NASA Sources Sought Notice: Oil Free Turbochargers for U.S. Army Ground Vehicles

General Information

Document Type: Sources Sought Notice
Solicitation Number: NNC05ZCH015L
Posted Date: Apr 22, 2005
Original Response Date: May 13, 2005
Current Response Date: May 13, 2005
Original Archive Date: Apr 22, 2006
Current Archive Date: Apr 22, 2006
Classification Code: 28 — Engines, turbines & components
Naics Code: 333618 — Other Engine Equipment Manufacturing

Contracting Office Address NASA/Glenn Research Center, 21000 Brookpark Road, Cleveland, OH 44135

Description

This notice is issued by the NASA/GRC to post a Request for Information (RFI) and solicit responses from interested parties relative to the development of a future requirement for oil-free turbochargers.

This document is for information and planning purposes and to allow industry the opportunity to verify reasonableness and feasibility of the requirement, as well as promote competition.

Information gathered by this synopsis will help in determining if a call for proposals for a future competitive procurement package will be initiated. Prospective offerors are invited to submit written comments or questions to: Kevin Radil, no later than May 13, 2005 to the e-mail or postal address as provided herein.  

When responding to this notice, please reference “NNC05ZCH015L” and “Oil-Free Turbochargers.” Description: THIS IS NOT A NOTICE OF SOLICIATION. IT IS A REQUEST FOR INFORMATION (RFI) ONLY.

The government requests information from industry to assist in estimating the cost of designing, constructing and delivering six Oil-Free turbochargers to the U.S. Government and to submit comments on the draft requirements.

At this time, the Government requires Oil-Free turbochargers sized as direct replacements for the oil-lubricated version (Borg Warner S300) being used on Caterpillar’s I6, 7-Litre, C7 diesel engine that powers the U.S. Army Stryker and FMTV’s (Family of Medium Tactical Vehicles).

The turbocharger is rated at 357kw with an operating speed of 108krpm and a compressor air mass flow of .52 kg/s.

The turbochargers should utilize only foil air thrust and radial bearings as the support components for the rotating shaft.

Utilization of existing hardware from the lubricated version, such as the turbine, compressor and housing is expected and encouraged.

The turbocharger should be a self-sufficient unit that relies only on diesel exhaust gas to drive the turbine and bleed air from the compressor for bearing cooling if needed.

The turbocharger shall be instrumented with thermocouples to measure bearing and cooling air temperatures, vibration sensors for shock load measurements and proximity probes to measure shaft orbits.

Turbocharger orientation will initially be horizontal but may be tested in a vertical mode at a later date. Before delivery, the manufacturer shall demonstrate each turbocharger to the government at speed and temperatures simulating a diesel engine environment (gas stand or engine test stand).

Once delivered, the government intends to distribute the turbochargers to various government and industrial financial contributors who will subject them to field trials to validate the technology and assess their performance.

Afterward the users of the Oil-Free turbochargers shall document the field trial tests by submitting a report to the government that outlines the test results. The reports shall be made available to the manufacturer of the turbochargers for review. Responses can be made through verbal or written communication and should be submitted no later then May 13, 2005.

Submittal Instructions: 1. Please send relevant literature and information to: Kevin Radil NASA-Glenn Research Center Attn: Kevin Radil M/S 23-2 21000 Brookpark Road Cleveland, OH 44135-3191 (216) 433-5047 E-mail address: Kevin.C.Radil@grc.nasa.gov 2. Such information shall be included in electronic files in either: Microsoft Word, PDF or Postscript (PDF is preferred) with your comments to the System Requirements and Design Concepts.  

As part of your information package, please include company Technical Point(s) of Contact including address, telephone number and e-mail address. 3. At its discretion, NASA may request further discussions and/or clarification of the information submitted.  

If agreeable to both parties, such discussions may take place via teleconferencing or on-site visit to NASA Glenn Research Center in Cleveland, Ohio at the responder’s expense. If they do occur, discussions will be constrained to a two hour time duration, and will consist of vendor presentations and subsequent discussions of the presented material only. Representatives from the United States Government Agencies and its contractors may be present for such discussions. This RFI is not to be construed as a commitment by the Government, nor will the Government pay for the information submitted in response.

Respondents will not be notified of the results. An ombudsman has been appointed — See NASA Specific Note “B”. The RFI and any documents related to this RFI will be available over the Internet.

These documents will reside on a World Wide Web (WWW) server, which may be accessed using a WWW browser application.

The Internet site, or URL, for the NASA/GRC Business Opportunities home page is   http://prod.nais.nasa.gov/cgi-bin/eps/bizops.cgi?gr=D&pin=22   . It is the offeror’s responsibility to monitor the Internet site for the release of the RFI and amendments (if any). Potential offerors will be responsible for downloading their own copy of the RFI and amendments, if any.

Point of Contact

Richard W Amiot, Contract Specialist, Phone (216) 433-6836, Fax (216) 433-5489, Email Richard.W.Amiot@nasa.gov

Email your questions to Richard W Amiot at Richard.W.Amiot@nasa.gov