Status of several Stirling loss characterization efforts and their significance for Stirling space power development

NASA-Lewis and other U.S. Government agencies have supported experimental and analytical programs for the characterization of Stirling cycle engines' thermodynamic losses, with a view to the improvement of Stirling engine design capabilities. The Space Power Demonstrator Engine is noted to have benefited from these efforts; test data and model predictions suggest that even greater performance improvements would be obtainable through additional modifications of engine regenerator and heater hardware.