DEPARTMENT OF THE ARMY SMALL BUSINESS INNOVATION RESEARCH (SBIR) PROGRAM SBIR 21.4 Broad Agency Announcement (BAA) Army Applied SBIR Opportunity (ASO) Announcement April 1, 2021: ASO issued for pre-release April 14, 2021: Army begins accepting proposals May 20, 2021: Deadline for receipt of proposals no later than 12:00 p.m. ET IMPORTANT Deadline for Receipt : Proposals must be completely submitted no later than 12:00 p.m. ET, May 20, 2021. Proposals submitted after 12:00 p.m. will not be evaluated. The final proposal submission includes successful completion of all firm level forms, all required volumes, and electronic corporate official certification. Classified proposals will not be accepted under the DoD SBIR Program. This BAA and the Defense SBIR/STTR Innovation Portal (DSIP) sites are designed to reduce the time and cost required to prepare a formal proposal. The DSIP is the official portal for DoD SBIR/STTR proposal submission. Proposers are required to submit proposals via DSIP; proposals submitted by any other means will be disregarded. Proposers submitting through this site for the first time will be asked to register. Effective with this announcement, firms are required to register for a login.gov account and link it to their DSIP account. See section 4.14 for more information regarding registration. The Small Business Administration, through its SBIR/STTR Policy Directive, purposely departs from normal Government solicitation formats and requirements and authorizes agencies to simplify the SBIR/STTR award process and minimize the regulatory burden on small business. Therefore, consistent with the SBA SBIR/STTR Policy Directive, the Department of Defense is soliciting proposals as a Broad Agency Announcement. SBIR/STTR Updates and Notices: To be notified of SBIR/STTR opportunities and to receive e-mail updates on the DoD SBIR and STTR Programs, you are invited to subscribe to our Listserv by emailing
[email protected]. Help Desk: If you have questions about the Defense Department's SBIR or STTR Programs, please call the DoD SBIR/STTR Help Desk at 1-703-214-1333, or email to
[email protected]. Topic Q&A : The Topic Q&A for this BAA opens on April 1, 2021 and closes to new questions on May 4, 2021 at 12:00 PM ET. Proposers may submit written questions through Topic Q&A at https://www.dodsbirsttr.mil/submissions/login or through the SBIR Mailbox at usarmy.pentagon.hqda-asa-alt.mbx.army-applied-sbir-program@mail.mil. In Topic Q&A, the questioner and respondent remain anonymous and all questions and answers are posted electronically for general viewing. Once the BAA closes to proposal submission, no communication of any kind with the topic author or through Topic Q&A regarding your submitted proposal is allowed. Questions should be limited to specific information related to improving the understanding of a particular topic’s requirements. Proposing firms may not ask for advice or guidance on solution approach and you may not submit additional material to the topic author. If information provided during an exchange with the topic author is deemed necessary for proposal preparation, that information will be made available to all parties through Topic Q&A. Proposing firms are advised to monitor Topic Q&A during the BAA period for questions and answers. Proposing firms should also frequently monitor DSIP for updates and amendments to the topics. This Army Applied SBIR Opportunity (ASO) is issued under the Army Broad Agency Announcement (BAA) for SBIR/STTR 21.4. All proposals in response to the technical area(s) described herein will be submitted in accordance with the instructions provided under 21.4, found here: https://beta.sam.gov/opp/b79ded14dcf54451bcfb11bddf5cd259/view?keywords=%22army%20sbir%22&sort=-relevance&index=opp&is_active=true&page=1. a. Eligibility The eligibility requirements for the SBIR/STTR programs are unique and do not correspond to those of other small business programs. Please refer to Section 3.1, Eligible Applicants, of BAA 21.4 for full eligibility requirements. b. Anticipated Structure/Award Information Please refer to Section 1, Funding Opportunity Description, provided in BAA 21.4 for detailed information regarding SBIR/STTR phase structure and flexibility. For this BAA, Department of the Army will accept Phase I proposals for the cost of up to $259,613 for a 6-month period of performance. Proposers should refer to Section 4, Application and Submission information, of BAA 21.4 for detailed proposal preparation instructions. Proposals that do not comply with the requirements detailed in BAA 21.4 and the research objectives of this ASO are considered non-conforming and therefore are not evaluated nor considered for award. Phase I proposals shall not exceed 5 pages. Phase I commercialization strategy shall not exceed 2 pages. This should be the last section of the Technical Volume and will not count against the 5-page limit. Please refer