Chief Engineer – Limited, Revision & Practice Exams

When new piping sections have been fabricated for installation in a hydraulic system, prior to installation the piping should be __________.

1. descaled by using a pickling solution ✓
2. hydrostatically tested to 100% of maximum working pressure
3. cleaned using a water-based detergent
4. all of the above

Coast Guard regulations concerning marine sanitation devices may be found in __________.

1. 33 CFR Section 159 ✓
2. 33 CFR Section 153
3. 33 CFR Section 155
4. 33 CFR Section 156

An important communication tool for managers is known as active listening. It helps better ensure that managers understand employees and that feedback is encouraged. What is active listening?

1. Active listening is when you maintain eye contact with the employee the whole time they are speaking.
2. Active listening is when you listen to an employee with undivided attention and not be distracted.
3. Active listening is when you make a response that states what you have heard from the employee. ✓
4. Active listening is when you allow the employee to finish what they are saying before speaking.

Of all the individual components of a pre-fire planning package, which component contains information about emergency duty station locations and responsibilities for each crew member by position AND name?

1. Station bill
2. Muster list ✓
3. Fire control plan
4. Pre-fire plan

One is slated to be a senior officer of a new vessel and is to participate in the 'Builder's Sea Trials'. What would you consider your responsibilities when asked to witness scheduled tests?

1. Observe, report any possible deficiencies to shipyard representatives and regulatory body representatives.
2. Observe and convey your comments of any possible deficiencies to the shipyard representative conducting the test.
3. Observe, report any possible deficiencies to the representatives of the regulatory bodies present.
4. Observe, note any deficiencies you may feel exist and convey them to your vessel owner's representatives. ✓

You are installing a new refrigeration system aboard your vessel. The system comes with a 240 psi rupture disk, a safety valve set at 240 psi and a pressure gauge connection and gauge. In accordance with 46 CFR, what is the preferred setup for installing the equipment on the condenser?

1. The rupture disk, safety valve, and pressure gauge are all piped in parallel.
2. Pressure gauge closest to the condenser, then safety valve then rupture disk in series after the pressure gauge.
3. Safety valve closest to the condenser, then pressure gage then rupture disk in series after the safety valve. ✓
4. Rupture disk closest to the condenser, then pressure gauge then safety valve in series after the rupture disk.

Resonant vibrations, which can cause machinery failure, occur when which of the following conditions happen?

1. The machinery is operated at the natural frequency with no external forces in play.
2. The natural frequency of the machinery is the same as the free vibration frequency.
3. A forced frequency is placed on a piece of operating machinery.
4. The frequency of an external vibration is the same as one of the natural frequencies of the machinery. ✓

Why can CFC or HCFC refrigerants leaking into a confined space or in limited surroundings cause suffocation?

1. Refrigerants lighter than air will rise.
2. Refrigerants are heavier than air and displace oxygen. ✓
3. Refrigerants contain an acidic substance.
4. Refrigerants obnoxious odor prevents breathing.

Which of the listed procedures is the most important factor to take into consideration when making repairs to the refractory surrounding the burner openings?

1. Finished repair surfaces must be smooth.
2. Plastic firebrick must be used.
3. All cracks must be completely filled.
4. Design refractory cone angle must be maintained. ✓

The major heat loss in an oil-fired boiler is the heat __________.

1. used in the economizer and air heater
2. going up the stack ✓
3. required to change water into steam
4. passing through the boiler casing

Which of the conditions listed occurs when glassy slag, formed by the burning of fuel oil contaminated with salt water, melts and runs over the furnace wall?

1. Formation of a protective coating.
2. Increased furnace temperature.
3. Damage to the furnace refractory. ✓
4. Cracks through the furnace floor.

The minimum temperature requirements for fuel oil in storage tanks is related to the _________.

1. pumpability of the oil ✓
2. size of the containment area in case of overflow
3. fire point of the oil
4. size of the vents

The BTU value of fuel oil is determined by a/an __________.

1. hydrometer
2. calorimeter ✓
3. viscosimeter
4. open cup test

Fuel oil is transferred to the settling tanks for __________.

