Effects of thermal conductivity on the thermal contact resistance between non-conforming rough surfaces: An experimental and modeling study

摘要

An experimental investigation of the thermal contact resistance (TCR) between non-conforming rough surfaces was conducted. Experiments demonstrated that the TCR of OFC-OFC (Oxygen-Free Copper) and SS304-SS304 (Stainless Steel 304) decreased as the thermal conductivity increased. Similarly, the TCR of AlN-AlN ceramics decreased when the thermal conductivity increased from 300 to 347 W.m(-1).K-1 at temperatures ranging from 90 to 140 K. The variation between the TCR and the thermal conductivity first exhibited an increasing trend and then a decreasing trend. Experiments revealed that the effect of the material with the lower thermal conductivity was dominant, such as OFC-SS304 and OFC-AlN ceramics. The TCR of the dissimilar contact materials was influenced significantly by the material that demonstrated a lower thermal conductivity at 0.35 MPa. The TCR of OFC-OFC and the thermal conductivity exhibited an exponential relationship under low pressure conditions and a polynomial relationship when the external pressure ranged from 0.53 to 0.71 MPa. The relationship between the TCR of OFC-SS304 and the harmonic mean thermal conductivity exhibited an exponential relationship from 0.23 to 0.68 MPa. The results presented in this study provided not only a better understanding of the TCR but also a database for engineering applications.