SSC JE Syllabus
The Junior Engineer exam conducted by the Staff Selection Commission takes place in two phases – Paper I (Computer-based test) and Paper II (Descriptive-Type Test). The papers are set in accordance with a particular syllabus. The standard of the questions in the Engineering subjects is approximate to the level of a Diploma in Engineering (Civil/ Electrical/ Mechanical). All the questions are set in SI units. The details of the syllabus are as follows:
Paper I
- General intelligence and reasoning- The General Intelligence Syllabus would contain both verbal and nonverbal questions. Analogies, differences, similarities, spatial visualisation, decision making, problem-solving, judgement, analysis, visual memory, arithmetical reasoning, observation, relationship concepts, discrimination, verbal and figure classification, arithmetical number series, and other topics may be included in the test. Questions will also be asked to assess the candidate’s ability to deal with abstract ideas and symbols and their relationships, arithmetical computations and other analytical functions.
- The questions are framed to assess the candidate’s overall awareness of the environment and how it applies to society. Questions are also designed to analyse the knowledge of current events as well as ordinary observations and experiences in their scientific aspect, as any educated person should be able to do. The test will also cover questions about India and its neighbours, such as history, culture, geography, economics, general polity, and scientific research, among other topics. These questions will be of a general nature, not requiring special knowledge of any discipline.
General Engineering: Civil & Structural, Electrical and Mechanical
Part-A (Civil Engineering)
- Building Materials
- Estimating
- Costing and Valuation
- Surveying
- Soil Mechanics
- Hydraulics
- Irrigation Engineering
- Transportation Engineering
- Environmental Engineering
Structural Engineering
- Theory of Structures
- Concrete Technology
- RCC Design
- Steel Design
Part-B (Electrical Engineering)
- Basic concepts
- Circuit law
- Magnetic Circuit
- AC Fundamentals
- Measurement and Measuring instruments
- Electrical Machines
- Fractional Kilowatt Motors and single-phase induction Motors
- Synchronous Machines
- Generation
- Transmission and Distribution
- Estimation and Costing
- Utilisation and Electrical Energy
- Basic Electronics
Part-C (Mechanical Engineering)
- Theory of Machines and Machine Design
- Engineering Mechanics and Strength of Materials
- Properties of Pure Substances
- 1st Law of Thermodynamics
- 2nd Law of Thermodynamics
- Air standard Cycles for IC Engines
- IC Engine Performance
- IC Engines Combustion
- IC Engine Cooling & Lubrication
- Rankine cycle of System
- Boilers
- Classification
- Specification
- Fitting and Accessories
- Air Compressors & their cycles
- Refrigeration cycles
- Principle of Refrigeration Plant
- Nozzles & Steam Turbines
- Properties and Classification of Fluids
- Fluid Statics
- Measurement of Fluid Pressure
- Fluid kinematics
- Dynamics of Ideal fluids
- Measurement of Flow rate
- Basic principles
- Hydraulic Turbines
- Centrifugal Pumps
- Classification of steel
Paper II
Part-A (Civil & Structural Engineering)
Building Materials
- Physical and Chemical properties
- Classification
- Standard tests
- Uses and manufacture/ quarrying of materials e.g. building stones, silicate-based materials, cement (Portland), asbestos products, timber and wood-based products, laminates, bituminous materials, paints, varnishes
Estimating, Costing and Valuation
- Estimate, glossary of technical terms, analysis of rates, methods and unit of measurement
- Items of work – earthwork
- Brick work (Modular & Traditional bricks)
- RCC work
- Shuttering
- Timber work
- Painting
- Flooring
- Plastering
- Boundary wall
- Brick building
- Water Tank
- Septic tank
- Bar bending schedule
- Centre line method
- Midsection formula
- Trapezoidal formula
- Simpson’s rule
- Cost estimate of Septic tank
- Flexible pavements
- Tube well
- Isolates and combined footings
