THE NATIONAL COUNCIL OF EXAMINERS FOR ENGINEERING AND SURVEYING

PRINCIPLES AND PRACTICE OF ENGINEERING EXAMINATION

MECHANICAL
(Depth HVAC and Refrigeration)
EFFECTIVE October 2001
The mechanical engineering examination is a breadth and depth exa mination. This means that all
examinees work the breadth (AM) exam and one of the three depth (PM) exams. The three areas
covered in the mechanical engineering examination are HVAC and Refrigeration, Machine
Design, and Thermal and Fluids Systems. The breadth exam contains questions from these three
areas of mechanical engineering. The depth exams focus more closely on a single area of
practice in mechanical engineering.

HVAC and Refrigeration Depth Module (PM)

I.

Approximate
Percentage of
Examination

Fundamentals

34%

A. Psychrometrics
1. Cooling/heating Cycles
2. Humidification/Dehumidification

15%

B. Principles
1. Thermodynamics
2. Fluid Mechanics
3. Heat Transfer Principles
4. Mass Transfer Principles
5. Compression Processes
6. Compressible Flow
7. Thermodynamic Cycles
8. Thermodynamic Properties
9. Energy Balances

19%

II. Equipment and Materials

1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.

Cooling Towers
Boilers & Furnaces
Condensers
Pumps/compressors/fans
Evaporators/chillers
Cooling/heating coils
Control Systems Components
Refrigerants
Refrigeration Components

III. Applications
A. Systems Applications
1.
2.
3.

37%

Codes and Standards (FM, NFPA, ASHRAE, BOCA, UBC, SBCC, etc.)
Air Distribution Systems
Water Distribution Systems

29%
21%

Approximate
Percentage of
Examination

4.
5.
6.

Refrigeration Systems
Air Quality Requirement
Energy Recovery

B. Supportive Knowledges
1.
2.
3.

8%

Vibration Control
Acoustics
Economic Analyses
TOTAL

100%

NOTES:
1. The knowledge areas specified as A, B, C, ... etc., are examples of kinds of knowledge, but they are not exclusive
or exhaustive categories.
2. Each depth (PM) exam contains 40 multiple-choice questions. Examinee chooses one depth exam and works all
questions in the depth exam chosen.