Effect of Elastoplastic Thermal Softening on Thermal Contact Resistance Based on the Dual-Load Transfer Coupling Method

Thermal contact resistance (TCR) exists widely in heat transfer structures. However, available studies failed to reveal the effect of elastoplastic thermal softening (EPTS) on TCR. Therefore, in this work, a more accurate dual-load transfer coupling method (DLTM) is proposed to analyze the effect of EPTS on TCR. First, a finite element model including a rough surface is created based on the real rough surface, and a contact control method is proposed to achieve a high-accuracy load transfer. Second, the mesh size optimization is carried out to refine the numerical model, and the validity of the numerical model is verified by the measured experiment of the TCR. Finally, the DLTM is used to analyze the effect of EPTS on the TCR under two loading conditions. The results show that the TCR affected by the EPTS is reduced by 6.06% and 45.68% under displacement and pressure loading, respectively. In addition, the effect of EPTS is more significant under pressure loading, which is caused by the further enhancement of the interaction between rough surfaces after the EPTS. However, the influence is negligible under displacement loading.