Stirling engine

For the adiabatic Stirling cycle, see Stirling cycle.

A Stirling engine is a heat engine that operates by

Alpha type Stirling engine. There are two cylinders. The expansion cylinder (red) is maintained at a high temperature while the
compression cylinder (blue) is cooled. The passage between the
two cylinders contains the regenerator.

cyclic compression and expansion of air or other gas

(the working uid) at dierent temperatures, such that
there is a net conversion of heat energy to mechanical work.[1][2] More specically, the Stirling engine is
a closed-cycle regenerative heat engine with a permanently gaseous working uid. Closed-cycle, in this context, means a thermodynamic system in which the working uid is permanently contained within the system, and
regenerative describes the use of a specic type of internal heat exchanger and thermal store, known as the
regenerator. The inclusion of a regenerator dierentiates
the Stirling engine from other closed cycle hot air engines. Beta type Stirling engine. There is only one cylinder, hot at one
Originally conceived in 1816 as an industrial prime mover end and cold at the other. A loose-tting displacer shunts the air
to rival the steam engine, its practical use was largely between the hot and cold ends of the cylinder. A power piston at
conned to low-power domestic applications for over a the end of the cylinder drives the ywheel.
century.[3]
The Stirling engine is noted for high eciency compared
to steam engines,[4] quiet operation, and its ability to use
almost any heat source. The heat energy source is generated external to the Stirling engine rather than by internal combustion as with the Otto cycle or Diesel cycle
engines. Because the Stirling engine is compatible with
alternative and renewable energy sources it could become
increasingly signicant as the price of conventional fuels
rises, and also in light of concerns such as peak oil and

climate change. This engine is currently exciting interest as the core component of micro combined heat and
power (CHP) units, in which it is more ecient and safer
than a comparable steam engine.[5][6] However, it has a
low power-to-weight ratio [4] rendering it more suitable
for use in static installations where space and weight are
not at a premium.
1

2 HISTORY

Name and classication

Stirling engine running.

Robert Stirling was a Scottish minister who invented the

rst practical example of a closed cycle air engine in
1816, and it was suggested by Fleeming Jenkin as early
as 1884 that all such engines should therefore generically be called Stirling engines. This naming proposal
found little favour, and the various types on the market
continued to be known by the name of their individual
designers or manufacturers, e.g., Riders, Robinsons, or
Heinricis (hot) air engine. In the 1940s, the Philips company was seeking a suitable name for its own version of
the 'air engine', which by that time had been tested with
working uids other than air, and decided upon 'Stirling engine' in April 1945.[7] However, nearly thirty years
later, Graham Walker still had cause to bemoan the fact
such terms as 'hot air engine' remained interchangeable
with 'Stirling engine', which itself was applied widely and
indiscriminately;[8] a situation that continues.[9]

Illustration from Robert Stirlings 1816 patent application of the

air engine design which later came to be known as the Stirling
Engine

ject of Stirlings original patent was a heat exchanger,

which he called an "economiser" for its enhancement of
fuel economy in a variety of applications. The patent
also described in detail the employment of one form
of the economiser in his unique closed-cycle air engine
design[12] in which application it is now generally known
as a "regenerator". Subsequent development by Robert
Stirling and his brother James, an engineer, resulted in
patents for various improved congurations of the original engine including pressurization, which by 1843, had
suciently increased power output to drive all the machinery at a Dundee iron foundry.[13]

Though it has been disputed,[14] it is widely supposed that

as well as saving fuel, the inventors were motivated to create a safer alternative to the steam engines of the time,[15]
whose boilers frequently exploded, causing many injuries
Like the steam engine, the Stirling engine is tradition- and fatalities.[16][17]
ally classied as an external combustion engine, as all
heat transfers to and from the working uid take place The need for Stirling engines to run at very high temperthrough a solid boundary (heat exchanger) thus isolating atures to maximize power and eciency exposed limithe combustion process and any contaminants it may pro- tations in the materials of the day, and the few engines
duce from the working parts of the engine. This contrasts that were built in those early years suered unacceptwith an internal combustion engine where heat input is by ably frequent failures (albeit with far less disastrous con[18]
combustion of a fuel within the body of the working uid. sequences than a boiler explosion ) for example, the
Most of the many possible implementations of the Stir- Dundee foundry engine was replaced by a steam engine
[19]
ling engine fall into the category of reciprocating piston after three hot cylinder failures in four years.
engine.

2.2 Later nineteenth century

2
2.1

History
Invention and early development

The Stirling engine (or Stirlings air engine as it was

known at the time) was invented and patented by Robert
Stirling in 1816.[10] It followed earlier attempts at making an air engine but was probably the rst put to practical use when, in 1818, an engine built by Stirling was
employed pumping water in a quarry.[11] The main sub-

Subsequent to the failure of the Dundee foundry engine

there is no record of the Stirling brothers having any further involvement with air engine development and the
Stirling engine never again competed with steam as an
industrial scale power source (steam boilers were becoming safer[20] and steam engines more ecient, thus presenting less of a target to rival prime movers). However,
from about 1860, smaller engines of the Stirling/hot air
type were produced in substantial numbers nding applications wherever a reliable source of low to medium

2.3

Twentieth century revival

3
was favored).[26] They were also aware that, unlike steam
and internal combustion engines, virtually no serious development work had been carried out on the Stirling engine for many years and asserted that modern materials
and know-how should enable great improvements.[27]

Philips MP1002CA Stirling generator of 1951

A typical late nineteenth/early twentieth century water pumping

engine by the Rider-Ericsson Engine Company

By 1951, the 180/200 W generator set designated

MP1002CA (known as the Bungalow set) was ready
for production and an initial batch of 250 was planned,
but soon it became clear that they could not be made
at a competitive price. Additionally, the advent of transistor radios and their much lower power requirements
meant that the original rationale for the set was disappearing. Approximately 150 of these sets were eventually produced.[28] Some found their way into university
and college engineering departments around the world[29]
giving generations of students a valuable introduction to
the Stirling engine.

power was required, such as raising water or providing air

for church organs.[21] These generally operated at lower
temperatures so as not to tax available materials, so were
relatively inecient. Their selling point was that, unlike
a steam engine, they could be operated safely by anybody
capable of managing a re.[22] Several types remained in
production beyond the end of the century, but apart from
a few minor mechanical improvements the design of the In parallel with the Bungalow set, Philips developed exStirling engine in general stagnated during this period.[23] perimental Stirling engines for a wide variety of applications and continued to work in the eld until the late
1970s, but only achieved commercial success with the
2.3 Twentieth century revival
reversed Stirling engine cryocooler. However, they
During the early part of the twentieth century the role of led a large number of patents and amassed a wealth of
information, which they licensed to other companies and
the Stirling engine as a domestic motor[24] was graduof much of the development work
ally taken over by electric motors and small internal com- which formed the basis
in the modern era.[30]
bustion engines. By the late 1930s, it was largely forgotten, only produced for toys and a few small ventilating In 1996, the Swedish navy commissioned three Gotlandfans.[25]
class submarines. On the surface, these boats are proAround that time, Philips was seeking to expand sales of pelled by marine diesel engines. However when subits radios into parts of the world where electricity and merged, they use a Stirling-driven generator to recharge
batteries were not consistently available. Philips man- batteries or provide electrical power for propulsion. A
agement decided that oering a low-power portable gen- supply of liquid oxygen is carried to support burning of
erator would facilitate such sales and asked a group of diesel fuel to power the engine. Stirling engines are also
engineers at the companys research lab in Eindhoven to tted to the Swedish Sdermanland-class submarines.
evaluate alternative ways of achieving this aim. After a Swedish shipbuilder Kockums has also supplied Stirling
systematic comparison of various prime movers, the team engines to Japan, which intendes to t them to all its
decided to go forward with the Stirling engine, citing its new submarines. In a submarine application, the Stirling
quiet operation (both audibly and in terms of radio inter- engine oers the advantage of being exceptionally quiet
ference) and ability to run on a variety of heat sources when running.
(common lamp oil cheap and available everywhere Stirling engines are at the heart of Concentrated Solar

