A --Computational Investigational of Acoustic Characteristics Emanating from Contorted Wake Vortices and Associates Hazard Level

The United States Department of Transportation, Research and Innovative Technology Administration (RITA), Volpe National Transportation Systems Center (Volpe Center), intends to solicit on a non-competitive basis, in accordance with Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) 6.302 under the statutory authority of 41 U.S.C.253 (c)(1) ? Only one responsible source and no other supplies or services will satisfy agency requirements, with the Department of Mechanical and Nuclear Engineering at Kansas State University to procure consulting support for the Volpe Center on behalf of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration?s (NASA) Wake Vortex Program. In 2003, a large phased microphone array test was conducted by the Volpe Center on behalf of NASA at the Denver International Airport (DEN) in order to study the various fundamental aspects of the wake acoustics phenomena. The microphone array data collected from the 2003 DEN test contain environmental noises and hardware features that potentially could bias the interpretation of wake acoustic characteristics. Thus, an independent assessment is needed for the wake contorted behavior during the later stage of the decay process to understand how this final decay could reduce the hazard of wake encounters. The objective of this purchase order is to apply a high fidelity computational aero-acoustic simulation to better understand acoustic phenomena, which would address the consistency of wake sound generation to guide future designs of sensors and microphone array distributions for specific wake avoidance needs. The Contractor shall develop an unsteady three-dimensional simulation model of the wake vortex flow process which will incorporate the effects of wind and atmospheric turbulence, to emulate the contorted wake vortices at later wake age and their associated hazard level during wake encounters; and validate the simulation model developed above with government provided field acoustic data collected during the DEN 2003 exercise to demonstrate the effectiveness of the simulation model. A complete statement of work will be set forth in the Request for Quotation (RFQ). RFQ issuance will be on or about August 9, 2006. The applicable North American Industry Classification Systems (NAICS) code for this requirement is 541330 and the small business size standard is $4.0M. This procurement will be conducted in accordance with FAR Part 13, Simplified Acquisition Procedures. THIS NOTICE OF INTENT IS NOT A REQUEST FOR COMPETITIVE PROPOSALS. Interested firms must submit a written capability statement to the above named point of contact providing clear and convincing evidence of the firm?s capability to provide the required services. Written capability statements must be submitted within fifteen (15) calendar days from the date of publication of this synopsis. Responses received after fifteen (15) calendar days or without the required documentation will be considered non-responsive and will not be considered. The Government will not pay for any documentation in response to this synopsis and documentation received will not be returned to the sender. A determination by the Government not to compete this requirement on a full and open competitive basis, based upon responses received to the synopsis, is solely within the discretion of the Government. Telephone calls made in place of the required documentation will not be accepted. The URL of the Volpe Center Acquisition Division home page is: http://www.volpe.dot.gov/procure/index.html NOTE: All Contractors must be registered in Central Contractor Registration (CCR) in order to receive award from a DOT Agency. Contractors may access the site at http://www.ccr.gov to register and/or obtain information about the registration process. Additionally, solicitation Representation and Certifications are no longer provided within the solicitation and must be submitted on-line through On-Line Representations and Certifications Application (ORCA). ORCA is a web based system that centralizes and standardizes the collection, storage and viewing of the Representations and Certifications required by the Federal Acquisition Regulations. Potential offerors are highly encouraged to complete the on-line provisions within the Representations and Certifications at https://orca.bpn.gov. The following notice is provided for informational purposes for Minority, Women-Owned and Disadvantaged Business Enterprise. The Department of Transportation (DOT), Short-Term lending Program (STLP) offers working capital financing in the form of lines of credit to finance accounts receivable for transportation related contracts. Maximum line of credit is $750,000 with interest at the prime rate, as published daily in the Wall Street Journal, plus 1.75 percent. For further information, call DOT Office of Small and Disadvantaged Business Utilization at (800) 532-1169 or visit their website at http://osdbuweb.dot.gov.