The U.S. Army Contracting Center (ACC-NJ-ET) on behalf of Armament Research, Development, and Engineering Center (ARDEC) of Ben t Laboratories, Watervliet Arsenal, Watervliet, NY, is conducting a market survey to identify potential sources to collaborate on an evaluation for the application of dry, non-line of sight hard coatings technologies to coat and refurbish 155MM Howitzer breech spindles for wear and corrosion mitigation.

Funding for this research will be provided by the Office of the Secretary of Defense Comparative Testing Office (OSD CTO) under the Foreign Comparative Testing (FCT) program. This program aims to test items and technologies from our foreign allies that have a high Technology Readiness Level (TRL) in order to satisfy valid defense requirements quickly and economically. It also aims to promote international collaboration, which ultimately would contribute to enhanced standardization and interoperability.


The requirements for this international collaboration may include but are not limited to the following:

1. Feasibility to apply concept design to the spindles configuration and operating environment; the spindles are made of 4340 steel and operate at high stress (80-100ksi), peak transient surface temperatures of up to 750 C with an average continuous temperature of 400 C. For more details on spindle configuration refer to Attachment 1.

2. Capabilities to perform deposition runs for proposed coating. The deposition constraints and performance metrics include:

Maximum allowable deposition temperature of 525 C ( less than 350 C preferred).
Deposition process must be non-line of sight.
Deposition process must be capable of through-hole coating down to inner diameters of 0.25 quote mark with length to diameter ratio of at least 40:1.
Deposition process must be dry (i.e. not based on liquid phase plating technologies).
Adhesion: Must Pass ASTM B571 test standard (Qualitative Adhesion Testing of Metallic Coatings).Coating Thickness Range: 5 - 50 m
Corrosion resistance: Minimum equivalence to 50 m thick engineering Cr plate as per SAE AMS 2460 Class 2.
Minimum hardness: 600 Vickers.
Coating Thickness Range: Thickness levels from 5 to 50 m required.
Coating Thickness Uniformity: Thickness uniformity of 20% average coating thickness.
Final roughness must be less than Ra32 inch.
Operating temperatures: Peak transient surface temperatures of up to 750 C. Continuous temperatures of 400 C.
This announcement constitutes an official Request for Information (RFI). Any information or brochures submitted will be used for planning purposes only and shall not be considered as a Request for Proposal or as an obligation on the part of the Government to purchase a technology. This request does not constitute a solicitation for proposals or the authority to enter into negotiations to award a contract (see FAR 15.201(e)). No funds have been authorized, appropriated, or received for this effort.

Responses:

Interested organizations should submit a company brochure or a tailored capability statement for these requirements that clearly details the ability to perform the aspects of the notice described above. All proprietary information should be marked as such. Responses will be reviewed by the US Army ARDEC Ben t Laboratories personnel only and will be held in a confidential manner. Submitted documentation will not be returned. Any and all information provided shall include a description of the proposed technology specifics including technology capabilities and relevant applications.


Submission Information:

Responses to the RFI must be received no later than COB 1600 EST on 30 January 2013 via email. Interested firms should provide their address, point-of-contact with telephone number and e-mail address. The Point of Contact for this action is Katelyn Warren, Contract Specialist, U.S. Army Contracting Command-New Jersey, ACC-NJ-ET, Bldg. 40 Watervliet Arsenal, NY 12189; email: [email protected] NO TELEPHONE INQUIRIES WILL BE ACCEPTED. The Government will accept written questions by email to Katelyn Warren at [email protected].

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