G. C. Barber, M. Jordan-Steen and M. Shillor,

Abstract. A simple measurement method is proposed for the heat exchange
function which characterizes the thermal interaction between contacting surfaces
of components. It is based on a simple mathematical model for one-dimensional
thermoelastic contact. The method has been applied experimentally in a simple
setting and performed well. The experiments indicate that, for the materials
examined, the heat exchange coefficient is best described by a function which
has a jump at the contact initiation point, increases slightly with increased contact
pressure and is fairly constant for small gaps.