This is the abstract from my Master\'s project in mechanical engineering. The project is entitled "Synergistic Numerical Simulation and Experimentation on Frictional Heating Due to a Slipping Clutch." The actual document is rather long (100+ pages), but I\'d like to offer this as a writing sample.

1. ABSTRACT
This research is a synergistic juxtaposition of experiment and numerical simulation focused on
the destructive effects of frictional heating caused by a slipping clutch. The clutch in question is
used, via a friction plate, to drive a fan of which induces airflow through a radiator. The existing
design of a specific component of the fan clutch, the fan-mounted friction-disk (FMFD), has an
undesirable failure mode during an excessive slip situation. A different and fail-safe type of
failure mode is necessary to avoid unsafe operation of the fan clutch product.
A mathematical model was developed to estimate the rate of heat generation at the contact
interface of a fan clutch and its contacting friction plate during an excessive slip condition. The
result of the mathematical model was used as a heat flux boundary condition in an ANSYS heat
conduction simulation for the existing FMFD geometry. The timewise temperature variations
predicted by the simulation at selected points were compared to experimentally measured
temperatures. The correlation between the predicted and measured temperatures was
sufficient for design purposes. ANSYS was then used as a tool to explore alternative design
concepts of the FMFD that would have an acceptable failure mode. One such concept is
presented in which a thermal fuse is activated once a particular location within the clutch
reaches a critical temperature. Once the thermal fuse is activated, the FMFD sufficiently
distorts such that the frictional heating ceases. Based on the thermal simulation results, this
concept was prototyped and tested. The test successfully demonstrated a fail-safe type of
failure mode during excessive slipping of a fan clutch.