to Appendix A of BAA 21.4 for detailed instructions on Phase I proposal preparation. c. Evaluation of Proposals Section 5, Evaluation of Proposals, in BAA 21.4 provides detailed information on proposal evaluation and the selection process for this ASO. d. Due Date/Time Full proposal packages (Proposal Cover Sheet, Technical Volume, Price/Cost Volume, and Company Commercialization Report inclusive of supporting documentation) must be submitted via the DoD SBIR/STTR Proposal Submission website per the instructions outlined in BAA 21.4 Section 4.3 Electronic Submission no later than 12:00 p.m. ET, May 20, 2021. Army SBIR 21.4 Topic Index A214-033 Advanced Thermal Management Systems OBJECTIVE: The U.S. Army is interested in improving the thermal management system(s) for enhanced cooling and control of aviation systems. The Army would like to explore the utilization of novel thermal management systems for light to medium/heavy duty applications on current enduring rotorcraft and Future Vertical Lift (FVL) platforms. DESCRIPTION: The U.S. Army is interested in identifying novel approaches for improving the thermal management and efficiency for aviation systems. Current thermal management systems are insufficient for future aviation applications due to high weight, lower heat rejection capabilities, and forced air systems predominately implemented on Army rotorcraft based on 1970’s technology, which has had incremental improvements since. As advancements in power electronics, energy dense batteries, high-power dense electric machinery, small turbine machinery, and power generation units evolve, the thermal management requirements to operate these technologies efficiently, effectively, and safely is increasingly important for aviation implementation. By taking advantage of newer technologies, techniques, and approaches, the U.S. Army is seeking opportunities to explore advanced thermal management solutions for aviation applications that meet size, weight, performance and cost (SWaP-C) requirements. The following would be accomplished by but not limited to: advanced manufacturing techniques, additive manufacturing, passive/active cooling, fuel cooling applications, innovative heat exchangers and cooling plates, novel rejection techniques and the application of novel materials. Classified proposals are not accepted under the DoD SBIR Program. In the event DoD Components identify topics that will involve classified work in Phase II, companies invited to submit a proposal must have or be able to obtain the proper facility and personnel clearances in order to perform Phase II work. PHASE I: During Phase I, innovative approaches and enabling technologies, which support the development of thermal management solutions shall be modeled and analyzed. Designs may include simulation models of the key enabling technology benefits and risks over current state of the art cooling technologies. Designs shall seek to improve thermal efficiency and thermal cooling capacity while improving or not compromising SWaP-C requirements. Designs may also consider opportunities to modify existing systems, especially those utilized on Army Aviation platforms today, to achieve effective solutions. The Army would like to have an understanding of the areas of improvement of current systems in addition to the trade spaces and technology innovations required for an enhanced thermal management system. A report should be delivered to the Army that documents the design decisions the Army could make when utilizing an innovative thermal management system. If possible, a demo would be desired. PHASE II: During Phase II, the Army would desire working prototypes with simulated aircraft loads and heat dissipating component. Phase II will leverage component and system level knowledge gained from Phase I and build a prototype that integrates with the aircraft. A laboratory environment would be required to simulate the aircraft architecture. Initial qualification testing and analyses will occur during this phase to reduce risks for meeting Army certification requirements. The Army desires testing performed that would demonstrate the most optimal setup for their thermal management system required for Army rotorcraft. The final deliverable would be a report with testing and design data that would give the Army a path forward. PHASE III: During Phase III, the Army desires to pursue full qualification of the components and aircraft integration/testing on UH-60 (a medium utility helicopter), AH-64 (an attack helicopter), CH-47 (a heavy-lift helicopter), and/or FVL. Also, it is envisioned that this technology will have applicability to commercial aircraft market. The final deliverable for this effort would be a qualified thermal management system and solution for Army rotorcraft or the commercial market. KEYWORDS: Thermal Management, Cooling, Efficiency, SWaP-C, FVL, Rotorcraft REFERENCES: MIL-STD-704 RTCA/DO160 MIL-STD-461