3 FUNCTIONAL DESCRIPTION

Power technology, known as CSP Dish-Stirling. Several

companies such as Cleanergy, Ripasso Energy and United
Sun Systems International are involved in this technology.

Functional description

The engine is designed so that the working gas is generally compressed in the colder portion of the engine and
expanded in the hotter portion resulting in a net conversion of heat into work.[2] An internal regenerative heat exchanger increases the Stirling engines thermal eciency
compared to simpler hot air engines lacking this feature.

3.1

Key components

Dish Stirling from SES

As a consequence of closed cycle operation, the heat driving a Stirling engine must be transmitted from a heat fer an environmentally sound option for producing power
source to the working uid by heat exchangers and nally while some designs are economically attractive in develto a heat sink. A Stirling engine system has at least one opment projects.[33]
heat source, one heat sink and up to ve heat exchangers.
Some types may combine or dispense with some of these.
3.1.2 Heater / hot side heat exchanger
3.1.1

Heat source

In small, low power engines this may simply consist of

the walls of the hot space(s) but where larger powers are
required a greater surface area is needed to transfer sucient heat. Typical implementations are internal and external ns or multiple small bore tubes.
Designing Stirling engine heat exchangers is a balance between high heat transfer with low viscous pumping losses
and low dead space (unswept internal volume). Engines
that operate at high powers and pressures require that heat
exchangers on the hot side be made of alloys that retain
considerable strength at temperature and that don't corrode or creep.

Point focus parabolic mirror with Stirling engine at its center and
its solar tracker at Plataforma Solar de Almera (PSA) in Spain

The heat source may be provided by the combustion of

a fuel and, since the combustion products do not mix
with the working uid and hence do not come into contact with the internal parts of the engine, a Stirling engine
can run on fuels that would damage other engines types
internals, such as landll gas, which may contain siloxane
which can deposit abrasive silicon dioxide in conventional
engines.[31]

3.1.3 Regenerator
Main article: Regenerative heat exchanger
In a Stirling engine, the regenerator is an internal heat exchanger and temporary heat store placed between the hot
and cold spaces such that the working uid passes through
it rst in one direction then the other, taking heat from the
uid in one direction, and returning it in the other. It can
be as simple as metal mesh or foam, and benets from
high surface area, high heat capacity, low conductivity
and low ow friction.[34] Its function is to retain within
the system that heat that would otherwise be exchanged
with the environment at temperatures intermediate to the
maximum and minimum cycle temperatures,[35] thus enabling the thermal eciency of the cycle to approach the
limiting Carnot eciency.

Other suitable heat sources include concentrated solar energy, geothermal energy, nuclear energy, waste heat and
bioenergy. If solar power is used as a heat source, regular
solar mirrors and solar dishes may be utilised. The use of
Fresnel lenses and mirrors has also been advocated, for
example in planetary surface exploration.[32] Solar powered Stirling engines are increasingly popular as they of- The primary eect of regeneration in a Stirling engine

3.2

Congurations

is to increase the thermal eciency by 'recycling' internal heat that would otherwise pass through the engine irreversibly. As a secondary eect, increased thermal eciency yields a higher power output from a given
set of hot and cold end heat exchangers. These usually
limit the engines heat throughput. In practice this additional power may not be fully realized as the additional
dead space (unswept volume) and pumping loss inherent in practical regenerators reduces the potential eciency gains from regeneration.
The design challenge for a Stirling engine regenerator is
to provide sucient heat transfer capacity without introducing too much additional internal volume ('dead space')
or ow resistance. These inherent design conicts are one
of many factors that limit the eciency of practical Stirling engines. A typical design is a stack of ne metal wire
meshes, with low porosity to reduce dead space, and with
the wire axes perpendicular to the gas ow to reduce conduction in that direction and to maximize convective heat
transfer.[36]
The regenerator is the key component invented by Robert
Stirling and its presence distinguishes a true Stirling engine from any other closed cycle hot air engine. Many
small 'toy' Stirling engines, particularly low-temperature
dierence (LTD) types, do not have a distinct regenerator component and might be considered hot air engines,
however a small amount of regeneration is provided by
the surface of the displacer itself and the nearby cylinder
wall, or similarly the passage connecting the hot and cold
cylinders of an alpha conguration engine.

3.1.4

Cooler / cold side heat exchanger

5
3.1.6 Displacer
The displacer is a special-purpose piston, used in Beta
and Gamma type Stirling engines, to move the working
gas back and forth between the hot and cold heat exchangers. Depending on the type of engine design, the displacer
may or may not be sealed to the cylinder, i.e. it may be
a loose t within the cylinder, allowing the working gas
to pass around it as it moves to occupy the part of the
cylinder beyond.

3.2 Congurations
There are three major types of Stirling engines, that are
distinguished by the way they move the air between the
hot and cold areas:
1. The alpha conguration has two power pistons, one
in a hot cylinder, one in a cold cylinder, and the gas is
driven between the two by the pistons; it is typically
in a V-formation with the pistons joined at the same
point on a crankshaft.
2. The beta conguration has a single cylinder with a
hot end and a cold end, containing a power piston
and a 'displacer' that drives the gas between the hot
and cold ends. It is typically used with a rhombic
drive to achieve the phase dierence between the
displacer and power pistons, but they can be joined
90 degrees out of phase on a crankshaft.
3. The gamma conguration has two cylinders: one
containing a displacer, with a hot and a cold end, and
one for the power piston; they are joined to form a
single space with the same pressure in both cylinders; the pistons are typically in parallel and joined
90 degrees out of phase on a crankshaft.

In small, low power engines this may simply consist of

the walls of the cold space(s), but where larger powers
are required a cooler using a liquid like water is needed 3.2.1 Alpha conguration operation
to transfer sucient heat.
An alpha Stirling contains two power pistons in separate cylinders, one hot and one cold. The hot cylinder is
situated inside the high temperature heat exchanger and
the cold cylinder is situated inside the low temperature
3.1.5 Heat sink
heat exchanger. This type of engine has a high power-tovolume ratio but has technical problems due to the usually
The heat sink is typically the environment at ambient high temperature of the hot piston and the durability of
temperature. In the case of medium to high power en- its seals.[37] In practice, this piston usually carries a large
gines, a radiator is required to transfer the heat from the insulating head to move the seals away from the hot zone
engine to the ambient air. Marine engines can use the at the expense of some additional dead space. The crank
ambient water. In the case of combined heat and power angle has a major eect on eciency and the best angle
systems, the engines cooling water is used directly or in- frequently has to be found experimentally. An angle of
90 frequently locks.
directly for heating purposes.
Alternatively, heat may be supplied at ambient temperature and the heat sink maintained at a lower temperature by such means as cryogenic uid (see Liquid nitrogen
economy) or iced water.

