UKRI-6281 Transport of APA Shipping Frame Assemblies from Europe to USA

UK Research and Innovation (UKRI) is undertaking Preliminary Market Engagement to inform the development of a forthcoming procurement for the international transportation of specialist scientific equipment.

Interested suppliers are invited to review the accompanying information and complete the market engagement questionnaire

The Deep Underground Neutrino Experiment (DUNE) is an international experiment for neutrino science and proton decay studies. The Long Baseline Neutrino Facility (LBNF) is the facility required for DUNE and once it is completed, it will comprise the world's highest-intensity neutrino beam (at Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory (‘FNAL’), Batavia, Illinois) and the infrastructure necessary to support massive, cryogenic far detectors installed deep underground at the Sanford Underground Research Facility (‘SURF’), 1300m underground, in Lead, South Dakota.

The DUNE Anode Plane Assemblies (also named ‘APAs’) are the main detectors of the DUNE Horizontal Drift Experiment. They are built as large stainless-steel frames onto which prestressed copper-beryllium wires are winded in 4 layers. The APAs represent the detector part of the DUNE TPC. Most of the APAs are produced and assembled in the UK at STFC Daresbury Laboratory (DL), some are tested at CERN, therefore, they must be transported long distances from either the UK or CERN to Fermilab in the US where they are stored waiting for final transport and installation at SURF laboratory.

The APAs are very complex and fragile detectors. If they would be damaged during their transport, the impacts on the cost and schedule could have serious consequences on the DUNE project. To mitigate this risk, two APAs are transported inside a transport frame (also named APA Shipping Frame ‘ASF’). The ASF is installed on wire rope absorbers (WRAs’) intended to dampen the shocks and vibrations from the transport and handling, and finally mounted on a base frame (BF). The ASF, WRAs and BF form the ASF Assembly.

The Contracting Authority, UK Research and Innovation (UKRI) are looking to engage with suppliers before the full requirement is published for the marketplace to submit bid submissions. The contract is expected to be on a call off basis and there is no guarantee of the level of spend through this contract. However, it is anticipated approximately 68 shipments are required during the 4 year duration.

We would like you to complete the following questionnaire to help us understand the marketplace interest - https://forms.cloud.microsoft/Pages/ResponsePage.aspx?id=juC3i6TajkqSfvyjjbBLfsxoERpCeehLn8lp5URh6C9UODcyTklFQk5YVk9PWVdBRE9VSkNERzEwNS4u