How To Pass Steam Engineer Examination

ENGINEER’S CERTIFICATE OF COMPETENCY

Section 29 of The Factories and Machinery Act 1967 requires certain machinery to be operated by certificated staff. Therefore, an examination is hold to make these person competent in order to comply with requirement of law.

Basically there are 3 categories.
(i) Part A -Practical Mathematics
(ii) Part B -Engineering Knowledge
(iii) Part C -Oral Examination
 
Candidates who hold a recognized degree in Mechanical Engineering are exempted from parts A and B, whereas candidates from other disciplines and with other qualifications have to sit for at least two categories. However there are special cases where exemptions may be given with the approval of the Panel of Examiners.
 
(i) Part A -Practical Mathematics
This part will consist of two (2) papers namely

Paper I - 3 hours
Paper II - 2 hours
 
(ii) Part B -Engineering Knowledge
This part will consist of two (2) papers namely

Paper I - 3 hours
Paper II - 2 hours
 
(iii) Part C -Oral Examination
The candidates will be examined for their knowledge in the safe operation of the machine and its allied equipment.
 
The Syllabus Covers
 
Second Grade Engineer (Steam)

· Practical Mathematics which includes Applied Mechanics, Elementary Strength of Materials, and Heat and Heat Engines.
· Engineering Knowledge which includes Principle of Operation of Steam Boilers and Their Fittings, Boiler Fuel and Theory of Combustion, Principle of Operation of Steam Turbines, Boiler House Management and Boiler Repair, and General Engineering Knowledge which includes Construction Materials, Properties of Materials, Properties of Steam, Mechanical Working of Steel, Failure of Materials, Welding, and NOT.
· Oral examination on the management and safe operation of steam plant.
 
First Grade Engineer (Steam)

· Practical Mathematics which includes Applied Mechanics, Strength of Materials, Heat and heat engines, and Applied Thermodynamics.
· Engineering Knowledge which include Principle of Operation of Steam and Hot Water Boiler, and Their Fittings, Boiler Fuel and Theory of Combustion, Principle of Operation of Steam Turbines, Boiler Water Treatment and Analysis, Boiler Maintenance, Inspection and Repair, Boiler House Management and other General Engineering Knowledge which includes Construction Materials, Properties of Materials, Properties of Steam, Mechanical Working of Steel, Failure of Materials, Welding and Nondestructive testing.
· Oral examination on the management and safe maintenance and operation of steam plant, and related requirements of Acts and Regulations.

Second Grade Steam Engineer Examination Syllabus:
PART A -PRACTICAL MATHEMA TICS


This part will consist of two (2) papers namely -
Paper I - 3 hours
Paper II - 2 hours
and candidates will be examined for their knowledge in Applied Mechanics, Elementary Strength of Materials, and Thermodynamics. Detail of these are as follows -

(a) Applied Mechanics
(i) Forces, Mass, Impulse, Momentum, Work and Energy Power Forces acting on rigid body; Moments of forces; Compositions and resolutions of forces; Laws of solid and liquid friction (Friction angle and inclined plane); Mechanical advantage and efficiency of simple machines; Condition of equilibrium of solids and simple frame structures and beams; Moment of momentum, moment of inertia, their relation and measurement; Conservation of energy and momentum; Rectilinear motion of body under constant or variable forces; Equation of motion of a particle; and Motion of a body in a circular path with uniform speed.
(ii) Pressure and velocity change along a stream line Bernoulli's theorem; and Flow through orifice

(b) Elementary Strength of Materials
Hooke's Law; Young's Modulus; Poisson's Ratio; Modulus of Rigidity; Thermal stress; Theory of simple bending; Bending moment and shearing forces diagrams; Theory of torsion of solid and hollow round shafts; Analysis of stress; and Theory of thin shell and strength of rivetted and welded joints.

