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Naval Surface Warfare Center, Philadelphia Division awarded its first contract under the Other Transaction Authority (OTA) for the design, development, and delivery of a small actuator test stand to evaluate electrohydraulic actuators through the Maritime Sustainment Technology Innovation Consortium (MSTIC) on June 9, 2022.
According to the Maritime Sustainment Technology Innovation Consortium (MSTIC) website, the OTA is “a streamlined purchasing vehicle that brings innovative research findings and state-of-the-art prototypes from industry to the federal government. Other Transaction-based collaborations are not subject to some of the regulations that apply to Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR)-based acquisitions. OTAs enable fast acquisition of critically-needed technologies in areas as diverse as shipbuilding, armaments, satellites, medical devices and electromagnetic spectrum technologies.”
In spring 2021, In-Service Engineering Agents (ISEAs) in NSWCPD’s Cargo/Weapons Handling & Stowage Systems branch noticed failures in fielded electromechanical actuators (EMAs).
According to the principal investigator, Shreyansh Shah, of NSWCPD’s Launch, Handling, and Recovery, and Hydraulic Systems branch, in support of the EMA ISEAs: “Some fielded actuators have experienced operational failures that have required significant engineering effort and cost to address,”
These issues caused Shah to collaborate with his team to evaluate electrohydraulic actuators as a potential solution.
“Electrohydraulic actuators miniaturize the hydraulic plant and integrates it into the actuator itself, greatly reducing the machinery necessary to drive the actuator. Our goal is to evaluate the performance of the electrohydraulic actuators and their failure modes for maritime applications,” Shah said, explaining how the small actuator test stand will confirm the usability and durability of the actuators.
“The small actuator test stand will be system-agnostic and will be used to characterize the performance of short actuators (less than 12” stroke). The test stand will have a variable load capable of up to 5000 lbs of force to help characterize the performance of small actuators under test with representative loads,” he said. “It will also allow us to characterize and verify that the actuators are able to perform both as advertised by the manufacturer and in accordance with potential application lifecycles.”
Fortunately, Shah and his team were able to start designing and developing the test stand with a contract award using the OTA, the first of its kind awarded at NSWCPD.
Jacob Udell, a NSWCPD mechanical engineer and the OTA program manager, has found ways to use the OTA to the Navy’s benefit.
“The Other Transaction Agreement, or OTA, can be more advantageous to traditional contracting methods because it has flexibility in payment methods and allows for open collaboration and communication. Additionally, most procurement laws such as the Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) and Defense Federal Acquisition Regulation Supplements (DFARS), do not apply to OT’s,” Udell said.
“This provides the government the opportunity to leverage industry experts and commercial technologies to ensure that program dollars are being spent to enhance the mission of the Navy,” he continued. “The goal is not to expand the defense industrial base, but rather to reach technologies or other commercial solutions that are not otherwise available to the government due to traditional, rigid procurement methods.”
This contract is scheduled for completion in September 2023.
NSWCPD employs approximately 2,800 civilian engineers, scientists, technicians, and support personnel. The NSWCPD team does the research and development, test and evaluation, acquisition support, and in-service and logistics engineering for the non-nuclear machinery, ship machinery systems, and related equipment and material for Navy surface ships and submarines. NSWCPD is also the lead organization providing cybersecurity for all ship systems.
| Date Taken: | 09.09.2022 |
| Date Posted: | 09.09.2022 11:09 |
| Story ID: | 428903 |
| Location: | US |
| Web Views: | 505 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
This work, NSWCPD Awards its First Contract through the Other Transaction Authority Streamlined Contracting Vehicle, by Jermaine Sullivan, identified by DVIDS, must comply with the restrictions shown on https://www.dvidshub.net/about/copyright.
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