts will seek to expand knowledge and understanding to support the development of unique sensing, control, and design of small system power generation. In order to improve robustness of Army power sources, novel compact on-board sensors are required to measure specific fuel properties, and adaptive ignition strategies that adjust based on sensor output are needed. Areas of interest include, but are not limited to, new methods and technologies required to produce: miniaturized rugged reliable sensors for fuel chemistry; technologies to improve engine fuel tolerance; variable ignition modeling and fuel sensing; and ignition assistance technologies and controls, especially those that couple simulation and system response.

TPOC: Jacob Temme, (410) 278-9455, jacob.e.temme.civ@mail.mil

b. Propulsion Materials.

Current UAS engines have exhibited serious component and system failures, resulting in wasted operations, maintenance, and acquisition costs, as well as reduced Army Readiness and mission effectiveness. Furthermore, ground-based engines are manufactured by foreign sources at high-cost, injecting risk into the UAS and ground vehicle component supply chain during an era of increased global trade uncertainty and military competition. To incentivize the US industrial base to domestically manufacture next generation propulsion systems, the Army must develop propulsion systems that can use multiple fuels – those found in theater and transported in – to accomplish diverse missions, while improving other performance attributes such as efficiency, power density, and resilience.

ARL is seeking advances in the manufacture of robust materials and components to address the harsh operational conditions unique to Army vehicle propulsion such as high temperature combustion, lightweight needs, high pressure fuel

P a g e 10 | 29 systems, and extreme lubrication conditions in mechanical components. Projects of interest may address challenges such as material development and design, manufacturing methodology, and the integration of these through computational tools and frameworks.

TPOC: Stephen Berkebile, (410) 278-9547, stephen.p.berkebile.civ@mail.mil

c. Electrification and Hybrid Propulsion.

In UASs utilizing compression-ignition engines, turbomachinery is necessary to pressurize the engine intake and achieve the required power output. Current UASs use automotive-derived turbochargers, which are not designed to operate in flight and exhibit problems related to insufficient boost, over-speeding, and vibration.

To address these problems and increase performance and reliability, efforts are focusing on enabling technologies for electric turbo compound systems, oil-free bearings, and modeling and experimental measurement of turbomachinery fluid– structure interaction. ARL is seeking materials and manufacturing processes which can be developed, applied to, and/or prototyped to enable turbomachinery components and sensors capable of withstanding high pressures, temperatures, and rotational speeds.

Further, hybrid propulsion systems are currently lacking, with fossil fuel engines outperforming them in almost all aspects. In order for hybrid-electric propulsion systems to become more widely used, new technologies need to be developed that improve energy storage and the overall performance of the electric machines, as well as simulation tools that allow for the performance evaluation of the propulsion system as a whole. ARL is seeking the integration of advanced materials and new manufacturing processes to the development, design, and manufacture of electric machines (e.g. electric motor) and energy storage devices (e.g. battery) that will improve the overall energy densities and power densities of those components. Additionally, ARL is seeking the development of simulation models which can be applied to increase predictability of their performance in a virtual framework to aid in system design and production.

TPOC: Ryan McGowan, (410) 278-3583, ryan.c.mcgowan3.civ@mail.mil

d. Fast Efficient Power Distribution

Solutions for powering missions over long durations without resupply rely on recharging of batteries for small robotic autonomous systems (SRAS), sensors, and Soldiers, however the process of sharing energy is limited by four key factors:

(1) use of power sources or photovoltaics that limit recharge opportunities; (2) multiple charger interfaces and wiring; (3) recovery of SRAS; and (3) long battery charging times. As a result, there is a need to share energy in a more seamless manner that will increase the pace of operations, extend missions, and enable smaller, lighter weight power sources for high power devices. ARL is seeking

P a g e 11 | 29 solutions to the battery charging gaps that will enable energy sharing between platforms powering future RAS platforms. In particular, ARL needs the knowledge and understanding that can promote manufacture processes and technologies for materials, designs, algorithms, and limitations of four key technologies and solutions that bridge the gap for these technologies from invention to development and industrial applications: (1) rapid recharge batteries to enable more operational time; (2) close proximity wireless power transfer to eliminate wires and connectors; (3) quiet multi fuel portable power generation to allow close-in charging capability; and (4) autonomy for seamlessly battery recharging and managing the usage and distribution of energy as a team.