(c) Thermodynamics

(i) Heat Units B. Th.U.; C.H.U; gm-cal; and Joules

(ii) The Law of Perfect Gas
Absolute temperature; Isothermal, adiabatic and polytropic expansion and compression; Specific heat Cp and Cv and their relationship; and internal energy, enthalpy and entropy.

(iii) Heat Transfer
Heat transfer by conduction, convection and radiation -simple application; Properties of steam (change of state, latent heat, wet, dry saturated and superheated steam, dryness fraction); Use of steam table; Throttling; Separating and throttling calorimeter; and Boiler efficiency.

(iv) Reciprocating Steam Engine

Indicator diagrams (hypothetical and actual); Diagram factor; M.e.p, h.p, and b.h.p; and Compounded engines (thermal, mechanical and overall efficiency).

(v) Steam Turbine
Elementary principles; Simple velocity diagrams; Steam turbine efficiency; and Principles of energy boundary.

(vi) Combustion of Fuel (solid, liquid and gases)
Higher and lower calorific values; Chemical equations (stoichiometry);
Excess air; and, Incomplete combustion of fuel.

(vii) Refrigeration -Vapour Compression Cycle
Coefficient of performance; and capacity.

PART B - ENGINEERING KNOWLEDGE

This part consist of two (2) papers namely -
(i) Paper l - 3 hours
(ii) Paper II - 2 hours
and candidates will be examined for their knowledge on the following subjects

(a) Steam and Hot Water Boilers
Different types of boilers (e.g. fire and water tubes boilers, vertical shell type, multitubular underfired, economic package and waste heat); Constructional details; Mountings and fittings (e.g. water level gauges, steam pressure gauge, feed water regulator, safety valves, main stop valve, globe valve, gate valve, check valve, non-return valve); flue gas path pattern (singular or multiple, and function of baffle plates); and, Starting cold boilers, operating under emergency situations, idling procedure and maintenance (tubes, shell, drums, headers, superheater, economiser, furnace, air heater, pumps, fans and stacks).

(b) Combustion of Fuels

Theory of combustion (condition, constant temperature, constant volume and constant pressure); Combustion process (supply air, air-fuel mixture,combustion temperature, combustion time, combustion gases, and temperature of combustion gases); Gas analysing technique; and, Draft (natural, forced, draft differential, and factors affecting draft).

(c) Measuring Gauges and Instruments
The purpose, basic working principles, constructional details and functions of the main parts of commonly used gauges and instrument (e.g. pressure gauge, thermometer, pyrometer, barometer, salinometer, and hydrometer).

(d) Boiler Repair, Inspection and Maintenence
Repairs of tubes, shell, furnace, fittings and ancillary machinery including the statutory and technical (standards and codes) requirements; Internal and external inspection (procedure and implementation); and, Maintenance (daily,routine and planned).

(e) Boiler Fuel

Solid fuel (e.g. coal, lignite, wood and wood waste); Liquid fuel (petroleum oil,black liquor and other chemical derivatives); gaseous fuel (LPG, natural gas and waste heat); composition and properties of different types of fuel; and, advantage and disadvantage of different type of fuels.

(f) Boiler Water Treatment

Pure water; Impurities; Contaminated feedwater; external and internal treatment; Hard scale; Soft scale; Carry over; Priming; Foaming; and, Water treatment programme.

(g) Steam Properties
Steam (wet, saturated, superheated, degree of superheat and fraction); Temperature-entropy and temperature-enthalpy diagrams; and, application of wet and superheated steam.

(h) Pump and Compressor
Basic working principles, selection criteria, advantages and disadvantages of different types of compressors and pumps.

(i) Steam Turbines
Types and working principles (impulse, reaction, combination of impulse and reaction); and, Safe operation (start-up and shut-down).

(j) Condensers

Types and working principles, construction and construction materials, and maintenance.

