1

PSNA College of Engineering and Technology, Dindigul.

Basic Mechanical Engineering
Question Bank – I

UNIT-I POWER PLANT ENGINEERING

PART A

1. What is a power plant?

2. Name the different types of power plants.
3. List out the conventional power plants.
4. What is a steam power plant?
5. What are the main purposes of a condenser in steam power plant?
6. Write three factors to be considered for the selection of steam power plant.
7. What are the main circuits of steam power plant?
8. What is hydel or hydro electric power plant?
9. List four important factors to be considered for selecting hydro-electric power
plant.
10. Name the main parts of hydro-electric power plant.
11. How are hydro-electric power plants classified?
12. What is tail race?
13. What is head race?
14. What is meant by water head?
15. What is the function of a hydraulic turbine?
16. Name the hydraulic turbines used in hydro-electric power plants.
17. What is penstock?
18. What is the use of spillway?
19. What is the use of pressure tunnel?
20. What is the function of a surge tank?
21. Why is surge tank located before penstock?
22. What is meant by draft tube?
23. Why is draft tubes used?
24. Give an example turbine for low head, medium head and high head hydro-electric
power plants.
25. What are the advantages of hydro-electric power plant?
26. What is a nuclear power plant?
27. Mention some main parts of a nuclear power plant?
28. What is meant by nuclear fission?
29. What is meant by nuclear fusion?
30. What is the function of a moderator?
31. Name the materials used as moderators.
32. What is the function of a control rod?
33. Name few control rod materials.
34. What is the use of reflector?
35. Name the materials used as reflectors.
36. What is the use of radiation shield?
 2

37. Mention the important components of a nuclear reactor.

38. Name the types of nuclear reactors.
39. What is a gas turbine power plant?
40. List some of the main elements of a gas turbine.
41. What are intercoolers?
42. What is the use of regenerator?
43. What is meant by open-cycle system?
44. List the main components of an open cycle Gas turbine.
45. Give two advantages and disadvantages of a Gas turbine.
46. State the methods of improving the thermal efficiency of Gas turbine cycle.
47. What is meant by closed-cycle system?
48. What is a diesel engine power plant?
49. Mention some of the essential components of diesel engine power plant.
50. List out the merits of diesel power plant.
51. Which type of power plants are used as peak load power plants? Why?
52. What is the capacity range of the common diesel power plant?
53. What are the alternate sources of energy to fossil fuel?
54. What is a prime mover?
55. How are prime movers classified?
56. Differentiate between thermal prime movers and hydraulic prime movers.
57. Differentiate between a steam turbine and a water turbine.
58. How are steam turbines classified?
59. What are the main parts of a steam turbine?
60. What is the function of a steam nozzle?
61. What is an impulse turbine? Give examples.
62. What is a reaction turbine? Give an example.
63. Give two examples for reaction hydraulic turbine.
64. What is meant by compounding of an impulse turbine?
65. What are the three types of compounding in impulse steam turbines?
66. Draw the pressure-velocity diagram for a single stage impulse turbine.
67. What does the term a ‘stage’ of a turbine refer to?
68. Differentiate between an impulse turbine and a reaction turbine.
69. What is a pump?
70. How are the pumps classified?
71. What are positive displacement pumps? Give examples.
72. What is the principle of reciprocating pumps?
73. How are reciprocating pumps classified?
74. List out the main components of a reciprocating pump.
75. Differentiate between a single-acting and a double-acting reciprocating pump.
76. What is the principle of a centrifugal pump?
77. How are centrifugal pumps classified?
78. What are the purposes of providing casing on the centrifugal pump?
79. What are the various types of casing?
80. What is meant by priming?
 3

