Discussion

Abstract

In the section of the paper titled “The Formation of Self-Similar Structures,” the authors describe the essential aspects of Constructal Theory. However, Professor Adrian Bejan from Duke University has been working for a long time in putting together the ideas and the formalism of this theory—he actually gave it the appropriate name of “Constructal” 1, and has analyzed many examples in nature and engineering within the framework of this theory, extending it to a variety of situations, with his original contributions, most of them nicely described in his book 2. After having reviewed the book written by Professor Bejan 3 and having closely followed his publications during the last decade, I found that the core analysis and synthesis methods of Constructal Theory are totally based on the author’s own research experience during many years, previously published in specialized journals and books, and supported by many observed facts and results, fully documented in the open literature. The Constructal Theory, established by Bejan, explains how certain basic elements, individually and collectively optimized to form an arrangement, are employed to construct more complex natural systems, within the specific constrains imposed by the physics in every case.The paper by Chai and Shoji is full of ideas and expressions of Constructal Theory that were first contributed and published by Professor Bejan, especially the discussion about academic and industrial implications, in the “Concluding Remarks.”