(k) Governors
Types and working principles, function in turbine, and relay mechanism

(l) Materials Chemical
(e.g. carbon, phosphorus, silicon, manganese, chromium, nickel, molybdenum, cadmium) and physical properties of construction materials;
Mechanical testing (tensile, bend, hardness, nick break and charpy test); Stress-strain relationship (proportional limit, yield point, ultimate stress, permanent set, breaking stress point and elastic limit); Heat treatment (e.g.annealing, normalising, stress releiving, spheroidising, hardening and tempering) and effect on microstructure; and, Solution treatment.

(m) Mechanical Working of Steel
Hot work (forging and rolling) and cold work (cold roll and cold working)
 
(n) Creep and Fatigue

Creep and fatigue behaviour, factors affecting and testing method.
 
(o) Corrosion and Control

Causes (chemical attack, electro-chemical attack and stress influenced); Prevention and control (surface protection, metal cladding, electroplating); surface modification (e.g. cladding and chroming), metal spraying, painting,and cathodic protection.

(p) Welding
Basic principles and different types (e.g. shielded-arc, gas shielded metal arc, gas shielded tungsten-arc, plasma-arc, electroslag, stud and gas welding); Weld joint and preparation (butt, lap, fillet and nozzle); Welding defects (e.g. cracks, cavities, inclusions, lack of penetration, and fusion, imperfect shape), methods of detection and repairs; and, Destructive testing (e.g. tensile test, bend test, hardness test, proof test, fatigue test).

(q) Non-Destructive Testing
Non-destructive testing (radiography, ultrasonic, magnetic particle test, dye penetrant test and eddy-current); NDT operator qualification programme (national and international); Welding Procedure Qualification and Welder Performance Qualification Test.

Part C -Oral Examination

The candidates will be examined for their knowledge in the safe operation of a Steam Boiler and other auxilliaries. Detail of these are as follows –

(i) Working principles of various type of steam and hot water boilers, steam turbines and steam engines, and their fittings and functions.

Note: The candidate is expected to know the operation of all types of boilers, steam engines and steam turbines.

(iii) Boiler operation (e.g Start-up procedure, shut-down, emergency situation, conditional monitoring (e.g. water hammer, priming, foaming, familiarisation with all safety features etc). Installation of new boiler, various type of testing (water gaguge test, steam test etc.); and Basic boiler water treatment.

(iv) Boiler House management (e.g. Managing Log Book, Safety and Health aspects in boiler room)

(iv) Plant safety management (Policy statement, arrangement, implementation, accident prevention); Contingency Plan / Emergency Response Plan.

(v) The candidate is expected to know how to sketch the steam boiler, piping system, fittings etc.

(vi) Related provisions under The Factories and Machinery Act 1967 and regulations made thereunder.

(vii) Identification of parts (e.g. defected samples, failure tubes etc) and common boiler deposits.

(viii) Boiler inspections (defects identification, proposal for repair, codes and procedures).

First Grade Steam Engineer Examination Syllabus:
PART A -PRACTICAL MATHEMA TICS

This part will consist of two (2) papers namely -
Paper I - 3 hours
Paper II - 2 hours
And candidates will be examined for their knowledge in Applied Mechanics, Strength of Materials, and Applied Thermodynamics. Detail of these are as follows -

(a) Applied Mechanics
(i) Forces, Mass, Impulse, Momentum, Work and Energy, Power
Forces acting on rigid body; Moment of forces; Moments and couples; Composition and resolution of forces; Polygon of forces; Laws of solid and liquid friction (friction angle and inclined plane); Friction between unlubricated surfaces (friction angle, friction clutches, friction on inclined plane); Inertia forces on elements of plane mechanism; Mechanical advantage and efficiency of simple machines; Belt and rope drives; Engine measurement; Conservation of energy and momentum; and, Rectilinear motion of body in a cicular path with uniform speed.
(ii) Vibration

Body with single degree of freedom; Transverse vibration of beam; and, Torsional oscillations.
(iii) Pressure and velocity change along a stream line Bernoulli's theorem; Flow through orifice