The following diagrams do not show internal heat exchangers in the compression and expansion spaces, which
are needed to produce power. A regenerator would be
placed in the pipe connecting the two cylinders.

3.2.2

3 FUNCTIONAL DESCRIPTION

Beta conguration operation

A beta Stirling has a single power piston arranged within

the same cylinder on the same shaft as a displacer piston.
The displacer piston is a loose t and does not extract any
power from the expanding gas but only serves to shuttle
the working gas between the hot and cold heat exchangers. When the working gas is pushed to the hot end of the
cylinder it expands and pushes the power piston. When
it is pushed to the cold end of the cylinder it contracts
Top view of two rotating displacer powering the horizontal piston.
and the momentum of the machine, usually enhanced by Regenerators and radiator removed for clarity
a ywheel, pushes the power piston the other way to compress the gas. Unlike the alpha type, the beta type avoids
the technical problems of hot moving seals.[38]
The Ringbom engine concept published in 1907 has no
Again, the following diagrams do not show any internal rotary mechanism or linkage for the displacer. This is
thick
heat exchangers or a regenerator, which would be placed instead driven by a small auxiliary piston, usually a[40][41]
displacer
rod,
with
the
movement
limited
by
stops.
in the gas path around the displacer. If a regenerator is
used in a beta engine, it is usually in the position of the The two-cylinder Stirling with Ross yoke is a twodisplacer and moving, often as a volume of wire mesh.
cylinder stirling engine (not positioned at 90, but at
0) connected with a special yoke. The engine conguration/yoke setup was invented by Andy Ross (engineer).[42]
3.2.3

Gamma conguration operation

A gamma Stirling is simply a beta Stirling in which the

power piston is mounted in a separate cylinder alongside
the displacer piston cylinder, but is still connected to the
same ywheel. The gas in the two cylinders can ow
freely between them and remains a single body. This conguration produces a lower compression ratio because of
the volume of the connection between the two but is mechanically simpler and often used in multi-cylinder Stirling engines.
3.2.4

The Franchot engine is a double acting engine invented

by Franchot in the nineteenth century. A double acting
engine is one where both sides of the piston are acted
upon by the pressure of the working uid. One of the
simplest forms of a double acting machine, the Franchot
engine consists of two pistons and two cylinders and acts
like two separate alpha machines. In the Franchot engine,
each piston acts in two gas phases, which makes more
ecient use of the mechanical components than a single
acting alpha machine. However, a disadvantage of this
machine is that one connecting rod must have a sliding
seal at the hot side of the engine, which is a dicult task
when dealing with high pressures and high temperatures.

Other types

3.2.5 Free piston Stirling engines

Other Stirling congurations continue to interest engiFree piston Stirling engines include those with liquid
neers and inventors.
pistons and those with diaphragms as pistons. In a free
The rotary Stirling engine seeks to convert power from
piston device, energy may be added or removed by an
the Stirling cycle directly into torque, similar to the rotary
electrical linear alternator, pump or other coaxial device.
combustion engine. No practical engine has yet been built
This avoids the need for a linkage, and reduces the numbut a number of concepts, models and patents have been
ber of moving parts. In some designs, friction and wear
produced for example the Quasiturbine engine.[39]
are nearly eliminated by the use of non-contact gas bearThe hybrid between piston and rotary conguration is a ings or very precise suspension through planar springs.
double acting engine. This design rotates the displacers
Four basic steps in the cycle of a free piston Stirling
on either side of the power piston
engine are:
Another alternative is the Fluidyne engine (Fluidyne
heat pump), which uses hydraulic pistons to implement
1. The power piston is pushed outwards by the expandthe Stirling cycle. The work produced by a Fluidyne ening gas thus doing work. Gravity plays no role in the
gine goes into pumping the liquid. In its simplest form,
cycle.
the engine contains a working gas, a liquid and two non2. The gas volume in the engine increases and therefore
return valves.

3.2

Congurations

7
G.M. Benson also made important early contributions
and patented many novel free-piston congurations.[45]
The rst known mention of a Stirling cycle machine using freely moving components is a British patent disclosure in 1876.[46] This machine was envisaged as a refrigerator (i.e., the reversed Stirling cycle). The rst consumer product to utilize a free piston Stirling device was
a portable refrigerator manufactured by Twinbird Corporation of Japan and oered in the US by Coleman in
2004.

Various free-piston Stirling congurations... F."free cylinder, G.

Fluidyne, H. double-acting Stirling (typically 4 cylinders)

the pressure reduces, which causes a pressure dierence across the displacer rod to force the displacer
towards the hot end. When the displacer moves
the piston is almost stationary and therefore the gas
volume is almost constant. This step results in the
constant volume cooling process, which reduces the
pressure of the gas.
3. The reduced pressure now arrests the outward motion of the piston and it begins to accelerate towards
the hot end again and by its own inertia, compresses
the now cold gas, which is mainly in the cold space.
4. As the pressure increases, a point is reached where
the pressure dierential across the displacer rod becomes large enough to begin to push the displacer
rod (and therefore also the displacer) towards the
piston and thereby collapsing the cold space and
transferring the cold, compressed gas towards the
hot side in an almost constant volume process. As
the gas arrives in the hot side the pressure increases
and begins to move the piston outwards to initiate
the expansion step as explained in (1).
In the early 1960s, W.T. Beale invented a free piston version of the Stirling engine to overcome the diculty of
lubricating the crank mechanism.[43] While the invention
of the basic free piston Stirling engine is generally attributed to Beale, independent inventions of similar types
of engines were made by E.H. Cooke-Yarborough and C.
West at the Harwell Laboratories of the UKAERE.[44]

Cutaway of the at Stirling engine: 10.Hot cylinder 11.A volume of hot cylinder 12.B volume of hot cylinder 17.Warm piston diaphragm 18.Heating medium 19.Piston rod 20.Cold cylinder 21.A Volume of cold cylinder 22.B Volume of cold cylinder 27.Cold piston diaphragm 28.Coolant medium 30.Working
cylinder 31.A volume of working cylinder 32.B volume of working cylinder 37.Working piston diaphragm 41.Regenerator mass
of A volume 42.Regenerator mass of B volume 48.Heat accumulator 50.Thermal insulation 60.Generator 63.Magnetic circuit
64.Electrical winding 70.Channel connecting warm and working
cylinders

Flat Stirling engine Design of the at double-acting

Stirling engine solves the drive of a displacer with the help
of the fact that areas of the hot and cold pistons of the displacer are dierent. The drive does so without any mechanical transmission . Using diaphragms eliminates friction and need for lubricants. When the displacer is in motion, the generator holds the working piston in the limit
position, which brings the engine working cycle close to
an ideal Stirling cycle. The ratio of the area of the heat
exchangers to the volume of the machine increases by the
implementation of a at design. Flat design of the working cylinder approximates thermal process of the expansion and compression closer to the isothermal one. The
disadvantage is a large area of the thermal insulation between the hot and cold space. [47]
Thermoacoustic cycle Thermoacoustic devices are
very dierent from Stirling devices, although the individual path travelled by each working gas molecule does
follow a real Stirling cycle. These devices include the
thermoacoustic engine and thermoacoustic refrigerator.
High-amplitude acoustic standing waves cause compression and expansion analogous to a Stirling power piston,
while out-of-phase acoustic travelling waves cause displacement along a temperature gradient, analogous to a
Stirling displacer piston. Thus a thermoacoustic device
typically does not have a displacer, as found in a beta or
gamma Stirling.

