Industrial and Power Plant Engineering
The shape of the exam
Expect three clusters. Thermodynamics and cycles: properties of steam, the Rankine cycle with reheat and regeneration, boiler efficiency by the direct and indirect (heat-loss) methods, and combustion stoichiometry. Fluid machinery: pump and fan power, affinity laws, specific speed, cavitation and NPSH, compressors and air systems. Plant operations: load curves, demand and diversity factors, plant capacity and reserve, plus the refrigeration and air-conditioning basics (tons of refrigeration, COP) that appear as crossover items.
Where candidates lose points
Boiler efficiency questions hinge on whether the basis is HHV (gross) or LHV (net) - the numbers differ. Pump problems hinge on whether efficiency divides hydraulic power (it does). Watch for head expressed in metres of water versus pressure in kPa; convert with $p = \rho g h$. In the Rankine cycle, pump work is often small but not zero, and neglecting it changes the efficiency slightly - read whether the item says "neglect pump work." In refrigeration, one ton of refrigeration is 3.517 kW, not 1 kW.
Worked example
A pump moves 0.02 m³/s of water against 30 m of head at 75% efficiency:
$$P_{\text{shaft}} = \frac{\rho g Q H}{\eta} = \frac{1000 \times 9.81 \times 0.02 \times 30}{0.75} \approx 7.85\ \text{kW}$$
Rule of thumb: hydraulic power in kW is roughly $9.81 , Q H$ with Q in m³/s and H in metres - memorise it and pump items become arithmetic.