Prediction and measurement of the thermal conductance of laminated stacks

Abstract This paper presents a novel theoretical analysis of the thermal contact conductance between thin metallic sheets. Previous theories apply only to conditions where the metal thickness is large compared with the diameter of the typical contact zone. The new theory developed herein is used to predict the conductances of stacks of laminations over a wide range of contact pressure and with various interstitial fluids. Metallic discs of stainless steel, brass and transformer core steel were tested, and measured conductances were compared with predictions. The agreement between theory and experiment was good, both for the tests conducted in this program and for the available published experimental data.