3.3

Other developments

Starting in 1986, Innia Corporation began developing both highly reliable pulsed free-piston Stirling engines, and thermoacoustic coolers using related technology. The published design uses exural bearings and hermetically sealed Helium gas cycles, to achieve tested reliabilities exceeding 20 years. As of 2010, the corporation had amassed more than 30 patents, and developed a
number of commercial products for both combined heat
and power, and solar power.[48] More recently, NASA has
considered nuclear-decay heated Stirling Engines for extended missions to the outer solar system.[49] At the recent
Cable-Tec Expo put on by the Society of Cable Telecommunications Engineers, Dean Kamen took the stage with
Time Warner Cable Chief Technology Ocer Mike LaJoie to announce a new initiative between his company
Deka Research and the SCTE. Kamen refers to it as a
Stirling engine.[50][51]

THEORY

3. Isothermal compression. The compression space

and associated heat exchanger are maintained at a
constant low temperature so the gas undergoes nearisothermal compression rejecting heat to the cold
sink
4. Constant-volume (known as isovolumetric or
isochoric) heat-addition. The gas passes back
through the regenerator where it recovers much of
the heat transferred in 2, heating up on its way to
the expansion space.
Theoretical thermal eciency equals that of the hypothetical Carnot cycle - i.e. the highest eciency attainable by any heat engine. However, though it is useful
for illustrating general principles, the ideal cycle deviates
substantially from practical Stirling engines. It has been
argued that its indiscriminate use in many standard books
on engineering thermodynamics has done a disservice to
the study of Stirling engines in general.[52][53]

Other real-world issues reduce the eciency of actual

engines, due to limits of convective heat transfer, and
4 Theory
viscous ow (friction). There are also practical mechanical considerations, for instance a simple kinematic linkMain article: Stirling cycle
age may be favoured over a more complex mechanism
The idealised Stirling cycle consists of four needed to replicate the idealized cycle, and limitations
imposed by available materials such as non-ideal properties of the working gas, thermal conductivity, tensile
strength, creep, rupture strength, and melting point. A
question that often arises is whether the ideal cycle with
isothermal expansion and compression is in fact the correct ideal cycle to apply to the Stirling engine. Professor C. J. Rallis has pointed out that it is very dicult to
imagine any condition where the expansion and compression spaces may approach isothermal behavior and it is
far more realistic to imagine these spaces as adiabatic.[54]
An ideal analysis where the expansion and compression
spaces are taken to be adiabatic with isothermal heat exchangers and perfect regeneration was analyzed by Rallis
and presented as a better ideal yardstick for Stirling machinery. He called this cycle the 'pseudo-Stirling cycle'
or 'ideal adiabatic Stirling cycle'. An important consequence of this ideal cycle is that it does not predict Carnot
eciency. A further conclusion of this ideal cycle is that
maximum eciencies are found at lower compression raA pressure/volume graph of the idealized Stirling cycle
tios, a characteristic observed in real machines. In an inthermodynamic processes acting on the working dependent work, T. Finkelstein also assumed adiabatic
expansion and compression spaces in his analysis of Stiruid:
ling machinery [55]
1. Isothermal expansion. The expansion-space and associated heat exchanger are maintained at a con4.1 Operation
stant high temperature, and the gas undergoes nearisothermal expansion absorbing heat from the hot
Since the Stirling engine is a closed cycle, it contains a
source.
xed mass of gas called the working uid, most com2. Constant-volume (known as isovolumetric or monly air, hydrogen or helium. In normal operation, the
isochoric) heat-removal. The gas is passed through engine is sealed and no gas enters or leaves the engine.
the regenerator, where it cools, transferring heat to No valves are required, unlike other types of piston enthe regenerator for use in the next cycle.
gines. The Stirling engine, like most heat engines, cycles

4.2

Pressurization

through four main processes: cooling, compression, heating and expansion. This is accomplished by moving the
gas back and forth between hot and cold heat exchangers,
often with a regenerator between the heater and cooler.
The hot heat exchanger is in thermal contact with an external heat source, such as a fuel burner, and the cold heat
exchanger being in thermal contact with an external heat
sink, such as air ns. A change in gas temperature causes
a corresponding change in gas pressure, while the motion
of the piston causes the gas to be alternately expanded
and compressed.
The gas follows the behaviour described by the gas
laws that describe how a gas pressure, temperature and
volume are related. When the gas is heated, because it is
in a sealed chamber, the pressure rises and this then acts
on the power piston to produce a power stroke. When the
gas is cooled the pressure drops and this means that less
work needs to be done by the piston to compress the gas
on the return stroke, thus yielding a net power output.

Video showing the compressor and displacer of a very small Stirling Engine in action

the gas inside expands. The displacer on the other hand is

very loosely tted so that air can move freely between the
The ideal Stirling cycle is unattainable in the real world, hot and cold sections of the engine as the piston moves up
as with any heat engine; eciencies of 50% have been and down. The displacer moves up and down to control
reached,[4] similar to the maximum gure for Diesel cy- the heating and cooling of the gas in the engine.
cle engines.[56] The eciency of Stirling machines is also There are two positions:
linked to the environmental temperature; a higher eciency is obtained when the weather is cooler, thus mak1. When the displacer is near the top of the large cylining this type of engine less interesting in places with
der; inside the engine most of the gas has been
warmer climates. As with other external combustion enheated by the heat source and it expands. This ingines, Stirling engines can use heat sources other than
creases the pressure, which forces the piston up.
from combustion of fuels.
2. When the displacer is near the bottom of the large
When one side of the piston is open to the atmosphere,
cylinder; most of the gas in the engine has now
the operation is slightly dierent. As the sealed volume
cooled and contracts causing the pressure to deof working gas comes in contact with the hot side, it excrease, which in turn allows the piston to move down
pands, doing work on both the piston and on the atmoand compress the gas.
sphere. When the working gas contacts the cold side, its
pressure drops below atmospheric pressure and the atmosphere pushes on the piston and does work on the gas.
4.2 Pressurization
To summarize, the Stirling engine uses the temperature
dierence between its hot end and cold end to establish
a cycle of a xed mass of gas, heated and expanded, and
cooled and compressed, thus converting thermal energy
into mechanical energy. The greater the temperature difference between the hot and cold sources, the greater the
thermal eciency. The maximum theoretical eciency
is equivalent to the Carnot cycle, however the eciency
of real engines is less than this value due to friction and
other losses.
Very low-power engines have been built that run on a temperature dierence of as little as 0.5 K.[57] In a displacer
type stirling engine you have one piston and one displacer. A temperature dierence is required between the
top and bottom of the large cylinder to run the engine. In
the case of the low-temperature dierence (LTD) stirling engine, temperature dierence between your hand
and the surrounding air can be enough to run the engine.
The power piston in the displacer type stirling engine, is
tightly sealed and is controlled to move up and down as

