Closed cycle power plant

Claim 1

A POWER PLANT FOR PROPELLING UNDERWATER VEHICLES OF THE TYPE WHICH CARRY A FUEL-OXIDANT PROPELLANT AND ARE PROPELLED BY A STEAM SYSTEM INCLUDING A HEAT EXCHANGER HAVING A HOT GAS SIDE AND A CLOSED CYCLE STEAM SIDE, SAID CLOSED CYCLE STEAM SIDE INCLUDING A STEAM ENGINE, MEANS FOR CONDENSING THE EXHAUST STEAM FROM THE STEAM ENGINE TO FEED WATER, AND MEANS FOR RETURNING THE FEED WATER TO THE STEAM SIDE OF THE HEAT EXCHANGER, THE IMPROVEMENTS, IN COMBINATION, COMPRISING: (A) A COMBUSTION CHAMBER IN WHICH THE PROPELLANT IS ADAPTED TO COMBUST AND PRODUCE PRODUCTS OF COMBUSTION AND (B) INTO WHICH WATER DILUENT IS ADAPTED TO BE INJECTED FOR LOWERING THE TEMPERATURE OF THE PRODUCTS OF COMBUSTION BY TRANSFERRING LATENT HEAT OF VAPORIZATION TO THE DILUENT, WHEREBY THE PRODUCTS OF COMBUSTION CONTAIN WATER VAPOR, (C) SAID PRODUCTS OF COMBUSTION AND WATER VAPOR ADAPTED TO PASS THROUGH SAID HOT GAS SIDE AND TRANSFER HEAT CONTAINED IN THE PRODUCTS OF COMBUSTION AND THE LATENT HEAT OF THE WATER VAPOR TO SAID STEAM SIDE, CONDENSING THE WATER VAPOR TO DILUENT WATER, (D) MEANS FOR SEPARATING THE CONDENSED DILUENT WATER FROM THE REMAINING PRODUCTS OF COMBUSTION, (E) MEANS FOR RETURNING THE CONDENSED DILUENT WATER TO THE COMBUSTION CHAMBER, AND (F) MEANS FOR EXHAUSING THE REMAINING PRODUCTS OF COMBUSTION TO AMBIENT WATER.