Thermal Contact Conductance of Composite Cylinders: An Experimental Study

When two concentric cylinders are assembled with a slight interference fit and heat flows radially through such a joint, the contact at the interface may improve or deteriorate depending on several factors, including the direction of heat flow, the magnitude of the heat flux, and the thermomechanical properties of the materials of the two cylinders. This paper deals with the design and construction of an apparatus to measure the thermal contact conductance of cylindrical joints as a function of the heat flux. Results are presented for stainless steel -> stainless steel and stainless steel -> aluminum composite cylinders, for radially outward heat flow. It is noted that the results obtained are in reasonable agreement with those predicted by theory.