In most high power Stirling engines, both the minimum

pressure and mean pressure of the working uid are above
atmospheric pressure. This initial engine pressurization
can be realized by a pump, or by lling the engine from
a compressed gas tank, or even just by sealing the engine when the mean temperature is lower than the mean
operating temperature. All of these methods increase
the mass of working uid in the thermodynamic cycle.
All of the heat exchangers must be sized appropriately to
supply the necessary heat transfer rates. If the heat exchangers are well designed and can supply the heat ux
needed for convective heat transfer, then the engine, in
a rst approximation, produces power in proportion to
the mean pressure, as predicted by the West number, and
Beale number. In practice, the maximum pressure is also
limited to the safe pressure of the pressure vessel. Like
most aspects of Stirling engine design, optimization is
multivariate, and often has conicting requirements.[58]
A diculty of pressurization is that while it improves the
power, the heat required increases proportionately to the

10

5 ANALYSIS

increased power. This heat transfer is made increasingly

dicult with pressurization since increased pressure also
demands increased thicknesses of the walls of the engine,
which, in turn, increase the resistance to heat transfer.

4.3

Lubricants and friction

capital cost and are usually larger and heavier. However, they are more ecient than most internal combustion engines.[61] Their lower maintenance requirements
make the overall energy cost comparable. The thermal
eciency is also comparable (for small engines), ranging
from 15% to 30%.[60] For applications such as microCHP, a Stirling engine is often preferable to an internal combustion engine. Other applications include water
pumping, astronautics, and electrical generation from
plentiful energy sources that are incompatible with the
internal combustion engine, such as solar energy, and
biomass such as agricultural waste and other waste such
as domestic refuse. Stirlings are also used as a marine engine in Swedish Gotland-class submarines.[62] However,
Stirling engines are generally not price-competitive as an
automobile engine, due to high cost per unit power, low
power density, and high material costs.
Basic analysis is based on the closed-form Schmidt
analysis.[63][64]
5.1.1 Advantages

A modern Stirling engine and generator set with 55 kW electrical

output, for combined heat and power applications

At high temperatures and pressures, the oxygen in airpressurized crankcases, or in the working gas of hot air
engines, can combine with the engines lubricating oil
and explode. At least one person has died in such an
explosion.[59]
Lubricants can also clog heat exchangers, especially the
regenerator. For these reasons, designers prefer nonlubricated, low-coecient of friction materials (such as
rulon or graphite), with low normal forces on the moving parts, especially for sliding seals. Some designs avoid
sliding surfaces altogether by using diaphragms for sealed
pistons. These are some of the factors that allow Stirling engines to have lower maintenance requirements and
longer life than internal-combustion engines.

5
5.1

Analysis
Comparison with internal combustion
engines

In contrast to internal combustion engines, Stirling engines have the potential to use renewable heat sources
more easily, to be quieter, and to be more reliable with
lower maintenance. They are preferred for applications
that value these unique advantages, particularly if the cost
per unit energy generated is more important than the capital cost per unit power. On this basis, Stirling engines are
cost competitive up to about 100 kW.[60]
Compared to an internal combustion engine of the same
power rating, Stirling engines currently have a higher

Stirling engines can run directly on any available

heat source, not just one produced by combustion,
so they can run on heat from solar, geothermal, biological, nuclear sources or waste heat from industrial
processes.
A continuous combustion process can be used to
supply heat, so those emissions associated with the
intermittent combustion processes of a reciprocating internal combustion engine can be reduced.
Some types of Stirling engines have the bearings and
seals on the cool side of the engine, where they require less lubricant and last longer than equivalents
on other reciprocating engine types.
The engine mechanisms are in some ways simpler
than other reciprocating engine types. No valves are
needed, and the burner system can be relatively simple. Crude Stirling engines can be made using common household materials.[65]
A Stirling engine uses a single-phase working uid
that maintains an internal pressure close to the design pressure, and thus for a properly designed system the risk of explosion is low. In comparison, a
steam engine uses a two-phase gas/liquid working
uid, so a faulty overpressure relief valve can cause
an explosion.
In some cases, low operating pressure allows the use
of lightweight cylinders.
They can be built to run quietly and without an air
supply, for air-independent propulsion use in submarines.

5.1

Comparison with internal combustion engines

They start easily (albeit slowly, after warmup) and

run more eciently in cold weather, in contrast
to the internal combustion, which starts quickly in
warm weather, but not in cold weather.
A Stirling engine used for pumping water can be
congured so that the water cools the compression
space. This increases eciency when pumping cold
water.

11
packaging dicult. Along with materials cost, this
has been one of the factors limiting the adoption
of Stirling engines as automotive prime movers.
For other applications such as ship propulsion and
stationary microgeneration systems using combined
heat and power (CHP) high power density is not
required.[66]

They are extremely exible. They can be used as Power and torque issues
CHP (combined heat and power) in the winter and
Stirling engines, especially those that run on small
as coolers in summer.
temperature dierentials, are quite large for the
Waste heat is easily harvested (compared to waste
amount of power that they produce (i.e., they have
heat from an internal combustion engine), maklow specic power). This is primarily due to the heat
ing Stirling engines useful for dual-output heat and
transfer coecient of gaseous convection, which
power systems.
limits the heat ux that can be attained in a typical cold heat exchanger to about 500 W/(m2 K),
and in a hot heat exchanger to about 5005000
5.1.2 Disadvantages
W/(m2 K).[58] Compared with internal combustion
engines, this makes it more challenging for the enSize and cost issues
gine designer to transfer heat into and out of the
working gas. Because of the thermal eciency the
Stirling engine designs require heat exchangers for
required heat transfer grows with lower temperaheat input and for heat output, and these must conture dierence, and the heat exchanger surface (and
tain the pressure of the working uid, where the
cost) for 1 kW output grows with second power of
pressure is proportional to the engine power output.
1/deltaT. Therefore the specic cost of very low
In addition, the expansion-side heat exchanger is oftemperature dierence engines is very high. Inten at very high temperature, so the materials must
creasing the temperature dierential and/or presresist the corrosive eects of the heat source, and
sure allows Stirling engines to produce more power,
have low creep. Typically these material requireassuming the heat exchangers are designed for the
ments substantially increase the cost of the engine.
increased heat load, and can deliver the convected
The materials and assembly costs for a high temperheat ux necessary.
ature heat exchanger typically accounts for 40% of
the total engine cost.[59]
All thermodynamic cycles require large temperature
dierentials for ecient operation. In an external
combustion engine, the heater temperature always
equals or exceeds the expansion temperature. This
means that the metallurgical requirements for the
heater material are very demanding. This is similar
to a Gas turbine, but is in contrast to an Otto engine
or Diesel engine, where the expansion temperature
can far exceed the metallurgical limit of the engine
materials, because the input heat source is not conducted through the engine, so engine materials operate closer to the average temperature of the working
gas. The Stirling cycle is not actually achievable, the
real cycle in Stirling machines is less ecient than
the theoretical Stirling cycle, also the eciency of
the Stirling cycle is lower where the ambient temperatures are mild, while it would give its best results in
a cool environment, such as northern countries winters.
Dissipation of waste heat is especially complicated
because the coolant temperature is kept as low as
possible to maximize thermal eciency. This increases the size of the radiators, which can make

