An Approximate Thermal Contact Conductance Correlation

An approximate thermal contact conductance correlation which does not depend upon the surface asperity slope was developed. Published surface texture data for 65 specimens were used to establish a relationship between the average roughness and the RMS asperity slope, which was then used to develop a new approximate thermal contact conductance correlation. The investigation was conducted for a range of surface roughness typical of contacting surfaces. Comparison to limited test data and to 2080 simulated contact joints, indicates the new approximate thermal contact conductance correlation has an expected RMS error of approximately 23 percent.