Tamil Nadu Public Service Commission Combined Engineering Services Exam Syllabus
The TNPSC Combined Engineering Services Exam is conducted by the Tamil Nadu Public Service Commission (TNPSC) to recruit engineers for various departments such as Civil, Mechanical, and Electrical Engineering. This exam is for posts like Assistant Engineer, Assistant Director, Junior Architect, and others in the Tamil Nadu State Government.
TNPSC Combined Engineering Services Exam Structure:
- Written Exam (Objective Type)
- Interview and Records
1. Written Exam:
The written exam consists of objective-type questions designed to test the candidates’ technical knowledge and general awareness.
- Total Marks: 570 (Paper I: 300 marks, Paper II: 150 marks, Interview: 70 marks)
- Duration: 5 hours (Paper I: 3 hours, Paper II: 2 hours)
- Question Type: Objective (Multiple Choice Questions)
- Minimum Qualifying Marks: Varies based on category (SC/ST/MBC/BC/Others)
Exam Sections:
- Paper I: Engineering Discipline (Civil/Mechanical/Electrical/Agriculture) – 300 Marks
- Paper II: General Studies (150 Marks)
- Interview (Oral Test) – 70 Marks
Detailed Syllabus:
1. Paper I: Engineering Discipline (300 Marks)
Candidates need to select the subject corresponding to their educational background. The detailed syllabus varies based on the engineering discipline chosen:
A. Civil Engineering Syllabus:
Building Materials and Construction:
- Properties of building materials, types of construction, use of different materials.
Surveying:
- Types of surveying, leveling, theodolite surveying, contouring, setting out work.
Soil Mechanics and Foundation Engineering:
- Soil properties, classification, bearing capacity, soil stabilization, foundations, and earth retaining structures.
Hydraulics and Water Resources Engineering:
- Fluid properties, open channel flow, hydraulic machines, water demand, irrigation techniques, water management.
Environmental Engineering:
- Water supply, sewage treatment, solid waste management, air and noise pollution control.
Structural Engineering:
- Analysis of structures, design of concrete, steel, and masonry structures, limit state design.
Transportation Engineering:
- Highway planning, geometric design, traffic engineering, pavement materials, railway, and airport engineering.
Estimation and Costing:
- Rate analysis, quantity estimation, tendering process, contract management.
B. Mechanical Engineering Syllabus:
Engineering Mechanics:
- Statics, dynamics, friction, kinematics, and kinetics of particles.
Strength of Materials:
- Stress, strain, bending moments, torsion, deflection of beams, thin and thick cylinders.
Thermodynamics:
- Laws of thermodynamics, properties of gases and vapors, heat engines, refrigeration, and air conditioning.
Fluid Mechanics and Machinery:
- Fluid properties, fluid flow, pumps, turbines, hydraulic machines, and applications.
Manufacturing Engineering:
- Casting, welding, metal forming, machining, material removal processes, machine tools.
Design of Machine Elements:
- Design of joints, shafts, couplings, bearings, gears, and springs.
Production Planning and Control:
- Inventory management, scheduling, quality control, and maintenance engineering.
Industrial Engineering:
- Work-study, ergonomics, operations research, project management, cost estimation.
C. Electrical Engineering Syllabus:
Electric Circuits and Fields:
- Network analysis, circuit theorems, AC and DC circuits, electromagnetic fields.
Electrical Machines:
- Transformers, DC machines, induction motors, synchronous machines, special machines.
Power Systems:
- Generation, transmission, distribution, power system protection, and stability.
Control Systems:
- Open-loop and closed-loop systems, transfer functions, stability analysis, controllers.
Measurements and Instrumentation:
- Measurement of electrical quantities, transducers, data acquisition systems.
Analog and Digital Electronics:
- Semiconductor devices, operational amplifiers, digital logic circuits, microprocessors.
Power Electronics:
- Converters, inverters, rectifiers, motor drives, and control applications.
Renewable Energy:
- Solar, wind, hydroelectric, biomass, energy conversion technologies.
D. Agriculture Engineering Syllabus:
Surveying and Leveling:
- Fundamentals, contouring, mapping, field book entries.
Soil Mechanics:
- Soil properties, classifications, soil testing.
Irrigation Engineering:
- Irrigation methods, water requirement, pumps.
Drainage Engineering:
- Design of drainage systems, water management.
Farm Machinery:
- Tractors, implements, maintenance, power transmission.
Agricultural Processing:
- Processing of agricultural produce, storage, quality control.
Farm Structures:
- Design of farm structures, animal housing, materials.
2. Paper II: General Studies (150 Marks)
General Studies:
- General Science: Physics, Chemistry, Biology basics relevant to engineering applications.
- Current Events: National and International, major scientific advancements, and economic updates.
- Geography: Physical geography, economic geography, environmental geography.
- History and Culture of India: Major events, movements, and cultural heritage.
- Indian Polity: Constitution, governance, public administration, and recent policies.
- Indian Economy: Economic planning, rural development, and public finance.
- Indian National Movement: Key events, freedom struggle, contributions of Tamil Nadu.
Aptitude and Mental Ability Test:
- Simplifications, percentage, ratios, averages, time and work.
- Logical reasoning, data interpretation, puzzles, number series.
3. Interview (Oral Test): 70 Marks
The interview assesses the candidate’s technical knowledge, personality, communication skills, and overall suitability for the role.