A Stirling engine cannot start instantly; it literally

needs to warm up. This is true of all external combustion engines, but the warm up time may be longer
for Stirlings than for others of this type such as steam
engines. Stirling engines are best used as constant
speed engines.
Power output of a Stirling tends to be constant and
to adjust it can sometimes require careful design and
additional mechanisms. Typically, changes in output are achieved by varying the displacement of the
engine (often through use of a swashplate crankshaft
arrangement), or by changing the quantity of working uid, or by altering the piston/displacer phase
angle, or in some cases simply by altering the engine
load. This property is less of a drawback in hybrid
electric propulsion or base load utility generation
where constant power output is actually desirable.
Gas choice issues The gas used should have a low heat
capacity, so that a given amount of transferred heat leads
to a large increase in pressure. Considering this issue, helium would be the best gas because of its very low heat
capacity. Air is a viable working uid,[67] but the oxygen

12

REFERENCES

in a highly pressurized air engine can cause fatal acci- 6 Applications

dents caused by lubricating oil explosions.[59] Following
one such accident Philips pioneered the use of other gases Main article: Applications of the Stirling engine
to avoid such risk of explosions.
Hydrogen's low viscosity and high thermal conductivity make it the most powerful working gas, primarily because the engine can run faster than with
other gases. However, due to hydrogen absorption,
and given the high diusion rate associated with this
low molecular weight gas, particularly at high temperatures, H2 leaks through the solid metal of the
heater. Diusion through carbon steel is too high to
be practical, but may be acceptably low for metals
such as aluminum, or even stainless steel. Certain
ceramics also greatly reduce diusion. Hermetic
pressure vessel seals are necessary to maintain pressure inside the engine without replacement of lost
gas. For high temperature dierential (HTD) engines, auxiliary systems may need to be added to
maintain high pressure working uid. These systems can be a gas storage bottle or a gas generator.
Hydrogen can be generated by electrolysis of water,
the action of steam on red hot carbon-based fuel,
by gasication of hydrocarbon fuel, or by the reaction of acid on metal. Hydrogen can also cause the
embrittlement of metals. Hydrogen is a ammable
gas, which is a safety concern if released from the
engine.

Applications of the Stirling engine range from heating

and cooling to underwater power systems. A Stirling engine can function in reverse as a heat pump for heating
or cooling. Other uses include combined heat and power,
solar power generation, Stirling cryocoolers, heat pump,
marine engines, low power aviation engines,[69] and low
temperature dierence engines.

7 Alternatives
Alternative thermal energy harvesting devices include the
thermogenerator. Thermogenerators allow less ecient
conversion (5-10%) but may be useful in situations where
the end product must be electricity, and where a small
conversion device is a critical factor.

8 See also
Beale number
Bore

Most technically advanced Stirling engines, like

those developed for United States government labs,
use helium as the working gas, because it functions
close to the eciency and power density of hydrogen with fewer of the material containment issues.
Helium is inert, and hence not ammable. Helium
is relatively expensive, and must be supplied as bottled gas. One test showed hydrogen to be 5% (absolute) more ecient than helium (24% relatively)
in the GPU-3 Stirling engine.[68] The researcher Allan Organ demonstrated that a well-designed air engine is theoretically just as ecient as a helium or
hydrogen engine, but helium and hydrogen engines
are several times more powerful per unit volume.

Cogeneration

Some engines use air or nitrogen as the working

uid. These gases have much lower power density
(which increases engine costs), but they are more
convenient to use and they minimize the problems of
gas containment and supply (which decreases costs).
The use of compressed air in contact with ammable
materials or substances such as lubricating oil introduces an explosion hazard, because compressed air
contains a high partial pressure of oxygen. However,
oxygen can be removed from air through an oxidation reaction or bottled nitrogen can be used, which
is nearly inert and very safe.

Thermomechanical generator

Other possible lighter-than-air gases include:

methane, and ammonia.

Distributed generation
Fluidyne engine
Quasiturbine
Relative cost of electricity generated by dierent
sources
Schmidt number
Stirling radioisotope generator
Stroke

West Number

9 References
[1] Stirling Engines, G. Walker (1980), Clarenden Press,
Oxford, page 1: A Stirling engine is a mechanical device which operates on a *closed* regenerative thermodynamic cycle, with cyclic compression and expansion of
the working uid at dierent temperature levels.
[2] W.R. Martini (1983), p.6
[3] T. Finkelstein; A.J. Organ (2001), Chapters 2&3

13

[4] Stirling engines have reached 50% eciency

[32] W.H. Brandhorst; J.A. Rodiek (2005)

[5] Sleeve notes from A.J. Organ (2007)

[33] B. Kongtragool; S. Wongwises (2003)

[6] F. Starr (2001)

[34] http://e-futures.group.shef.ac.uk/publications/pdf/140_
4%20Erardo%20Elizondo.pdf

[7] C.M. Hargreaves (1991), Chapter 2.5

[8] Graham Walker (1971) Lecture notes for Stirling engine
symposium at Bath University. Page 1.1 Nomenclture
[9] http://www.stirlingbuilder.com/survey/survey-results
[10] R. Sier (1999)
[11] T. Finkelsteinl; A.J. Organ (2001), Chapter 2.2
[12] English patent 4081 of 1816 Improvements for diminishing the consumption of fuel and in particular an engine capable of being applied to the moving (of) machinery on a
principle entirely new. as reproduced in part in C.M. Hargreaves (1991), Appendix B, with full transcription of text
in R. Sier (1995), p.??
[13] R. Sier (1995), p. 93
[14] A.J. Organ (2008a)
[15] Excerpt from a paper presented by James Stirling in June
1845 to the Institute of Civil Engineers. As reproduced in
R. Sier (1995), p.92.
[16] A. Nesmith (1985)
[17] R. Chuse; B. Carson (1992), Chapter 1
[18] R. Sier (1995), p.94
[19] T. Finkelstein; A.J. Organ (2001), p.30
[20] Hartford Steam Boiler (a)
[21] T. Finkelstein; A.J. Organ (2001), Chapter 2.4
[22] The 1906 Rider-Ericsson Engine Co. catalog claimed
that any gardener or ordinary domestic can operate these
engines and no licensed or experienced engineer is required.
[23] T. Finkelstein; A.J. Organ (2001), p.64
[24] T. Finkelstein; A. J. Organ (2001), p. 34