PART B

1. With a neat sketch explain the working of a steam power plant. Write the merits
and demerits of the steam power plant.
2. What is hydel energy? Describe the working of a hydel power plant with a neat
layout. Give the merits and demerits of the plant.
3. What is nuclear energy? Explain the working of a nuclear power plant with a
sketch and also explain how it is different from conventional steam power plant.
4. Compare and contrast steam, hydro and nuclear power plants.
5. Give the layout of a simple gas turbine plant and explain its working. Also bring
out its advantages and disadvantages.
6. Explain the working of a diesel power plant with a simple sketch. Also list out its
advantages and disadvantages.
7. Explain the working principle of a steam turbine with a simple sketch.
8. With neat sketches, explain the construction and working of a De Laval type
impulse turbine.
9. With neat sketches, explain the construction and working of a Parson’s reaction
turbine.
10. Compare and contrast the impulse and reaction steam turbines.
11. Write short notes on the following:
(i) Compounding of an impulse turbine;
(ii) Stage of a turbine;
(iii) Steam turbine nozzles; and
(iv) Steam turbine blades.
12. With a neat sketch, explain the working principle of a single-acting reciprocating
pump.
13. Describe how the double-acting reciprocating pump works with a suitable sketch.
14. Explain the construction and working of a centrifugal pump with a neat sketch.
15. Compare and contrast the various features between the reciprocating pumps and
the centrifugal pumps.

Assignment I (CSE – A and CSE - B)

Roll Number Part A Part B

1 to 20 1,3,5,6,12,25,30,35,38,43, 1,4,6
21 to 40 4,11,13,14,16,28,36,39,45,47, 2,3,4
41 to 61 8,20,21,24,33,41,44,46,48,50 4,5,6

Faculty In-Charge HOD/Mech

 4

PSNA College of Engineering and Technology, Dindigul.

Basic Mechanical Engineering
Question Bank – II

UNIT-II INTERNAL COMBUSTION ENGINES AND BOILERS

PART A

1. What is an engine?
2. What is a heat engine?
3. How are heat engines classified?
4. What is an internal combustion engine (IC engine)?
5. How are IC Engines classified?
6. What are the components of an IC engine?
7. List the strokes that constitute a four stroke engine.
8. What is meant by stroke in an IC engine?
9. List the ports used in a 2 stroke engine.
10. Name the two extreme positions occupied by the piston.
11. Explain the following terms. (i) TDC (ii) BDC.
12. What is meant by bore?
13. What is meant by clearance volume and swept volume?
14. Define the compression ratio in an IC engine.
15. Explain the functions of (i) piston and (ii) connecting rod.
16. What are the functions of piston rings?
17. What is a flywheel?
18. What is SI engine (petrol engine)?
19. List the merits of petrol engines.
20. List the demerits of petrol engines.
21. What is CI engine? Why is it called so?
22. What are the merits of diesel (CI) engines?
23. State the demerits of CI (diesel) engines.
24. What is a two stroke engine?
25. What is a four-stroke engine?
26. What is meant by scavenging?
27. What is a steam generator or boiler?
28. How are boilers classified?
29. What is a fire tube boiler? Give two examples.
30. What is a water tube boiler? Mention two of them.
31. List the difference between a fire tube boiler and a water tube boiler.
32. What are the important components of a boiler?
33. Which are called high pressure boilers?
34. What is a man hole in a boiler?
35. What is grate in a boiler?
36. Why is damper provided in a steam boiler?
37. Why is the drum provided in a boiler?
38. What is meant by the capacity of a boiler?
 5

39. What are water space and steam space?

40. What is scaling? State its effect?
41. What is meant by boiler-trial?
42. What is meant by cogeneration?
43. Give the applications of modern high pressure boilers.
44. What is meant by IBR?
45. Mention four boiler mountings.
46. Mention three boiler accessories.
47. What are the differences between boiler mountings and boiler accessories?
48. What is the function of safety valve in a boiler?
49. What is the function of a fusible plug?
50. What is the function of a blow-off cock?
51. What is the function of steam stop valve in a boiler?
52. What is the function of feed check valve?
53. What is an air pre-heater?
54. What is the function of the economizer?
55. What is the function of the super heater?
56. How the steam pressure of the boiler can be measured?
57. Mention a function of feed pumps.

