The naphthalene sublimation technique involves the use of a mass transfer experiment coupled with an analysis based on the heat and mass transfer analogy to obtain local or average convection heat transfer coefficients for complex surface geometries. A coating of naphthalene, which is a volatile solid at room temperature, is applied to the surface and is then subjected to airflow in a wind tunnel. Alternatively, solid objects may be cast from liquid naphthalene. Over a designated time interval, l:lt, there is a discernible loss of naphtha- lene due to sublimation, and by measuring the surface recession at locations of interest or the mass loss of the sample, local or average mass transfer coefficients may be determined.