1. Advance Contract Award Notice (ACAN)
An ACAN is a public notice indicating to the supplier community that a department or agency intends to award a contract for goods, services or construction to a pre-identified supplier, thereby allowing other suppliers to signal their interest in bidding, by submitting a statement of capabilities. If no supplier submits a statement of capabilities that meets the requirements set out in the ACAN, on or before the closing date stated in the ACAN, the contracting officer may then proceed with the award to the pre-identified supplier.
2. Definition of the requirement
The NRC has a requirement for a specialized furnace for our existing materials testing system for low (above 200 ºC) and elevated temperatures up to 1250 ºC. This furnace must interface with NRC’s existing testing equipment (testing frame, non-contact strain measurement system, specialized tooling to grip/fixture test specimens with standard and miniature/specialized geometries) to preserve the research and development work established over the past twenty years for NRC’s external clients. This specialized furnace is a critical part of NRC’s (R&D) work with external clients in the aerospace, nuclear, oil and gas, and power generation industries.
The furnace is a heating system over a range from low (200 ºC) to high temperatures of up to 1250 °C
that is used within a material testing frame to deform a material under load; this includes, but is not limited to, tensile, compressive, and cyclic deformation tests. To measure the material deformation at high temperatures, a non-contact strain measurement device is used and the furnace has suitably aligned slots on one side to permit viewing of the specimen as it deforms/moves during testing. The furnace also has an additional slot on the opposite side to mount a mechanical extensometer that is needed for precise measurement of elastic strains during specimen testing to calculate mechanical property data (elastic modulus, proof stress at proof strain, etc.). Also important is a uniform temperature distribution on the specimen as it deforms; for this, the furnace has multiple (3) hot zones and a moveable mounting fixture with three sheathed thermocouples for variable temperature sensing and control over the specimen deformation range of up to 50 mm. The furnace will heat specimens manufactured from a broad range of materials, such as metals/alloys, composites, polymers, ceramics and multi-materials (functionally graded, joints/welds, bi-metals, metamaterials, etc.).
The furnace provisions (controller, hot-zones, slots for non-contact strain measurement and mechanical extensometer, and mounting fixture to allow moveable thermocouples to follow specimen deformation) must pair accurately with NRCs existing equipment to retain use of and conformity with the materials testing system and accessories, as well as the vast R&D data existing in NRC’s database that was generated for NRC’s external clients. The work that was developed using the materials testing system is significant to further enhance NRC-generated IP.
NRC has developed hundreds of complex test methodologies to aide industry and other government departments with material testing to understand the local and global properties of novel materials manufactured using advanced/emerging technologies. The developed material testing methods and data established at the NRC in collaboration with industry and other government departments serves as the basis for the non-competitive recommendation. The research methods and data established over a twenty-year period are repeatable and allows for the continuation of research and development work for NRC to keep supporting clients.
3. Criteria for assessment of the Statement of Capabilities (Minimum Essential Requirements) Any interested supplier must demonstrate by way of a statement of capabilities that its product/equipment/system (as appropriate) meets the following requirements:
The requirement must include all of the following:
1. One high temperature furnace (system) for low (above 200 ºC) and elevated temperature testing up to 1250 ºC and with openings for non-contact and contact strain measurement devices in accordance with the technical requirements listed below;
2. The system must have three hot zones and a moveable mounting fixture with threesheathed thermocouples for variable temperature sensing and control over the specimen deformation range of up to 50 mm;
3. The system must be equipped with an advanced temperature controller and programmer having connections for six thermocouples (three for the furnace and three for the specimen)
4. The system will be mounted with a swivel unit to the existing materials testing system frame;
5. The system must be fully compatibility with NRC’s existing ZwickRoell LP test equipment and software;
4. Applicability of the trade agreement(s) to the procurement
This procurement is subject to the following trade agreement(s)
o Canadian Free Trade Agreement (CFTA)
o Canada-Korea Free Trade Agreement
5. Justification for the Pre-Identified Supplier:
ZwickRoell LP is the original manufacturer of the proposed goods and NRC's existing equipment. ZwickRoell LP owns the exclusive rights and proprietary technology rights to the subject goods and existing equipment. The specifications have been developed by the manufacturer to ensure compatibility, fit, form, and functionality.
The commonality/compatibility with existing equipment includes NRC's material testing frame, a non-contact strain measurement system, and specialized tooling for specimen mounting, (controller, hot zones, slots for non-contact strain measurement and mechanical extensometers) and mounting of mechanical extensometers, and a fixture to allow movable thermocouples to follow the test) must be consistent with those of NRC's with those of NRC's existing equipment to ensure use of and consistency with the extensive R&D data in the NRC database.
6. Government Contracts Regulations Exception(s)
The following exception(s) to the Government Contracts Regulations is (are) invoked for this procurement under subsection 6(d) - "only one person is capable of performing the work").
7. Exclusions and/or Limited Tendering Reasons
The following exclusion(s) and/or limited tendering reasons are invoked under the:
a. Canadian Free Trade Agreement (CFTA) – Article 513 (1) (b) (iii): due to an absence of competition for technical reasons;
b. Canada-Korea Free Trade Agreement – referencing the WTO Protocol Amending the GPA, Article XIII (1) (b) (iii): due to an absence of competition for technical reasons;
8. Ownership of Intellectual Property
Ownership of any Foreground Intellectual Property arising out of the proposed contract will vest in the Contractor.
9. Name and address of the pre-identified supplier
ZwickRoell LP
1009 Market Center Drive NW
Tel (770) 420-6555
info.us@zwickroell.com
10. Suppliers' right to submit a statement of capabilities
Suppliers who consider themselves fully qualified and available to provide the goods, services or construction services described in the ACAN may submit a statement of capabilities in writing to the contact person identified in this notice on or before the closing date of this notice. The statement of capabilities must clearly demonstrate how the supplier meets the advertised requirements.
