MT covers thermodynamics, transport and rate processes, mineral processing and extraction, physical metallurgy, mechanical behaviour, manufacturing, and non-metallic materials.

Metallurgical Engineering is tested within a 100-mark paper. The paper also includes General Aptitude. The sections below show the complete subject syllabus.

GATE MT Syllabus and Marks Distribution

There is no optional subject block in this paper. All listed sections are part of the syllabus.

Metallurgical Engineering Unit-wise Syllabus

Engineering Mathematics

• Linear Algebra: Matrices and determinants; systems of linear equations; eigenvalues and eigenvectors.
• Calculus: Limit, continuity and differentiability; partial derivatives; maxima and minima; sequences and series; test for convergence; Fourier series.
• Vector Calculus: Gradient, divergence and curl; line, surface and volume integrals; Gauss theorem.
• Differential Equations: Linear and non -linear first order ODEs; higher order linear ODEs with constant coefficients; Cauchy’s and Euler’s equations; PDEs – one dimensional heat and wave equations.
• Probability and Statistics: Definitions of probability; conditional probability; mean, median, mode and standard deviation; random variables; Poisson, normal and binomial distributions; analysis of experimental data; linear least squares method.
• Numerical Methods: Roots of linear and non -linear algebraic equations of single variable ( bisection, secant, Newton- Raphson methods); numerical integration (trapezoidal rule) and differentiation (Taylor series expansion).

Metallurgical Thermodynamics

• Laws of Thermodynamics: First law – energy conservation, Second law - entropy; enthalpy, Gibbs and Helmholtz free energy; Maxwell’s relations; chemical potential; applications to metallurgical systems; solutions, ideal and regular solutions; Gibbs phase rule, phase equilibria, binary phase diagram and lever rule; free-energy vs. composition diagrams; equilibrium constant, activity, Ellingham and phase stability diagrams.
• Electrochemistry: Single electrode potential; electrochemical cells; Nernst equation; potential-pH diagrams.

Transport Phenomena and Rate Processes

• Momentum Transfer: Concept of viscosity; shell balances ; Bernoulli’s equation ; mechanical energy balance equation; flow past plane surfaces and through pipes.
• Heat transfer: Conduction - Fourier’s Law, 1-D steady state conduction; convection; heat transfer coefficient and correlations; radiation; Stefan-Boltzmann Law; Kirchhoff’s Law.
• Mass Transfer: Diffusion and Fick’s laws, mass transfer coefficients and correlations.
• Dimensional Analysis: Significance of dimensionless numbers and their applications.
• Basic Laws of Chemical Kinetics: First order reactions; reaction rate constant; Arrhenius relation; heterogeneous reactions; oxidation kinetics.
• Electrochemical Kinetics: Polarization.

Mineral Processing and Extractive Metallurgy

• Comminution; Size classification; Flotation, Gravity, magnetic and electrostatic separation methods of mineral beneficiation.
• Principles of pyro, hydro and electro metallurgy; unit processes for extraction of non-ferrous metals – aluminium, copper, titanium, zinc, and associated heat and material balance.
• Ironmaking: Thermodynamics of blast furnace ironmaking; heat and material balance in blast furnace; production of sinter, pellets, metallurgical coke and testing, alternative options of iron making (rotary kiln, MIDREX, COREX).
• Primary Steel Making: Structure and properties of slags; thermodynamics and kinetics of steelmaking; basic oxygen furnace and electric arc furnace steel making.
• Secondary Steel Making: Ladle process – deoxidation, degassing, argon stirring, desulphurization, inclusion shape control; basics of stainless steel manufacturing.
• Continuous Casting: Basics of continuous casting, casting defects, thin slab casting.

