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Rotary Engine in a BMW?

Stirling Engine

It's an inverted Curtiss-Wright rotary piston engine using the stationary cam mechanism from Gnome's LeRhone. I think, the technical name for the combustion process is a Sterling cycle.

That would be Stirling Cycle and it's completely unrelated. A Stirling cycle engine uses an external heat source so anything that burns can be used to add heat to the engine will make it work.
 
That would be Stirling Cycle and it's completely unrelated. A Stirling cycle engine uses an external heat source so anything that burns can be used to add heat to the engine will make it work.

I do have to admit the error on the stirling cycle, but I did say "I think". The external heat source connection is in reference to the common combustion chamber which feeds the combustion products to the pistons which function as expansion chambers. From that aspect, the proposed concept is an analog of a gas turbine, but with the "potential" benefits of a valve regulated engine. What those potential benefits are is beyond my area knowledge.
 
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