SE Exam Test Prep Topic

TehMightyEngineer · Apr 7, 2013

So, I'm creating this topic for any and all engineers taking the SE exam this weekend to discuss anything and everything they want. Some good things I think we could all use is any special references or documents we feel are good to have, any examples that we feel cover a topic really well, and ways people can speed up their accuracy or problem solving.

5 days...

keiwong · Apr 7, 2013

You talk alot about te Afternoon problems, how are you feeling about the morning? I read through the pass fail thread and it seemed alot of people who were failing did not break 30 in the morning. I think people may be neglecting the bridge stuff. What did you think about the morning questions? To me it seemed like a joke, and by any chance did you take the Civil Structural PE?

TehMightyEngineer · Apr 7, 2013

For the morning I breezed through the sample exam. 85% correct no problem. Many of them seemed stupidly easy that I almost laughed. I got tripped up by a few I didn't know right off the top of my head but everything I didn't know I was able to guess right on 50% of the time.

Strangely I also neglected the bridge stuff but if the real test is anything like the sample exam it should be really easy stuff. The SERM had pretty much everything one needs for the multiple choice on bridges. It might help that I design a lot of precast box culverts where I work using AASHTO LRFD. It gets you really familiar with their requirements.

I also agree that people who failed seemed to bomb the multiple choice. I didn't see anyone who seemed to get 70% on the multiple choice and not fail.

I have not taken the Civil PE. Maine does not have a SE license so they will let me get my PE by passing the 16 hour SE exam. This way I can get everything out of the way for any state except the few that require you to pass the PE civil exam before taking the SE. I plan on doing 75% SE work for the rest of my career anyway.

keiwong · Apr 7, 2013

How much straight structural analysis do you think the afternoon will have? Do you think that we would have to do some moment distribution or matrix methods? Cause when I took the regular PE test I studied alot on that but ended up using none in the exam it self.

TehMightyEngineer · Apr 7, 2013

Right now the only thing I'm worried about is concrete. I do a lot of basic concrete stuff at work but multistory buildings, continuous frames, and basically anything high-rise concrete I have never done outside of a classroom. Do you have any items that you recommend I take a look at before the exam? I know I need to make sure I can bang out a beam to column connection so that's going to be the majority of my focus tonight. Other than that I can't think of anything specific that there's a good chance they might pull out on the test, beside basic concrete retaining walls, footings, or beams.

TehMightyEngineer · Apr 7, 2013

Are you taking buildings? Both days?

I suspect the afternoon will have little to no structural analysis beyond simple "find the moment for this frame", calculate the moment in the base of this retaining wall, and so on. I suspect we might have something like a truss or such but if we do it will be simple. Maybe a simple moment distribution problem at worst. I would be shocked if it did show up though, the example exam had only basic moments and shears and a simple truss for day 1.

keiwong · Apr 7, 2013

If you want my guess I am almost certain that the afternoon concrete question would either be a retaining wall or a one way slab where you gave to design both the T section and the orthagonal one way slab portion. That way they can test almost every aspect of concrete flexure design in 1 problem. Concerning wood my money is on a roof loading problem where both un balanced snow load and continuous beam load will be present. I see the steel problem being a beam to column connection and u see the masonry as either part if the wood problem or something like a lintel beam

TehMightyEngineer · Apr 7, 2013

Don't forget a column, they could throw that at us. But, then again, as you pointed out that doesn't test much aside from columns. If I were to guess, I too would suspect a continuous slab or a floor frame or something similar. It's a good test for understanding. I really need to brush up on my column to beam connections. Ugh, shouldn't have left that to the last minute.

I agree, roof loading with snow load is a great way to do that. Probably a glulam girder as the negative moment at the support makes it somewhat tricky if you don't know how glulams work. Steel is almost definitely a beam to column connection. Masonry has gotta be a wall or a lintel beam, nothing else makes much sense. Maybe a pilaster but I doubt it.

TehMightyEngineer · Apr 7, 2013

Oh, do you have the CRSI design book for 2008? I wonder how useful that will be on the test. It's such a great resource for concrete design tables but I wonder how well it would work for the test. Plus, I wonder if they might say that pulling stuff blindly out of a table doesn't show understanding.

keiwong · Apr 7, 2013

Well a concrete 2 way slab problem could include a column to ensure that we know to take into account the unbalanced moment transfered. Also it may be a good idea to review 11.2 in ACI to familiarize yourself with column allowable shear

TehMightyEngineer · Apr 7, 2013

Yeah, I have a note to review that section.

How do you thinks it's best to convert a required area of reinforcement into number of bars and spacing? In the past I've typically just brute-forced it but there's gotta be a faster way. I have a few tables in a textbook but they're confusing as heck.

keiwong · Apr 7, 2013

Well, #9 is to inch square and #8 is 1" in diameter, so chances are those two will make up 90% of the bars you use. Table CC1.15.2 in the masonry code gives you the areas and diameters of all the bars. If you have the CERM table 50. 3 gives you a chart comparing bar area to the number you need for a specific total area. I made a copy of that table and glued it to the back of my SERM. It comes in real handy for problems involving curtailment, it allows me to pick combinations of bars in such a way that I can have certain bars run full length and certain ones stop after at cut off points to get my required areas

TehMightyEngineer · Apr 7, 2013

No, I don't have the CERM. I'll see if I can find a copy of that table or something similar. That would be extremely useful.

keiwong · Apr 7, 2013

I sent you a pm

TehMightyEngineer · Apr 7, 2013

Okay, found a table of Average Steel per Foot of Width and Minimum Beam Widths for bars. Should be good enough.

Do you suspect we'll see much involving pre/post-stressed concrete beyond basic questions in the morning?

keiwong · Apr 7, 2013

TehMightyEngineer · Apr 7, 2013

Me neither.

McEngr · Apr 8, 2013

you might want to brush up on a buoyancy problem or two...

at what level can a water table effect a buried tank with varying specific weight of material?

this is just an example that I brushed over, but could be on the test and pad your score if you just have something handy...

there are lots of low lying fruit on the test. the trick is just identifying it and moving on...

McEngr · Apr 8, 2013

keiwong said:
Well a concrete 2 way slab problem could include a column to ensure that we know to take into account the unbalanced moment transfered. Also it may be a good idea to review 11.2 in ACI to familiarize yourself with column allowable shear

"allowable shear" in concrete is probably not the correct terminology. Perhaps you could say "available" in lieu of "allowable" as concrete will be LRFD.

McEngr · Apr 8, 2013

tehmightypirate said:
Right now the only thing I'm worried about is concrete. I do a lot of basic concrete stuff at work but multistory buildings, continuous frames, and basically anything high-rise concrete I have never done outside of a classroom. Do you have any items that you recommend I take a look at before the exam? I know I need to make sure I can bang out a beam to column connection so that's going to be the majority of my focus tonight. Other than that I can't think of anything specific that there's a good chance they might pull out on the test, beside basic concrete retaining walls, footings, or beams.

I would take a look at the ACI 318-08 PCA notes - the chapters involving column design and stability for moment frames and shearwalls in combination are very good... there is a check to determine if you can use sidesway uninhibited in a real world problem. The PCA Notes are really an outstanding reference.

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