TPOC: Sarah Bedair, (301) 394-0021, sarah.s.bedair.civ@mail.mil

Topic 3: HIGH DEPOSITION RATE ADDITIVE MANUFACTURING

Background:

This topic seeks proposals to help the DOD develop and implement High Deposition Rate Additive Manufacturing (HDR-AM) and Repair (HDR-R) technologies through research and development of materials, processes, equipment, and applications that benefit the Army, the DOD more broadly, and the US Manufacturing base as a whole.

Several advanced manufacturing processes which deposit materials onto existing parts or build platforms through solid state processing or melt solidification processing have great potential for manufacturing and repair of new parts or fielded parts respectively. The US Army, and DOD more broadly, has need for life extension of service parts to reduce the logistics train and increase force readiness. This is achieved by reducing the time to repair or replace components in the field and by improving the quality of the parts in the field to reduce mean time between overhaul.

Recent work in deposition of advanced refractory alloys, cermets (ceramic-metallic composites), aluminum alloys, and maraging steels or instance have led to surface modification, part repair and new part additive manufacturing advances for armaments, aerospace hardware, ground vehicles, and ships that otherwise could not be achieved.

Materials development, modeling and simulation, and experimental work have played a critical role in these advancements and will be critical going forward to benefit the widest range of applications and application needs. Work to develop the manufacturing techniques for repair of critical DOD hardware has been highly successful in certain applications, but the need for further materials development, production hardened equipment, adaptive processes like Machine Learning for process control, and more advanced application development such as structural repairs still exists.

High Deposition Rate Additive Manufacturing is a broad category which describes processes that can deposit 10’s of pounds of material per hour making large part AM and AM of lower cost commodity materials cost effective and possible. HDR-AM also has the promise of adding features or rebuilding entire sections of existing components which closely aligns this technology to repair. The primary differentiation between HDR-AM and HDR-R is that it is common and often expected that HDR-AM processes will require some

P a g e 12 | 29 level of heat treatment after the deposition or build process. This technology is in an earlier stage of development than part repair, but has many of the same needs with respect to feedstock development, equipment development, machine learning, and applications development across the DOD.

The Government intends for this FOA to support the development and establishment of new feedstock materials and processing techniques, models that can predict quality and defects in the deposited feedstock materials, new methods of incorporating machine learning into manufacturing processes, methods of robotic manipulation and control, sensors for tracking the build process of the materials, Non-Destructive Testing techniques for verification of part quality, equipment to better control the process, and applications for the Army and the DOD more broadly which can benefit from the technologies developed.

The motivation for the HDR-AM-R program is to increase U.S. knowledge base in the technologies, solve real problems for the DOD today, and increase the competitiveness of U.S. entities in these manufacturing techniques.

The Government envisions this effort to bring together entities across industry and academia to solve the problems associated with implementation of structural repair using HDR processes with multiple material systems and to develop broader capabilities in whole part and partial part builds and in part repair using HDR processes. This collaboration will likely have several entities whose roles and expertise should be explained in the proposal.

It is also the intent that this collaboration will work closely with CCDC-ARL to leverage the work already performed in this area, and to better understand the challenges to be addressed.

To be successful, the results of a proposal should result in new materials developed, new processes, new and improved control processes for the deposition system and robotics, and successful DOD applications developed and transitioned to the field. Sustaining any development effort of this sort requires the industrial base capacity for materials, equipment, and processing, and a sufficiently trained workforce which can apply the technologies developed. A successful effort will include a development of or a path toward this goal. This should be considered as a thread through the entire effort with emphasis placed on materials, equipment, and processes that further this goal.

Topic Description:

Cold spray is a HDR technology which has been demonstrated to dramatically extend the life of legacy weapon systems, with its unique ability to apply materials to substrates that no other technology can. Cold Spray can create high performance coatings and materials for advanced weapons capabilities and is therefore essential for our country’s national defense. Cold spray can add new metal onto worn surfaces so that critical features can be re-machined back to tolerance, allowing parts that previously had to be scrapped to be reused. This provides an incredibly powerful tool for our military to quickly refurbish an existing damaged or out of tolerance part and simply reuse it, rather than waiting weeks, months, or up to 2 years in some cases, for a replacement part. The value this brings to our military cannot be overstated. Mission capability is the number one indicator of the strength of our fleets. When weapon systems are waiting months in depots for replacement parts, or extensive repairs must be undertaken because there is no in-situ high strength repair

P a g e 13 | 29 capability available, then our fighting power is reduced. Cold spray can repair damaged areas with new material, fully restoring the functionality and confidence of the original part, and in many cases, this can be done, on-ship, on-aircraft, or on-vehicle in hours rather than weeks or months. Cold spray is also producing coatings and Additive Manufactured (AM) near-net parts that have applications in both legacy and future weapons systems addressing needs in the restoration and reclamation of worn/corroded parts for munitions, aircraft, ships, subs and vehicles eliminating the need to purchase new expensive parts with long lead times making those future fighting capabilities possible, now.

