Specimen Examination Paper

T272/SEP

Specimen Examination Paper

CORE ENGINEERING B

Submit by 23:59, (day, date)

This examination is divided into TWO parts.

Aim to spend no more than 40 percent of your time on Part A and 60
percent of your time on Part B.
Part A is worth 40 percent of the overall marks for the examination. You
should answer all ten questions in this part. Each of these questions is
based on a single concept or topic.
Part B is worth 60 percent of the overall marks for the examination. You
should answer all four questions in this part. Each of these questions
requires you to draw from knowledge of multiple concepts or topics.
You may refer to your T272 module material during this examination. A
scientific calculator is permitted for this examination.
Include ALL working in your answer document. DO NOT cross anything
out unless you DO NOT want it to be marked.
For instructions on how to submit your completed exam, please refer to
the ‘Guidance for your T272 remote exam’ document published on your
module website. [Note that the guidance document won’t be available until
approximately two weeks before your exam date.]

Copyright © 2020 The Open University TURN OVER 1

 Specimen Examination Paper

PART A Answer all ten questions in this part.

This part is worth 40 percent of the total marks in this examination. Plan to spend
no more than 40 percent of your time answering this part.

Question 1 (a) Define each of the terms in the equation for shear stress in a circular shaft
due to torsion shown below and state the SI units of each term:
𝐺𝑟𝜃
𝜏=
𝐿
(3 marks)
(b) Sketch the distribution of shear stress over the cross-section of a solid
circular shaft in pure torsion. The shaft is made from uniform material.
(1 mark)

Question 2 (a) Sketch the stress components for an element A on a thin-walled cylindrical
pressure vessel shown in Figure 1.
(2 marks)

Figure 1 Figure for Question 2 – a thin-walled cylindrical pressure vessel. Also

shown is an element ‘A’ on the surface of the vessel.

(b) What is the stress state of element A on the thin-walled cylindrical pressure
vessel?
(1 mark)
(c) What assumption is made based on this stress state to simplify the stress
analysis of thin-walled pressure vessels?
(1 mark)

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 Specimen Examination Paper

Question 3 A 3 m long bar with cross-sectional dimensions 60 mm wide and 40 mm thick is

used as a column to support a vertical load, F, as shown in Figure 2. If the load
were to be gradually increased, in which direction would the bar buckle. Explain
your reasoning.

Figure 2 Figure for Question 3 – a rectangular bar subjected to compressive

loading
(4 marks)

Question 4 The x -displacement of a point on a gear wheel is given by

x = sin 2 t.
Sketch its

• x -displacement
• velocity in the x -direction
• acceleration in the x -direction
over the interval 0 to 3 seconds.

(4 marks)

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 Specimen Examination Paper

Question 5 A railway engine with a mass of 50 tonnes connects to a stationary carriage with
a mass of 25 tonnes at a velocity of 3 m s−1. Assuming that the engine is
coasting:
(a) Calculate the velocity of the pair immediately after connection.
(2 marks)
(b) Is this an elastic or inelastic collision? Give the reason for your answer.
(2 marks)

Question 6 (a) Sketch a small volume element dV = rdr d dz in cylindrical polar

coordinates clearly indicating each of its edge lengths.
(1 mark)
(b) For a given material density ,
R t 2
I =   r
2
r d dz dr.
0 0 0

Solve this integral to find the moment of inertia about its central axis for a
solid cylinder of thickness t and radius R in terms of R , t and .
(3 marks)

Question 7 Figure 3 shows a metal bolt being used to join two metal plates together.

Figure 3 Figure for Question 7 – a metal bolt joining two metal plates

Briefly describe two features of this design that could present a corrosion risk and
name the types of corrosion that could occur.
(4 marks)

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 Specimen Examination Paper

Question 8 Figure 4 shows a broken steel bolt from an engine mounting, and views of the
fracture surface taken at low and high magnification. The bolt had not been
subject to stresses above its yield stress, but a fault in another component had
led to a higher than usual level of vibrations. Suggest the cause of the failure,
explaining how the information provided, together with features visible in the
figure, support your suggestion.

Figure 4 Figure for Question 8 – (a) Broken bolt from the mounting of a ferry
engine; (b) low magnification view of the fracture surface; (c) high magnification
view of the fracture surface (taken from Gagg and Lewis, 2009)
(4 marks)

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 Specimen Examination Paper

Question 9 Figure 5 shows the phase diagram for part of the aluminium–copper alloy system.

Figure 5 Figure for Question 9 – Al–Cu phase diagram

Describe in one or two sentences the intermediate compound CuAl2.

