Mechanical Thermal & Fluids Fail

[Oleg]

Took the PE Thermal and Fluid Exam the first time and failed in Oregon. Really disappointment as I spent over 1000 dollars trying to prepare for this exam.

Worked on sample problems:

NCEES Practice Exam 2016

6 Minute Solutions

Mechanical PE Thermal & Fluids Full Exam by Justin Kauwale, P.E.

Problems from the undergraduate fluids, heat transfer, and thermodynamics book

Review Course:

Took a review course at Portland State University which was not helpful and cost $500 bucks. They just reviewed the topics slightly

Books:

MREM, Unit Conversions Book by PPI, Fluid Dynamics, Thermo Book, and Heat Transfer Book.

Problem was when I took the exam it was completely different from any of the review or practice problems. It was 100 times harder than any of the practice problems. I remember that there was a lot of problems that were heavy on cooling towers that the MREM does not even cover that well. Others were related to combustion in industry.

The reason why I am posting this is because I want to see if anyone can recommend a good review course for the Thermal and Fluid portion. Well I am going to spend another 1000 to try to pass again and don't want to take another review course that will be of no use like the PSU course. Not sure where I can find more review problems that will be a lot harder and not easier than the exam.

I think for this time around I am going to make one binder and have every f** possible combination in there versus having many binders. Avoid having multiple books.

Any help in this would be greatly appreciated.

 

[tj_PE]

sorry to hear that, @Oleg. you'll get it next time! 

 

[leggo PE]

I'm sorry to hear that as well, @Oleg. But keep your head up! You can and will pass this exam! If you need some more guidance, there are lots of resources on this board that could be of use.

But all that being said, take a break and reassess, and attack again when you feel ready!

 

[Saad85]

I am sorry to hear that , hopefully you will pass next time, the most important thing do not give up I passed the thermal and fluid exam after the fourth attempt 

 

[fluxcap]

I’m sorry to hear about that. I think there’s a lot of fundamental skills that aren’t covered in reviewing MREM, 6 minute solutions, etc. You need to make sure you know how to read a psychometric chart, Moody diagram, steam tables etc. Getting these skills mastered can make a 15 minute solution take 3-5 minutes so you can focus on the other stuff you need to look up and work through. You’ll get it, it’s just more work next time. I didn’t take a course but worked through 6 minute solutions, 101 problems, mrem and so forth. The most helpful for me was after studying all of those I took the NCEES practice test and got a feel for how the questions were worded. 

 

[SacMe24]

I am sorry to hear that , hopefully you will pass next time, the most important thing do not give up I passed the thermal and fluid exam after the fourth attempt 

@Saad85...I'm curious to hear what you did different from one exam cycle to another. Like you, I am looking at a potential 4th time next April. I wish I didn't but that's my reality now. So far I've gone through 2 refresher courses and I don't think I would learn much from registering for another. What I need is practice practice and more practice with problems...

 

[SacMe24]

Took the PE Thermal and Fluid Exam the first time and failed in Oregon. Really disappointment as I spent over 1000 dollars trying to prepare for this exam.

Worked on sample problems:

NCEES Practice Exam 2016

6 Minute Solutions

Mechanical PE Thermal & Fluids Full Exam by Justin Kauwale, P.E.

Problems from the undergraduate fluids, heat transfer, and thermodynamics book

Review Course:

Took a review course at Portland State University which was not helpful and cost $500 bucks. They just reviewed the topics slightly

Books:

MREM, Unit Conversions Book by PPI, Fluid Dynamics, Thermo Book, and Heat Transfer Book.

Problem was when I took the exam it was completely different from any of the review or practice problems. It was 100 times harder than any of the practice problems. I remember that there was a lot of problems that were heavy on cooling towers that the MREM does not even cover that well. Others were related to combustion in industry.

The reason why I am posting this is because I want to see if anyone can recommend a good review course for the Thermal and Fluid portion. Well I am going to spend another 1000 to try to pass again and don't want to take another review course that will be of no use like the PSU course. Not sure where I can find more review problems that will be a lot harder and not easier than the exam.

I think for this time around I am going to make one binder and have every f** possible combination in there versus having many binders. Avoid having multiple books.

Any help in this would be greatly appreciated.

View attachment 10434

I'm sorry to hear you didn't pass Oleg...I got the bad news today as well. I have another post where I'm also asking for advice. Good luck to us next time...

 

[DoctorWho-PE]

One of my classmates took thermo fluids and said it was brutal. 

 

[Nuke_em]

Oleg,

I can’t speak to the value of review courses, but my method was to work sample problems over and over.  The MERM was the only reference I used on the exam, although I brought a few other books just in case.  Also, I stressed looking at the answer units.  There were definitely some answers to trip you up if you weren’t careful with them.  I’m sure you can get there.  If I can pass after waiting 35 years, so can you young un’s.