RFI - Test Chemical-Biological (CB) Protective Materials

The US Army Combat Capabilities Development Command (DEVCOM) Soldier Center is seeking information on textile and garment testing capabilities within the United States. Specifically, we are requesting information on facilities that have the capability to test chemical-biological (CB) protective materials from swatch-level to system-level. THIS IS A REQUEST FOR INFORMATION (RFI) ONLY. This RFI is issued solely for information and planning purposes – it does not constitute a Request for Proposal (RFP) or a promise to issue an RFP in the future. A solicitation is not available at this time. Request for a solicitation will not receive a response. This notice does not constitute a commitment by the United Stated Government to contract for any supply or service. All information submitted in response to this announcement is voluntary; the United Stated Government will not pay for information requested nor will it compensate any respondent for any cost incurred in developing information provided to the United States Government. Not responding to this RFI does not preclude participation in any future RFP, if any is issued. If a solicitation is released, it will be synopsized on the SAM.gov website. It is the responsibility of the potential offerors to monitor this site for additional information pertaining to this requirement. The purpose of this RFI is to determine the capabilities of the existing marketplace. The Government intends to use white papers provided solely for internal government purposes to further develop or refine the statement of requirement, not as a basis for making an award determination.

Requested Information:

1. Item Description. DEVCOM Soldier Center seeks information on U.S. material/garment testing establishments that have the capability to test chemical-biological (CB) protective materials from swatch-level to system-level, including live Chemical Warfare Agent (CWA) and Toxic Industrial Chemicals (TICs).
   
   
   
   1. Ensemble Prototype System Testing including:
      
      
      
      1. Man-In-Simulant-Test (MIST) with test subjects and/or Porton Man
      
      
      2. Aerosol System Test (AST) and iAST (Improved AST)
      
      
      3. National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) 1994 Class 1, NFPA 1994 Class 3, and NFPA 1991.
      
      
      4. Visual Outward Aerosol Leakage Test (VOALT)
      
      
      5. Overall garment function and liquid integrity testing (per NFPA)
      
      
      6. Gastight integrity testing (per NFPA)
      
      
      7. Thermal Manikin
      
      
      8. Component-Level testing:
         
         
         
         • exhaust valve pullout strength (per NFPA)
         
         
         • fitting pullout strength (per NFPA)
         
         
         • gasket leak integrity (per NFPA)
         
         
         • hydrostatic resistance testing
         
         
         
         
      
      
      
      
   
   
   2. Swatch-Level CWA/Simulant Testing (liquid and vapor) including:
      
      
      
      1. Low-Volatility Agent Permeation (LVAP)
      
      
      2. Chemical/Biological Agent Resistance Test (CBART)
      
      
      3. Aerosol Vapor Liquid Assessment Group (AVLAG)
      
      
      4. Testing breakdown products/reactivity against CWA
      
      
      
      
   
   
   3. Aerosol Filtration Efficiency
   
   
   4. Textile Testing including:
      
      
      
      1. Shade Matching and Colorfastness
      
      
      2. Gas Chromatography/Mass Spectrometry (GC/MS)
      
      
      3. Differential Scanning Calorimetry (DSC)
      
      
      4. Ultraviolet–Visible (UV-Vis) spectroscopy
      
      
      5. Moisture and Blend Analysis
      
      
      6. Fourier-Transform Infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy
      
      
      7. Optical and Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM)
      
      
      8. Chemical Extraction
      
      
      9. Failure Analysis
      
      
      10. Infrared Analysis
      
      
      
      
   
   
   5. Physical Testing including:
      
      
      
      1. Seam/Closure Breaking Sstrength
      
      
      2. Bursting Strength
      
      
      3. Puncture Propagation Tear Resistance
      
      
      4. Fabric Weight
      
      
      5. Air Permeability
      
      
      6. Absorbency
      
      
      7. Thermal Properties
      
      
      8. Transport Properties
      
      
      9. Vertical Wicking
      
      
      10. Tabor, Wyzenbeek and Martindale Abrasion
      
      
      
      
   
   
   
   

Responses:

1. Interested parties are requested to respond to the RFI with a capability’s description and/or whitepaper.

2. White papers in Microsoft Word for Office 2013 compatible format or Adobe Portable Document (pdf) format are due no later than 30 days after the posting of this RFI by May 1, 2024. Responses shall be limited to 10 pages and can be submitted via email only to James Varnum at james.t.varnum.civ@army.mil.

3. Proprietary information, if any, should be minimized and MUST BE CLEARLY MARKED. To aid the Government, please segregate proprietary information. Proprietary information will not be disclosed outside of the US Government. All submissions become Government property and will not be returned.

4. The white paper shall address some or all the requirements or areas in Section 2 and include the following information: Name, company name, mailing address, overnight delivery address (if different from mailing address), phone number, fax number, and email of designated point of contact.

Industry Discussions. Army representatives may or may not choose to meet with potential offerors. Such discussions would only be intended to get further clarification of potential capability to meet the requirements, especially any development and certification risks.

Summary. THIS IS A REQUEST FOR INFORMATION (RFI) ONLY to identify sources that have the capability to develop textiles from fibers to yarns to woven fabrics within its facilities. The information provide in this RFI is subject to change and is not binding on the Government. The Army has not made a commitment to procure any of the items discussed, and release of this RFI should not be construed as such a commitment or as authorization to incur cost for which reimbursement would be required or sought. All submissions become Government property and will not be returned.

QUESTIONS:

Any questions for clarification may be emailed to mary.k.prebensen.civ@army.mil and james.t.varnum.civ@army.mil no later than April 30, 2024 by 5:00 p.m. EST. Verbal questions will NOT be accepted. Questions shall NOT contain proprietary or classified information. An unattributed list of questions and answers will be published at the same web location of this Sources Sought Announcement.