Electrode Boilers

A number of manufacturers currently produce "electrode" type boilers which generates steam through the process of applying high-voltage electricity (4,000 to 25,000 V) to "water streams" within a pressure vessel.  Such a system offers the potential for very quick response times and adaptability to varying loads in a relatively compact package. 

Some potential drawbacks of such equipment at this time include a lack of information on high pressure units.  Specifically, although several manufacturers indicate the potential for units up to 500 psig, specific data on such units does not appear to be readily available on thier websites.  In addition, although many manufacturers also indicate the potential for use of such equipment in a marine environment it is not clear what type of additional Research and Development or Testing and Evaluation may be required for developing navalized units built to military specifications.

As such, for now, this type of unit appears to be of interest for an auxiliary steam system to support the use of steam catapults on a non-steam propelled vessel, but insuffciient information appears to be available to analyze them more fully at this time.