[35] A.J. Organ (1992), p.58

[36] K. Hirata (1998)
[37] M.Keveney (2000a)
[38] M. Keveney (2000b)
[39] Quasiturbine Agence (a)
[40] Ringbom Stirling Engines, James R. Senft, 1993, Oxford University Press
[41] Ossian Ringbom (of Borg, Finland) Hot-air engine
U.S. Patent no. 856,102 (led: 17 July 1905; issued: 4
June 1907).
[42] Two-cylinder stirling with Ross yoke
[43] Free-Piston Stirling Engines, G. Walker et al.,Springer
1985, reprinted by Stirling Machine World, West Richland WA
[44] The Thermo-mechanical Generator..., E.H. CookeYarborough, (1967) Harwell Memorandum No. 1881 and
(1974) Proc. I.E.E., Vol. 7, pp. 749-751
[45] G.M. Benson (1973 and 1977)
[46] D. Postle (1873)
[47] "DOUBLE ACTING DISPLACER WITH SEPARATE
HOT AND COLD SPACE AND THE HEAT ENGINE WITH A DOUBLE ACTING DISPLACE"
WO/2012/062231 PCT/CZ2011/000108
[48] Innia web site, accessed 2010-12-29
[49] Schimdt, George. Radio Isotope Power Systems for the
New Frontier. Presentation to New Frontiers Program
Pre-proposal Conference. 13 November 2003. (Accessed
2012-Feb-3)

[26] C. M. Hargreaves (1991), p. 2830

[50] http://www.smartplanet.com/blog/report/
new-alliance-could-make-cable-a-catalyst-for-cleaner-power/
364?tag=search-river

[27] Philips Technical Review (1947), Vol. 9, No. 4, p. 97.

[51] http://www.dekaresearch.com/stirling.shtml

[28] C. M. Hargreaves (1991), p. 61

[52] T. Finkelstein; A.J. Organ (2001), Page 66 & 229

[29] Letter dated March 1961 from Research and Control Instruments Ltd. London WC1 to North Devon Technical
College, oering remaining stocks... to institutions such
as yourselves... at a special price of 75 nett

[53] A.J. Organ (1992), Chapter 3.1 - 3.2

[25] T. Finkelstein; A. J. Organ (2001), p. 55

[54] Rallis C. J., Urieli I. and Berchowitz D.M. A New Ported

Constant Volume External Heat Supply Regenerative Cycle, 12th IECEC, Washington DC, 1977, pp 1534-1537.

[30] C. M. Hargreaves (1991), p. 77

[31] Dudek, Jerzy; Klimek, Piotr; Koodziejak, Grzegorz; Niemczewska, Joanna; Zaleska-Bartosz, Joanna
(2010). Landll Gas Energy Technologies (PDF).
Global Methane Initiative. Instytut Nafty i Gazu / US Environmental Protection Agency. Retrieved 2015-07-24.

[55] Finkelstein, T. Generalized Thermodynamic Analysis of

Stirling Engines. Paper 118B, Society of Automotive Engineers, 1960.
[56] http://www.mpoweruk.com/piston_engines.htm Section
heading Energy Conversion Eciency

14

10 BIBLIOGRAPHY

[57] An Introduction to Low Temperature Dierential Stirling

Engines, James R. Senft, 1996, Moriya Press
[58] A.J. Organ (1997), p.??
[59] C.M. Hargreaves (1991), p.??
[60] WADE (a)
[61] Krupp and Horn. Earth: The Sequel. p. 57
[62] Kockums (a)
[63] Z. Herzog (2008)
[64] K. Hirata (1997)
[65] MAKE: Magazine (2006)
[66] BBC News (2003), The boiler is based on the Stirling engine, dreamed up by the Scottish inventor Robert Stirling
in 1816. [...] The technical name given to this particular
use is Micro Combined Heat and Power or Micro CHP.
[67] A.J. Organ (2008b)
[68] L.G. Thieme (1981)
[69] Mcconaghy, Robert (1986). Design of a Stirling Engine
for Model Aircraft. IECEC: 490493.

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15
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11 Further reading
R.C. Belaire (1977).
Device for decreasing
the start-up time for stirling engines, US patent
4057962. Granted to Ford Motor Company, 15
November 1977.
P.H. Ceperley (1979).
A pistonless Stirling
engineThe traveling wave heat engine. Journal of the Acoustical Society of America 66
(5): 15081513. Bibcode:1979ASAJ...66.1508C.
doi:10.1121/1.383505.
P. Fette. About the Eciency of the Regenerator in
the Stirling Engine and the Function of the Volume
Ratio V /V ". Retrieved 2009-01-19.
P. Fette. A Twice Double Acting -Type Stirling
Engine Able to Work with Compound Fluids Using Heat Energy of Low to Medium Temperatures.
Retrieved 2009-01-19.
D. Haywood. An Introduction to Stirling-Cycle
Machine (PDF). Retrieved 2013-12-20.
Z. Herzog (2006). Stirling Engines. Mont Alto:
Pennsylvania State University. Retrieved 2009-0119.
F. Kyei-Manu; A. Obodoako (2005). Solar
Stirling-Engine Water Pump Proposal Draft
(PDF). Retrieved 2009-01-19.
Lund University, Department of Energy Science:
Division of Combustion Engines. Stirling Engine
Research. Retrieved 2009-01-19.

16

12

N.P. Nightingale (1986). NASA Automotive Stirling Engine MOD II Design Report (PDF). NASA.
Retrieved 2009-01-19.
D. Phillips (1994). Why Aviation Needs the Stirling Engine. Retrieved 2009-01-19.

12

External links

Stirling engine at DMOZ

I. Urieli (2008). Stirling Cycle Machine Analysis
2008 Winter Syllabus
Simple Performance Prediction Method for Stirling
Engine
Explanations stirling engine and demos
Shockwave3D models: Beta Stirling and LTD

EXTERNAL LINKS

17

13
13.1

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Femto, Billymac00, Cmdrjameson, Giraedata, Kjkolb, Sukiari, Slipperyweasel, Kickstart70, Nsaa, A2Kar, Lbft, Alansohn, Jared81,
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ache, Mais oui!, Nahaj, Alureiter, Jimmyjimbo72, Eric Norby, Mkeating24, Alstrupjohn, SmackBot, Smitz, Jdoniach, Thorseth, KVDP,
Delldot, Zephyris, Gilliam, Thumperward, MalafayaBot, McNeight, Complexica, DHN-bot~enwiki, Chendy, Trekphiler, Jaro.p~enwiki,
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Smeschia, Nicholas Sessions, Cydebot, Clappingsimon, Tkircher, Muenter, Dgianotti, Michael C Price, Chris Henniker, Gimmetrow,
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RichardMPreston, Tomg3usa, NJGW, Cookiehead, H077 7175, Sarilox, HumphreyW, Crowsnest, Ginbot86, DumZiBoT, TimothyRias, Against the current, Diablo1232, Ereunetes, Snapperman2, Addbot, Brumski, DOI bot, AnnaJGrant, ShaunOgg, D0762, Pv=mrt,
Npdeluca, MrOllie, Jgrosay~enwiki, AnnaFrance, LemmeyBOT, Andreclos, Lightbot, Pietrow, Merbert, Luckas-bot, Yobot, Troymacgill,
Washburnmav, AnomieBOT, Daarribas, Materialscientist, Citation bot, Maxis ftw, LilHelpa, Xqbot, TheAMmollusc, Milhouse77BS,
OmerTheHassan, GrouchoBot, Ita140188, RibotBOT, Sheeson, Azxten, TarenGarond, Prari, FrescoBot, Shadowseeker, WRES2, MeddlingScribe, Cmlewis2, WhiteMonkey, Trkiehl, Fractalogic, Lucylockettx, Pinethicket, Tom.Reding, , IVAN3MAN,
Trappist the monk, Aptak, Roly Williams, Vrenator, TinkerJim, Nickez, Stignnare, DARTH SIDIOUS 2, Mean as custard, RjwilmsiBot,
DexDor, Demontux, Jpg2, Updator, Pinkbeast, Trilliumz, Dewritech, Wikipelli, Ekanzoy, Ruislick0, Houseonmangostreet, H3llBot, EWikist, AndyTheGrump, RockMagnetist, Juergeen, Mikhail Ryazanov, ClueBot NG, *lizzy16, ScottSteiner, Reify-tech, Mmarre, Helpful Pixie
Bot, Addihockey10 (automated), Calabe1992, Bibcode Bot, BG19bot, Rm1271, Kalapacs, Zedshort, Wolfgang42, Nitrobutane, Tutelary,
Otoika, Thesolitaire, Dexbot, Thirufool, SoledadKabocha, TwoTwoHello, Lugia2453, Carbonaut, RianF2, Birdvieuw, Idemo123, Jwoodward48wiki, Tophernerd, Larsvalentin, Gerwin Lubbers, Mezafo, Paul U. Ehmer, FrazerSebastian, FourViolas, OSUaeronerd, K scheik,
Interlooks, KasparBot and Anonymous: 593

