Procuring Testing Services And Simulated Service Environments For Agricultural Nh3 Nurse Tanks

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View Changes This Notice Is Amended To Provide The Link To Notice I D 326 02 Https Beta Sam Gov Opp 7Fdefe1ac8b64333b84028f212f49cf6 Review Background The U S Dot S Volpe National Transportation Systems Center Volpe Is Currently Conducting A Research Study To Analyze The Fatigue Life Of Agricultural Anhydrous Ammonia Nh3 Nurse Tanks Of Interest Under Normal Operations The Purpose Of The Research Is To Determine If The Nh3 Nurse Tank Requirements Dictated By The Hazardous Materials Regulations Hmr Provide An Equivalent Level Of Safety As The Requirements For Other Cargo Tanks The Hmr Currently Allows Specification Cargo Tanks To Operate Indefinitely If Periodic Inspection And Requalification Of Cargo Tanks Are Met Through 49 Cfr Part 180 Some Cargo Tanks Have Been Operating For 30 Years Without Incident However No Information Or Data Exists On Whether These Cargo Tanks Would Exceed The Tanks Useful Life I E The Endurance Limit For The Remainder Of Their Operations Nurse Tanks A Subset Of Cargo Tanks Are Exempt From 49 Cfr Part 180 If They Meet American Society Of Mechanical Engineers Asme Code Specifications And Commodity Limitation Requirements In Recent Years The Performance Of Nh3 Nurse Tanks Has Been Questioned There Have Been Cases Where Nurse Tanks Have Failed And Caused Significant Hazardous Materials Hazmat Release To The Environment And Affected Public Safety Information On Nurse Tank Performance Is Limited Since The Current Hmr Exempts Nurse Tanks From Periodic Hydrostatic Tests At Test Pressure During Periodic Intervals And No Cyclic Tests Are Required For These Tanks The Ultimate Goal Of This Volpe Study Is To Use Simulation And Modeling Technologies To Analyze The Fatigue Life Of Nh3 Nurse Tanks Of Interest Concern To Inform The Pipeline And Hazardous Materials Safety Administration Phmsa On Whether Potential Changes To The Hmr Are Needed To Protect Public Safety It Is Anticipated That The Study Will Include Obtaining Nh3 Nurse Tanks And Running Gear Test Specimens From Manufacturers Retailers Or Current Owners Of Such Equipment Conducting Full Scale Nondestructive And Destructive Testing And Developing Finite Element Fe Engineering Models Of Nurse Tanks Using Data Collected From The Full Scale Testing A Subsequent Phase Is Expected To Include Using The Fe Models To Evaluate The Performance Of Nurse Tanks Under A Variety Of Conditions The Type And Quantity Of Tests To Be Performed In This Study Are Both Currently Unknown Some Potential Types Of Tests Include Nondestructive Hydrostatic Testing With Instrumented E G Strain Gages Pressure Transducers Nh3 Nurse Tanks Destructive Hydrostatic Testing E G Hydrostatic Burst Testing Of Tanks With Instrumented Nh3 Nurse Tanks And Actual Or Simulated Service Conditions E G Filling Emptying On Road And Off Road Dynamic Loads Etc For A Nurse Tank Mounted On Running Gear The Availability Of Tanks Of Various Designs E G Varied Capacity Materials Of Construction Vintage Manufacturer Etc With Or Without Running Gear Are Unknown Due To The Potential Large And Diverse Fleet Of Nurse Tank Designs Volpe Seeks To Subject A Variety Of Nh3 Nurse Tanks Of Different Ages And Design Details To A Variety Of Tests As Practical Performing A Variety Of Tests On A Variety Of Nh3 Nurse Tanks Is Planned To Help Determine Whether Nurse Tanks Of Different Designs Exhibit Similar Behaviors Under A Variety Of Conditions That May Be Encountered During Service Scope Volpe Is Seeking Responses To This Rfi From Federal Laboratories Academic And Research Institutions Entities That Currently Perform Testing Or Inspections On Nh3 Tanks Nurse Tanks Or Other Dot Specification Tanks Nh3 Nurse Tank Owners Nh3 Nurse Tank Users And Any Consulting Firms With The Capability And Experience In Conducting Experimental Testing On P

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