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🚀 BARC Mechanical Engineering Interview Experience

– 2025 🔧

1. Strength of Materials (SOM) – Biaxial Stress & Mohr’s Circle

• Q1: What is biaxial stress?

• Q2: If only pure shear is acting, can it be considered biaxial?
• Task: Draw the Mohr’s Circle for pure shear and explain each component
(center, radius, principal stresses).
• Explained how Mohr's Circle helps visualize normal and shear stress at different
planes.
• Also asked: “How to find stress at any inclined plane from the graph?”

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Chayan Batch 2.0 Lect. No. 17

🛠️ Application-Based Follow-up:

• Draw a cantilever beam with point load at the mid-span, show deflection curve.
• Explain the design procedure and how to calculate bending stress.
• Given stress = IM⋅y , they asked: If required diameter is not available, but d/2 is, will
you use it?

Discussion on:

• Stress comparison between d and d/2

• Shear stress distribution for both
• If Aluminium replaces Steel, how would stress profile differ?
• Combined section: Hollow pipe (OD = d, ID = d/2) with solid rod (d/2) inside – draw
stress distribution.

📊 Advanced:

• What happens to shear stress in combined sections?

• Which failure theory would you apply?
• Explain Maximum Shear Stress Theory in detail.
• If another force acts at the free end, how does the deflection curve change?

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🧱 2. Design & Geometry Choices

• Why do we generally prefer circular cross-sections over square or rectangular?

• Compare Section Modulus of various shapes.
• What happens if force is applied from opposite directions?

🧮 3. Factor of Safety & First Law

• Define Factor of Safety (FOS). Why is it used?

• What are limitations of the First Law of Thermodynamics in practical applications?

🔥 4. Thermodynamics – Piston-Cylinder System

• Horizontal cylinder with a piston, one side has 4P,4V,T; the other P,V,T
• Ambient temperature also T
• If piston is allowed to move:
o What will be the final state?
o Is the process adiabatic or not?
o Final pressure, volume change?
o Entropy change?
• If one side is a vacuum, what will happen?
• When both sides have gas and piston is suddenly removed, derive mathematically
that: ΔS>0
• Plot the process on P–V and H–T diagrams.

Solved in Chayan batch Lect no. 06

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🌡️ 5. Heat Transfer – Conduction & Boundary Layer

• Two slabs in series:

One with conductivity K, another with 100K, with temperatures of 300°C to 25°C
• Draw temperature profile, especially at the interface
• Why is there a non-linear profile at the boundary layer?
• Estimate thickness of boundary layer
• If K changes to K/2, how does the heat flow (Q) change?
• Re-draw the new temperature distribution

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Chayan Batch 2.0 Lect. No. 03

⛲ 6. Fluid Mechanics – Tank Filling & U-Tube Flow

• A tank is filling from a tap Draw the Time vs. Height graph.
• A reverse U-tube is used to drain the tank Will water come out? Draw the Time vs.
Height curve during drainage.

Solved in Chayan Batch 2.0 Lect. No. 09

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🔚 Key Takeaways:
This interview was not about just solving formulas, but deeply understanding the
concepts, visualizing the phenomena, and logically justifying design choices.

Brush up on:

• Mohr’s Circle & Failure Theories

• Bending & Shear Stress Distribution
• Thermodynamic Reversibility & Entropy
• Real-time Heat Transfer in Multilayer Systems
• Flow behavior in open and closed systems

Pro Tip: Always be ready to draw diagrams and defend your assumptions.

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⚛️ BARC Mechanical Engineering Interview Experience

Duration: 50 Minutes
Mode: Technical + Conceptual + Numerical
Approach: Concept clarity, derivations, and diagrammatic explanation

🔹 1. General Discussion

The interview began with light conversation to make the candidate comfortable —
always be ready for follow-up questions linked to your intro or background.

🔸 2. Strength of Materials – Beam Analysis

Given: A simply supported beam with total length 3L, carrying a uniformly distributed
load (UDL) over the entire span.

Questions:
a) Draw the Shear Force Diagram (SFD)
b) Draw the Bending Moment Diagram (BMD)
c) Calculate the deflection at midspan

Ensure clarity in boundary conditions, sign conventions, and diagram scaling.

🔸 3. Heat Transfer – Transient Heating

Problem: A 1 kg block of water initially at 0°C is heated using a 3 kW heater. After 150
seconds, the heater is turned off.

Question:

• Plot and explain the Temperature vs. Time (T–t) curve for this process.

Concepts involved: heat transfer to water, specific heat, phase change if applicable, and
post-heating behavior.

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Solved In Chayan Batch Thermodynamics Lect. 04

🔸 4. Fluid Mechanics – Non-Intuitive Pressure Flow

Scenario:
Two connected containers A and B, where pressure at B > pressure at A, but fluid does
not flow from B to A.