1. the purpose of removing any volatile gases present in the fuel
2. heating to the correct temperature for proper burner atomization
3. purging of any large air bubbles that have formed
4. heating to allow water and sediment to settle out ✓

Testing boiler water for chloride content will indicate the amount of __________.

1. total alkalinity in the water
2. methyl orange that should be added
3. phosphates present in the water
4. dissolved salts from sea contamination ✓

When a boiler water test indicates a pH value of 6, you should __________.

1. chemically treat to raise the pH to normal level ✓
2. chemically treat to lower the pH to normal level
3. check the DC heater for possible malfunction
4. begin a continuous boiler blowdown

Carbon dioxide dissolved in boiler water is dangerous in a modern power boiler because the gas __________.

1. combines with oxygen to cause severe waterside scaling
2. breaks the magnetic iron oxide film inside boiler tubes
3. combines with sulfates to cause severe waterside pitting
4. forms carbonic acid which attacks the watersides ✓

After restoring the normal water level in a boiler following a high-water casualty, you should __________.

1. immediately put the boiler on the line
2. blowdown the water gage glass
3. immediately drain the economizer
4. completely drain the superheater ✓

As an engineer of a slow-speed diesel powered vessel, you note that the indicator card diagrams have a flat horizontal profile around TDC. To rectify this, what would be your best course of action?

1. Use a spring with a higher spring constant (k value) in the indicator. ✓
2. Use a spring with a lower spring constant (k value) in the indicator.
3. Increase the RPM at which the readings are taken.
4. Reduce the RPM at which the readings are taken.

When analyzing indicator card diagrams you are calculating the work output from the cylinder by obtaining the area within the curve of what type of diagram?

1. pressure/volume ✓
2. temperature/entropy
3. pressure/temperature
4. pressure/enthalpy

One experiences evidence of high temperature corrosion on diesel engine combustion space components. This is exhibited by 'wire drawing' marks on exhaust valves/seats or metal reduction on cylinder heads. What causes this degradation of components?

1. Excessive combustion temperatures.
2. Water contamination of the fuel.
3. Vanadium, sodium and sulfur in the fuel. ✓
4. Improper fuel injection/combustion in cylinders.

On small diesel engines, a noticeable decrease in the time interval between the replacement of the lube filter cartridge indicates __________.

1. excessive oil temperature
2. piston ring blow-by ✓
3. excessive oil pressure
4. dirty air filter

A 'Blotter test' is a test performed on the lube oil of a diesel engine which can determine ______.

1. the specific gravity of the oil
2. the TBN number of the oil
3. the flash point of the oil
4. a change in the oils viscosity ✓

Differential needle valves used in fuel injectors are directly closed by __________.

1. spring force ✓
2. cam action
3. firing pressure
4. fuel oil pressure

Because of the close tolerances used in diesel engine fuel oil pumps, a worn plunger requires __________.

1. grinding the spare plunger to the barrel
2. replacing the plunger and the barrel ✓
3. highly polishing both the plunger and barrel
4. replacing plunger only

You are testing a closed fuel injection nozzle using a nozzle tester. A pressure slightly less than design valve opening pressure is applied. If no fuel appears at the spray tip, the __________.

1. nozzle orifices are too small
2. needle valve is operating properly ✓
3. needle valve spring is defective
4. nozzle orifices are eroded

Poor combustion in a diesel engine can be caused by __________.

1. low compression temperature ✓
2. high compression pressure
3. high scavenge air pressure
4. low exhaust pressure

A diesel-generator governor is hunting. After changing the oil, the governor is flushed and the compensation needle valve is adjusted, but the hunting persists. You should NOW __________.

1. calibrate the fuel pump rack settings
2. check air intake manifold pressure
3. carefully check for binding in the governor linkage ✓
4. set the speed droop adjustment to zero

With which of the following types of diesel engine arrangements is a waste heat boiler most likely to produce the maximum steam pressure, temperature, and flow conditions?

1. Supercharged, four-stroke cycle diesel engine ✓
2. Supercharged, loop scavenged diesel engine
3. Turbocharged, cross flow scavenged diesel engine
4. Turbocharged, return flow diesel engine

In general, diesel engine waste heat boiler construction is usually of the _________.