Explain why the alloy microstructures within all parts of the shaded area of the
diagram consist of mixtures of α solid solution and CuAl2.
(4 marks)

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 Specimen Examination Paper

Question 10 Figure 6 shows the schematic atomic-level structures of a short length of a single
polyethylene (a) and polystyrene (b) molecule.

Figure 6 Figure for Question 10 – schematic atomic-level structures of a short

length of (a) a single polyethylene molecule and (b) a polystyrene molecule

Explain with reference to the diagrams the reasons that bulk polyethylene at
room temperature is a relatively soft, opaque solid whereas polystyrene is a hard,
transparent solid. Use sketches to illustrate your points where appropriate.
(4 marks)

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 Specimen Examination Paper

PART B Answer all four questions in this part.

This part is worth 60 percent of the total marks in this examination. Plan to spend
no more than 60 percent of your time answering this part.

Question 11 A section of an engineering structure includes three plates A, B and C with

dimensions as shown in Figure 7. The plates are connected using a bolted and a
welded joint and are manufactured from steel with a yield strength of 370 MPa
and a fracture toughness, KIC, of 40 MPa √𝑚.

Plates A and B are connected using a single-shear bolted lap joint with two
10 mm diameter bolts manufactured from the same mild steel as the plates.
Plates B and C are welded together at their ends. Visual inspection reveals that
there is a 20 mm long crack-like flaw at one edge of the weld, as shown in
Figure 7.

The structure experiences a tensile load of 50 kN applied to the ends of the

plates which is greater than the highest expected design load for the structure.

Figure 7 Figure for Question 11 – showing a section of an engineering structure

including three plates A, B and C that are connected using a bolted and a welded
joint

(a) What is the average shear stress in each bolt due to the applied load? Give
your answer to 3 s.f.
(4 marks)
(b) Assuming that the flaw in the weld behaves as a sharp edge crack, what is
the stress intensity factor, KI, for the crack? The Y-calibration factor for this
configuration is given as 1.4. Give your answer to 3 s.f.
(4 marks)
(c) Based on your answers to parts (a) and (b) will the structure fail under the
applied load? If the structure fails will it fail in the bolts or the weld?
(4 marks)
(d) Suggest three possible changes that could be made to the structure to
increase its strength.
(3 marks)

(15 marks)

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 Specimen Examination Paper

Question 12 The bridge span shown in Figure 8, is found to oscillate in a moderate wind.

Figure 8 Figure for Question 12 – a bridge span

(a) List three attributes of harmonic oscillators that are present in the structure
and essential to vibration, and identify three ways of reducing the amplitude
of the vibration.
(6 marks)
(b) If L = 40 m what is the wavelength of the fundamental frequency?
(1 mark)
(c) The bridge’s equation of motion can be modelled by the differential equation
x + bx + cx = C sin t.
State what each term in the equation describes.
(4 marks)
(d) A simplified version of the differential equation in part (c) is used to model
the behaviour of the bridge.
50x + 50x + 13x = 0.
Solve this equation and find the angular frequency for the bridge’s motion.
(4 marks)

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 Specimen Examination Paper

Question 13 (a) Explain what is meant by the term ‘creep’ in an engineering context.
(2 marks)
(b) Describe the different ways in which an individual polymer chain within a
material can respond to an applied stress. Explain why this response
depends on both time and temperature. Your answer to this part of the
question should be no more than 100 words.
(8 marks)
Figure 9 shows a series of creep curves for a typical thermoplastic polymer with
no crosslinks at room temperature.

Figure 9 Figure for Question 13 – a series of creep curves for a typical

thermoplastic polymer with no crosslinks at room temperature.

(c) Explain how you could use the data from Figure 9 to construct an
isochronous stress−strain graph for a time of 10 000 hours. You are not
expected to draw the graph. If the strain after 10 000 hours must not exceed
1%, what is the highest stress that could be applied?
(5 marks)

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 Specimen Examination Paper

Question 14 Metals, polymers and ceramics can all be processed to alter their properties such
as strength or toughness. However, each kind of material and modification
requires a specific approach that is related to the fundamental structure of the
material in question.
Briefly describe each of the following along with any associated changes that
occur in the material at an atomic level, and explain the effect they have on the
way the material responds to mechanical deformation:

(a) Precipitation hardening of aluminium alloys to increase yield strength.

(6 marks)
(b) Synthesis of polymer molecules with rings of carbon atoms in the backbone
of the chain to provide a high glass transition temperature.
(6 marks)
(c) Thermal treatment of glass to increase fracture strength.
(3 marks)
Illustrate your answers with sketches where appropriate.

[END OF QUESTION PAPER]

Reference:

Gagg and Lewis (2009) ‘In-service fatigue failure of engineered products and structure –
Case study review’, Engineering Failure Analysis, 16(6), pp. 1775–1793, figure 18.

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