The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) proposes to enter into a non-competitive purchase order with the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign (UIUC) (364 Henry Administration Bldg., Urbana, IL 61801) for the project entitled, “Investigation of TRACE Closure Laws Accuracy in Modeling BWR ATWS in MELLLA+ Domain using Integral Uncertainty Quantification Methods”. The acquisition is conducted under the authority of Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) 13.106-1(b) which provides that contracting officers may solicit from one source if the contracting officer determines that the circumstances of the contract action deem only one source reasonably available (e.g., urgency, exclusive licensing agreements, brand-name or industrial mobilization). The designated North American Industry Classification System (NAICS) Code is 541715, Research and Development in the Physical, Engineering, and Life Sciences (except Nanotechnology and Biotechnology). The proposed period of performance is date of award through September 30, 2021. The purpose of this acquisition is to investigate TRAC/RELAP Advanced Computational Engine (TRACE) modeling capabilities of unstable conditions that could arise during postulated anticipated transients without SCRAM (ATWS) for boiling water reactors (BWRs). The unstable conditions are postulated to occur for BWRs operating at high power and low flow conditions in the expanded MELLLA+ [Maximum Extended Load Line Limit Analysis plus] operating domain. The work will identify the TRACE closure laws responsible for discrepancies in modeling of this phenomenon. The analysis will be based on experiments that had been conducted at a high pressure thermal-hydraulic experimental facility. The identification of the models will be performed based on rigorous sensitivity study using state-of-the-art statistical methods. As a result of the study a recommendation will be made for potential future research by the NRC that will focus on improving the predictive capabilities of TRACE code in modeling the instabilities. Under this project, the contractor will use the TRACE uncertainty methodology, sensitivity coefficients, combined with Monte Carlo and rigorous statistical methods to determine which constitutive models are responsible for any poor agreement between the measured data and the TRACE predictions. The proposed contractor, UIUC, developed a unique tool: TAPE [Transient Analysis PackagE], which will be required to perform the uncertainty and sensitivity study for the specified scope of work. The TAPE (Borowiec et al., 2019) is a sensitivity and uncertainty quantification Python (Rossum, 1995) based tool developed at the UIUC. TAPE is the only tool available that provides all advanced sensitivity methods necessary for this project: Morris Method, Fourier Amplitude Sensitivity Test (FAST), Delta Moment-Independent Measure, Sobol index, Derivative-based Global Sensitivity Measure (DGSM). Multiple sampling strategies are also implemented in TAPE. In addition to developing this unique uncertainty quantification tool, the proposed contractor also has extensive experience with using this tool as evident by the contractor’s extensive research and publications in that area. The specified outcome of the project requires expert analysis of the evaluated measures. Those often result in conflicting indications and their interpretation require consistent evaluation strategy. In order to be able to successfully complete the specified scope of work, the proposed contractor will perform the required uncertainty and sensitivity study using the TAPE. The TAPE’s modular design and general text-based input make it compatible with a wide range of codes. However, its unique strength for this project is that it has already developed interface for reading/writing TRACE input and output, which allows for rapid execution of the project. The package is composed of five main modules, each responsible for a specific function: (1) Input perturbation, (2) Code execution, (3) Output extraction, (4) Output visualization, (5) Sensitivity and uncertainty analysis. The results of this approach will pin-point candidate constitutive models in TRACE for improvement, which is the desired outcome of this analysis. This Notice of Intent is NOT a request for proposal NOR a solicitation of offers; however, if any interested party believes they can meet the above requirement, it may submit a statement of capabilities. The statement of capabilities must be submitted in writing and must contain material in sufficient detail to allow the government to determine if the party can perform the requirement. Additionally, in order to perform work for the NRC potential sources must be free of organizational conflict of interest (OCOI). For information on the NRC COI regulations, visit NRC Acquisition Regulation Subpart 2009.5 (https://www.nrc.gov/about-nrc/contracting/48cfr-ch20.html). A determination not to compete this proposed procurement based on responses to the notice is solely within the discretion of the Government. All interested parties must express their interest and capabilities in writing via email to Jennifer Dudek, Contracting Officer via e-mail at
[email protected] no later than July 14, 2020 by 4:00 P.M. Eastern Time (i.e. 15 calendar days from the date this announcement was posted). Inquiries regarding this announcement may be made to Jennifer Dudek, Contracting Officer, via e-mail at
[email protected].