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Handbook of Thermal Science and Engineering pp 329–360Cite as

Constructal Theory in Heat Transfer

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Abstract

The Constructal Law is the law of physics that accounts for the universal phenomenon of evolution of flow configuration in nature. Evolution and the Constructal Law unite all the “live” systems, bio and nonbio, which are characterized by flow and freedom to morph. The Constructal Law is the time direction of the evolution phenomenon, namely, toward configurations that offer greater access to the currents of the live system. A constructer theory is the use of the Constructal Law for the purpose of predicting how a particular phenomenon of evolution will unfold. Constructal design is the philosophy of evolutionary design in engineering applications. In this chapter, the law, the theory, and the design are illustrated with examples from the field of heat transfer: vascular flow architectures, tree shaped cavities, conductive inserts for cooling, and networks for distributed heating on the inhabited landscape. In sum, this chapter makes the case for the central role played by theory and design in science.

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Acknowledgments

Prof. Bejan’s work was supported by a grant from the National Science Foundation. Prof. Rocha thanks the support of CNPq, Brasília, DF, Brazil.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Departamento de Engenharia Mecânica, Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul, Porto Alegre, RS, Brazil

    Luiz A. O. Rocha

  2. Departement de Genie Civil, Institut National des Sciences Appliquées, Toulouse, France

    S. Lorente

  3. Department of Mechanical Engineering and Materials Science, Duke University, Durham, NC, USA

    A. Bejan

Authors
  1. Luiz A. O. Rocha
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  2. S. Lorente
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  3. A. Bejan
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Luiz A. O. Rocha .

Section Editor information

  1. Armour College of Engineering, Department of Mechanical, Materials and Aerospace Engineering, Illinois Institute of Technology, Chicago, Illinois, USA

    Sumanta Acharya

  2. Gas Technology Institute, Des Plaines, Illinois, USA

    Yaroslav Chudnovsky

  3. Universidade Federal do Rio de Janeiro - UFRJ, Rio de Janeiro, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil

    Renato Machado Cotta

  4. Department of Mechanical Engineering, Louisiana State University, Baton Rouge, Louisiana, USA

    Ram Devireddy

  5. Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering, University of California Los Angeles, Los Angeles, California, USA

    Vijay K. Dhir

  6. Cekmeköy Campus, Özyegin University, Çekmeköy - Istanbul, Turkey

    M. Pinar Mengüç

  7. Department of Mechanical and Industrial Engineering, Faculty of Applied Science + Engineering, University of Toronto, Centre for Advanced Coating Technologies, Toronto, Ontario, Canada

    Javad Mostaghimi

  8. Department of Mechanical Engineering, University of California, Riverside, California, USA

    Kambiz Vafai

  9. Universidade Federal do Rio de Janeiro, Department of Mechanical Engineering, UFRJ Politécnica/COPPE, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil

    Renato M. Cotta

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Rocha, L.A.O., Lorente, S., Bejan, A. (2018). Constructal Theory in Heat Transfer. In: Handbook of Thermal Science and Engineering. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-26695-4_66

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