Assistant Engineer Syllabus – Kerala PSC Exam

Civil Engineering Portion

Module 1 (12 Marks)

Buildings: Types of buildings, site selection, components of a
residential building and their functions. Load bearing and framed
structures; Brick and rubble masonry; Roofs and floors; Basic
infrastructure services; Green buildings

Building rules and regulations: Relevance of NBC, KBR & CRZ
norms; 

Building area: Plinth area, built up area, floor area, carpet area
and floor area ratio for a building as per KBR.

Surveying: objectives and principles. Linear, and angular and methods,
Survey stations and Survey lines- ranging, Bearing of survey lines; 

Levelling: Principles and methods of leveling; Principle of
Electromagnetic distance measurement (EDM), Principle of Total
station

Construction material: Conventional construction materials: types,
properties and uses of building materials: bricks, stones, cement, sand
and timber, Modern construction materials;

Cement concrete:
Constituent materials, types of cement and concrete, short-term and
long-term properties of concrete; 

Steel: Structural Steel – Composition,
material properties and behaviour; Steel sections and steel
reinforcements, types and uses. 

Construction Management: Types of construction projects; Tendering
and construction contracts; Project planning and network analysis –
PERT and CPM; Cost estimation

Transportation Infrastructure: Geometric design of highways – crosssectional elements, sight distances, horizontal and vertical alignment,
Highway materials – desirable properties 

Environmental Engineering: Unit processes and operations for Water
and Waste Water Treatment – primary and secondary treatments

Module 2 (13 Marks)

Statics: basic principles of statics, composition and resolution of forcesresultant and equilibrium equations; Friction; analysis of connected
bodies; couple; General coplanar force system & forces in space –
resultant and equilibrium equations. 

Centroid of composite areas, moment of inertia, Polar moment of
inertia, mass moment of inertia

Dynamics: rectilinear translation, equations of kinematics, kinetics,
Motion on horizontal and inclined surfaces, motion of connected bodies.
Impulse momentum equation and work energy equation; Curvilinear
translation – equations of kinematics –projectile motion, kinetics,
Moment of momentum and work energy equation.; Rotation –
kinematics of rotation; Plane motion of rigid body; Simple harmonic
motion –undamped free vibration of spring mass system-effect of
damping

Solid Mechanics: Different types of supports, loads; Beams-Reactions
at supports; Bending moment and shear force in statically determinate
beams; Simple stress and strain relationships; Simple bending theory,
Flexural and shear stresses, Uniform torsion; combined and direct
bending stresses

Soil Mechanics: Three-phase system and phase relationships, Index
properties; Permeability – one dimensional flow, Compaction of soils;
One- dimensional consolidation, Pile load test, Bearing capacity of soil,
functions of foundations, types – shallow and deep. 

Fluid Mechanics and Hydraulics: Properties of fluids, Fluid statics,
Laminar and turbulent flow, Forces on immersed bodies, Flow in pipes;
Flow measurement in channels and pipes, Water logging and drainage;
Hydrologic cycle

Electrical Engineering

Module 1: [5 Marks]

Electrical Machines:

DC Machines – Basics of Separately excited DC motor, Shunt and
Series motors – Torque and power, back EMF, mechanical and
electrical characteristics, Shunt DC generator and characteristics – EMF
equation – external and internal characteristics.

Three phase induction motor: Principles and characteristics – Types –
performance – standard tests – equivalent circuits – Starting and speed
control. Operating principle of single-phase induction motors;

Synchronous machines: cylindrical and salient pole machines,
performance and characteristics, regulation and parallel operation of
generators, starting of synchronous motors; Types of losses and
efficiency calculations of electric machines.

Single-phase transformers – Principles and construction – equivalent
circuit – phasor diagrams – open circuit and short circuit tests – voltage
regulation – efficiency, all-day efficiency – Autotransformer
Three-phase transformers: connections, vector groups, parallel
operation;

Module 2: [5 Marks] 

Power Systems – Generation, ac and dc transmission concepts,
Models and performance of transmission lines and cables, Economic
Load Dispatch, Series and shunt compensation, Electric field
distribution and insulators, Distribution systems, Per unit quantities, ‐
Voltage and Frequency control, Power factor correction, Symmetrical
components, Symmetrical and unsymmetrical fault analysis, Principles
of over current, differential, directional and distance protection; Circuit ‐
breakers, System stability concepts, Equal area criterion.  

Module 3: [5 Marks]

Control Systems: Mathematical modelling and representation of
systems, Feedback principle, transfer function, Block diagrams and
Signal flow graphs, Transient and Steady state analysis of linear time ‐
invariant systems, Stability analysis using Routh-Hurwitz and Nyquist
criteria, Bode plots, Root loci, Lag, Lead and Lead Lag compensators; ‐
P, PI and PID controllers.

