Research Progress of Thermal Contact Resistance

Thermal contact resistance of solid–solid interface is involved in many fields such as aerospace, low-temperature superconductivity and electronic machinery. With the booming of aerospace technology, the requirements for space detectors continue to increase; the research on accurate prediction, measurement and utilization of thermal contact resistance is becoming increasingly serious. This article systematically summarizes and analyzes the research progress of thermal contact resistance. It also comparatively analyzes theoretical prediction models, steady-state and transient-state experimental methods and numerical analysis methods from different angles, and summarizes the advantages and disadvantages of different methods. Moreover, the effects of the influencing factors such as the physical properties, the surface state, the contact pressure, the contact temperature, the heat flux direction and the thermal interface materials on the solid–solid thermal contact resistance are also briefly described. Through this systematic comparative analysis, further development directions are pointed out.