Interview Questions for Electro Technical Officer (ETO) Course

A.C. Motors & A.C. Generators

1. What is Induction motor and how it works?

2. How is the construction of Induction motor?
3. What is synchronous motor?
4. What is slip in an induction motor?
5. Why starters are used to start Induction Motors?
6. Why starting current is high for Induction motors?
7. What are different methods of starting Induction Motors?
8. Why star delta starter is preferred with induction motor?
9. What is called single Phasing?
10. What is called crawling of Induction motor?
11. What is called cogging?
12. What are different losses in Induction Motor?
13. How the short circuit protection is provided to the motor?
14. What are the different methods for the starting of a synchronous motor?
15. What is the use of servomotor?
16. What is plugging of an Induction motor?
17. Which motor has high Starting Torque and Staring current – DC motor, Induction motor
or Synchronous motor?
18. What is 2 Phase motor?
19. Enumerate the possible reasons if a 3‐phase motor fails to start?
20. A motor stops after starting i.e., it fails to carry load. What could be the reasons?
21. Which is the usual cause of blow‐outs in Induction motors?
22. Can a 3‐phase motor be run on a Single‐Phase Line?
23. What is meant by a Phase‐Splitter?
24. What is the standard direction of rotation of an Induction motor?
25. How would you reverse the direction of rotation of a capacitor start‐induction‐run
motor?
26. What could be the reasons if a split‐phase motor fails to start and hums loudly?
27. What could be the reasons if a split‐phase motor runs too slow?
28. For what service are synchronous motors especially suited? Which has more efficiency;
synchronous or induction motor?
29. Mention some specific applications of synchronous motors
30. What could be the reasons if a synchronous motor fails to start?

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31. Under which conditions a synchronous motor will fail to pull into step?
32. How do changes in supply voltage and frequency affect the performance of an induction
motor?
33. What is, in brief, the basis of operation of a 3‐phase induction motor?
34. Why induction motors are called asynchronous?
35. What are Dummy coils?
36. Draw a simple diagram of alternators (AC generators)?
37. How AC is generated through these alternators?
38. What is insulated neutral and what is earthed neutral?
39. What do u understand by excitation system?
40. What is the importance of air gap in Alternators?
41. How much should be the air gap in alternators?
42. What happens if this Air gap becomes more or less?
43. What are Brushless Alternators?
44. What is Bus Bar?
45. What is paralleling of alternators?
46. What is hunting of alternators and what are the probable reasons?
47. What factors are checked before paralleling of generators?
48. What is synchro scope and what is its use?
49. What is voltage regulation?
50. What is Automatic Voltage Regulator (AVR)?
51. What is called prime mover?
52. What is a Runaway speed of prime mover?
53. What is reverse power protection?
54. What are the faults in a three phase line?
55. What is Power Factor?
56. What is voltage droop? How it is controlled?
57. Why AC systems are preferred over DC systems?
58. What is RMS value of Alternating current?
59. What is peak factor?
60. What is Form Factor?
61. Why is alternating current used for transmission?
62. Why is voltage stepped up before transmission?
63. What is a Universal Motor?
64. What is Voltage Regulation?
65. Explain the terms real power, apparent power and reactive power for ac circuits and
also the units used.
66. What is the difference between earth and neutral?

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 D.C. Motors & D.C. Generators

1. Which is the motor used in fan?

2. Why do we use starter for a DC motor?
3. What is the main advantage of DC Motors over AC Motors?
4. What is ward‐Leonard system?
5. What happens if the direction of current at the terminals of a series motor is reversed?
6. A DC motor fails to start when switched on. What could be the possible reasons and
remedies?
7. State the difference between generator and alternator?
8. What is Lap winding and wave winding?
9. Write the EMF equation of a generator?
10. What is called Back EMF?
11. What do you understand by self‐excited generators?
12. What is the difference between Lap winding and wave windings?
13. What is instantaneous short circuit trip?
14. How do u check earthing in a system?
15. What is the standard direction of rotation of the DC generators?
16. What causes heating of armature?
17. What is a short circuit and how system is protected from short circuit?
18. Which is more dangerous‐shock due to AC or DC?
19. What are Interpoles used for?
20. What is the principle of DC motor?
21. Explain commutation in DC machines
22. What are Damper Windings?
23. Explain different types of D.C motors? Give their applications
24. Explain the process of commutation in a dc machine. Explain what are inter‐poles and why
they are required in a dc machine.
25. Why back emf used for a dc motor? highlight its significance.
26. What are the various kind of cables used for transmission?

