Stirling cycle

The Stirling cycle is a regenerative thermodynamic cycle consisting of two isothermal and two constant-volume processes. It is the ideal model for Stirling engines.

Isothermal expansion: A thermodynamic process in which a gas expands while its temperature remains constant. The working gas absorbs heat and expands during the hot part of the cycle.
Ideal gas: A theoretical gas whose particles have negligible volume and no intermolecular forces. Ideal Stirling-cycle calculations commonly model the working gas with this equation of state.
Stirling engine: A closed-cycle heat engine that uses cyclic compression and expansion of a working gas. It is the engine whose ideal thermodynamic model is the Stirling cycle.
Ericsson cycle: A regenerative thermodynamic cycle with two isothermal and two constant-pressure processes. It shares isothermal processes and regeneration but replaces fixed-volume transitions with constant-pressure ones.
Constant-volume process: A thermodynamic process in which volume remains fixed while other state variables may change. Both transitions between the cycle’s isotherms occur at fixed volume.
First law of thermodynamics: The principle that energy is conserved, with heat and work changing a system’s internal energy. It accounts for energy entering, leaving, and being stored across each process.
Gamma configuration Stirling engine: A Stirling-engine arrangement with separate displacer and power pistons in distinct cylinders. This common layout can approximate the cycle while keeping its gas spaces connected.
Brayton cycle: A thermodynamic cycle with two constant-pressure and two adiabatic processes, used to model gas turbines. Its constant-pressure heat-transfer processes differ from the Stirling cycle’s isotherms.
Isothermal compression: A thermodynamic process in which a gas is compressed while its temperature remains constant. Compression at the cold temperature rejects heat and prepares the gas for heating.
Heat: Energy transferred between systems because of a temperature difference. The two isothermal processes exchange heat with external thermal reservoirs.

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