NCEES PE Agricultural and Biological Engineering · USA · NCEES (ASABE is the content partner)
Original practice questions written to the published syllabus · not past papersMaterials, structural members, foundations and estimates for farm buildings and small works.
In the exams: NCEES PE Facilities & Structures (materials, foundations, structural analysis); PRC ABE structures; TNPSC Unit V
NCEES PE Agricultural and Biological Engineering — Facilities & Structures
Applying supplied standards and code formulas: load combinations, beam moment and deflection for purlins and joists, timber and steel member checks, concrete beam and slab capacity, footing sizing from allowable bearing pressure, and structural loads on bins and livestock buildings. Expect multi-step numericals in US customary or SI units.
How our questions for NCEES PE Agricultural and Biological Engineering spread across the units of Building Materials, Theory of Structures & Construction. Difficulty: 3 easy, 7 medium, 13 hard.
| Concrete and concrete mix design | 4 | |
| Reinforced concrete beams and slabs | 4 | |
| Steel and timber | 3 | |
| Trusses | 3 | |
| Foundations | 3 | |
| Bricks, stone and cement | 2 | |
| Reinforced concrete columns | 2 | |
| Specifications and contracts | 2 |
Choose an answer, then open the working. Each explanation says why the right answer is right and why the others are not.
Under ASTM C150, which type of Portland cement is intended for high sulphate resistance?
C. Type V
ASTM C150: Type I general purpose, Type II moderate sulphate resistance, Type III high early strength, Type IV low heat of hydration, Type V high sulphate resistance (low C3A). Indian and European standards name sulphate-resisting cements differently.
Further reading: ASTM C150
Under the ACI 318 rule for f′c ≤ 35 MPa, the required average strength is the larger of f′c + 1.34 s and f′c + 2.33 s − 3.5 (MPa). For f′c = 28 MPa and s = 3.5 MPa, what is it?
D. 32.7 MPa
f′c + 1.34 s = 28 + 4.69 = 32.69; f′c + 2.33 s − 3.5 = 28 + 8.155 − 3.5 = 32.66. The larger is 32.7 MPa. 33.8 applies the Indian 1.65 s rule to an ACI problem; 36.2 forgets the − 3.5 term. 31.5 MPa adds only one standard deviation (28 + 3.5).
Further reading: ACI 318, required average compressive strength
A beam 300 mm wide with effective depth 500 mm has four 16 mm Fe500 bars in tension and M25 concrete. Using IS 456, what is its moment of resistance?
B. 155.9 kN·m
Ast = 4 × π × 16²/4 = 804.2 mm². xu = 0.87 × 500 × 804.2/(0.36 × 25 × 300) = 129.6 mm < xu,max = 0.46 × 500 = 230 mm, so the section is under-reinforced. Mu = 0.87 fy Ast (d − 0.42 xu) = 155.9 kN·m. Ignoring the lever-arm reduction gives 174.9; dropping 0.87 gives 175.9; 250.5 is Mu,lim, the capacity only if the section were reinforced up to the limit.
Further reading: IS 456:2000, Annex G
Under ACI 318, a tension-controlled rectangular beam has b = 250 mm, d = 450 mm, As = 1,200 mm², fy = 420 MPa and f′c = 28 MPa. What is the design flexural strength φMn (φ = 0.9)?
B. 184.9 kN·m
a = As fy/(0.85 f′c b) = 1200 × 420/(0.85 × 28 × 250) = 84.7 mm. Mn = As fy (d − a/2) = 1200 × 420 × (450 − 42.4) = 205.5 kN·m. φMn = 0.9 × 205.5 = 184.9 kN·m. 205.5 omits φ; 165.7 uses d − a instead of d − a/2; 204.1 ignores the stress block. (c = a/0.85 = 100 mm, c/d = 0.22, so the section is tension-controlled.)
Further reading: ACI 318; Wight, Reinforced Concrete
A light open-sided machinery shed has steel trusses with sheet roofing. Under design wind, the roof suction exceeds the dead load. What must the designer check?
B. Force reversal in members and the hold-down of trusses against uplift
Net uplift reverses the sign of member forces: the bottom chord, normally in tension, goes into compression and may buckle over its long unbraced length, and the supports must resist pull-out. Wind can act downward on some roof zones but uplift on light roofs is often critical; sheeting fixings, purlins, trusses, columns and foundations all lie on the uplift load path.
Further reading: ASCE 7 / EN 1991-1-4 (wind); farm-building design guides
Why is differential settlement more damaging to a building than uniform settlement of the same maximum magnitude?
C. It distorts the building, causing cracks, tilt and jammed doors; uniform settlement does not
Angular distortion between adjacent supports induces stresses and cracks in walls and frames; a building that settles uniformly may only need service connections adjusted. Both kinds can be immediate or time-dependent.
Further reading: Das, Principles of Foundation Engineering
A farmer-producer company wants a working 500-tonne cold store delivered by one firm that will design, build, commission and hand it over. Which procurement route matches this?
B. A turnkey, EPC or design–build contract with a single point of responsibility
Turnkey/EPC contracts put design, construction and commissioning with one contractor, who hands over a functioning facility; FIDIC's Silver Book is an international example. Item-rate and percentage-rate contracts presume the owner has completed the design.
Further reading: FIDIC Conditions of Contract
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