How to prepare Building Material Construction for GATE and ESE CE
Updated on: November 6, 2019
Prepare Building Material Construction for GATE CE:
How to prepare Building Material Construction for GATE and ESE CE – Building Material Construction (BMC) is one of the core subjects of civil engineering which has a direct application on the field.
The weightage of Building Material Construction (BMC) is around 2-4 marks, as noticed in the last 5 years. Although it is not much asked in the GATE examination, knowledge of this subject is important as it has been regularly asked in many PSU interviews and it is considered as highly weightage topic for ESE & other competitive exams.
The problem with this topic is, it is lengthy as well as there are more theoretical questions rather than conceptual ones. Thus, time to time revision is required to excel the subject.
In this blog, you will get an approach on how to prepare Building Material Construction (BMC) for the GATE exam, standard books to study and also important topics of the subject, asked from the BMC.
What are the Best standard books for BMC, GATE (CE)?
The standard book for BMC which you can refer to is ‘Engineering material by Rangwala’. It has been well written, accurate and covers all topics of BMC precisely. For cement and concrete, a book named ‘Concrete Technology by MS Shetty’ is the best as it deeply covers all the aspects of cement and concrete, which are good for interview preparation and also the book covers many questions for practice as well.
What are the Important topics in BMC?
Now I will explain the relevant and irrelevant topics so that you can get an idea about what and what not to study and prioritize the topics according to your suitability.
Cement: This chapter deals with the manufacturing process, preservation, transportation, various properties, lab and field tests, varieties and grades of cement and its applications. This topic is very basic and very necessary as it is the foundation of some advanced topics like concrete and RCC design. From the last couple of years at least 1-3 marks questions are asked from this topic.
Mortar: This topic defines mortar, their types, grades and strength parameter. Some useful technical terms are also covered in this topic which is necessary for an interview. But for GATE purpose this topic is not much important and can be skipped if time availability is less.
Lime: The Chapter includes the definition of lime, their chemical composition, types, varieties, and various tests. It is a very easy and less time- consuming topic and not much asked in the GATE exam.
Brick: It is an important topic as a GATE point of view. The topic is also simple but has much theory which requires time to time revision. This topic includes the manufacturing of brick, their properties, strength, various tests of brick and their types.
Concrete: This is a very important and vast topic. Thoroughly study and revision are required to excel in the topic. This topic includes the manufacturing of concrete, its strength parameters, types, workability, various keywords, composition, and behavior. This topic works as a basic foundation for the RCC design subject.
Timber: This is a lengthy topic but not much asked in the GATE exam. Hence, it can be skipped but it is in the syllabus so one -time study is a must. This chapter includes the definition, seasoning, parts, defects, and applications of timber.
Steel: This is a very important topic for the interview purpose but not much asked in GATE. This chapter includes the definition of steel, their chemical composition, properties, types, and their applications, manufacturing methods of steel and defects in steel. This topic is important as its concepts are used in RCC design.
Bitumen: This topic is very simple and less time consuming but not much asked in GATE. This topic includes the definition of bitumen, their chemical composition, tests, properties, and various applications. This is an important topic for an interview and also serves as the foundation for highway materials.
Also, it is very important to test your preparation level when preparing for any of the subjects. Just going through the theory part & not practicing the questions won’t help you much.