1. dry back boiler type
2. critical circulation boiler type
3. water-tube type ✓
4. cyclone furnace boiler type

A photoelectric cell installed in an automatically fired auxiliary boiler burner management system __________.

1. opens the burner circuit upon sensing a flame failure ✓
2. detects a flame failure by monitoring radiant heat from glowing refractory
3. requires mechanical linkage to secure the burner fuel supply
4. must be bypassed at low firing rates

During unsafe firing conditions in a large automatic auxiliary boiler, various control actuators are interlocked with the burner circuit to prevent start-up, in addition to safety shutdown. These controls are referred to as __________.

1. limit controls ✓
2. flame safeguard controls
3. combustion controls
4. programming controls

A variable capacity, pressure atomizing, fuel oil burner functions to __________.

1. maintain a constant fuel temperature
2. provide a wide range of combustion ✓
3. provide a constant fuel return pressure
4. maintain smokeless fuel oil atomization

Heavy soot accumulations in an auxiliary boiler could be caused by __________.

1. water in the fuel oil
2. excessive cycling
3. high fuel oil pressure
4. improper burner maintenance ✓

Provisions for avoiding the buildup of ice on the intake air surfaces of a gas turbine plant can be found where?

1. In the stack intake ducting.
2. In the inlet duct frame at the inlet to the engine.
3. In the exhaust and intake ducting.
4. Both A & B. ✓

An axial compressor basically consists of which of the following?

1. Rotating pistons and stationary liners.
2. Stationary vanes and rotating blades. ✓
3. A rotating impeller and a stationary diffuser.
4. A stationary impeller and a rotating diffuser.

Two functions of the compressor stator vanes include which of the following?

1. Direct air flow to each rotor stage at the correct angle and deliver air to the combustor at the correct velocity and pressure. ✓
2. Direct air flow to rotor blades at the correct angle and are shaped to cause a velocity increase and a pressure decrease.
3. Direct air flow to rotor blades at the correct angle and are shaped to produce a velocity increase and maintain a constant pressure.
4. Direct air flow to rotor blades at the correct angle and are shaped to maintain a constant velocity and produce a pressure increase.

What is the term used to describe the stationary vanes preceding the first stage of an axial compressor?

1. Variable stator vanes.
2. Inlet guide vanes. ✓
3. First stage stator vanes.
4. Variable inlet vanes.

In a compartment that has been completely flooded with water, the greatest pressure will be exerted __________.

1. along the top of the bulkhead
2. at a point that is one-third from the bottom of the bulkhead
3. along the bottom of any bulkhead ✓
4. at the vertical center of the bulkhead

Paints and solvents used aboard a vessel should be __________.

1. stowed safely at the work site until work is completed
2. covered with a fine mesh screen to protect from ignition sources
3. returned to the paint locker after each use ✓
4. drained into a common container after each use

Why is it essential to introduce CO2 from a fixed fire extinguishing system, into a large engine room, as quickly as possible?

1. The fire may warp the CO2 piping.
2. To keep the fire from spreading through the bulkheads.
3. Carbon dioxide takes a long time to disperse to all portions of a space.
4. Updraft from the fire tends to carry the CO2 away. ✓

While in the engine control room you smell smoke and see it coming from the vent in the main switchboard panel. Which of the many different types of extinguishers, if any, are required to be in that space and why would it be best suited to extinguish this class of fire?

1. A fixed CO2 system as it will smother the fire while limiting the clean-up and damage to the area around the fire.
2. A portable dry chemical extinguisher, as it is the most common type of portable extinguisher found onboard ships.
3. A portable CO2 extinguisher as it will smother the fire while limiting the clean-up and damage to the area around the fire. ✓
4. No portable extinguisher is required in the engine control room.

The most important characteristic of a fire extinguishing agent to be used on electrical fires is for the agent to be __________.

1. easily removable
2. flame resistant
3. non-conducting ✓
4. wet

The longer an oil fire is permitted to burn, the __________.

1. easier it is to control
2. easier it is to extinguish
3. harder it is to extinguish ✓
4. less chance there is of reignition

According to Coast Guard Regulations (46 CFR 30), a flammable liquid with a Reid vapor pressure of 8-1/2 psi or less, and a flash point of 80°F or below, is a grade __________.