Physical Metallurgy

• Materials Characterisation: X-ray Diffraction-Bragg’s law; optical microscopy; imaging and spectroscopy in SEM.
• Crystal Imperfections: Point, line and surface defects; coherent, semi-coherent and incoherent interfaces.
• Diffusion in Solids: Atomic models for interstitial and substitutional diffusion; volume, surface and grain boundary diffusion, Kirkendall effect; uphill diffusion.
• Phase Transformation: Driving force; homogeneous and heterogeneous nucleation; growth kinetics; solidification in isomorphous, eutectic and peritectic systems; cast structures and macrosegregation; dendritic solidification and constitutional supercooling; coring and microsegregation.
• Solid-state Transformations: Precipitation; eutectoid transformation, diffusionless transformations; precipitate coarsening, Gibbs-Thomson effect; glass transition in ceramics and polymers.
• Principles of heat treatment: Heat treatment of steels; time-temperature-transformation (TTT) and continuous cooling transformation (CCT) diagrams; surface hardening; recovery, recrystallization and grain growth; heat treatment of cast irons and aluminium alloys.
• Corrosion: Basic forms of corrosion and its prevention.

Mechanical Behaviour of Materials

• Elasticity; strain tensor and stress tensor; representation by Mohr’s circle; uniaxial tensile testing and stress-strain curves for metals, ceramics, and polymers; Tresca and von Mises yield criteria; plastic deformation by slip and twinning.
• Dislocation Theory: Edge, screw and mixed dislocations; sources and multiplication of dislocations; stress fields around dislocations; partial dislocations; dislocation interactions and reactions.
• Strengthening Mechanisms: Work/strain hardening, strengthening due to grain boundaries, solid solution, precipitation and dispersion.
• Fracture behaviour: Griffith theory; linear elastic fracture mechanics; fracture toughness; fractography; ductile to brittle transition; toughening mechanisms in ceramics.
• Fatigue: Low and high cycle fatigue; crack growth.
• High Temperature deformation: Mechanisms of high temperature deformation and failure; creep and stress rupture, stress exponent and activation energy.

Manufacturing Processes

• Metal Casting: Mould design involving feeding, gating and risering, casting practices, casting defects.
• Hot, Warm and Cold Working of Metals: Metal forming – fundamentals of metal forming processes of rolling, forging, extrusion, wire drawing and sheet metal forming; defects in forming.
• Metal Joining: Principles of soldering, brazing and welding; welding metallurgy, defects in welded joints in steels and aluminium alloys.
• Powder Metallurgy: Production of powders, compaction and sintering.
• Non-destructive Testing (NDT): Dye-penetrant, ultrasonic, radiography, eddy current, acoustic emission and magnetic particle inspection methods.

Materials Science and Non-Metallic Materials

• Classification of engineering materials; chemical bonding - ionic, covalent, metallic and secondary bonding in materials; Structure of metals and alloys, ionic and covalent bonded solids and polymers.
• Polymers: Molecular weight; thermoplastics and thermosets; copolymers; crystallinity of polymers.
• Ceramics: Radius ratio and electroneutrality rules for determining crystal structure; Schottky and Frenkel defects, non-stoichiometric defects.
• Composites: Types of reinforcements and matrices; enhancement in modulus and strength; isostrain and isostress loading conditions.
• Electronic Properties: Band gap; Fermi energy; conductors, semiconductors and insulators.
• Magnetic properties: Magnetization and B -H curves, principles of ferro -, ferri -, antiferro -, para - and dia - magnetism.

General Aptitude Syllabus

General Aptitude contributes 15 marks within the 100-mark paper. It is not an additional paper that can be left out when choosing the technical sections.

Chapter-wise Weightage and Important Topics

Only the section-wise marks are fixed. IIT Madras has not assigned a guaranteed number of marks to each chapter of Metallurgical Engineering. A topic may appear in one year and receive fewer questions in another; a past-paper count is not an official 2027 weightage.

For a chapter-weightage comparison, record the year, paper code, session, question number and marks of each matching question. Keep a combined question under one main topic or label the overlap explicitly; counting it twice inflates the total. GATE previous-year question papers can be used for this topic-by-topic practice.

Question Types and Negative Marking

The paper uses one-mark and two-mark questions. The number of MCQ, MSQ and NAT questions is not a fixed chapter-wise quota. In an MSQ, selecting one correct option is not enough when the correct answer contains two options.