This is a REQUEST FOR INFORMATION (RFI) announcement to be used for preliminary market research purposes only. No proposals are being requested or accepted with this notice. THIS IS NOT A SOLICITATION FOR PROPOSALS OR QUOTATIONS, AND NO CONTRACT SHALL BE AWARDED FROM THIS NOTICE. No reimbursement will be made for any costs associated with providing information in response to this notice or any follow up information requests. 1. The US Army Engineer Research and Development Center (ERDC) will be conducting testing of site stabilization systems (also known as terrain surfacing or matting) in Vicksburg, MS in support of projects for PdM Bridging. Testing will provide data on the capability of the provided site stabilization systems to support military traffic as described below for the Bridge Supplement Set (BSS). Site stabilization systems will be tested under the conditions shown below for soil and site conditions, vehicle types, number of passes, and failure criteria. ERDC has a Palletized Load System (PLS) transporter that may be used to emplace the site stability systems to collect data on launch and retrieve cycles. 2. Soil Conditions. Site stabilization systems will be tested on the following soil types: a. Sand. A loose, beach sand, poorly-graded, (SP), having a California Bearing Ratio (CBR) between 10 and 15. b. Low strength soil. A weak, but intact, silt (ML) or clay (CL) having a CBR between 4 and 8. c. Marsh. An extremely weak silt (ML) or clay (CL), with or without organic materials, having a CBR between 1 and 2. d. Slope. An unpaved, graded area, with slopes of 10% and 25% on any soil with a minimum CBR of 8. To test friction and slippage, mats must be tested dry, wet, and muddy. 3. Vehicles. Site stabilization systems will be trafficked using the following wheeled vehicles: a. Wheeled vehicle. A wheeled tactical vehicle weighing at least 20,000 pounds. This vehicle makes up 90% of the traffic. b. Tracked vehicle. An M1 Abrams Main Battle Tank. This vehicles makes up 10% of the traffic. 4. Traffic patterns. Site stabilization systems will be trafficked as follows: a. On sand, vehicles cross in a channelized pattern at a constant speed of 5-10 mph at a ratio of 90 wheeled vehicle passes to 10 tracked vehicle passes. Vehicles should successfully cross a minimum of 500 passes (T) and ideally over 1000 passes (O). b. On low strength soil, vehicles cross in a channelized pattern at a constant speed of 5-10 mph at a ratio of 90 wheeled vehicle passes to 10 tracked vehicle passes. Vehicles should successfully cross a minimum of 500 passes (T) and ideally over 1000 passes (O). c. On marsh, vehicles cross in a channelized pattern at a constant speed of 5-10 mph at a ratio of 90 wheeled vehicle passes to 10 tracked vehicle passes. Vehicles should successfully cross a minimum of 50 passes (T) and ideally over 200 passes (O). d. On slopes, vehicles cross in a channelized pattern going uphill and downhill at a constant speed of 5-10 mph, but are stopped halfway using their brakes, and then proceed off the slope. Each slope and vehicle combination must be tested with a clean, dry mat, a wet mat which is constantly sprayed with water, and a muddy mat which has 12 inches of saturated 1 CBR silty clay on the lower 10 feet of matting before trafficking. Every combination of slope, vehicle, and mat conditions must allow successful crossing of 25 passes (T) and ideally 50 passes (O) to check for sufficient surface friction for vehicles and minimal mat slippage on the ground. 5. Failure Criteria. Failure of site stabilization systems will be reached when the following conditions no longer apply: a. Vehicles can cross the mat under their own power and without damaging the vehicle. b. Rutting may occur under the mat, but not to such an extent that when loaded, the underside of a vehicle scrapes the mat between its wheels/tracks. c. Matting may incur slight damage, but may not break in such a way that it creates a hazard to tires, exposed hydraulic (or other) lines, or other protrusions which cause a risk of damaging vehicles or injuring Soldiers. 6. Interested parties should respond to this request for information with details describing the technical specifications of the system and any previous testing. Interested parties shall provide 30-meter samples of the site stability systems (including the launcher or pallet system if applicable to the design) to ERDC for testing within 60 days of notification at no cost to the government. Contractors must also provide personnel to train and assist ERDC with launching and recovering the site stability systems at no cost to the government. Reimbursement will not be provided for samples damaged during testing. Samples may be returned after completion of testing at no cost to the government. Test results will not be shared among vendors for all systems tested. Results will only be provided for your system upon completion of the test reports. At the current time, NO FUNDING IS AVAILABLE for contractual efforts. This RFI does not constitute an Invitation for Bids (IFB), a Request for Quote (RFQ), or a Request for Proposal (RFP), and it should not be construed as a commitment of any kind by the government to issue a formal solicitation or ultimately award a contract. The U.S. Government is in no way liable to pay for or reimburse any companies or entities that respond to this announcement. Any costs incurred by interested companies in response to this announcement will NOT be reimbursed by the government. All information marked as proprietary information will be safeguarded to prevent disclosures to non-governmental personnel and entities. Your interest in this response is appreciated. Interested vendors should provide information regarding this announcement to Jody Criss via e-mail at:
[email protected]. Oral communications are not acceptable in response to this notice. Questions regarding this announcement may be directed to Jody Criss via e-mail at:
[email protected].