Polymeric composite block samples were run dry against rotating stainless steel rings in a Falex Model No. 1 friction and wear test machine. An infrared fiber optics thermal monitor was used to measure temperatures on the block. A finite element heat-transfer analysis was used to predict the amount of heat transferred to the block and the rotating ring. In the finite element analysis, temperatures were specified on the contact surface and iterated until the computed temperature distributions away from the interface matched those measured to within 10 percent. Computed temperatures at the interface were 10–15 percent higher than those measured in proximity to, but not at, the interface. Block thermal conductivities ranged from 0.20 to 0.90 w/m-K, with the portion of heat transferred to the block varying proportionally and maximum block temperature varying inversely with block thermal conductivity. These effect are as expected from closed-form solutions assuming equal temperatures on either side of the interface.Presented as an American Society of Lubrication Engineers paper at the ASME/ASLE Lubrication Conference in Washington, D.C., October 5–7, 1982