PART B
1. With neat sketches, explain the working of a single-cylinder four-stroke petrol
engine.
2. Explain the working of a four-stroke diesel engine, giving neat sketches.
3. Explain, with the help of a sketch, the working of a two-stroke petrol engine.
4. Explain the working of a two-stroke diesel engine with a neat sketch.
5. Compare and contrast a SI (petrol) engine with a CI (diesel) engine.
6. Compare and contrast a four-stroke engine with a two-stroke engine.
7. Explain the essential differences between a fire tube boiler and a water tube
boiler. Compare the relative merits and demerits of the two types of boilers.
8. With the help of a neat sketch, explain the construction and working of a fire tube
boiler. Also show the different mountings and explain the functions of each.
9. With a neat sketch, explain the various components and the working of a water
tube boiler. Also show the path of flue gases and water.
10. Differentiate between boiler mountings and accessories. Explain the functions of
each of them.

Assignment II (CSE – A and CSE - B)

Roll Number Part A Part B
1 to 20 2,11,14,15,24 1,4,6
21 to 40 8,9,13,17,25 2,3,5
41 to 61 12,14,16,21,26 1,4,5

Faculty In-Charge HOD/Mechanical

 6

PSNA College of Engineering and Technology, Dindigul.

Basic Mechanical Engineering
Question Bank – III

UNIT-III REFRIGERATION AND AIR-CONDITIONING SYSTEM

PART A

1. Define refrigeration.
2. What is a refrigerator?
3. What is meant by refrigerant?
4. Give some important refrigerants.
5. State the desirable properties of refrigerants.
6. Define capacity of refrigerator.
7. Define COP.
8. Define refrigeration effect.
9. Define ton of refrigeration (TR).
10. List the types of refrigerators.
11. Name some essential components of a vapour compression refrigeration system.
12. Name some essential components of a vapour absorption refrigeration system.
13. What is the function of the compressor in the refrigeration system?
14. What is the use of condenser in the refrigeration system?
15. What is the use of throttle valve?
16. What is the use of evaporator?
17. Differentiate vapour compression and vapour absorption refrigeration system.
18. What are the applications of refrigeration?
19. What is air conditioning?
20. What is psychrometry?
21. What is dry air?
22. What is moist air?
23. What is moisture?
24. What is meant by saturated air?
25. What is dry bulb temperature (DBT)?
26. What is wet bulb temperature (WBT)?
27. What is dew point temperature (DPT)?
28. What is wet bulb depression (WBD)?
29. What is humidity?
30. Define specific humidity or humidity ratio.
31. Define relative humidity.
32. Mention various types of air conditioning processes.
33. How is air conditioning system classified?
34. List the requirements of conditioned air.
35. Mention four applications field of air conditioning.
36. Mention four industrial applications of air conditioning.
37. What are the normal capacities of window air conditioners?
 7

PART B

1. Explain the principle of refrigeration. Also explain the functions of the main parts
of a refrigerator.
2. Explain the principle and working of a vapour compression refrigeration system
with a neat sketch.
3. With a neat sketch, explain the principle and working of a vapour absorption
refrigeration system.
4. Compare and contrast the vapour compression refrigeration system with the
vapour absorption refrigeration system.
5. Explain the various types of air-conditioning processes and the different air-
conditioning systems.
6. Draw a neat sketch of a window air-conditioner and explain its working principle.
7. Explain how a split air-conditioner works.

Assignment III (CSE – A and CSE - B)

BOILERS (Refer Question Bank II)

Roll Number Part A Part B

1 to 20 29,33,39,45,54 7,8
21 to 40 30,34,40,46,49 7,9
41 to 61 31,36,47,56,57 7,9

REFRIGERATION (Refer Question Bank III)

Roll Number Part A Part B

1 to 20 1,4,6,11,15 2,4
21 to 40 2,5,7,9,14 3,4
41 to 61 3,8,10,13,16 3,4

Faculty In-Charge HOD/Mechanical