1. A
2. E
3. C ✓
4. D

By definition, combustible liquids are liquids which __________.

1. have a flash point of 80°F or higher ✓
2. give off flammable vapors at or below 80°F
3. spontaneously ignite
4. are highly volatile with a flash point of 0°F

Tankers carrying cryogenic cargoes, such as LNG, are fitted with gas detector systems alarmed at 30% of the lower explosive limit. If the gas detector alarm sounds, this means __________.

1. a flammable vapor concentration exists at the sample point, but it is too lean to burn ✓
2. an explosion is about to take place
3. the detector sensor is sampling a space where the cargo vapor concentration is 30 percent by volume
4. the detector is sampling a space in which 30 percent of the atmosphere is explosive

By what means should motor controller contacts be routinely cleaned?

1. filing with a bastard file
2. dressing with crocus cloth
3. blowing with compressed air
4. wiping with a clean dry cloth ✓

What statement is TRUE concerning the Azipod propulsion system?

1. It is an electric drive system in which the motor drives a controllable-pitch propeller (CPP).
2. It is an electric drive system where the propulsion motor is installed in a submerged housing capable of swiveling. ✓
3. It is an electric drive system that incorporates a DC motor.
4. It is an electric drive system using water jets.

Propulsion AC generators creating 4160 VAC use transformers to provide nominally 120 VAC to the automatic voltage regulator. What is the turns ratio of this step-down transformer?

1. 1 to 4
2. 4 to 1
3. 35 to 1 ✓
4. 40 to 1

An AC diesel-electric drive ship with synchronous propulsion motors has the capability for power factor correction. If the power factor associated with the main power distribution including all motors is 0.7 leading, what statement is true?

1. The synchronous propulsion motors are under-excited.
2. The synchronous propulsion motors are normally excited.
3. The synchronous propulsion motors are over-excited. ✓
4. The excitation status of the synchronous motor cannot be determined.

When troubleshooting a printed circuit board, one technique that can be used is component substitution. Upon what basis would a suspected defective component be substituted with a known good component?

1. Methodical substitution of components starting at one end of the board and working towards the opposite end.
2. Random substitution of components in no particular pattern.
3. Component substitution is not recommended as a troubleshooting technique.
4. Visual inspection of components or the use of live signal tracing with test instruments. ✓

For the purposes of shipboard practice, voltages above what threshold would be considered high voltage?

1. 440 VAC
2. 1000 VAC ✓
3. 4160 VAC
4. 6600 VAC

When a high voltage system insulation test value is suspect or recorded during an annual survey, a polarization index test is performed. What is the polarization index?

1. The polarization index is the ratio of the insulation resistance taken at thirty minutes to the insulation resistance taken at one minute.
2. The polarization index is the ratio of the insulation resistance taken at ten minutes to the insulation resistance taken at one minute. ✓
3. The polarization index is the ratio of the insulation resistance taken at one minute to the insulation resistance taken at ten minutes.
4. The polarization index is the insulation resistance taken at ten minutes.

What statement is true concerning random access memory (RAM)?

1. RAM is non-volatile memory and the contents of RAM are lost when the power is removed.
2. RAM is volatile memory and the contents of RAM are lost when the power is removed. ✓
3. RAM is non-volatile memory and the contents of RAM are not lost when the power is removed.
4. RAM is volatile memory and the contents of RAM are not lost when the power is removed.

A very useful Windows utility for discovering or verifying IP addressing information of a network is "ipconfig". How is this utility program launched?

1. It is run from the command prompt screen by default by simply bringing up the command prompt.
2. It is run from the command prompt screen by typing "ipconfig/all". ✓
3. It is run by clicking on the "ipconfig" icon in start menu or under programs.
4. It is run by clicking on the TCP/IP shortcut icon on the desktop.

What is the maximum current allowed to be drawn from the secondary of a 2 kVA step-down transformer with a turns ratio of four to one if connected across a 440-volt line?

1. 1.1 amps
2. 4.5 amps
3. 18.1 amps ✓
4. 22.7 amps