PRESOL | 99 | Destructive Evaluation and Extended Fatigue Testing of a Retired Passenger Aircraft

FBO DAILY ISSUE OF MARCH 17, 2002 FBO #0105
SOLICITATION NOTICE

99 -- Destructive Evaluation and Extended Fatigue Testing of a Retired Passenger Aircraft

Notice Date: 3/15/2002
Notice Type: Solicitation Notice
Contracting Office: FEDERAL AVIATION ADMINISTRATION, ACT-51 W.J. Hughes Tech Center (ACT)
ZIP Code: 00000
Solicitation Number: DTFA03-02-R-00012
Response Due: 3/18/2002
Archive Date: 4/17/2002
Point of Contact: Phyliss Schlegel, (609)485-4380
E-Mail Address: Email your questions to Phyliss.Schlegel@tc.faa.gov
(Phyliss.Schlegel@tc.faa.gov)
Description: Project Title: Destructive Evaluation and Extended Fatigue Testing of a Retired Passenger Aircraft Point of Contact: Phyliss Schlegel (609) 485-4380 Description of Requirement: Working in conjunction with the Airworthiness Assurance Working Group (AAWG) of the Aviation Rulemaking Advisory Committee (ARAC), the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) is endeavoring to promulgate rule changes, which would ensure the absence of widespread fatigue damage (WFD) in commercial transport aircraft. The pending rules would require an assessment of each aircraft model to prevent WFD. The FAA will require the implementation of a revised maintenance program to ensure that aircraft are safely modified or retired well in advance of this time. In the absence of such maintenance program aircraft will not be allowed to operate past their design service goal (DSG). In performing structural evaluations and assessment for continued airworthiness of high-time operational aircraft, comprehensive teardown inspections have been and are conducted in both the commercial and military sectors. Information and data developed from destructive evaluation and extended fatigue testing have been instrumental in ensuring structural integrity of aircraft, especially those nearing their DSG. Teardown inspection activities are essential to evaluate airframe structure susceptible to WFD. Current advisory material to Section 25.571 of 14 Code of Federal Regulations (CFR), as revised by amendment 96, suggests post-test teardown inspection as a means of compliance but offers no further guidance. While the expertise and knowledge base to conduct teardown inspections are well established by the large commercial airframe original equipment manufacturer (OEM) and military sectors, comprehensive guidelines and data that are documented and available to the broa! der aviation community are lacking The destructive testing and analysis of structure removed from retired aircraft can provide the FAA with first hand knowledge of teardown procedures conducted in support of applications for continued airworthiness certification. Experience and knowledge gained from this destructive analysis will enable the FAA to issue essential rules, policy, and advisory circulars pertaining to the prevention of WFD. Extended fatigue and residual strength testing of sections of actual fleet aircraft will result in data which will enable calibration and validation of prediction methodologies and can serve as a test bed to evaluate the sensitivity and effectiveness of standard and emerging inspection technologies to detect small cracks. Purpose of Announcement: In accordance with the FAA Acquisition Management System (FAAAMS) paragraph 3.2.2.4, FAA intends to award a single source contract to Delta Air Lines to conduct a destructive evaluation and extended fatigue test of a retired narrow body passenger aircraft in order to develop a knowledge base within the aviation community on the experimental procedures, analytical methods, and data reduction approaches for teardown inspection activities and extended fatigue testing for use in assessing programs to preclude WFD. The research shall involve the destructive evaluation, inspection, and testing of sections removed from a retired aircraft at or near its DSG. The sections removed shall be representative of fuselage structure susceptible to WFD identified in the AAWG report entitled Recommendations for Regulatory Action to Prevent Widespread Fatigue Damage in the Commercial Airplane Fleet, revision A, June 29, 1999. Primary focus will be to characterize the state of multiple site damage (MSD) in fuselage structure using detailed nondestructive inspection (NDI) and destructive examination. The state of MSD will be advanced through extended fatigue testing using the FAA's Full-Scale Aircraft Structural Test Evaluation and Research (FASTER) facility and then assessed through NDI and destructive evaluation. The extended fatigue testing will provide data to enable calibration and validation of prediction methodologies and will serve as a test bed to evaluate the sensitivity and effectiveness! of standard and emerging inspection technologies to detect small cracks. Analysis methods will be developed to correlate the state of MSD at any point in time to preclude WFD. FAA believes that DAL has the requisite aircraft; essential and specially trained personnel and technological capability necessary to successful complete this research. 3.1. General Task Listing: Supply Test Article: The contractor shall supply at least one narrow body transport category aircraft near or at its DSG. The aircraft must hold up to 120 passengers and be representative of aged revenue-service passenger aircraft with at least 700 currently in service. The aircraft must have a well-documented and accessible service history. A prerequisite for the aircraft chosen is that the entire usage in terms of flight types, mix and hours be known. The aircraft shall have at least 75% of the 16 WFD susceptible structures defined in the AAWG report described previously. Prepare Test Article: At least nine areas susceptible to WFD, each approximately 8 ft by 12 ft, shall be inspected, removed from the aircraft, shipped, and prepared by the contractor for destructive evaluation and extended fatigue testing. The contractor shall perform NDI and visual inspection to catalog and fully document the condition of the selected areas. At least four test articles for proper fit and testing using the FAA's FASTER facility by the contractor. The contractor shall prepare samples for fracture surface examinations using high-resolution microscope and scanning electron microscope (SEM). Damage Characterization: The contractor shall characterize the state-of-damage of all test articles. This includes quantifying the extent of fatigue cracking, corrosion, faying surface fretting fatigue, and structural disbonding. The contractor shall split open select fastener holes to reveal the crack surfaces and then perform fractographic examinations to identify, catalog and document crack initiation sites and mechanisms, crack shapes and sizes, and quality of the fastener hole surface. The crack shape and size should be cataloged and documented. The contractor shall empirically reconstruct crack growth histories using striation counts. Data Analysis: The contractor shall analyze the crack data (patterns, distributions, sizes and shapes) and demonstrate how to use this data to characterize MSD crack initiation, crack detection, crack link-up, residual strength and the WFD average behavior in the structures removed using methods recognized by the AAWG. Analysis methods will be developed to correlate the state of MSD at any point in time. 4.2. Contractor Qualifications: Due to the complex and comprehensive nature of the work, the contractor must possess or have access to a multi-disciplinary engineering staff covering areas of: ? solid and structural mechanics, ? fracture mechanics, ? material sciences, ? NDI, and ? aircraft maintenance and repair. Engineers will require advanced degrees in (Masters of Science or above) in Mechanical, Aerospace, and Material Sciences. In addition, the staff must include the contractor will be required to utilize the expertise and services of: ? an FAA designated engineering representative (DER) for structures and damage tolerance, ? FAA licensed inspectors, and ? FAA airframe and propulsion (A&P) licensed technicians. The contractor must have in in-depth understanding and expertise in managing WFD by having demonstrated competence in: conducting ? airframe failure analysis, ? damage tolerance assessments, ? establishing establishment of inspection intervals, and ? specificationsimplementation of the NDI methods employedconventional airframe inspection techniques. This includes experience in developing FAA approved material and guidelines for use in advisory materials and FAA Airworthiness Directives (AD). The contractor must be a recognized leader in the aviation community for aircraft safety by: serving on thefully cognizant of: ? Rulemaking deliberations of Airworthiness Assurance Working Group ? Research and development (R&D) activities within the FAA, DoD, NASA and industry, particularly those pertaining to WFDparticipating in aircraft safety related conferences (e.g. Aging Aircraft Conference) as a speaker, chairman, and or a member of the organizing committee. The contractor must have possession ofsupply a transport jet aircraft that: ? is a Federal Aviation Regulation (FAR) Part 25 certified aircraft, ? is representative of aircraft currently in the domestic fleet of FAR Part 121 aircraft, ? was used in revenue passenger service prior to retirement, ? has been stored properly, ? is in a condition representative of that at retirement, and ? has well documented usage and maintenance history. In addition, the contractor must have the infrastructure in place for this work including all equipment and manpower. This includes, but is not limited to:access to resources and facilities that enable that contractor to ? sectioning, removeing and shipping of test articles from the aircraft, ? examining examine and documenting fracture surfaces using Scanning Electron Microscope (SEM), ? inspecting and documenting test articles using new and emerging NDI, preparing test article for testing specimens requiring an autoclave; ? conducting complex engineering analysis needed to assess WFD. A competitive solicitation is not available for this procurement. If your company does not agree with this single source determination, please provide evidence of requisite capabilities, equipment and experience in providing similar research service for FAA to evaluate. All responses to this announcement must be in writing and directed to Phyliss Schlegel no later than close of business, Monday, March 18, 2002. The appropriate mailing address is FAA, William J. Hughes Technical Center, Attn: P. Schlegel, ACT-51), Atlantic City International Airport, New Jersey 08405. Responses may also be sent to the attention of Ms. Schlegel by fax at 609.485-4088 or by e-mail at: phyliss.schlegel@tc.faa.gov.
Web Link: FAA Contract Opportunities
(http://www.asu.faa.gov/faaco/index.htm)
Record: SN00043462-W 20020317/020315213229 (fbodaily.com)
Source: FedBizOpps.gov Link to This Notice
(may not be valid after Archive Date)

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99 -- Destructive Evaluation and Extended Fatigue Testing of a Retired Passenger Aircraft