Based on the quadrilateral heat generation body (HGB) proposed by previous literature, the multi-objective constructal design is performed. Firstly, the constructal design is performed by minimizing the complex function composed of the maximum temperature difference (MTD) and entropy generation rate (EGR), and the influence of the weighting coefficient () on the optimal constructal is studied. Secondly, the multi-objective optimization (MOO) with the MTD and EGR as optimization objectives is performed, and the Pareto frontier with an optimal set is obtained by using NSGA-II. The optimization results are selected from the Pareto frontier through LINMAP, TOPSIS, and Shannon Entropy decision methods, and the deviation indexes of different objectives and decision methods are compared. The research of the quadrilateral HGB shows that the optimal constructal can be gained by minimizing the complex function with the objectives of the MTD and the EGR, the complex function after the constructal design is reduced by up to 2% compared with its initial value, and the complex function of the two reflects the compromise between the maximum thermal resistance and the irreversible loss of heat transfer. The Pareto frontier includes the optimization results of different objectives, and when the weighting coefficient of a complex function changes, the optimization results obtained by minimizing the complex function will also be distributed in the Pareto frontier. The deviation index of the TOPSIS decision method is 0.127, which is the lowest one among the discussed decision methods.
Based on the square heat-generation body (HGB) with “arrow-shaped” high-thermal-conductivity channel (HTCC) model established in the previous literature, we performed multi-objective optimization (MOO) with maximum temperature difference (MTD) minimization and entropy-generation rate (EGR) minimization as optimization objectives for its performance. Pareto frontiers with optimal set were obtained based on NSGA-II. TOPSIS, LINMAP, and Shannon entropy decision methods were used to select the optimal results in Pareto frontiers, and the deviation index was used to compare and analyze advantages and disadvantages of the optimal results for each decision method. At the same time, multi-objective constructal designs of the “arrow-shaped” HTCC were carried out through optimization of single degree of freedom (DOF), two DOF, and three DOF, respectively, and the thermal performance of the square heat-generation body under optimizations of different DOF were compared. The results show that constructal design with the MOO method can achieve the best compromise between the maximum thermal resistance and the irreversible loss of heat transfer of the square heat-generation body, thereby improving the comprehensive thermal performance of the square heat-generation body. The MOO results vary with different DOF, and optimization with increasing DOF can further improve the comprehensive thermal performance of square HGBs.