All About Millers: March 2010

1.2 PART B - ENGINEERING KNOWLEDGE

This part consist of two (2) papers namely -
(i) Paper l - 3 hours
(ii) Paper II - 2 hours

and candidates will be examined for their knowledge on the following subjects:

(a) Steam and Hot Water Boilers

Different types of boilers (e.g. fire and water tubes boilers, vertical shell type,
multitubular underfired, economic package and waste heat); Constructional
details; Mountings and fittings (e.g. water level gauges, steam pressure
gauge, feed water regulator, safety valves, main stop valve, globe valve, gate
valve, check valve, non-return valve); flue gas path pattern (singular or
multiple, and function of baffle plates); and, Starting cold boilers, operating
under emergency situations, idling procedure and maintenance (tubes, shell,
drums, headers, superheater, economiser, furnace, air heater, pumps, fans
and stacks).

(b) Combustion of Fuels

Theory of combustion (condition, constant temperature, constant volume and
constant pressure); Combustion process (supply air, air-fuel mixture,
combustion temperature, combustion time, combustion gases, and
temperature of combustion gases); Gas analysing technique; and, Draft
(natural, forced, draft differential, and factors affecting draft).

(c) Measuring Gauges and Instruments

The purpose, basic working principles, constructional details and functions of
the main parts of commonly used gauges and instrument (e.g. pressure
gauge, thermometer, pyrometer, barometer, salinometer, and hydrometer).

(d) Boiler Repair, Inspection and Maintenence

Repairs of tubes, shell, furnace, fittings and ancillary machinery including the
statutory and technical (standards and codes) requirements; Internal and
external inspection (procedure and implementation); and, Maintenance (daily,
routine and planned).

(e) Boiler Fuel

Solid fuel (e.g. coal, lignite, wood and wood waste); Liquid fuel (petroleum oil,
black liquor and other chemical derivatives); gaseous fuel (LPG, natural gas
and waste heat); composition and properties of different types of fuel; and,
advantage and disadvantage of different type of fuels.

(f) Boiler Water Treatment

Pure water; Impurities; Contaminated feedwater; external and internal
treatment; Hard scale; Soft scale; Carry over; Priming; Foaming; and, Water
treatment programme.

(g) Steam Properties

Steam (wet, saturated, superheated, degree of superheat and fraction);
Temperature-entropy and temperature-enthalpy diagrams; and, application of
wet and superheated steam.

(h) Pump and Compressor

Basic working principles, selection criteria, advantages and disadvantages of
different types of compressors and pumps.

(i) Steam Turbines

Types and working principles (impulse, reaction, combination of impulse and
reaction); and, Safe operation (start-up and shut-down).

(j) Condensers

Types and working principles, construction and construction materials, and
maintenance.

(k) Governors

Types and working principles, function in turbine, and relay mechanism

(l) Materials

Chemical (e.g. carbon, phosphorus, silicon, manganese, chromium, nickel,
molybdenum, cadmium) and physical properties of construction materials;
Mechanical testing (tensile, bend, hardness, nick break and charpy test);
Stress-strain relationship (proportional limit, yield point, ultimate stress,
permanent set, breaking stress point and elastic limit); Heat treatment (e.g.
annealing, normalising, stress releiving, spheroidising, hardening and
tempering) and effect on microstructure; and, Solution treatment.

(m) Mechanical Working of Steel
Hot work (forging and rolling) and cold work (cold roll and cold working)

(n) Creep and Fatigue
Creep and fatigue behaviour, factors affecting and testing method.

(o) Corrosion and Control
Causes (chemical attack, electro-chemical attack and stress influenced);
Prevention and control (surface protection, metal cladding, electroplating);
surface modification (e.g. cladding and chroming), metal spraying, painting,
and cathodic protection.

(p) Welding
Basic principles and different types (e.g. shielded-arc, gas shielded metal arc,
gas shielded tungsten-arc, plasma-arc, electroslag, stud and gas welding);
Weld joint and preparation (butt, lap, fillet and nozzle); Welding defects (e.g.
cracks, cavities, inclusions, lack of penetration, and fusion, imperfect shape),
methods of detection and repairs; and, Destructive testing (e.g. tensile test,
bend test, hardness test, proof test, fatigue test).

(q) Non-Destructive Testing
Non-destructive testing (radiography, ultrasonic, magnetic particle test, dye
penetrant test and eddy-current); NDT operator qualification programme
(national and international); Welding Procedure Qualification and Welder
Performance Qualification Test.

1.3 Part C -Oral Examination

The candidates will be examined for their knowledge in the safe operation of a
Steam Boiler and other auxilliaries. Detail of these are as follows –

(i) Working principles of various type of steam and hot water boilers,
steam turbines and steam engines, and their fittings and functions.
Note: The candidate is expected to know the operation of all types of
boilers, steam engines and steam turbines.

(iii) Boiler operation (e.g Start-up procedure, shut-down, emergency
situation, conditional monitoring (e.g. water hammer, priming, foaming,
familiarisation with all safety features etc). Installation of new boiler,
various type of testing (water gaguge test, steam test etc.); and Basic
boiler water treatment.

(iv) Boiler House management (e.g. Managing Log Book, Safety and
Health aspects in boiler room)

(iv) Plant safety management (Policy statement, arrangement,
implementation, accident prevention); Contingency Plan / Emergency
Response Plan.

(v) The candidate is expected to know how to sketch the steam boiler,
piping system, fittings etc.

(vi) Related provisions under The Factories and Machinery Act 1967 and
regulations made thereunder.

(vii) Identification of parts (e.g. defected samples, failure tubes etc) and
common boiler deposits.

(viii) Boiler inspections (defects identification, proposal for repair, codes and
procedures).