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 Protection System & Measuring Equipment

1. What is circuit breaker?

2. What types of circuit breakers are there?
3. What is ACB, MCB, OCB, VCB etc.?
4. What is the function of a fuse?
5. How a fuse works?
6. What is minimum fusing current?
7. What is a relay?
8. What is the difference between Fuse and Relay?
9. What is reverse power relay?
10. How a relay works?
11. How a circuit breaker works?
12. What is neutral earthing and what are the advantages of neutral earthing?
13. What protections are provided for generators supplying current to Bus Bar?
14. What protections are provided to Induction Motors?
15. How overcurrent protection is provided?
16. What is Inverse Definite Minimum Time (IDMT) relay and how it works?
17. What is overload trip?
18. What is the difference between Short circuit trip and overload trip?
19. What is preferential trip?
20. What is reverse current / reverse power trip?
21. What is under voltage trip? Why all these trips are important?
22. What is Ammeter, Voltmeter, Wattmeter and Meager?
23. What is the difference between Ammeter and Voltmeter?
24. What is megger testing?

Storage Batteries & Electrolysis

1. What is Faraday’s Law of Electrolysis?

2. What is Electrolyte of a Battery?
3. What is Primary cell?
4. What is Secondary cell?
5. What are the main components of a Lead Acid Battery?

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6. Write the charging and discharging reaction of Lead Acid Battery?
7. What is Edison Storage battery and what are its advantages?
8. What is Nickle Cadmium Battery and its advantages?
9. What is the meaning of Ampere Hours of a battery?
10. Why vent caps are provided in Lead Acid Batteries?
11. What is the Specific gravity of Fully charged and Fully discharged lead acid battery?
12. How do you confirm if a battery is charged or not?
13. What is trickle charging system? Why it is useful?
14. What is the difference between trickle charging and Heavy charging?
15. How to confirm if a Battery is fully charged or not?
16. How to revive a dead storage battery?
17. What are disadvantages of overcharging a battery?
18. What Personal Protective Equipment you should wear while working on Lead Acid
battery?
19. Which gas is emitted during charging of Lead Acid Battery? Is it dangerous?
20. Why we need to top up water in the Lead Acid Battery?
21. Draw the circuit diagram of battery charger charging from AC Source?
22. What important safety measures are required near the batteries?
23. When we should change the battery to new one?
24. Explain the application of storage batteries.
25. Explain advantages of storage batteries

Transformers

1. What is Transformer
2. What is step up and step down transformer.
3. What is humming of transformer?
4. What is single phase transformer and explain its working principle.
5. Explain different losses in a transformer.
6. Comment on the working principle of operation of a single‐phase transformer.
7. Why is transformer flux constant?
8. Why an induction motor is called a rotating transformer?
9. Why is transformer rating in KVA?
10. How do we specify the rating of a transformer?
11. What are the cooling methods to cool a transformer?

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12. Does the transformer draw any current when its secondary is open?
13. What is power factor?
14. What is the approximate value of Power Factor?
15. Is Cu loss affected by power factor? Why?
16. What are Instrument Transformers?
17. What is Hysteresis loss?
18. What are Current Transformer (CT) and Potential Transformer (PT)?
19. Mention the disadvantages of low power factor? How can it be improved? State the
methods of improving power factor?
20. What is Eddy Current Loss?
21. What is the best way of minimizing eddy currents in an armature?
22. What is a Ground line?
23. What are the disadvantages of low power factor?
24. Why is earth pin longest and thickest?

Semiconductors & Electronics

1. What are Thermistors?

2. Why do thermistors have negative temperature coefficient?
3. What is semiconductor?
4. What is intrinsic Semiconductor?
5. What is extrinsic semiconductor?
6. What is P Type semiconductors?
7. What is n‐type semiconductors?
8. What is PN Junction diode?
9. What is forward Bias?
10. What is reverse bias?
11. Explain forward resistance, static resistance and dynamic resistance of a pn junction
diode.
12. How diodes are used as rectifiers?
13. Draw the circuit diagram of full wave and half wave rectifier.
14. How three phase AC is rectified?
15. What is breakdown voltage of Zener diode?
16. What is Zener diode and what is its use?
17. How does Zener phenomenon differ from Avalanche breakdown?
18. What do you know about transistors?

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19. What is pnp and npn transistors?
20. What is most famous use of transistors?
21. What is the symbol of pnp and npn transistor?
22. How transistor works as amplifier?
23. What is Silicon controlled rectifier (SCR)?
24. What are thyristors?
25. State uses of thyristors / SCRs?
26. What are flame proof or explosion proof equipment?
27. What are intrinsically safe equipment?
28. Why Zener diode is used in intrinsically safe equipment?
29. What safeties you should take to avoid electrical shock?
30. What is basic treatment for Electrical shock?

General Electrical Engineering

1. What is Ohm’s Law?

2. What is the effect of temperature on resistance of a conductor?
3. What are the limitations of Ohm’s Law?
4. What are Kirchhoff’s laws?
5. State Thevenin’s Theorem:
6. State Norton’s Theorem
7. State Maximum power transfer theorem
8. What is Gauss theorem?
9. What is Corona?
10. What is skin effect?
11. What are properties of insulating material of electric cables?
12. Name few insulating materials for electrical cables?
13. What are the advantages and disadvantages of Compact Fluorescent Lamps?
14. What is ACSR cable and where we use it?
15. What are the different types of cores?

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