Electrical and Electronic Measurements: Bridges and
Potentiometers, Measurement of voltage, current, power, energy and
power factor; Instrument transformers, Digital voltmeters and multimeters, Phase, Time and Frequency measurement; Oscilloscopes,
Error analysis. Digital energy meter.

Module 4: [5 Marks]

Electrical System Design: Wiring systems, Earthing and protection
equipment – MCB, RCCB

Load Survey- common power ratings of domestic gadgets- connected
load diversity factor-selection of number of sub circuits (lighting and
power)- selection of MCB distribution boards to provide over load, short
circuit and earth leakage protection. – Electrical System design for
domestic and industrial installations – Pre-commissioning tests –
Insulation resistance measurement, continuity test, polarity test and
earth resistance measurement as applicable to domestic installations.
Industrial installations – classifications- Design of electrical distribution
systems with main switch board, sub switch boards and distribution
boards with ACBs, MCCBs and MCBs as the case may be, for feeding
power (mainly motors) and lighting loads of small and medium
industries. Selection of armoured power cables (AYFY, A2XFY, YWY) –
calculation of ampacity, voltage drop, short circuit withstand capacity
etc.

Design of MSB & SSB including Motor Control Centre (MCC) for motor
controls – selection of bus bars and switchgears. Selection of 11kV
indoor and outdoor transformer substations – selection of switchgears
and protective devices – Short circuit calculations and earthing design
for the HV and LV sides of an 11 kV substation.

Module 5: [5 Marks]

Power Electronics: – Power semiconductor devices – Thyristor,
MOSFET, IGBT – Static V-I characteristics and firing/gating circuits; DC
to DC conversion: Buck, Boost and Buck-Boost Converters; Single and
three-phase configuration of fully-controlled and semi-controlled
rectifiers; Line harmonics of controlled rectifiers – Power factor and
Distortion Factor of ac to dc converters; Single-phase and three-phase
voltage and current source inverters, 120 degree and 180 degree
conduction modes – sinusoidal pulse width modulation. 

Mechanical Engineering

Module 1 : Theory of Machines and Machine Design; (5 marks) 

Concept of simple machine, Four bar linkage and link motion,
Flywheels and fluctuation of energy, Power transmission by belts – Vbelts and Flat belts, Clutches – Plate and Conical clutch, Gears – Type
of gears, gear profile and gear ratio calculation, Governors – Principles
and classification, Riveted joint, Cams, Bearings, Friction in collars and
pivots.

Module 2 : Engineering Mechanics and Strength of Materials; (5
marks)

Equilibrium of Forces, Law of motion, Friction, Concepts of stress
and strain, Elastic limit and elastic constants, Bending moments and
shear force diagram, Stress in composite bars, Torsion of circular
shafts, Bucking of columns – Euler’s and Rankin’s theories, Thin walled
pressure vessels. Thermal Engineering.

Module 3 : Thermal Engineering Properties of Pure Substances; (5
marks)

P-V & P-T diagrams of pure substance like H2O, Introduction of
steam table with respect tosteam generation process; definition of
saturation, wet & superheated status. Definition of dryness fraction of
steam, degree of superheat of steam. H-s chart of steam (Mollier’s
.Chart).

1st Law of Thermodynamics : Definition of stored energy & internal
energy, 1st Law of Thermodynamics of cyclic process, Non Flow
Energy Equation, Flow Energy & Definition of Enthalpy, Conditions for
Steady State Steady Flow; Steady State Steady Flow Energy Equation.

2nd Law of Thermodynamics : Definition of Sink, Source Reservoir of
Heat, Heat Engine, Heat Pump & Refrigerator; Thermal Efficiency of
Heat Engines & co-efficient of performance of Refrigerators, Kelvin –
Planck & Clausius Statements of 2nd Law of Thermodynamics,
Absolute or Thermodynamic Scale of temperature, Clausius Integral,
Entropy, Entropy change calculation of ideal gas processes. Carnot
Cycle & Carnot Efficiency, PMM-2; definition & its impossibility.

Air standard Cycles for IC engines : Otto cycle; plot on P-V, T-S Planes;
Thermal Efficiency,Diesel Cycle; Plot on P-V, T-S planes; Thermal
efficiency. IC Engine Performance, IC Engine Combustion, IC Engine
Cooling & Lubrication.

Rankine cycle of steam : Simple Rankine cycle plot on P-V, T-S, h-s
planes, Rankine cycle efficiency with & without pump work. 