The use on Cold Spray as an additive manufacturing process has been demonstrated, but not fully developed. The high deposition rate of the process lends it to making large parts of features very rapidly. When using Cold Spray in this way other options exist including thermal and thermos-mechanical processing to reduce potential defects or produce unique composites and alloys. AM techniques including nozzle manipulation to freeform parts, and to use mandrel techniques to form more complicated parts have been considered and partially developed.

Other HDR processes include wire based melt solidification processes such as Wire Arc Additive Manufacturing. These processes have demonstrated similar deposition rates to those achievable with Cold Spray, but through fusion welding. A significant amount of the R&D work performed with this technology has been for producing large high quality parts although limited efforts have also focused on component repair and feature addition. The DOD in interested in furthering these HDR fusion based processes as well as the HDR solid state processes to provide a broader range of repair, and AM options for the DOD community. The Army specifically is invested in both HDR solid state and fusion based processes to achieve the improved performance and reduced downtime needed by the warfighter and has plans to further develop them through development in feedstock, process development, process modeling, process control, path planning, in-situ monitoring, and

NDT.

A program in HDR-AM-R includes the following, with a proposal addressing some or all of these aspects as supported by an Applicant’s approach and cost:

1. Process Modeling – Process modeling is critical to developing a broad understanding of the manufacturing processes themselves and to make predictions about potential defects and properties. Process models of interest include both physics based and semi-empirical models. Physics based models specifically have the potential of reducing the level of effort dedicated to the Edisonion trial and error approach to process and materials development. Semi-empirical models generally require some experimental data, but provide a mechanism to take that data, quantify it and make expressions to make further predictions in areas that have not been fully explored.

2. Feedstock Development – Feedstock is at the heart of any AM process as this if the material used to create the part, coating, or feature desired. Depending on the AM process used the specific critical aspects of the feedstock can change but include, surface oxide/hydroxide, microstructure including phase presence and segregation, heat treatment, and size. Process modeling can play an important role especially when

P a g e 14 | 29 physics based models can provide details about the effects of particle flow stress on deformation under impact conditions or wire diameter on the depth of HAZ or solidification rate.

3. Process Development – Process development as a task will draw heavily from the process models and will be closely tied to the feedstock. Other important features of this effort would include equipment needed to achieve high quality deposition, the process settings (pressure, temperature, voltage, current, frequency, standoff, angle, etc.), the gaseous environment around the part. It will be incumbent as part of this task to develop robust designs for the equipment needed to achieve the highest quality materials that are highly flexible, but while also being robust for field use. This includes the added features and consumables that may be material specific, the sensors to monitor the process, and the motion systems needed for proper control.

4. Process Control – Process control can take on several forms and is of course closely tied to the other tasks described. At its core, this task would consider the sensor data from the process and use that data to control various aspects of the process ensuring consistent performance. Most high quality HDR processes have some level of process control through PLC, computer, or other type of digital controller. This task may consist of not only improving on the consistency of process control incorporating new sensors as needed from the Process Development task, but also incorporating machine learning into the control process of the system. Machine learning (ML) is a tool which can be used to monitor and update process conditions using algorithms which take advantage of data collected over time on high and low quality deposits of material. Two critical aspects of ML include being able to properly capture the process characteristics and having the data to support system learning. These would be critical aspects of any ML process control effort.

5. Motion Path Planning – Once a process is developed and can be controlled, robotic path planning is the key to being able to get consistent properties out of a process. Real part geometries can play a key role in the resulting properties of the deposits due to defect formation that may not be present in the typical flat plate used for process development.

Rules based path planning, Machine Learning, and human-robot teaming have the potential to produce improved and consistent results from part to part. In addition, rules based repair designs combined with a geometry-property database has the potential to reduce the complexity of the required path planning and optimize the deposit properties.

