Development and Presentation of Boiling Water Reactor Stability and Anticipated Transient without Scram with Instability Training Course

The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) intends to post a request for quotations (RFQ)  on or about August  29, 2017 for Boiling Water Reactor (BWR) Stability and Anticipated Transient without Scram with Instability (ATWS-I)  Training. The contact type is anticipated to be firm-fixed-price.  The solicitation will only be made available on www.fbo.gov.  FAR Part 13 Simplified Acquisition Procedures will be used to select the awardee.  The awardee will be selected using the best value tradeoff source selection methodology.

 Background:

 In recent years, there have been multiple licensing actions and topical reports regarding BWR stability and ATWS-I methods with many more expected in the next few years.  Therefore, the NRC is creating a development program related to BWR stability and ATWS-I that will support development objectives of NRC staff that are planned to be involved in these upcoming BWR stability reviews.  Part of the development program is for these staff members and potential contractors to receive formalized training related to BWR stability and ATWS-I phenomena (physical mechanisms leading to instabilities), the models and methodology the industry is using to capture the phenomena, BWR plant protection against the issues related BWR stability, and the licensing aspects related to BWR stability and ATWS-I.  

The objective of this acquisition is for the contractor to develop and provide formalized training for NRC staff on BWR stability and ATWS-I.  The training will be recorded by the NRC and used to develop NRC staff and contractors that will be reviewing licensing actions and topical reports related to BWR stability and ATWS-I.  Based on the knowledge acquired during the course, NRC staff will have an increased ability to perform licensing reviews in a more effective and efficient manner. 

Overview of Requirements:

The contractor must develop a training course in the areas of BWR stability and ATWS-I phenomena (physical mechanisms leading to instabilities), the models and methodology the industry is using to capture the phenomena, BWR plant protection against the issues related BWR stability, and the licensing aspects related to BWR stability and ATWS-I for the NRC staff and select contractors. 

The NRC will acquire unlimited rights to all data first produced under the resultant purchase order in accordance with FAR 52.227-14 and FAR 52.227-17. 

It is intended that the course materials be utilized for the period of the resultant purchase order. 

A minimum list of proposed course topics is shown below.  The course shall be accomplished through a combination of lectures, discussions, videos, and demonstrations.    As a minimum, the course shall include the following:

1.  BWR stability and ATWS-I theory encompassing the physical mechanisms leading to BWR instabilities (e.g., coupled neutronic-thermohydraulic oscillations and their relationship to two phase flow heat transfer, 3D neutron kinetics, transient fuel rod heat conduction) and associated frequency domain analysis

2.     2.  Current methodology and numerical methods used to perform BWR stability and ATWS-I calculations (development, implementation, applicability, and limitations). Additionally, the test facilities used to benchmark these numerical methods (i.e., KATHY, ATLAS)

3.     3.  Physical plant protection against issues related to BWR stability (Long-Term Stability Solutions (e.g., Option-III, Enhanced Option-III, DSS-CD))

4.     4. Licensing aspects related to BWR stability and ATWS-I

The contractor must prepare and provide printed class material for up to 30 participants.  The contractor will be required to submit draft class materials to the COR for their review and comment before the contractor finalizes those materials.

The contractor shall provide a shortened (1-2 day) dry run of the training course with the COR and select staff from NRC.  The intent is to ensure alignment of all materials is captured as requested, delivery is appropriate, and key concepts are captured.  The dry-run will be either in person or via webinar as agreed upon by COR and contractor.

The contractor shall provide the approved training course at the NRC in Rockville, Maryland in a classroom setting.  The course is expected to be between 3 to 5 days in duration at the Professional Development Center at NRC Headquarters in Rockville, MD.  The NRC will videotape the training course for future use by NRC staff. 

 All responsible small business sources may submit a quotation, which will be considered.