Pre Engineering Interview Questions & Answers
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Elevate your Pre-Engineering interview readiness with our detailed compilation of 45 questions. Our questions cover a wide range of topics in Pre-Engineering to ensure you're well-prepared. Whether you're new to the field or have years of experience, these questions are designed to help you succeed. Don't miss out on our free PDF download, containing all 45 questions to help you succeed in your Pre-Engineering interview. It's an invaluable tool for reinforcing your knowledge and building confidence.

45 Pre-Engineering Questions and Answers:

Pre-Engineering Job Interview Questions Table of Contents:

Pre-Engineering Job Interview Questions and Answers
Pre-Engineering Job Interview Questions and Answers

1 :: Tell me the mechanism of cavitations in pipes and drains?

The formation of air bubbles in a fluid due to low pressure conditions lower than the saturation pressure is known as cavitations. This is considered to be a high potential damage condition where the strength and durability of the pipes can be greatly reduced. Cavitation works on the principle of Bernoulli's Equation. When fluids are at high velocities the pressure head of fluids reduce accordingly. But since the fluid pressure is lower than the saturation pressure the dissolved gases get released from the flowing fluid. These air bubbles suddenly collapse on entering a region of high pressure. This leads to the damage of the pipelines as a high level of dynamic pressure is created.

2 :: Explain me why are pull-out tests performed for soil nails?

Pull out tests are performed for primarily the following reasons:
☛ In order to detect and the verification of the bond strength among the soil and the grout adopted during the design of soil nails. This is considered to be as the primary objective of performing pull out tests for soil nails.
☛ For the detection of any slippage or occurrence of creeps.
☛ To detect the elastic and deformations (plastic) of any of the test nails employed. Observations are made during the loading and unloading cycles of the soil nails repetitively.
☛ To achieve the perfect balance the test nails should always be loaded so that the ultimate soil/grout mixture with an upper limit of 80%.

3 :: Explain me what reinforcements are used in the process of prestressing?

The major types of reinforcements used in prestressing are:
☛ Spalling Reinforcement: The spalling stresses leads to stress behind the loaded area of the anchor blocks. This results in the breaking off of the surface concrete. The most likely causes of such types of stresses are Poisson`s effects strain interoperability or by the stress trajectory shapes.
☛ Equilibrium reinforcements: This type of reinforcements are required where several anchorages exist where the prestressing loads are applied in a sequential manner.
☛ Bursting Reinforcements: These kinds of stresses occur in cases where the stress trajectories are concave towards the line of action of load. In order to reduce such stresses reinforcements in the form of bursting is required.

4 :: Tell me for a washout valve why are two gate valves required in normal practice?

The washout valves are primarily used for normal maintenance works such as that of water main. This can be like to allow water to flow out during the cleaning of the water main. The junctions at which a pipe branches out to a washout point usually a gate valve is installed so that the two pipelines are separated. The gate valve installed above usually remains open during normal operation. Another gate valve is installed further downstream and this remains closed during normal operation of the washout valve. In case this valve is not installed then the pipe section of the branched out pipe would remain dry during normal operation and high chances of damage and leakage can take place. When the downstream valve is installed the branched out water main contains water under normal operation. With two gate valves installed a leakage can be detected immediately.

5 :: Explain me why are steel plates inserted inside bearings in elastomeric bearings?

In order to make a elastomeric bearing act/ function as a soft spring it should be made to allow it to bulge laterally and also the stiffness compression can be increased by simply increasing the limiting amount of the lateral bulging. In many cases in order to increase the compression stiffness of the bearing the usage of metal plates is made. Once steel plates are included in the bearings the freedom of the bulge is restricted dramatically, also the deflection of the bearing is reduced as compared to a bearing without the presence of steel plates. The tensile stresses of the bearings are induced into the steel plates. But the presence of the metal plates does not affect the shear stiffness of the bearings.

6 :: What are the different approaches in designing the floors of the service reservoirs?

In general there are two main approaches of designing the reservoir floors to prevent leakage of water due to seasonal and shrinkage movements:
☛ In this approach the movement joints of the reservoir floor panels are such that the free expansion and contraction of the panels takes place. Every panel is isolated from the other panels and two panels have a sliding layer between them to help in sliding.
☛ The second method does not provide any room for free movement. With seasonal and shrinkage movements, some cracks are designed to voluntarily occur on the floors of the service reservoirs. These tiny cracks are spread throughout the floor and are simply too minute to cause any leakage or corrosion of the floors. But the difference also in this method is that the amount of reinforcement used is much more than the first approach.

