UW Researcher Receives NSF Grant to Protect Nuclear Reactors from Seismic Activity

Ankit Saxena wants to protect nuclear reactors and other infrastructure from future seismic activity. And he sees particle dampers, a vibration-damping technology, as the key to success.

To further that agenda, Saxena, an assistant professor in the UW Department of Mechanical Engineering, received a two-year research grant from the National Science Foundation (NSF), in the amount of $199,064, for his project titled “ERI: Passive Seismic Protection for Nuclear Power Plants Using Embedded Particle Dampers.” The grant, awarded from NSF’s Division of Civil, Mechanical and Manufacturing Innovation, begins Aug. 1 and continues through July 31, 2027.

Saxena will serve as the grant’s principal investigator (PI), with a goal to revolutionize the design of particle dampers using topology optimization, an advanced engineering design technique. The grant will support a UW Ph.D. student and two undergraduate research students.

Particle dampers are a vibration-damping technology that consists of a cavity with entrapped particles. Upon encountering external excitations, such as those caused by seismic waves, the trapped particles collide with each other and the cavity to dissipate vibrational energy, Saxena says.

However, Saxena stresses that particle dampers are extremely challenging to design, due to the complexity of the particle-particle and particle-wall interactions that occur inside the particle damper. Saxena will use topology optimization, an iterative engineering design technique, to simplify the design of particle dampers. Specifically, he will use topology optimization to design particle dampers that are tuned to dissipate and/or reflect seismic frequencies.

“While this NSF project specifically focuses on seismic protection of nuclear power plants, the topology optimization-based particle damper design methodology that will be developed has broad applicability across a wide range of real-world systems,” Saxena says. “Notable application areas include aerospace, automotive, civil engineering structures, robotics, defense applications and other energy applications.”

Saxena stresses the research is not related to the Terra Power nuclear reactor in Kemmerer, where construction is expected to begin in early 2027, according to POWER Magazine.

Through increased visibility and research output, Saxena says the NSF Engineering Research Initiative (ERI) grant will play a crucial role in helping him establish meaningful collaborations both within UW and with researchers at institutions across the United States. These collaborations will not only broaden the scope of his research program, but also foster interdisciplinary partnerships that could lead to groundbreaking discoveries, further amplifying the broader impact of this ERI grant, he says.

Additionally, this NSF grant will support educational outreach. As part of this component, Saxena will deliver energy-related lectures at Laramie High School to develop awareness about nuclear energy as well as the importance and need of energy research.

Saxena leads the Structures and Unique Multi-functional Materials Innovation and Technology (SUMMIT) Lab at UW. Through years of experience in industry and academia, he has gained significant research experience in theoretical and experimental mechanics and leveraging additive manufacturing to solve complicated design problems.

The goal of the SUMMIT Lab is to leverage additive manufacturing to design novel multi-functional structures and materials with unique mechanical properties, such as adaptive stiffness, shape morphing and vibration damping. Such properties are highly desirable to push the current frontier of applications, including renewable energy (nuclear, wind and hydrogen), robotics, smart structures and meta-materials. Specifically, energy research is a strategic goal of the SUMMIT Lab because it closely aligns with the long-term goals of the state of Wyoming and UW.

“Successful execution of this research will demonstrate my technical expertise and showcase the research capabilities of the SUMMIT Lab,” Saxena explains. “More importantly, the ERI grant will help me to establish an independent, externally funded research program, an essential step in distinguishing my work from that of my doctoral advisers and collaborators. This project will support my first publications as the lead PI, helping to solidify my contributions to the fields of engineering design and dynamic systems.”