- Steel Truss
- Piles and pile-caps
- Valuation –
- Value and cost
- Scrap value
- Salvage value
- Assessed value
- Sinking fund
- Depreciation and obsolescence
- Methods of valuation
Surveying
- Principles of surveying
- Measurement of distance
- Chain surveying
- Compass traversing
- Bearings
- Working on the prismatic compass
- Local attraction
- Theodolite traversing
- Plane table surveying
- Adjustment of theodolite
- Levelling
- Temporary and permanent adjustments to dumpy level
- Methods of contouring
- Uses of contour map
- Tachometric survey
- Curve setting
- Earthwork calculation
- Advanced surveying equipment
- Definition of terms used in levelling, contouring, curvature and refraction corrections
Soil Mechanics
- Origin of soil
- Phase diagram
- Definitions-void ratio
- Porosity
- Degree of saturation
- Water content
- Unit weights
- The specific gravity of soil grains
- Density index and interrelationship of different parameters
- Index properties of soils
- Grain size distribution curves and their uses
- Atterberg’s limits
- Determination of coefficient of permeability
- ISI soil classification and plasticity chart
- Permeability of soil
- Coefficient of permeability
- Unconfined and confined aquifers
- Effective stress
- Quicksand
- Computation of ultimate settlement
- Consolidation of soils
- Principles of consolidation
- Degree of consolidation
- Preconsolidation pressure
- Normally consolidated soil
- E-log p curve
- Shear strength of soils
- Direct shear test
- Vane shear test
- Triaxial test Soil compaction
- Laboratory compaction test
- Maximum dry density and optimum moisture content
- Earth pressure theories
- Active and passive earth pressures
- Bearing capacity of soils
- Plate load test
- Standard penetration test
Hydraulics
- Hydrostatics
- Fluid properties
- Measurements of flow
- Bernoulli’s theorem and its application
- Flow in open channels, weirs, flumes, spillways, pumps and turbines
- Flow-through pipes
Irrigation Engineering
- Definition
- Necessity
- Benefits
- 2II effects of irrigation
- Types and methods of irrigation
- Hydrology – Measurement of rainfall
- Run off coefficient
- Rain gauge
- Losses from precipitation – evaporation, infiltration, etc
- Water requirement of crops, duty, delta and base period
- Kharif and Rabi Crops
- Command area
- Time factor
- Crop ratio
- Overlap allowance
- Irrigation efficiencies
- Different types of canals
- Types of canal irrigation
- Loss of water in canals
- Canal lining – types and advantages
- Shallow and deep wells
- Yield from a well Weir and barrage
- Failure of weirs and permeable foundation
- Slit and Scour
- Lacey’s theory of uniform flow
- Kennedy’s theory of critical velocity
- Definition of flood
- Causes and effects
- Methods of flood control, water logging, preventive measure
- Land reclamation
- Characteristics of affecting fertility of soils, purposes, methods
- Major irrigation projects in India
- Description of land and reclamation processes
Transportation Engineering
- Highway Engineering – cross-sectional elements, geometric design
- Types of pavements
- Pavement materials – aggregates and bitumen
- Different tests
- Design of flexible and rigid pavements – Water Bound Macadam (WBM) and Wet Mix Macadam (WMM)
- Gravel Road
- Bituminous construction
- Pavement maintenance
- Rigid pavement joint
- Highway drainage
- Railway Engineering
- Components of the permanent way – sleepers, ballast, fixtures and fastening, track geometry, points and crossings, Track junction, stations and yards
- Traffic Engineering – Different traffic survey, speed-flow-density and their interrelationships, intersections and interchanges, Traffic signals, traffic signs and markings, traffic operation, and road safety
Environmental Engineering
- Quality of water
- Purification of water
- Source of water supply
- Distribution of water
- Need of sanitation
- Sewerage systems
- Circular sewer
- Oval sewer
- Sewer appurtenances
- Sewage treatments
- Surface water drainage
- Solid waste management – types, effects, engineered management system
- Noise pollution – cause, health effects, control
