Progress of constructal theory in China over the past decade

Constructal theory has been widely used in performance optimizations of various problems. Among these problems, engineering problem is a hot topic for constructal theory. The developments of constructal theory about engineering problem in China over the past decade are reviewed in this paper. Multi-disciplinary, multi-objective and multi-scale constructal optimizations of various transfer processes in engineering, such as heat conduction and thermal insulation processes, fluid flow processes, convective heat transfer processes of fins, heat sources, cavities, cooling channels, vascular networks and heat exchangers, mass transfer processes of porous mediums, heat and mass transfer processes of solid-gas reactors and solid oxide fuel cells, iron and steel production processes and generalized transfer processes, have been conducted since 2006. Performance improvements are realized, new design requirements are satisfied, and more practical and generalized results are obtained after new research objects, model improvements, optimization objectives, boundary conditions, constraint conditions and transfer extensions are considered. It shows that the developments of constructal theory are still being made in China, which will provide more design guidelines not only for engineering problem, but also for natural and social problems. (C) 2018 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.