REQUEST FOR PROPOSALS
U.S. DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY
EFFICIENCY IN MANUFACTURING DESIGN COMPETITION:
FOREST PRODUCTS INDUSTRY
I. INTRODUCTION
A. Background
The Institute of Paper Science and Technology has developed a unique hands-on, team- and leadership-building university design competition with an orientation to the Forest Products Industry. This university design competition is in direct alignment with the U.S. Department of Energy's interests in instilling in undergraduate education the concepts of developing energy efficient processes and minimizing waste, providing environmental benefits, and maintaining and enhancing the economic competitiveness of the U.S. forest products industry in a global environment. According to DOE's Agenda 2020, required reading for this project, long term viability demands significant improvements in energy efficiency, technological innovation and development. In spite of the apparent success and tremendous progress of the paper industry, it faces very significant challenges in meeting the changing standards of society while remaining economically viable and globally competitive.The Industry's Vision for the Future, as taken from Agenda 2020, predicts that more energy efficient processes will evolve and an even larger amount of the industry's energy will be self generated based on biomass and waste materials, with excess energy marketed in the form of electricity and liquid fuels. Productivity will be substantially higher than it is today, and less costly processes will be developed leading to enhanced financial performance.
The primary focus of this competition will be projects which are aligned with the existing DOE Agenda 2020 program for the industry and the lines of research being established with the eleven colleges comprising the Pulp and Paper Education and Research Alliance (PPERA). The competition is an annual event with a cycle time of 9 months. The colleges participating in the design competition will execute their projects through their regularly scheduled industry, technology, design, physical science, and/or related engineering courses. At the conclusion of the cycle, a Review Committee will critique the projects and the team winning the first-place cash award of $15,000 will be determined according to previously specified criteria. Second place winnings will be $10,000 and third place, $5,000.
B. Purpose
The DOE Efficiency in Manufacturing Design Competition for the Forest Products Industry is intended to address three objectives: (1) To promote energy efficient concepts in undergraduate and graduate education, (2) To stimulate interest in the pulp and paper industrial processes for the express purpose of uncovering new core technologies in the area of manufacturing design efficiency, and (3) To attract both industrial and media attention to this DOE-sponsored design competition and to promote and encourage student interest in the industry.
C. Eligibility
All participants must be currently attending a college or university in the United States, and must have sophomore, junior, or senior student status, studying a math, science, engineering and/or chemistry related discipline. Proof of enrollment from the University's Office of the Registrar will be required upon acceptance into the Competition.
A. Proposal
All faculty and team members are required to read a copy of the DOE's Agenda 2020 for background information before writing and submitting their proposals. The design proposals must be written based on the content of Agenda 2020, and are not to exceed 5 pages in length. All proposals must address each the following: (1) Project Organization, (2) Design and Engineering, (3) Component Development and Selection, (4) Safety Issues, (5) Energy Efficiency and Waste Minimization, and (6) Team Qualifications. Proposals will be due at IPST postmarked no later than September 16, 2002. These proposals will be reviewed and ranked by the Review Committee's scoring technique, based upon the following: (1) Technical Depth, Innovation, Components and Materials, 40%, (2) Organization and Project Planning, 25%, (3) Fundraising and Team Support, 10%, (4) Energy Efficiency and Waste Minimization, 15%, and (5) Safety, 10%.
B. Awards Announcement
During the week of October 7, 2002, a maximum of ten colleges (as ranked by the scoring technique) will be notified that they will receive start-up grants of $2,000 per school. These grants will be awarded in the name of the college department chair, or designee, who will serve as the key contact between the Competition Office and the college for the duration of the project period. A maximum of ten schools will be awarded start-up grants to compete in the bench scale competition. These ten participating colleges will be encouraged to develop additional industry sponsorships to assist them with their project materials and other funding needs.
C. Project Design/Competition Procedure
A Paper Hang Glider is the Competition's focus. Teams will design, construct, and fly a hang glider constructed from approximately 75% wood fiber and the remainder from other materials required to ensure the overall safety and controllability of the glider. This will be a gliding, not a soaring, event. The objective will be to design and construct the glider to comply with engineering and material science specifications. As in previous competitions, merit points will be awarded for novelty and innovative design considerations. This competition will be a distance event starting from a known elevation in Kill Devil Hills, North Carolina. 1) Hang Glider Performance
The glider will be scored on such factors as gross weight, materials composition, glider airfoil design, volume, structural integrity, performance, aesthetics and novelty as judged by a professional from Kitty Hawk Kites, Inc.
2) Competition Details/Scoring Information
Teams will fly the hang glider in the final segment of the competition. Specific details regarding the flight course and scoring will be provided by the Review Committee at the beginning of the Competition cycle.
NOTE: Detailed scoring formulas will be provided at the beginning of the Competition cycle. The final scoring formula follows:
Final Score = (Mid-Term Report) 10 + (Final Report) 20 + (Hang Glider Design and Performance) 40 + (Hang Glider Flight) 30
3) Project Details
3.1 Faculty supervising the teams are strongly encouraged to incorporate this project into a design class or other special problems class where students will receive credit for the effort.
3.2 Each team is strongly encouraged to establish a working partnership with a corporation or mentor from the pulp and paper industry. The industry partner agrees to supply the college team with modest quantities of materials, and to serve as coach and counselor with the team on the development of energy efficient processes, and environmentally acceptable methods, materials, and by-product streams. Each team must have an industrial sponsor or corporate mentor for technical support.
3.3 A list of Competition Rules and Regulations is available to each team member and faculty project advisor, via the Web site at www.ipst.edu/energy_challenge.)
