Two-phase flow heat exchangers are vital components of systems for power generation, chemical processing, and thermal environment control. The art and science of the design of such heat exchangers have advanced considerably in recent years. This is due to better understanding of the fundamentals of two-phase flow and heat transfer in simple geometries, greater appreciation of these processes in complex goemetries, and enhanced predictive capability through use of complex computer codes. The subject is clearly of great fundamental and practical importance. The NATO ASIan Thermal-Hydraulic Fundamentals and Design of Two-Phase Flow Heat Exchangers was held in Povoa de Varzim (near Porto), Portugal, July 6-17, 1987. participating in the organization of" the ASI were the Department of Mechanical Engineering and the Clean Energy Research Institute, University of Miami; Universidade do Porto; and the Department of Mechanical Engineering, Aeronautical Eng ineer ing, and Mechanics, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute. The ASI was arranged primarily as a high-level teaching activity by experts representing both academic and industrial viewpoints. The program included the presentation of invited lectures, a limited number of related technical papers and discussion sessions.

Two-phase flow heat exchangers are vital components of systems for power generation, chemical processing, and thermal environment control. The art and science of the design of such heat exchangers have advanced considerably in recent years. This is due to better understanding of the fundamentals of two-phase flow and heat transfer in simple geometries, greater appreciation of these processes in complex goemetries, and enhanced predictive capability through use of complex computer codes. The subject is clearly of great fundamental and practical importance. The NATO ASIan Thermal-Hydraulic Fundamentals and Design of Two-Phase Flow Heat Exchangers was held in Povoa de Varzim (near Porto), Portugal, July 6-17, 1987. participating in the organization of" the ASI were the Department of Mechanical Engineering and the Clean Energy Research Institute, University of Miami; Universidade do Porto; and the Department of Mechanical Engineering, Aeronautical Eng ineer ing, and Mechanics, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute. The ASI was arranged primarily as a high-level teaching activity by experts representing both academic and industrial viewpoints. The program included the presentation of invited lectures, a limited number of related technical papers and discussion sessions.

These are the Proceedings of the PLEA'91 meeting, held in Seville under the joint responsability of the International Steering Committee of PLEA -Passive and Low Energy Architecture -and of a local organizing committee hosted by several research groups of the University of Seville. This is the ninth annual PLEA Conference organized since 1982 in response to the per manent commitment of PLEA; to become close to the regional problems to contribute for the widening and the enhancement of the understanding of the problems associated with the built environment. to its general principles and objectives, PLEA aims to establish the highest According standard of research but, also, to promote professionalism in building science and construc tion technology and in architecture and urbanism. While recognizing that the adoption of an "environment-conscious design" will help significantly towards solving some of our current environmental problems, PLEA advocates that the environment-conscious design is not just a means for avoiding ecological disaster, but a criterion of architectural quality and a creative meeting point between science, technology and architecture."