FET case studies
FET · Put your knowledge to work in context.
FET - expanded on this page as the Fundamentals of Engineering Test - is a broad, computer-delivered examination of the technical core that most engineering disciplines share. Rather than probing one specialty deeply, it samples mathematics and numerical methods, probability and statistics, ethics and engineering economics, statics and dynamics, mechanics of materials, fluid mechanics, thermodynamics and heat transfer, electrical circuits, instrumentation and control, and design and safety practice. The FET case studies are 5 cases and about 4,426 words.
1Under-designed Footings, a Friday Deadline, and a Bonus
You are a licensed PE at a 40-person structural firm. On a warehouse project, a junior engineer sized the shallow footings using a saturated soil unit weight of 15.0 kN/m³ taken from an early geotechnical draft.
799 words, about 4 min2Suction-Side Cavitation on a Cooling-Water Pump Asked to Deliver More Flow
A utility operates a cooling-water transfer pump drawing from an open, vented sump at essentially atmospheric pressure. At the original design flow of 120 m³/h the pump requires 35 m of head and has a published NPSH required of 4.5 m.
864 words, about 4 min3Power-Factor Correction on a Bus Fed by a Six-Pulse Drive
A 480 V, three-phase, 60 Hz feeder supplies a 75 kW (100 hp) induction motor driving a slurry pump. At full load the motor efficiency is 93% and its power factor is 0.86.
885 words, about 4 min4Flow Loop Reads High, Noise on the Signal, and a Hunting Valve
An orifice-plate flowmeter measures filtrate flow in a 150 mm line. The differential-pressure transmitter is ranged 0 to 100 kPa, corresponding to 0 to 150 t/h, and outputs 4–20 mA.
983 words, about 5 min5Moving a Skid Up a Ramp: Cable Tension, Geometry, and Anchor Capacity
A 1,500 kg equipment skid is being pulled up a 15° steel ramp on dry steel ways. The static friction coefficient is 0.15 and the kinetic coefficient is 0.12.
895 words, about 4 min