Author : Chavan N.L and Sarje S.H

An experimental setup to measure the thermal contact conductance across aluminium interface is described, and the results obtained are presented. The resulting thermal contact resistance data are used in various application of heat transfer. Several factors influence the heat transfer across solid interface. These include the material properties, interface pressure, flatness and roughness of the contacting surfaces, temperature, and interstitial material if any. Results presented show the variation of thermal contact conductance as a function applied interface pressure for aluminium. Various interstitial materials investigated include indium foil, silver foil, and liquid eutectic, as expected, thermal contact resistance decreases as interface pressure increases, except in case of the eutectic, in which it was nearly constant. The softer the interstitial material, the lower the thermal contact resistance. Liquid metal provides the lowest thermal contact resistance across the aluminium interface, followed by the indium foil, and then silver foil.

Keywords: Thermal contact resistance, aluminium interface, heat transfer