Boilers: Classification; Specification; Fittings & Accessories : Fire Tube
& Water Tube Boilers. Air Compressors & their cycles: Refrigeration
cycles; Principle of a Refrigeraton Plant; Nozzles & Steam Turbines

Module 4 : Fluid Mechanics & Machinery Properties &
Classification of Fluid; (5 marks) 

Ideal & real fluids: Newton’s law of viscosity, Newtonian and NonNewtonian fluids, compressible and incompressible fluids.

Fluid Statics : Pressure at a point. Measurement of Fluid Pressure :
Manometers, U-tube, Inclined tube.

Fluid Kinematics : Stream line, laminar & turbulent flow, external &
internal flow, continuity equation.

Dynamics of ideal fluids : Bernoulli’s equation, Total head; Velocity
head; Pressure head; Application of Bernoulli’s equitation.

Measurement of Flow rate Basic Principles : Venturimeter, Pilot tube,
Orifice meter. Hydraulic Turbines : Classifications, Principles.

Centrifugal Pumps : Classifications, Principles, Performance.

Module 5 : Production Engineering; (5 marks)

Classification of Steels : mild steal & alloy steel, Heat treatment of steel, 

Welding : Arc Welding, Gas Welding, Resistance Welding, Special
Welding Techniques i.e. TIG, MIG, etc. (Brazing & Soldering), Welding
Defects & Testing; NDT

Foundry & Casting: methods, defects, different casting processes,
Forging, Extrusion, etc,

Metal cutting principles: cutting tools, Basic Principles of machining with
(i) Lathe (ii) Milling (iii) Drilling (iv) Shaping (v) Grinding, Machines, tools
& manufacturing processes.

Electronics & Communication Engineering – Syllabus

Module-1 – 6 marks

Solid state devices  

Fermi-Dirac Distribution function, carrier concentration at equilibrium,
parameters associated with generation, recombination and transport
mechanism, Drift and diffusion currents and current density in extrinsic
semiconductors, Current components and current equation in a pn
junction diode and bipolar junction transistor, Basic MOS physics,
scaling of MOSFETs, short channel effects

Network theory

Mesh / Node analysis, Network Theorems, steady state response of the
linear time invariant networks,
Transient response of RLC networks, Network functions, Network
Parameters, Analysis of single port and two port networks 

Analog circuits 

Analog circuits using diodes, first order RC circuit, Amplifiers using BJT
and MOSFET, Oscillators and regulated power supply circuits

Module-2 – 4 marks

 Logic circuit design

Digital logic and Boolean algebra, combinational logic using
AND/OR/NOT gates/Multiplexers, Logic families, Implementation of
sequential logic circuits, Verilog models.

VLSI design

Methodologies in ASIC and FPGA design, VLSI Logic circuits with
MOSFET logic families, memory elements, Design of arithmetic
circuits, MOSFET fabrication techniques

Module-3 – 5 marks

Electromagnetics 

Basic mathematical concepts related to electromagnetic vector fields,
Maxwell’s equation, electromagnetic wave propagation and wave
polarization, characteristics of transmission lines, solving with Smith
chart, propagation of EM waves in Wave guides

Microwave and antennas

Basic concept of antennas and its parameters, far filed pattern of Short
dipole and Half wave dipole antenna, Design of broad band antennas,
arrays and its radiation patterns, cavity resonators and microwave
sources, microwave hybrid circuits and microwave semiconductor
devices 

Module-4 – 5 marks

Signals and systems

Properties of signals and systems, Representation of signals with the
help of series and transforms, orthogonality of signals and convolution
integral, LTI response to input signals, discretise continuous time
signals

Digital Signal Processing

Properties and relations of DFT, DFT based filtering methods, DFT and
IDFT using DIT and DIF radix-2 FFT algorithms, linear phase FIR filters
and IIR filters, FIR and IIR filter structures, multi-rate DSP operations
decimation and interpolation, architecture of DSP processor

Module-5 – 5 marks

 Analog and Digital communication

analog communication systems, concepts of random processes to LTI
systems, waveform coding techniques in digital transmission, GramSchmitt procedure to develop digital receivers, equalizer design to
counteract inter-symbol interference (ISI), digital modulation techniques
in signal transmission

Information theory and coding

Measures of information – entropy, conditional entropy, mutual
information, Shannon’s source coding theorem for data compression,
concept of channel capacity, linear block codes for error detection and
correction, algebraic codes for error correction, encoding and decoding
of convolutional and LDPC codes

NOTE: – It may be noted that apart from the topics detailed above,
questions from other topics prescribed for the educational qualification of
the post may also appear in the question paper. There is no undertaking
that all the topics above may be covered in the question paper.