Experimental investigation of high temperature thermal contact resistance between high thermal conductivity C/C material and Inconel 600

Thermal contact resistance at the assembly interface plays an important role in high temperature structure design and safety assessment. Thermal contact resistance between high thermal conductivity C/C material and superalloy Inconel 600 was experimentally investigated in the present paper. They are widely used in thermal protection structures of heat-pipe-cooled leading edges to enhance interface heat transfer. Results showed that thermal contact resistance between the two materials is about 5 × 10−5 m2 K/W, and it is necessary to take into account the effect of the thermal contact resistance in high thermal conductivity C/C material related thermal structure design.