Determination of time-dependent thermal contact conductance through IR-thermography

•A method to quantify transient contact heat transfer coefficients is presented.•The method is based on IR-thermography and solving the IHCP.•The determined coefficients reflect the temporal variations of the applied force.•A hysteresis of the coefficient can be observed within each transient load cycle.•A possible explanation is given for the observed hysteresis.

Values of contact heat transfer coefficients between two solid bodies proposed in literature differ, depending on the experimental method employed for their determination. This paper presents a method to measure contact heat transfer coefficients by means of transient temperature measurements, which are conducted using a high-speed infrared camera. Time-dependent contact heat transfer mechanisms can be visualized and quantified. This enables the technique to be utilized for describing transient heat transfer phenomena, which, among others, emerge within the field of thermo-energetic management of machine tools. Within this work, the experimental method and setup is explained. Subsequently, results of transient measurements are presented, showing a direct relation between the instantaneous load and contact heat transfer coefficient.