3.4 All team participants are expected to read Agenda 2020 The Path Forward: An Implementation Plan, which will be provided by this office, all newsletters (The Challenger online), the Web site - on an ongoing basis - and stay current on information disseminated throughout the Competition cycle. Teams will be held responsible for cooperating and complying with all requests and/or deadlines distributed through the above stated media.
3.5 The race will be conducted on the appointed day, rain or shine, at the First Flight Centennial Celebration, in Kill Devil Hills, North Carolina, on April 5, 2003. In the event that the wind is too strong, (> 15 to 20), we may conduct the flights using the Kitty Hawk Kites USHGA certified pilot-instructors as pilots.
3.6 All teams will be flown to the Competition and the Department of Energy's, Office of Industrial Technology Expo in Washington, D.C., at the expense of the Energy Challenge Office. Three team members and one faculty project advisor from each school will receive a per diem to cover hotel and food costs affiliated with the trips.
3.7 The race will be conducted on the appointed day, rain or shine. In the event that the wind is too strong (>15 to 20) we may conduct the flights using the Kitty Hawk Kites USHGA certified pilot-instructors as pilots. All student pilots will be USHGA Hang One certified pilots. Helmets and complete harness assemblies are required on all flights. All gliders will receive a complete pre-flight inspection before and after each flight by the professional staff of Kitty Hawk Kites, Inc.
3.8 The DOE Energy Challenge 2003 staff will supply all of the hang glider framing. The parts list and construction diagrams will be provided by Kitty Hawk Kites.
3.9 Faculty supervising the teams are strongly encouraged to incorporate the project into a design class or other special problems class where students will receive credit for the effort.
4.1 Each team is encouraged to have an industrial mentor.
4.2 Faculty advisors will verify team-derived metrics, e.g. sail weight and sail area by signing off on the appropriate pages in the final report.
4.3 The sail weight is the sum of the sail + battens + grommets.
4.4 Synthetic fibers, functional polymers, adhesives, binders, coatings and other finishing materials may not exceed 20% of the sail gross weight. A minimum of 80% of the board weight must be of natural wood cellulose fiber.
4.5 The DOE Energy Challenge 2003 staff will provide each team with the glider framing and construction diagrams in addition to a template for the sail
4.6 The Review Committee reserves the right to conduct destructive testing of the sail at the end of the competition to verify any disputed results.
4.7 Sample submissions for destructive testing will be four 12" X 12" samples of material identical to the the actual sail construction material.
4.8 The use of scrim material is not allowed.
A. Cover Letter (Letter of Transmittal) Specify the name and full return address, including e-mail, physical address, and phone numbers of the Faculty Project Advisor.
B. Submission of Statement of Intent Via Facsimile
Proposers who wish to participate must fax a brief, signed Statement of Intent on or before August 30, 2002, by 12:00 midnight. Fax all Statements to:
Ms. Project Manager, Energy Challenge Project Manager
Energy Challenge 2003
Office of Academic Affairs
Institute of Paper Science and Technology
500 10th Street, NW
Atlanta, GA 30318
Fax: 404-894-4778
E-mail: energy.challenge@ipst.gatech.edu
C. Submission of Proposals and Inquiries
Proposals and modifications thereof shall be enclosed in sealed envelopes and addressed to the office specified in the RFP. The envelopes shall show the name and address of the Proposer and the words Request for Proposals U.S. Department of Energy Efficiency In Manufacturing Design Competition: Forest Products Industry.
All technical and administrative inquiries concerning this document are to be addressed to the Manufacturing Design Competition Coordinator listed below. Proposals should be delivered in person, e-mailed, or sent by registered or certified mail on or before September 16, 2002 to:
Ms. Project Manager, Energy Challenge Project Manager
Energy Challenge 2003
Office of Academic Affairs
Institute of Paper Science and Technology
500 10th Street, NW
Atlanta, GA 30318
Telephone: 404-894-8277
D. Schedule of Events*
The following Schedule of Events or Project Timetable is anticipated:
RFPs Mailed Out - June 2002
Letters of Intent Due at IPST - August 30, 2002
Proposals Deadline - September 16, 2002
Announcement of Award/$2000 Disbursement - October 7, 2002
Team Registration Materials Due - October 21, 2002
Mid-Project Reports Due at IPST - December 9, 2002
OIT Expo - (Washington, DC) - February 2003
Final Reports Due at IPST - March 4, 2003
Preliminary Review Period (for Review Committee) - March 11 through March 24, 2003
Bench-Scale Judging, Final Evaluation and Flight - April 5, 2003
*DATES SUBJECT TO REVISION
E. Glossary of Terms
Core Project Team - The three principal members of the Project Team who will represent the Project Team during the Final Judging and who have been identified as the principal contributors to the Design Project effort.
PPERA - The Pulp and Paper Education and Research Alliance, an alliance between eleven colleges: Auburn University, Georgia Institute of Technology, Institute of Paper Science and Technology, Miami University, North Carolina State University, SUNY at Syracuse, University of Maine, University of Minnesota at St. Paul, University of Washington, University of Wisconsin at Stevens Point, and Western Michigan University.
Project Team - The largest unit having a working affiliation with the Design Project. It will consist of a key faculty advisor and students. Generally the students will be members of a regularly scheduled class or appropriate college organization with a professional affiliation, e.g., ACS, AIChE, etc. The ideal project team will consist of a mix of sophomore, junior, and senior students.
Review Committee - The committee of seven responsible for all of the review phases of the Design Competition. It will be composed of 2 industrial members, 2 DOE members, and 3 IPST-faculty members.