(b) Strength of Materials

(i) Hooke's Law; Young's Modulus; Poisson's Ratio; Modulus of Rigidity; Thermal Stress; Theory of Simple Bending; Bending Moment and Shearing Force Diagram; Theory of Torsion of Solid and Hollow Round Shafts; and, Analysis of Stress.
(ii) Stress and Strain

In tension, compression and shear; Relation between elastic constants; Co-planar principal plane and stresses; Maximum shear stress; Stresses in thick walled cylinders under internal and external pressure; and, Theory of thin shells and strength of rivet ted and welded joints.
(iii) Beams
Direct and shear stresses in beam; Relationship between slope, curvature and deflection; Determination of shear force (SF), bending moment, slope and deflection of cantilevers, and freely supported and built-in beams for simple types of loading.
(iv) Torsion
Transmission of power; Closed coil helical springs; Combined bending, torsion and thrust; Principal stresses in shafts; Strain energy in tension, bending and torsional and combined loading.

(c) Applied Thermodynamics

(i) First and Second Law of Thermodynamics
(ii) Heat units B.Th.U., C.H.U., gm-cal and Joules; Specific heat, and mechanical equivalent of heat.
(iii) The Law of Perfect Gas
Absolute temperature; Isothermal, adiabatic and polytropic expansion and compression; Specific heat Cp and Cv and relationship between them; Internal energy, enthalpy and entropy.
(iv) Heat transfer
Heat transfer by conduct(on, convection and radiation (simple application); Properties of steam (change of state, latent heat, wet, dry saturated and supersaturated steam, dryness fraction); Use of steam table; Thtrottling; Separating and thtrottling calorimeter; and, Boiler efficiency.
(v) Reciprocating Steam Engine

Indicator diagrams (hypothetical, actual); Diagram factor; M.e.p., h.p., b.h.p.; and Compounded engines (thermal, mechanical and overall efficiency)
(vi) Steam Turbine
Elementary principles; Simple velocity diagrams; Steam turbine efficiency; and Principle of energy boundry.
(vii) Combustion of Fuels
Higher and lower calorific values; Chemical equations (stoichiometry); Excess air; and Incomplete combustion of carbon.
(viii) Refrigeration -Vapour Compression Cycle Coefficient of performance; Capacity.
 
Part B - Engineering Knowledge

This part consist of two (2) papers namely –
(i) Paper I - 3 hours
(ii) Paper II - 2 hours
and candidates will be examined for their knowledge on the following subjects

(a) Steam and Hot Water Boilers
Different types of boilers (e.g. fire and water tubes boilers, vertical shell type, multitubular underfired, economic package and waste heat); Constructional details; Mountings and fittings (water level gauges, steam
pressure gauge, feed water regulator, safety valves, main stop valve, globe valve, gate valve, check valve, non-return valve); flue gas path pattern (singular or multiple and function of baffle plates).

(b) Boiler Operation

Starting cold boilers (precaution -furnace explosion, dust explosion); connecting of more than one boiler; Operating under emergency situations, idling procedure and maintenance (tubes, shell, drums, headers, superheater, economiser, furnace, air heater, pumps, fans and stacks); Uses of low-pressure steam and hot water boiler for process heating; Special type of boiler for high pressure and temperature steam.

(b) Boiler Water Treatment
Pure water; Impurities; Type of water source; Recomended feedwater quality; Contaminated feedwater; External and internal treatment; Hard scale; Soft scale; Carry over; Priming; Foaming; Water treatment
programme; and Water analysis.

(c) Boiler Maintenance, Inspection and Repair
External and internal inspection; Boiler failure, causes and methods of repair (Window patch, tube plugging); Testing of safety features (e.g. Gauge glass, low water fuel cut-out, high/low water alarm); Maintenance (daily, routine and planned).