- Air pollution – pollutants, causes, effects, control
Structural Engineering
Theory of Structures
- Elasticity constants
- Types of beams – determinate and indeterminate, bending moment and shear force diagrams of simply supported, cantilever and overhanging beams
- Moment of area and moment of inertia for rectangular & circular sections, channel and compound sections, bending moment and shear stress for tee, chimneys, eccentric loads, dams and retaining walls, slope deflection of simply supported and cantilever beams, critical load and columns
- Torsion of circular section
Concrete Technology
- Properties
- Advantages and uses of concrete
- Importance of water quality
- Water cement ratio
- Cement aggregates
- Workability
- Mix design, storage, batching, mixing, placement, compaction, finishing and curing of concrete
- Quality control of concrete
- Repair and maintenance of concrete structures
- Hot weather and cold weather concreting
RCC Design
- RCC beams-flexural strength
- Bond strength
- Shear strength
- Design of singly reinforced and doubly reinforced beams
- Cantilever beams
- T-beams
- Isolated footings
- Lintels One-way and two-way slabs
- Reinforced brick works, columns, staircases, retaining walls, and water tanks (RCC design questions may be based on both Limit State and Working Stress methods)
Steel Design
- Steel design and construction of steel columns
- Beams roof trusses plate girders
Part-B (Electrical Engineering)
Basic Concepts
- Concepts of resistance, capacitance, inductance, and the various factors affecting them
- Concepts of current, power, voltage, energy and their units
Circuit Law
- Kirchhoff’s law
- Simple Circuit solution using network theorems
Magnetic Circuit
- Different kinds of magnetic materials
- Concepts of flux, mmf, reluctance
- Magnetic calculations for conductors of different configurations, e.g. straight, circular, solenoidal
- Electromagnetic induction
- Self and mutual induction
AC Fundamentals
- Instantaneous, peak, RMS and average values of alternating waves
- Representation of sinusoidal waveform, simple series and parallel AC Circuits consisting of RL and C
- Resonance
- Tank Circuit Poly Phase system – star and delta connection, 3 phase power, DC and sinusoidal response of R-Land R-C circuit
Measurement and Measuring Instruments
- Measurement of power (1 phase and 3 phase, both active and reactive) and energy
- 2 wattmeter method of 3 phase power measurement
- Extension of range wattmeter
- Measurement of frequency and phase angle Ammeter and voltmeter (both moving oil and moving iron type)
- Multimeters
- Megger
- Energy meter AC Bridges
- Use of CRO
- Signal Generator
- CT, PT and their uses
- Earth Fault detection
Electrical Machines
- (a) DC Machine – Construction, Basic Principles of DC motors and generators, their characteristics, speed control and starting of DC Motors Method of braking motor, Losses and efficiency of DC Machines
- (b) 1 phase and 3 phase transformers – Construction, Principles of operation, equivalent circuit, voltage regulation, OC and SC Tests, Losses and efficiency Effect of voltage, frequency and wave form on losses, Parallel operation of 1 phase /3 phase transformers, Auto transformers
- (c) 3 phase induction motors, rotating magnetic field, the principle of operation, equivalent circuit, torque-speed characteristics, starting and speed control of 3 phase induction motors, Methods of braking, the effect of voltage and frequency variation on torque speed characteristics
- Fractional Kilowatt Motors and Single Phase Induction Motors: Characteristics and applications
Synchronous Machines
- Generation of 3-phase emf armature reaction
- Voltage regulation
- Parallel operation of two alternators
- Synchronising
- Control of active and reactive power starting and applications of synchronous motors
Generation, Transmission and Distribution
- Different types of power stations
- Load factor
- Diversity factor
- Demand factor
- Cost of generation
- Inter-connection of power stations
- Power factor improvement
- Various types of tariffs