6. Non-Destructive Testing – Many NDT techniques have been developed for traditional manufacturing processes based on the likely defects and defect locations from these processes. Likewise HDR-AM-R requires a set of NDT techniques which can be used either in-situ or ex-situ to validate build quality. CT Scanning for instance is a known method for evaluation of parts ex-situ, but capturing fine defects requires high cost and complex equipment. Layer-by-layer analysis techniques hold a great deal of promise in AM generally as the parts can be evaluated for internal quality during the build cycle.

7. Applications Development and Testing – The final proof of any process development will be the applicability of this process to real world hardware. This portion of any effort

P a g e 15 | 29 would include review of part requirements and build or repair strategies and would require careful coordination with Program Managers (PM’s), depots, and design authorities. It is expected that the applicability of the process will be included in any program and be started early in the program to identify multiple application off-ramps at different decision points along the program timeline.

The benefits of the HDR-AM-R program include the profound advantages for the DOD in component repair and manufacturing as well as the expected transition to the commercial realm making the US manufacturing workforce more productive. To this end it is anticipated that efforts might include commercialization aspects for instance regarding equipment, software, feedstock, NDT techniques, etc.

TPOC: Aaron Nardi aaron.t.nardi.civ@mail.mil

B. SCHEDULE/PERIOD OF PERFORMANCE

The period of performance of agreements resulting from this FOA will be based on the proposal and its research goals.

C. REPORTING ITEMS

1. Annual Business Reports

a) Funds Expenditure Report

b) Inventions, patent applications and awards, publications, and conference presentations

2. Quarterly Technical Reports

a) Technical Project Status broken down by task and TPOC

3. Program Reviews

a) Annual reviews of all tasks associated with the project

4. Standard Form 425 (SF 425) “Federal Financial Report”

5. Final Report

6. Prototypes or other deliverables as proposed and/or negotiated.

D. OTHER REQUIREMENTS

1. Program security classification: Unclassified

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2. Program Protection Plan. The government will address any critical program information (CPI) with a potential requirement for a program protection plan (PPP) generated as part of this effort as needed.

3. Export Control: It is not anticipated that Export Control (International Traffic In Arms Regulation (ITAR) 22 CFR 120-131, or Export Administration Regulations (EAR) 15 CFR 710-

774) will apply to the HDR-AM-R with the exception of DOD part information. It is the recipient’s responsibility to determine applicability with Export Control laws and regulations and ensure compliance. Export Control laws and regulations may apply to individual tasks depending on the nature of the research tasks.

E. GOVERNMENT FURNISHED PROPERTY (GFP) AVAILABILITY

The government does not anticipate making GFP available under resultant awards, but reserves the right do so.

F. RIGHTS IN TECHNICAL DATA AND COMPUTER SOFTWARE

“Data” means computer software, computer software documentation, and technical data (as defined in DFARS 252.227-7013 and DFARS 252.227-7014).

Government purpose rights” means the rights to (i) use, modify, reproduce, release, perform, display, or disclose Data within the Government without restriction; and (ii) release or disclose Data outside the Government and authorize persons to whom release or disclosure has been made to use, modify, reproduce, release, perform, display, or disclose that Data for United States Government purposes. Government Purpose Rights will allow the Government the right to practice, obtain, reproduce, publish, or otherwise use in any part of the world for purposes of the Government, and to authorize others to do so solely for Government purposes. Government purpose does not include commercial applications.

“Unlimited rights” means rights to use, modify, reproduce, perform, display, release, or disclose Data in whole or in part, in any manner, and for any purpose whatsoever, and to have or authorize others to do so.

“Technical data” means recorded information, regardless of the form or method of the recording, of a scientific or technical nature (including computer software documentation).

The term does not include computer software or data incidental to contract administration, such as financial and/or management information.

“Form, fit, and function data” means technical data that describes the required overall physical, functional, and performance characteristics (along with the qualification requirements, if applicable) of an item, component, or process to the extent necessary to permit identification of physically and functionally interchangeable items.

“Computer software” means computer programs, source code, source code listings, object code listings, design details, algorithms, processes, flow charts, formulae and related material that would enable the software to be reproduced, recreated, or recompiled.

Computer software does not include computer data bases or computer software documentation.

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“Computer software documentation” means owner's manuals, user's manuals, installation instructions, operating instructions, and other similar items, regardless of storage medium, that explain the capabilities of the computer software or provide instructions for using the software.

Technical data, Non-Commercial…