Question:

• Explain why the flow doesn’t occur even though pressure is higher at point B.

Tested understanding of elevation head, gravitational head, and flow resistance.

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Solved in Chayan batch FM LECT. 10

🔸 5. Fluid Flow in Pipe – Heat Transfer Analysis

Question:

• Given: Cold fluid (20°C) flowing through a pipe at velocity V

• Find the Temperature vs. distance (T vs. x) profile along the pipe.

Relates to convective heat transfer, entry length, and fluid heating behavior.

🔸 6. Heat Transfer – Biot vs. Nusselt Number

Question:

• Discuss the Biot number and Nusselt number

• Compare their physical significance and how they are related in convective heat
transfer scenarios.

Useful in understanding transient vs. steady-state conduction and convection efficiency.

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✅ Final Takeaways:
• Be prepared to draw and explain graphs like SFD, BMD, T–t, T–x.
• Realistic engineering scenarios are tested (e.g., flow direction despite pressure,
heater response).
• Heat transfer & SOM are core topics in BARC interviews.
• Numerical reasoning + conceptual clarity = success.

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🎯 NPCIL/PSU Mechanical Engineering Interview

Experience – 13th June 2025

This interview tested core understanding of fluid mechanics, heat transfer, SOM,
engineering drawing, and manufacturing processes with conceptual depth and application-
based thinking.

🌊 1. Fluid Mechanics – Pressure in Stratified Fluids

Scenario: A container is filled with two immiscible liquids:

• Water (height = h) on top

• Mercury (height = h) at the bottom

Questions:

• a) Draw the pressure vs. depth diagram from top surface to container bottom.
Pressure increases linearly through water, then more steeply through mercury
due to higher density.
• b) Calculate:
o Pressure at the water-mercury interface
o Pressure at the bottom of the container

Pinterface =ρwater ⋅g⋅h

Pbottom =Pinterface + ρHg ⋅g⋅h

• c) What happens if we stir/mix the two liquids?

Discussed that uniform mixing will result in a single density fluid, leading to a
linear pressure profile, depending on average density.

🔥 2. Heat Transfer – Cooling of a Hot Sphere

Problem: A spherical metal ball (diameter = d, initial temp = 800°C) is removed from a
furnace and placed in:

a) Still air

• Asked to draw the Temperature vs. Time graph for:

o Surface temperature
o Center temperature

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o Average temperature
Surface cools faster; center lags due to internal conduction lag (non-
uniform temperature profile).

b) Water instead of air

• Draw a comparative graph for the same ball placed in water instead of air.
• Emphasized higher heat transfer rate due to:
o Higher convective heat transfer coefficient of water
o Faster drop in temperature for both surface and center

🧱 3. Strength of Materials – Stress-Strain & Force Analysis

a) Stress-Strain Curve for Mild Steel

• Drawn and explained:

o Proportional limit
o Elastic limit
o Yield point
o Ultimate tensile strength (UTS)
o Fracture point
• Discussed types of steel and their composition:
o Low carbon, medium carbon, high carbon, alloy steels
o Elements like C, Mn, Cr, Ni, Mo

Taught in Chayan Batch 2.0 SOM Lect. 01

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b) Engineering Drawing: Views & Projections

• Task: Draw top and front views of a duster

• Identify the projection method used – confirmed as First Angle Projection
• Explained relationship between views and placement logic

🧱 4. Applied Force on Plate in L-Shaped Wall

Setup: A plate fixed in an L-type wall. A force F is applied at the bottom of the plate.

Asked:

• What stresses arise?

o Bending stress
o Shear stress
o Tensile/Compressive stress at fixed end
• Conceptual discussion on stress flow and fixing reactions

⚙️ 5. Manufacturing & Machine Tools

• Asked: “What type of machine tool is used for thread cutting?”

o Answered: Lathe Machine with single point threading tool or die/tap tools
depending on application

📌 Bonus Technical Rapid-Fire:

• What does M10 × 2 signify in a bolt specification?

o M10 = 10 mm nominal diameter
o 2 = 2 mm pitch (distance between threads)

✅ Final Thoughts:
This interview was highly visual, concept-oriented, and application-driven. Be ready to:

• Sketch diagrams quickly and accurately

• Justify assumptions with equations and physical intuition
• Show how theory connects with real design and engineering

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🏛️ NPCIL Interview Experience – Mechanical

Engineering | NITISH KUMAR

Date: 13th June 2025

Candidate: NITISH KUMAR
Stream: Mechanical Engineering

🎯 Interview Summary

The interview panel asked one conceptual and application-based question from each core
subject. The experience was designed to test both technical clarity and decision-making in
engineering scenarios. Here's a breakdown:

📚 Initial Question – Subject Selection Mistake

Panel Question: "Which subjects are your strongest?"

