Design with constructal theory

This paper outlines a new 4th-year undergraduate course on the generation of system configuration (geometry, architecture, and drawing) during the maximization of performance of flow systems. The configuration is free to morph. Real systems are destined to remain imperfect because of finiteness constraints. They are plagued by resistances to the flow of fluid, heat, and electricity. The balancing and distributing of resistances (irreversibility) through the available volume is the mechanism that generates the architecture. The course teaches the generation of configuration, multi-scale and multi-objective hierarchical structures for fluid flow and heat flow, tree-shaped networks for collection and distribution, and strategies for reducing the cost of generating the flow configuration. © 2006 TEMPUS Publications.

Duke Scholars

Author Adrian Bejan Thomas Lord Department of Mechanical Engineering and Materia ...