13.2

Images

File:Alpha_Stirling.gif Source: https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/c/cc/Alpha_Stirling.gif License: CC-BY-SA-3.0 Contributors: Transferred from en.wikipedia to Commons by Blast using File Upload Bot (Magnus Manske). Original artist: Richard Wheeler
(Zephyris)
File:Alpha_Stirling_frame_12.svg Source: https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/0/05/Alpha_Stirling_frame_12.svg License: CC-BY-SA-3.0 Contributors:
Alpha_Stirling_frame_12.png Original artist: Alpha_Stirling_frame_12.png: Original uploader was Zephyris at en.wikipedia
File:Alpha_Stirling_frame_16.svg Source: https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/b/b3/Alpha_Stirling_frame_16.svg License: CC-BY-SA-3.0 Contributors:
Alpha_Stirling_frame_16.png Original artist: Alpha_Stirling_frame_16.png: Original uploader was Zephyris at en.wikipedia
File:Alpha_Stirling_frame_4.svg Source: https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/c/cc/Alpha_Stirling_frame_4.svg License:
CC-BY-SA-3.0 Contributors:
Alpha_Stirling_frame_4.png Original artist: Alpha_Stirling_frame_4.png: Original uploader was Zephyris at en.wikipedia
File:Alpha_Stirling_frame_8.svg Source: https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/d/d0/Alpha_Stirling_frame_8.svg License:
CC-BY-SA-3.0 Contributors:
Alpha_Stirling_frame_8.png Original artist: Alpha_Stirling_frame_8.png: Original uploader was Zephyris at en.wikipedia
File:BetaStirlingTG4web.svg Source: https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/b/b2/BetaStirlingTG4web.svg License: CCBY-SA-3.0 Contributors:

18

13

TEXT AND IMAGE SOURCES, CONTRIBUTORS, AND LICENSES

BetaStirlingTG4web.jpg Original artist: BetaStirlingTG4web.jpg: Togo

File:Beta_Stirling_frame_12.png Source: https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/c/c7/Beta_Stirling_frame_12.png License:
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English Wikipedia
File:Beta_Stirling_frame_16.png Source: https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/f/f1/Beta_Stirling_frame_16.png License:
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File:Beta_Stirling_frame_4.png Source: https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/a/a0/Beta_Stirling_frame_4.png License:
CC-BY-SA-3.0 Contributors: By Richard Wheeler (Zephyris)) 2007. Transferred from en.wikipedia to Commons by User:JaGa using
CommonsHelper. Original artist: Zephyris at en.wikipedia
File:Beta_Stirling_frame_8.png Source: https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/1/1b/Beta_Stirling_frame_8.png License:
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artist: ?
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File:EuroDishSBP_front.jpg Source: https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/e/ed/EuroDishSBP_front.jpg License: Public
domain Contributors: Transferred from en.wikipedia to Commons by Teratornis using CommonsHelper. Original artist: Lumos3 at English
Wikipedia
File:FlatStirlingEngine800x242.gif Source: https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/e/e5/FlatStirlingEngine800x242.gif License: CC BY-SA 3.0 Contributors: Own work Original artist: Jrlbs
File:Free-Piston_Configurations.jpg Source: https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/e/e6/Free-Piston_Configurations.jpg
License: CC BY-SA 3.0 Contributors: Transferred from en.wikipedia; transferred to Commons by User:Sreejithk2000 using
CommonsHelper.
Original artist: montague (talk). Original uploader was Berchowitz at en.wikipedia
File:Philips_Stirling_1.jpg Source: https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/8/8d/Philips_Stirling_1.jpg License: CC-BYSA-3.0 Contributors: Own work Original artist: Norbert Schnitzler
File:Robert_Stirling{}s_engine_patent.gif Source: https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/0/0d/Robert_Stirling%27s_
engine_patent.gif License: Public domain Contributors: http://www.cse.iitk.ac.in/~{}amit/courses/371/abhishe/18pat.gif Original artist:
Indian Institute of Technology, copy of image in Robert Stirlings patent of 1816.
File:STM_Stirling_Generator_set.jpg Source: https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/0/06/STM_Stirling_Generator_set.
jpg License: Public domain Contributors: Own work Original artist: This is a Wikimedai Commons user page.
File:SolarStirlingEngine.jpg Source: https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/5/59/SolarStirlingEngine.jpg License: Public
domain Contributors: ? Original artist: ?
File:Solar_Miller_Style_Stirling_layout.JPG Source: https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/4/47/Solar_Miller_Style_
Stirling_layout.JPG License: CC BY-SA 3.0 Contributors: Own work Original artist: Fractalogic
File:Sterling_engine_small_clear.ogg Source: https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/a/a6/Sterling_engine_small_clear.ogg
License: CC BY-SA 3.0 Contributors: Own work Original artist: Hustvedt
File:Stirling_Animation.gif Source: https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/4/4e/Stirling_Animation.gif License: CC BY 2.5
Contributors: Transferred from en.wikipedia to Commons. Transfer was stated to be made by User:YK Times. Original artist: YK Times
at English Wikipedia
File:Stirling_Cycle_color.png Source: https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/a/af/Stirling_Cycle_color.png License: Public
domain Contributors: I created this modication of the original image (File:Stirling Cycle.svg) to clarify the temperature change that occurs
during the Stirling cycle Original artist: Kmote at English Wikipedia
File:Stirlingmotor_in_Betrieb.JPG Source: https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/4/4f/Stirlingmotor_in_Betrieb.JPG License: CC BY-SA 4.0 Contributors: Own work Original artist: Paul U. Ehmer
File:Wiktionary-logo-en.svg Source: https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/f/f8/Wiktionary-logo-en.svg License: Public
domain Contributors: Vector version of Image:Wiktionary-logo-en.png. Original artist: Vectorized by Fvasconcellos (talk contribs),
based on original logo tossed together by Brion Vibber

13.3

Content license

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