Constructal law of design and evolution: Physics, biology, technology, and society

Adrian Bejan , Sylvie Lorente (1)

1 LMDC - Laboratoire Matériaux et Durabilité des constructions

This is a review of the theoretical and applied progress made based on the Constructal law of design and evolution in nature, with emphasis on the last decade. The Constructal law is the law of physics that accounts for the natural tendency of all flow systems (animate and inanimate) to change into configurations that offer progressively greater flow access over time. The progress made with the Constructal law covers the broadest range of science, from heat and fluid flow and geophysics, to animal design, technology evolution, and social organization (economics, government). This review presents the state of this fast growing field, and draws attention to newly opened directions for original research. The Constructal law places the concepts of life, design, and evolution in physics. (C) 2013 American Institute of Physics.

Mots clés: natural-convection; forced-convection; adrian bejan; convection heat-transfer; dehumidification desalination unit; fluid-flow characteristics; layered skin-structure; shaped microchannel networks; sylvie lorente; vascularized cooling plates

Domaines: Génie civil

Adrian Bejan, Sylvie Lorente. Constructal law of design and evolution: Physics, biology, technology, and society. Journal of Applied Physics, 2013, 113 (15), pp.151301. ⟨10.1063/1.4798429⟩. ⟨hal-01850835⟩