Conductive mechanisms play an integral role in the transfer of heat through dense gas-solid systems. In particular, the conduction occurring through a thin layer of fluid between the solids (indirect) can become the primary mode for heat transfer within gas-solid systems. However, attempts to evaluate the effect of surface roughness and fluid lens thickness (theoretical inputs) on indirect conduction have been restricted to static, single-particle cases. By contrast, here we quantify these effects for dynamic, multi-particle systems using a non-dimensional, average heat transfer coefficient that is obtained via techniques commonly employed by classic kinetic theory. Analytical predictions for the impact of theoretical inputs on indirect conduction are compared to outputs from computational fluid dynamics-discrete element method simulations. The analytical predictions are in agreement with simulations and show that indirect conduction in static systems is most sensitive to surface roughness, while dynamic systems are sensitive to the fluid lens thickness. (c) 2017 American Institute of Chemical Engineers AIChE J, 63: 4685-4693, 2017