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Contract Opportunity

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE), Engineer Research and Development Center (ERDC), Cold Regions Research Laboratory (CRREL) intends to award a contract on a sole source basis Silixa LLC upon the basis of the authority provided at FAR 13.106-1(b).

ERDC-CRREL in Fort Wainwright, Alaska intends to procure one (1) Silixa ruggedized distributed temperature sensor (DTS) unit (model XT-DTS M) with an XT-DTS enclosure made of stainless steel that includes an optical splice tray with external fiber reference chamber, solar panels, and batteries to power the DTS, and a technician to install the device on-site at the Arctic Infrastructure Research Center (AIRC) in Fairbanks, AK.

Requirement: The Contractor shall provide the following exact brand and models to be fully interoperable with CRREL’s existing units in order to maintain integrity and consistency with data already collected and to connect with portions of CRREL’s fiber optic array:

• Ruggedized Distributed Temperature Sensor (DTS) (p/n XT-DTS M):
  
  
  
  
  • Stand-alone unit with an on-board PC and user-friendly software interface with four (4) optical channels.
  
  
  • This unit must be able to operate in temperatures ranging from -40˚C to +65˚C; sustainable on solar or wind power without compromising superior accuracy and reliability.
  
  
  • Unit must provide temperature resolution from 0.01˚C.
  
  
  • Spatial sampling must be 25cm and a 65cm spatial resolution with a 10km maximum range.
  
  
  • Unit must be configurable to produce both single-ended and double-ended measurements with a minimum measurement time of one (1) second.
  
  
  • Unit needs to have a variable range feature. This feature varies the laser repetition rate to optimize temperature resolution for any length of fiber.
  
  
  • Unit must have self-calibrating utility and on-board solid-state storage.
  
  
  • The system needs to have low power requirements (12-24V DC).
  
  
  • Unit must contain the capability to be configured and controlled remotely via a wireless or satellite link enabling remote data collection.
  
  
  
  

• XT-DTS ATEX IP66 Enclosure (p/n XT Enclosure):
  
  
  
  
  • Must have a thermal heat sink design that integrates with the XT-DTS chassis to ensure the full -40˚C to +65˚C operating range.
  
  
  • Chassis must include an integrated XT-DTS temperature reference chamber for improved calibration.
  
  
  • IP66 rating is required for the chassis, built with stainless steel.
  
  
  • Enclosure must be an integrated I/O panel, matching XT-DTS connections.
  
  
  • Enclosure must include solar panels and batteries to ensure the DTS will remain charged enough to continue collecting data.
  
  
  
  

• Installation Support & Splicing:
  
  
  
  
  • A certified Silixa technician is required provide on-site installation of the DTS system. The technician will need to be familiar with connecting the DTS to the fiberoptic cable, installing the enclosure, programing the DTS, and setting the DTS to appropriately display the data in a file format that can be downloaded by CRREL technicians. This technician must be trained especially for this kind of installation.
  
  
  
  

Silixa LLC has been identified as providing the only DTS equipment reasonably available to meet the Government’s requirement. CRREL owns and operates other Silixa DTS systems currently used in ongoing research projects. It is imperative to procure the same brand and model to enable the unit systems to take accurate measurements and function seamlessly while deployed alongside other interoperable Silixa equipment. The interoperability of the equipment is vital in maintaining integrity and consistency with prior data collected and ensuring the units are able to connect with CRREL’s fiber optic array. Silixa DTS is the manufacturer and sole distributor of their equipment, and no substitutions would be acceptable. Switching to another model is impractical and would not meet the requirements to continue the experiment; such incongruence would negatively impact the resulting data acquisition. As such, no other DTS units on the commercial market can be considered for this requirement.

This Notice of Intent is not a request for competitive quotations. However, interested parties may identify their interest and capability to respond to this requirement. Any interested party that believes they can fulfill this requirement should submit a capability statement to be reviewed. All submissions will be considered, however there is no guarantee that submissions in response to this notice will in any way alter the Government's acquisition strategy.

Responses to this notice shall be submitted NLT 12:00 PM CDT, 15 April 2024 to Latosha.N.Rodgers@usace.army.mil

Telephone responses will not be accepted.

Responses to this notice will not be considered as a response to any solicitation, a request to be added to a prospective offerors list, or to receive a copy of any solicitation. A determination by the Government not to compete the contract based upon responses to this notice is solely within the discretion of the Government. Information received will be considered solely for the purpose of determining whether to conduct a competitive procurement.

Note: In order to be eligible for award of a Government contract, vendors must be actively registered in the System for Award Management (SAM), have no active exclusions, and complete the FAR and DFARS representations and certifications.

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