(d) Boiler Fuel

Solid fuel (e.g coal, lignite, wood and wood waste); Liquid fuel (petroleum oil, black liquor and other chemical derivatives); gaseous fuel (LPG, natural gas and waste heat); composition and properties of
different types of fuel; and, advantage and disadvantage of different type of fuels.

(e) Combustion of Fuels
Theory of combustion (condition, constant temperature, constant volume and constant pressure); Combustion process (supply air, airfuel mixture, combustion temperature, combustion time, combustion gases, and temperature of combustion gases); Gas analysing technique; and Draft (natural, forced, draft differential, and factors affecting draft).

(f) Steam Properties
Steam (wet, saturated, superheated, degree of superheat and dryness fraction); Temperature-entropy and temperature-enthalpy diagrams; and application of wet and superheated steam.

(g) Materials

Chemical (carbon, phosphorus, silicon, manganese, chromium, nickel, molybdenum, cadmium) and physical properties of construction materials; Mechanical testing (tensile, bend, hardness, nick break and charpy test); Stress-strain relationship (proportional limit, yield point, ultimate stress, permanent set, breaking stress point and elastic limit); Heat treatment (annealing, normalising, spheroidising, hardening and tempering) and effect on microstructure. Iron-Carbon equilibrium diagram (austenite, martensite, pearlite, binite)

(h) Mechanical Working of Steel
Hot work (forging and rolling) and cold work (cold roll and cold working).

(i) Creep and Fatigue
Creep and fatigue behaviour, factors affecting and testing method.
 
(j) Corrosion and Control

Causes (chemical attack, electro-chemical attack and stress influenced); Prevention and control (surface protection, metal cladding, electroplating), surface modification (e.g. cladding and chroming), metal spraying, painting, cathodic protection and water treatment.

(k) Welding
Basic principles and different types (shielded-arc, gas shielded metal arc, gas shielded tungsten-arc, plasma-arc, electroslag, stud and gas welding); Weld joint and preparation (butt, lap, fillet and nozzle); Welding defects (e.g cracks, cavities, inclusions, lack of penetration, and fusion, imperfect shape), methods of detection and repairs; Destructive testing (tensile test, bend test, hardness test, proof test, fatigue test). Welding Procedure Qualification and Welder Performance Qualification Test.

(I) Non-Destructive Testing
Non-destructive testing (radiography, ultrasonic, magnetic particle test, dye penetrant test and eddy-current); NDT operator qualification programme (national and international).

PART C -ORAL EXAMINA TION

The candidates will be examined for their knowledge on the safe operation of steam boiler and other auxiliary , understanding of related statutory requirements, and proper management of a steam plant.

(i) Working principles of various types of steam boilers, steam engines and steam turbines, their fittings and functions.

(ii) Boiler operation (e.g Start-up procedure, shut-down, emergency situation, .conditional monitoring, familiarisation with all safety features etc). Installation of new boiler, various type of testing. Identification of
essential fittings.

(iii) Boiler House management (e.g Managing Log Book, Safety and Health aspects in boiler room)

(iv) Plant safety management (Policy statement, arrangement, implementation, accident prevention); Contingency Plan / Emergency Response Plan.

(v) The candidate is expected to know how to sketch the steam boiler, piping system, fittings etc.

(vi) Related provisions under The Factories and Machinery Act 1967 and regulations made thereunder, and The Occupational Safety and Health Act 1994 (e.g. Requirements for importation, manufacturing, installation
and operation of steam boilers in this country; Duty of designer, manufacturer and supplier).

(vii) External and internal inspection of boiler, fault finding, identification of defects or failures, administrative procedure for repairs.

(viii) Boiler water treatment (internal and external), and the detailed programme.

(ix) Special type of boiler (e.g. Waste heat, high pressure and temperature boiler).

(x) The conduct of steam test, its purpose and frequency.

Note : The first grade candidates is expected to answer in depth of every questions posed.

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