7 :: Explain me why should pumping be not used in case of concreting works?

During the pumping operation the pump exerted pressure must overcome any friction between the pumping pipes and the concrete, also the weight of the concrete and the pressure head when the concrete is placed above the pumps. Since only water is pump able, all the pressure generated is by the water that is present in the concrete. The major problem due to pumping are segregation effects and bleeding. In order to rectify and reduce these effects, generally the proportion of the cement is increased in order to increase the cohesion , which leads to the reduction of segregation and bleeding. Also if a proper selection of the aggregate grading can vastly improve the concrete pump ability.

8 :: Tell me why is the use of granular sub-base in concrete carriageways not preferred?

Some of the reasons why granular sub-base is not preferred in concrete carriageways:
☛ Sub bases are permeable and hence water can seep through them easily. The soil particles get pumped out through the joints on the application of traffic loads. This results in the creation of voids underneath the pavement structure. This leads to the weakening of the concrete surface and it can crack easily upon intense traffic loads.
☛ Instead if lean concrete is used for carriageways it greatly increases the strength of the roads and the load carrying capacity of the roads is increased.
☛ Sub-bases implementation requires a lot of workmanship which can lead to an un-uniform distribution of the sub-base. This can lead to the cracking of the carriageway when there is severe traffic loading.

10 :: Explain what are the different type of slump test indications?

Slump tests are performed to empirically measure the workability of fresh concrete. It is used to measure the consistency of the concrete. In general there are three different types of slumps that occur in slump tests. They are as follows:
☛ True Slump
☛ Shear Slump
☛ Collapse Slump

True Slump: This type of slump is characterized by the general drop of the concrete mass evenly without visible signs of deterioration or disintegration.
Shear Slump: It indicates that the concrete mix is deficient in cohesion. This type of slump leads to segregation and bleeding. Henceforth in the long run effecting the durability of the concrete.
Collapse Slump: This type of slump is indicates that the mix of concrete is simply too wet. The mix is considered to be harsh and lean.

11 :: Tell me do You Truly Understand Clients/Customers and Teamwork?

There’s a difference between the fantasy of engineering as a form of individual expression and the reality of engineering as a business.

“When you’re in school, you’re designing to please yourself,” says Crawford Hentz. “You get to ‘build a robot.’ But in a manufacturing or product development setting, you’re dealing with ‘build me a toolbox that looks like this and can sing [the national anthem].’”

12 :: Tell me for what purpose bedding is used under storm water drains, explain?

Beddings are primarily made up of granular or concrete materials. They are primarily used for the following purposes:
☛ They are used to provide a more uniform support for the under pipes so that the bending moment longitudinally can be reduced greatly.
☛ In order to enable the pipes to get more load-supporting strength.
☛ They are also used to act as a platform to achieve a more correct alignment and level pre and post construction.
☛ In case of pipes which contain spigot and socket joints, it enables pipes to get supported along pipe lengths in place of sockets. Otherwise it can lead to uneven stress being induced on the pipes eventually damaging it.

13 :: General Pre-Engineering Interview Questions:

☛ How can you distinguish between sorption, absorption and adsorption?
☛ What is modular elasticity?
☛ Discuss some applications of modular elasticity.
☛ What is difference between engineering stress and true stress?
☛ What are some structures that are subjected to fatigue?
☛ What is the tensile strength of wood?
☛ Explain soil analysis?
☛ What is soil enforcement?
☛ How can you achieve soil enforcement?
☛ What is a bearing capacity of soil?
☛ Why does the pressure increase under soil?
☛ How to increase a bearing capacity of soil?
☛ What you understand by building codes?
☛ Explain moment of inertia and its importance.
☛ Which is the best book for building construction?
☛ How do we determine the specific gravity of a cement?
☛ What are the causes of building collapse?
☛ Explain the latest method to detect a crack in a building?
☛ How do we test on design and style in a software?
☛ Explain different types of RCC pipes.
☛ Explain the design for RCC multi-storied building?
☛ What are the benefits of RCC pipes over steel designed pipes?
☛ Elaborate advantages & disadvantages of using crusher dust instead of sand in RCC work.
☛ How can you produce desired alloys and discuss their applications in daily life.
☛ Can inverted beams used in pipes during construction? If yes, explain how it can be implemented?

