API SIRE - Source Inspector Rotating Equipment Practice Questions — 10 Free (2026)

When does developing time for final interpretation begin under ASME Section V?

• A. Immediately after dry developer application, or when wet developer is dry ✓
• B. When the penetrant is applied
• C. Once excess penetrant is off and normal evaporation has dried the surface completely
• D. Ten minutes after the developer has been applied, allowing time for bleed-out to become established
• E. When the examiner first views the surface under the required white light or ultraviolet illumination

The clock starts as soon as dry developer goes on, or the moment a wet developer coating has dried. From there the interpretation window runs. ASME BPVC Section V, T-675.3

Where a sight glass or bulls-eye is provided on an API 610 bearing housing, where shall the proper oil level sit?

• A. At the top of the glass
• B. At the top of the viewing area, so that any loss of oil is immediately visible to the operator
• C. At the bottom quarter of the viewing area, so that overfilling can be detected during filling
• D. At any position, provided a permanent mark on the housing indicates the correct level
• E. At the midpoint of the viewing area ✓

Fit a sight glass or bulls-eye and the correct oil level lands at its midpoint, halfway up the viewing area. Loss and overfill are then both visible. API 610, 6.10.2.3(c)

External bottles serve as clearance pockets. What does API 618 require on them?

• A. Drain connections ✓
• B. Relief valves
• C. Pressure relief devices sized for the maximum allowable working pressure of the compressor cylinder
• D. Indicator taps at each end so that the pocket internal pressure may be monitored during operation
• E. Insulation and personnel protection where the surface temperature exceeds the specified limit

Liquid collects in a clearance pocket bottle and has to have somewhere to go, which is why external bottles used as pockets carry drain connections. API 618, 6.8.1.16

A welder passes the required groove weld test under ASME Section IX. What fillet welding qualification follows?

• A. Only the size tested
• B. Fillet welds in the thicknesses tested only, with larger sizes requiring a separate fillet weld test
• C. Fillet welds on pipe of 2 7/8 in. outside diameter and over, but not on smaller diameters
• D. Fillet welding at any thickness, on pipe of any diameter ✓
• E. No fillet weld qualification, since groove and fillet performance qualifications are entirely separate

Passing the groove test carries fillet welding with it -- any thickness, any pipe diameter -- bounded only by the essential variables in QW-350 or QW-360. ASME BPVC Section IX, QW-303.1

Sections of an API 617 casing are approved for testing at different pressures. What does the standard then require?

• A. Independent tests only
• B. Independent tests of each section, each held for a minimum of thirty minutes without leaks or seepage
• C. One test with every section held at its own pressure at the same moment ✓
• D. A single test at the highest of the section pressures applied simultaneously across the whole casing
• E. A combined test followed by an independent retest of any section that showed seepage past a closure

Approve testing of casing sections at different pressures and the test still happens in one go: every section pressurized to its own figure at the same moment. API 610 allows the sections to be taken separately instead. API 617, 8.3.2.7

Under ASTM A703, where shall tests and inspections be made, and what is the single exception?

• A. At the place of manufacture in all cases, with no exception recognised by the general specification
• B. At the purchaser receiving facility, except the hydrostatic shell test which is done at the foundry
• C. At the place of manufacture, except any examination invoked by a supplementary requirement
• D. At the place of manufacture, except product analysis ✓
• E. At an independent laboratory

The place of manufacture is where testing and inspection happen unless something else was agreed. Product analysis is the exception, being the purchaser's prerogative and free to happen elsewhere. ASTM A703/A703M, 14.1

Under API RP 578, which statement correctly reflects the treatment of carbon steel within the definition of alloy material?

• A. Carbon steels are considered alloys whenever their residual chromium content exceeds 0.10 percent
• B. For the purposes of the document, carbon steels do not count as alloys ✓
• C. Carbon steels are considered alloys only where they are installed in hydrofluoric acid alkylation units
• D. Carbon steels are considered alloys because manganese is intentionally added during steelmaking
• E. Only where the specification says so

Anything metallic carrying intentionally added alloying elements -- chromium, nickel, molybdenum and the like -- counts as alloy material. A note carves carbon steels out of that for the purposes of the document. API RP 578, 3.1.1

Besides percentile scoring, what does SNT-TC-1A recommend a Practical examination checklist contain?

• A. Only scored checkpoints
• B. A weighting scheme in which the detection of indications carries more points than the other categories
• C. A record of the number of hits, misses and false calls achieved by the candidate during the examination
• D. Checkpoints whose failure results in failure of the examination ✓
• E. A statement of the acceptable detection rate and the maximum number of false calls that are permitted

Scoring is normally percentile with 80 percent to pass, but the checklist carries something else as well: one checkpoint, or several, that must be completed successfully or the whole examination fails regardless of the score. ASNT SNT-TC-1A 2024, 8.5.4.3

What does ASME VIII-1 UCS-56 require of the furnace during the heating and holding periods?

• A. Atmosphere controlled to avoid excessive oxidation, no direct flame impingement ✓
• B. An inert atmosphere
• C. A fully inert atmosphere maintained throughout the heating, holding and cooling phases of the cycle
• D. A reducing atmosphere to prevent the formation of oxide scale on the surface of the vessel material
• E. A vacuum furnace where the material is P-No. 5A, 5B or 5C, and an air furnace for other materials

Two things the furnace has to do through heating and holding: keep its atmosphere from oxidizing the vessel surface excessively, and keep flame off the vessel entirely. ASME BPVC Section VIII Div 1, UCS-56(d)(4)

A surface is power tool cleaned to Level 3, bare metal. What staining does SSPC-SP 11 allow on it?

• A. 0 percent
• B. 5 percent ✓
• C. 10 percent
• D. 20 percent
• E. 33 percent

Light shadows, slight streaks and minor discolorations may appear at random across a Level 3 surface, caused by stains of rust, of mill scale, or of a previously applied coating. Five percent of each unit area is the ceiling. SSPC-SP 11, 2.1.3 and Table 1