Patent ID: 7254957

Claim:
A system for cooling a plurality of heat-generating structures on a ship, the plurality of heat-generating structures each disposed in respective environments having a respective ambient pressure, the system comprising: for each heat generating structure: a respective fluid coolant; structure which reduces a pressure of said respective coolant to a subambient pressure at which said respective coolant has a boiling temperature less than a temperature of said heat-generating structure; structure which directs a flow of said respective coolant in the form of a liquid at said subambient pressure in a manner causing said liquid coolant to be brought into thermal communication with said heat-generating structure, the heat from said heat-generating structure causing said liquid coolant to boil and vaporize so that said respective coolant absorbs heat from said heat-generating structure as said respective coolant changes state, wherein said heat-generating structure includes a plurality of sections which each generate heat, and wherein said structure for directing the flow of said coolant brings respective portions of said coolant into thermal communication with respective said sections of said heat-generating structure; a heat exchanger for removing heat from said respective coolant flowing through said loop so as to condense said coolant to a liquid; and at least one intermediary cooling loop operable to thermally couple the respective coolants with a body of water on which the ship floats, the at least one intermediary cooling loop comprising at least one intermediary cooling loop heat exchanger operable to exchange heat between the body of water and an intermediary cooling fluid in the intermediary cooling loop.