14 :: Communication skills Based Pre engineered building interview questions:

☛ What do you think this position involves.
☛ What do you consider your most significant accomplishment?
☛ Who has impacted you most in your career and how?
☛ What support training would you require to be able to do this job?
☛ Do you have the qualities and skills necessary to succeed in your career?

15 :: Fresh Pre-Engineering Interview Questions:

☛ For what advice or assistance do fellow engineers turn to you?
☛ Tell me about the most challenging technical proposal you’ve ever written.
☛ What factors would you consider in building an engineering department from scratch?
☛ How do you communicate priority projects with a team of other engineers without making them feel overwhelmed?
☛ Describe a specific engineering project that you were responsible for that required a lot of interaction with a variety of people over a long period of time.
☛ What do you get out of engineering that you couldn’t get from any other kind of work?
☛ Describe a typical day out in the field in your last or present job.
☛ What media contacts do you have that would help us market our technical products/services?
☛ What step-by-step criteria do you use to make difficult decisions that involve other engineers?
☛ To whom did you turn for help the last time that you ran into a major technical problem, and why did you choose that person?
☛ Give me two examples of technical decisions that you had to make on your last job.
☛ Tell me about a time when you had to make a difficult decision that affected the entire engineering department.
☛ In the field of engineering, priorities often change quickly. Give me an example of a time when that happened. How did you handle it?
☛ How can you best use your engineering education and prior work experience to help our company grow?
☛ How long have you been looking for an engineering spot? Have you had any job offers yet? If so, why are you still looking?
☛ Tell me about a time when you had to take disciplinary action with an engineer who reported to you.
☛ Tell me about the last time you lost your temper in the field.
☛ What personal characteristics do you feel are necessary to be a successful engineer?
☛ What single technical skill or ability is your best asset?
☛ What kind of hours did you typically work in your most recent engineering job?
☛ What kinds of information would you request or require before you felt you could do justice to a project assignment?
☛ Describe two specific technical contributions you would expect to make during the first six months on the job if you joined our company.
☛ Tell me about a time when you surpassed all expectations by going “above and beyond” for a client.
☛ What have you specifically done to make the work of the engineers who report to you easier?
☛ How do you feel about the workload in the engineering department on your present or previous job?

16 :: Behavioral Pre engineered building interview questions:

☛ Give examples of ideas you've had or implemented.
☛ Give me an example of a high-pressure situation?
☛ What kind of personality do you work best with and why?
☛ What steps do you follow to study a problem before making a decision?
☛ Describe a situation where you had to plan or organise something.

Connect your ability to the company's requirements. Make sure you're well prepared for this Pre engineered building interview questions as you won't likely get a second chance to really shine. Focus on positive achievements and views.

17 :: Competency Based Pre engineered building interview questions:

☛ What techniques and tools do you use to keep yourself organized?
☛ Why did you decide to pursue this career?
☛ How do you feel about taking no for an answer?
☛ How do you react to instruction and criticism?
☛ If you were hiring a person for this job, what would you look for?

Study the specific job duties of the position desired.
Just speak out about your basic values that you adopt at the workplaces.
Be sure that you refer to something that was beyond your control.

18 :: Video Based Pre engineered building interview questions:

☛ What was the most difficult period in your life, and how did you deal with it?
☛ Describe a situation in which you had to collect information.
☛ Give some examples of teamwork.
☛ How would you weigh a plane without scales?
☛ Situation in which you had to arrive at a compromise.

You may receive very helpful advice from an outsider who, like the interviewers, may tell if you answer properly or not.
Be sure to discuss a very specific example. Ask a friend or relative of yours to help you practice answering Pre engineered building interview questions.

