The solution of the linear, inverse, transient heat conduction problem (IHCP) in a cylindrical geometry is analysed. The rotating cylinder under investigation is experiencing boiling convection induced by the impingement of a water jet. The initial temperature is known, additional temperature measurements in time are taken with sensors positioned at a constant radius within the solid material, and the estimation of the wall heat flux at the external radius is sought. First, simulated temperature measurements inside the cylinder are processed in order to be used to estimate the wall heat flux. When noise is present in the data, some of the simulated results obtained using the least squares method exhibit oscillatory behavior, but these large oscillations are substantially reduced by the implementation of a regularization technique. Real experimental data are also used for the wall condition estimation and for the subsequent building of local boiling curves are plotted and discussed, The question of the possible effect of a temperature dependent conductivity on the reconstructed wall condition is also considered. (C) 2008 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved