Anastasia Baltes
Biography
Anastasia Baltes is a senior in the Metallurgical and Materials Engineering department at the Colorado School of Mines, under Dr. Jeffrey King of the Nuclear Science and Engineering department. She is finishing a Bachelor of Science degree in Metallurgical and Materials Engineering and is pursuing graduate school for a Ph.D. in Nuclear Engineering. She has been a part of the King Research Group since her first semester at Mines, and her research focuses on the additive manufacturing of nuclear materials. During her limited free time, she enjoys spending time with her chinchilla.
Abstract
Developing the use of additive manufacturing to accurately and reliably produce nuclear fuel pellets could improve the safety and economics of future nuclear power plants. Fuel pellets contain the fissile material necessary for sustaining the nuclear chain reaction, which provides the energy for nuclear power generation. Traditional fuel pellet manufacturing methods sinter uranium dioxide into uniform cylindrical geometries, which are ground to narrow tolerances, resulting in the production of radioactive dust. Introducing a fuel pellet manufacturing method that eliminates the grinding process would decrease the amount of airborne radioactive material produced and also reduces waste.