19 :: Difficult Pre-Engineering Job Interview Questions:

☛ Tell me about the most challenging engineering project that you have been involved with during past year.
☛ Describe the most significant written technical report or presentation that you had to complete.
☛ In your last engineering position, what were some of the things that you spent the most time on, and how much time did you spend on each?
☛ What do you enjoy most/least about engineering?
☛ What new engineering specialty skills have you developed during the past year?
☛ Do you have any patents? If so, tell me about them. If not, is it something you see yourself pursuing and why or why not?
☛ Think of a specific engineering project when you answer this question. What could you have done to be more successful in achieving your goal(s)?
☛ Describe a time when you confronted a problem that really tested your engineering know-how.
☛ What is your overall career objective? Do you see yourself working in engineering ten years from now? If not, what do you think you will be doing?
☛ Give me an example of a time in which you were effective in doing away with the “constant emergencies” and “surprises” that engineers often face.
☛ Describe a time when as a member of the engineering department, you were instrumental in building a good long-term relationship with another department within the company.
☛ Tell me about your greatest success in using the principles of logic to solve an engineering problem in your last job.
☛ Give me an example of a time when you applied your ability to use analytical techniques to define problems or design solutions.
☛ To what extent has your engineering background required you to be skilled in the analysis of technical reports or information?
☛ Describe a time when you used your engineering knowledge to solve a problem for which there appeared to be no answer.
☛ Tell me about a time when you became aware of a hazardous workplace condition. How did you handle it?
☛ Tell me about your experience in dealing with routine engineering work. How do you keep from getting bored?
☛ I expect the engineer that I hire for this position to be precise – detailed oriented in everything he or she does. What checks and balances do you use to make sure that you don’t make mistakes?
☛ Give me an example of a time when you had to teach a skill to other engineers.
☛ Some of the best-engineered ideas are born out of an individual’s ability to challenge, others’ ways of thinking. Tell me about a time when you were successful in do this.
☛ On your last project assignment, what problems did you identify that had been previously overlooked?
☛ How has your present or last engineering job changed while you’ve held it?
☛ If I offer you a position as an engineer with us, how do you plan to get off to a jackrabbit start?
☛ Give me an example of something that you have learned from a mistake that you made on a job at a client site.
☛ Tell me about a time when a project team effort that you were involved in failed.

20 :: Phone Based Pre engineered building interview questions:

☛ What are your long-term goals or career plans?
☛ What are the qualities of a good leader?
☛ What has been your biggest professional disappointment?
☛ Who was your favorite manager and why?
☛ Tell me about yourself.

Don't stress yourself with the idea of winning or losing.
The best strategy for effectively answering these tough Pre engineered building interview questions is to prepare for it.
Be sure to discuss a very specific example.

21 :: Tell me during reclamation how can the occurrence of mud waves can be rectified?

There are several solution to the rectification of the problem of mud waves:
☛ Complete removal of all the disturbed mud: This method can be considered to be one of the fastest methods. As soon as the disturbed mud is removed some filling material is used to replace the disturbed mud. But economically this method can be expensive as compared to others.
☛ Accelerated consolidation of disturbed mud: In this method surcharging loads are placed on top of the mud waves. Along with this band drains are installed to accelerate the consolidation process. This method is quite slow compared to the other methods.
☛ Partial removal of the disturbed mud: This method is the hybrid of the above two methods where the top layer is removed whereas the lower level is treated with the surcharging process.

22 :: Explain me in the design of bridge arguments what considerations should be made to select the orientation of the wing walls?

Some of the most common arrangements of wing walls in cases of bridge arguments are as follows:
☛ Wing walls parallel to abutments: This method is considered to take least amount of time to build and is simple as well. But on the downside this method is not the most economical. The advantage of this type of design being that they cause the least amount of disturbance to the slope embankment.
☛ Wing walls at an angle to abutments: This design method is considered to be the most economical in terms of material cost.
☛ Wing walls perpendicular to abutments: The characteristic of this design is it provides an alignment continuous with the bridge decks lending a support to the parapets.

24 :: Explain me under what circumstances should pot bearings be used instead of elastomeric bearings?

Pot bearings are preferred over elastomeric bearings in situations where there are chances of high vertical loads in combinations of very large angle of rotations. Elastomeric bearings always require a large bearing surface so that a compression is maintained between the contact surfaces in between the piers and the bearings. This is not possible to maintained in high load and rotation environment. Also the usage of elastomeric bearings leads to the uneven distribution of stress on the piers. This results in some highly induced stresses to be targeted at the piers henceforth damaging them. Due to the above reasons pot bearings are preferred over elastomeric bearings in such cases.