CREATE-AV Support

Description CREATE-AV Support Response Date: 24 April 2009 NAICS Code: 541712 The Air Force SEEK EAGLE Office (AFSEO) Kestrel Software Development Team (46 SK/SKI), Eglin AFB, FL is contemplating a sole source firm fixed price contract to the University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB); 701 20th Street South; Birmingham, AL 35294. The requirement is for accurate computational science and engineering (CSE) tools to support its flight certification activity. CSE tools aid AFSEO in determining safe flight envelopes for new stores/aircraft and safe separation of stores during flight test, as well as diagnosing issues discovered during flight test. The anticipated award date is June 2009. The North American Industry Classification Systems (NAICS) Code for this effort is 541712; size standard in number of employees is 500. The Computational Research and Engineering Acquisition Tools and Environments Program (CREATE) is managed out of the DoD High Performance Computing Modernization Program Office (DoD HPCMP). Its goal is to produce CSE software to improve acquisition cost, timeline, and delivered system performance. The Kestrel simulation tool is a CREATE product that will be used to achieve these goals for fixed wing aircraft. To realize the full potential of Kestrel and to provide the CSE capability that the AFSEO needs to perform its mission, additional modifications, upgrades, and enhancements of Kestrel's infrastructure and executive (KIE) and underlying components of AVUS, 6 degree of freedom motion generator, structural dynamics, flight control system modeling, and propulsion need to be added to the core High Performance Computing (HPC) capability of Kestrel. Also, case management capabilities need to be added to Kestrel to allow management of hundreds to thousands of jobs to be processed simultaneously. This current effort is sponsored by the DoD HPCMP CREATE Program and requires specific documentation and software development practices of their sponsored projects. The principal objective of this contract effort is to provide the ability to solve realistically sized full aircraft system problems of high resolution using distributed memory architecture on HPC systems at the DoD Major Shared Resource Centers (MSRC). These MSRCs typically have distributed systems on the order of 10,000 cores/processors and developed software needs to be able to take advantage of core/processor counts on the order of one-fourth of the machine in the near term and the full machine over the next several years. This objective is achieved by implementing Kestrel enhancements that improve parallel performance and add to the baseline CFD solver the capabilities of aircraft prescribed motion, free to respond 6DoF motion, aeroelastic interactions, flight control system response including control surfaces, and propulsion effects in a modular way. The fundamental goal of this project is to improve Kestrel performance on HPC systems and to expand its capabilities through modifications, upgrades, and enhancements. UAB possesses the unique skills, expertise, and extensive experience in the computational science and engineering (CSE) tools. Additionally, through their Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD), Computational Structural Mechanics (CSM), and Enabling Technology (ET) research centers, UAB has developed a number of stand-alone applications as well as supporting code modules that are of critical importance to the CREATE-AV/Kestrel project. These include: CaseMan, HYB3D, AVUS Flow Solver Modules, Mesh Manipulation Modules, Hybrid RANS/LES turbulence models, GENIE++, TIGER, CAGI, GGTK, PMAG, MEGG3D, KPROP, KDEFORM, and KSTRUC. An Ombudsman has been appointed to address the concerns of offerors or potential offerors. The Ombudsman does not diminish the authority of the Program Manager or Contracting Officer, but communicates contractor concerns, issues, disagreements, and recommendations to the appropriate Government personnel. When requested, the Ombudsman shall maintain strict confidentiality as the source of the concern. The Ombudsman does not participate in the evaluation of proposals or in the source selection process. Matters of routine or administrative nature concerning this acquisition should not be addressed to the Ombudsman, but rather to the Contracting points of contact indentified below. The Ombudsman is Colonel Arnold Bunch, AAC/CV, at 101 West D Avenue, Suite 116, Eglin, AFB FL 32542-5495; his phone number is 850-882-5422. Collect calls will not be accepted. Matters of routine or administrative nature concerning this acquisition should be addressed to the Contract Specialist, Ms. Michelle Rosenbaum, [email protected], telephone (850) 882-0184 or the Contracting Officer, Mr. Daniel F. Burk, [email protected], telephone (850) 882-0168, FAX (850) 882-4261. Technical questions should be addressed to Mr. Scott Morton, [email protected], and (850) 882-1432. This synopsis is for information and planning purposes. It does not constitute as IFB or RFP, and it is not to be construed as a commitment by the Government. No costs will be paid for any charges incurred in responding to this synopsis. Responses can be submitted to [email protected].