What questions are asked in the ISRO interview for a mechanical engineer?

First, a bit of a background. I did my mechanical engineering from a decent state level university college and I got placed into IBM in the final year. Having no other options, I joined IBM after college. But I wanted to work in a field of my engineering background, and so I also took up GATE coaching at ACE Academy. I got a rank of ~4000 in GATE 2016. Since I didnt get into any PSU or IIT with this rank, I had to continue looking for other options, which is when I applied to ISRO. Now, coming to the experience, let me give you an overview of the selection process. There's 2 stages for ISRO recruitment. First is a written exam, 80 questions, 90 minutes. 3 marks for correct answer and a negative mark for each wrong answer. You can look up the syllabus on their website. The board uses the exam as a way to shortlist candidates for the interview. Your selection depends only on your performance in the interview. The candidates are called for the interview in the ratio of around 89 candidates per post. For preparing for the exam I only revised the notes I had prepared for GATE and then went through all previous year question papers. I bought this book which had previous question papers for ISRO and DRDO. (MADE EASY Publications). I felt the ISRO exam requires time management as we had to answer more questions in lesser time for this exam (unlike GATE where time constraint is not felt). To get used to this, I set a timer and wrote the previous exam papers as though I am writing the actual exam. Then I made a list of questions I made mistakes in, and a list of theoretical questions for which I didnt know the answer. Revised these questions again before the exam once. I managed to get 140/240. The cutoff was around 130 I think. I was requested to come to NRSA Hyderabad for the interview. I contacted one of my tutor from ACE academy and requested for help in preparing for the interview. He arranged a mock interview with the senior faculty at ACE. The director of the institute also spoke to me and gave me tips to prepare for the interview. A big thanks to all of them :). The reporting time for the interview was 8 AM. But I was the second last person to be interviewed and my interview happened at 9 PM. Despite the long and boring wait, I went into the interview hall with a lot of energy and a big smile on my face. There were 6 panel members and a chairman. The chairman asked me to explain what I work at IBM (I work on an ERP tool). Then he asked me to explain.

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The panel consists of 10 people including the chairman. The interview was purely technical. It went on for about 30 to 40 minutes. After entering the hall. Good Morning/evening everyone! Questions: 1- Tell me about yourself. 2- What are your favorite subjects (like fluid dynamics, heat transfer, SOM, heat transfer, and fluid dynamics)? 3- What is irrotational flow? 4- What is irrotational flow? 5- What is deciding factor for the flow? 6- What is a streamline? 7- What is a pathline? 8- which one is the Eulerian approach and which one is the Lagrangian approach? 9- What is the condition for the highest point in the siphon? 10- What is the maximum height of the siphon in the case of water? 11- what is the stream function? 12- What is the velocity potential function? 13- What is the angle between them? 14- If I give you material and I have to calculate the young modulus of elasticity. How will you do it? 15- How will u calculate the strain? 16- Where will you put the strain gauge? 17- What are the modes of heat transfer? 18- What are the types of convection? 19- Do you have any idea about Rayleigh's number? 20- So what will be the deciding value of Rayleigh number for natural circulation? Interview questions may differ because it depends on your branch or post. I hope this will help you.

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I would like to tell you that in the below question list some of the questions are asked based on candidates' individual skill set. So, it is not desirable to know every topic mentioned in below questions. But to be on safe side, please try to cover as much topics as you can. This will surely increase your chances to be selected in the interview. ISRO Interview Details Panel may consist of 5-10 senior scientists, IIT faculty members etc. They may ask you to choose your top 3-5 favourite questions. They may mask ask questions from your favourite subjects or may not. You need to give full explanation of every question/topic asked. Be familiarized with Blackboard teaching as you may have to explain on blackboard. They may ask you about your B.Tech final year project but it completely depends on them. For M.Tech, students prepare well for the M.Tech thesis topic. Reach interview venue before time. Check all documents, a day in advance. Don't forget to keep a pen with you in interview room. ISRO Interview Questions Mechanical 1) Draw a thick cylinder. How will you classify thin and thick cylinders? 2) What if there is external pressure and no internal fluid? 3) Draw one cantilever with point load at one end. Tell me about the deflection at free end. Tell me the formula Cut it in two pieces and tell me about shear forces at different points. Draw its shear force and bending moment diagram. How will shear stress vary? 4) What is the relation between average and maximum shear stress? What if beam is circular? 5) There is a rectangular beam hanging with a cable on a crane. The weight of beam is 10 tonnes. Angle b/w cables is 60 degree. What will be tension in the cable? 6) In projectile Motion at what angle the range is maximum? 7) Write rigid body equation of Motion. 8) If I give you perimeter= 12 m, can you find the dimensions for maximum area? 9) Do you know what was ISRO last mission all about? 10) What is heat shield? 11) What is the difference between Centripetal and Centrifugal Force? 12) Can they ACT on a body simultaneously? 13) Tell me difference between Governor and Flywheel. Factors to be considered for designing flywheel, like mass, stiffness and other things. How it stores energy, how angular velocity gets changed? 14) What is product moment of Inertia? What is its significance? 15) What is Nusselt no.? Give practical exam. 16) How can you join two objects without using Nut Bolt fixture?

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