I listed all 5 core subjects.
Lesson Learned: You should select only 3–4 strong subjects. This gives the panel
clarity and lets you focus deeply.

❄️ 1. Heat Transfer Question

Q: "Between Kanyakumari and Ladakh, where would it be more efficient to install a power
plant and why?"

This tested understanding of ambient temperature effects on thermal efficiency and

cooling water availability.
Tip: Consider Carnot efficiency, cooling system design, and local temperature
gradients.

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Taught in Chayan Batch 2.0 FM Lect. 04

🪟 2. Heat Transfer – Application-Based Question

Q: "Draw the temperature profile across a glass window of an AC train."

The interviewer described the train window structure:

• Double-pane glass
• Trapped air gap between panes

Asked to draw and explain:

• Temperature drop across each layer

• Why non-linear profile occurs in insulating material (air gap)

🧱 3. Strength of Materials (SoM)

Q: "You have a cantilever beam with a moment at one end and a point moment at the other.
Draw the bending moment diagram and deflection curve."

This tested understanding of:

• Superposition principle

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• Moment boundary conditions

• Qualitative behavior of cantilever deflection

⚙️ 4. Theory of Machines (ToM)

Q: "You need to transmit power via a belt drive from a motor to a shaft. How will you design
the system?"

Points discussed:

• Pulley design
• Shaft material and diameter selection
• Belt tension, velocity ratio, and safety margin

🧠 Key Takeaways

• Mention only 3–4 favorite subjects, not all.

• Expect cross-disciplinary questions that require application and reasoning.
• Be ready to draw diagrams, especially for deflection curves, bending moment
diagrams, and temperature profiles.
• Understand real-world applications of concepts like efficiency, material selection,
and design constraints.

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🛠️ NPCIL Interview Questions – Mechanical

Engineering

Location: Kalpakkam
Date: 10/06/2025

🔧 Structural Mechanics & Machine Design

1. Why is the I-section (I-beam) preferred in many engineering applications?

(Discuss moment of inertia, bending efficiency, and material optimization.)
2. A tank is placed on an overhead platform and connected to a tap.
a. How would you calculate the time required to drain the tank completely?
b. Which equation would you use? (Hint: Use Bernoulli’s equation + Torricelli’s
law.)

🚆 Mechanics of Rolling Stock

3. Why are railway wheels designed with a conical shape rather than cylindrical?
(Discuss self-centering action, turning radius on curves, and wheel-rail interaction.)

🧪 Material Science & Strength Testing

4. What is impact strength?

a. How is it measured practically? (Discuss Charpy/Izod impact tests.)
5. What is a brake? How does it work in practical applications?
(You can refer to mechanical, hydraulic, and disc brake mechanisms.)

🧱 Solid Mechanics – Stress & Strain

6. Define stress and strain. Explain with a neat diagram.

(Include tensile, compressive, and shear components.)
7. Under hydrostatic loading conditions, how do you find strain in the X-
direction?
(Hint: Use generalized Hooke’s Law for multi-axial stress systems.)

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🧰 Mechanical Systems

8. What are the different types of overhauling?

(Discuss overhauling in screw jacks, hoists, and lifting systems – with types like
self-locking vs. overhauling screws.)

Enroll in Chayan 2.0 for All Technical Interview BARC

NPCIL DRDO & ISRO

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🔎 NPCIL Interview Questions – Mechanical

Engineering
Location: Kalpakkam
Duration: 30 Minutes
Date: 10/06/2025

🧑‍💼 General Insight:

50% of the interview focused on work experience, demonstrating the importance of

industrial exposure alongside theoretical knowledge.

🔧 Technical Questions Asked:

1. Flexible Coupling
➤ What is a flexible coupling?
➤ Where is it used and why is it preferred over rigid coupling in misaligned shafts?
(Discuss torque transmission with slight misalignment compensation.)
2. Condenser Design in Power Plants
➤ Why can’t we lower the condenser pressure too much in a Rankine cycle?
(Hint: Risk of cavitation in turbines, large condenser size, low efficiency gains
beyond a point.)
3. Rankine Cycle
➤ Draw the basic Rankine cycle and explain each process.
(Cover isentropic compression, isobaric heat addition, isentropic expansion, and
isobaric heat rejection.)
4. Thermal vs. Nuclear Power Plants
➤ What are the key differences between the site selection criteria of thermal and
nuclear power plants?
(Discuss cooling needs, fuel supply, population density, safety, waste handling.)
5. Corrosion Phenomenon
➤ What type of corrosion occurs when a mild steel (MS) support is connected to a
stainless steel support?
Correct Answer: Galvanic corrosion
(Explain the electrochemical potential difference between dissimilar metals in an
electrolyte.)

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Enroll in Chayan 2.0 for All Technical Interview BARC

NPCIL DRDO & ISRO

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