- Types of faults
- Short circuit current for symmetrical faults
- HRC Fuses
- Protection against earth leakage/over current, etc
- Switchgears – rating of circuit breakers, Principles of arc extinction by oil and air
- Merz-Price system of protection of generators & transformers
- Buchholtz relay
- Protection of feeders and bus bars
- Various transmission and distribution system
- Lightning arresters
- Comparison of conductor materials
- The efficiency of different systems Cable – Different types of cables, cable rating, and derating factor
Estimation and Costing
- Estimation of the lighting scheme
- Electric installation of machines and relevant IE rules
- Earthing practices and IE Rules
The Utilisation of Electrical Energy
- Illumination
- Electric welding
- Electric heating
- Electroplating
- Electric drives and motors
Basic Electronics
- Working on various electronic devices e.g. P N Junction diodes, Transistors (NPN and PNP type), BJT and JFET
- Simple circuits using these devices
Part- C (Mechanical Engineering)
Theory of Machines and Machine Design
- Concept of simple machine
- Four bar linkage and link motion
- Flywheels and fluctuation of energy
- Power transmission by belts – V-belts and Flat belts
- Gears – Type of gears, gear profile and gear ratio calculation
- Clutches – Plate and Conical clutch
- Riveted joint, Cams, Bearings, Friction in collars and pivots
- Governors – Principles and classification
Engineering Mechanics and Strength of Materials
- Equilibrium of Forces
- Law of motion
- Friction
- Concepts of stress and strain
- Torsion of circular shafts
- Bending moments and shear force diagram
- Elastic limit and elastic constants
- Stress in composite bars
- Buckling of columns – Euler’s and Rankin’s theories
- Thin-walled pressure vessels
Thermal Engineering
Properties of Pure Substances
- p-v & P-T diagrams of pure substances like H2O
- Introduction of steam table with respect to the steam generation process
- Definition of saturation, wet and 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 and internal energy
- 1st Law of Thermodynamics of cyclic process
- Non-Flow Energy Equation
- Flow Energy and 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 Pump and Refrigerator
- Heat Engine
- Clausius Integral
- Thermal Efficiency of Heat Engines & co-efficient of performance of Refrigerators
- Kelvin – Planck and Clausius Statements of 2nd Law of Thermodynamics
- Absolute or Thermodynamic Scale of temperature
- Entropy
- Entropy change calculation of ideal gas processes Carnot Cycle & Carnot Efficiency
- PMM-2
- Definition and its impossibility
Air Standard Cycles for IC Engines
- Otto cycle
- Thermal Efficiency
- Diesel Cycle
- Plot on P-V
- T-S Planes
- Plot on P-V, T-S planes
- Thermal efficiency
- IC Engine Performance
- IC Engine Combustion
- IC Engine Cooling and Lubrication
Rankine Cycle of Steam
- Simple Rankine cycle plot on P-V, T-S, h-s planes
- Rankine cycle efficiency with and without pump work
- Boilers: Classification, Specification
- Fittings and Accessories: Fire Tube and Water Tube Boilers
- Air Compressors and their cycles
- Refrigeration cycles
- Principle of a Refrigeration Plant
- Nozzles and Steam Turbines
Fluid Mechanics and Machinery
- Properties and Classification of Fluid: ideal & real fluids
- Newton’s law of viscosity
- Newtonian and Non-Newtonian fluids
- Compressible and incompressible fluids
Fluid Statics
Pressure at a point
Measurement of Fluid Pressure
- Manometers
- U-tube
- Inclined tube
Fluid Kinematics
- Streamline
- 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 equation
Measurement of Flow Rate Basic Principles
- Venturimetre
- Pilot tube
- Orifice metre
Hydraulic Turbines
- Classifications, Principles
Centrifugal Pumps
- Classifications, Principles
Performance Production Engineering
Classification of Steels
- Mild steel & 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 and so on
- Metal cutting principles, cutting tools
- Basic Principles of machining with (i) Lathe (ii) Milling (iii) Drilling (iv) Shaping (v) Grinding, Machines, tools & manufacturing processes