Nonpowered Instant Water Heater

The development of a non-powered, instantaneous, pressurized supply water heater for field use will developed based on the use of established R-tube diesel fuel burner technology and one of several possible two-phase direct steam-water pumping concepts. The direct steam water pumping concepts to be considered are a "chugger" pump which has been recently studied at Massachusetts Institute of Technology, the condensing ejector pump which as been used in a variety of industrial applications, and the pulse pump which is commonly used in food preparation appliances. All concepts for providing the pumping action are based on the use of atmospheric or low pressure steam as the motive force for pumping and involve simple mechanical arrangements with no moving parts, except for possible check valves. The vest direct two-phase pump type for application to the army requirements will be selected. An overall engineering design will be established and a proof of concept device will be built and tested. The proposed system has a probability of successful development since it is based on the combination of existing burner and two-phase pumping technology.