Patent ID: 8188638

Claim:
An acoustic transducer, comprising: a tail mass at a first end of said transducer; a piston at a second end of said transducer; a plurality of ring elements between said tail mass and said piston to longitudinally connect said tail mass and said piston with each of said ring elements having a face matable to a face of another of said ring elements wherein said mated ring elements form a piezoceramic stack between said tail mass and said piston; and at least one closed heat pipe, said heat pipe longitudinally positioned within said stack and said piston with said heat pipe providing tension of said stack wherein said heat pipe contains a first quantity of fluid, said heat pipe having a first end and a second end with the first end contactable to a second quantity of fluid exterior to said transducer; wherein the first quantity of fluid proximate to the first end is capable of cooling from the second quantity of the fluid such that heat transmitted to a portion of the first quantity of fluid proximate to the second end of said heat pipe is cooled by a portion of the first quantity of fluid proximate to the first end.