GATE AE 2026 Question Paper & Solutions

Verbal Aptitude

"He often _____ the numbers. False claims are not going to help. Honesty _____ trust", said the manager. Choose the option with the correct order of words to fill the blanks.

Analytical & Spatial Aptitude

In the sequence of tiles shown below, the missing tile indicated by the question mark should be

Verbal Aptitude

A school has 100 students distributed among 1st to 10th standards. Based on this, which one of the following statements is always correct?

Quantitative Aptitude

How many 3-digit numbers can be formed using three distinct single digit prime numbers?

Quantitative Aptitude

In a group of students, 10 students like Mathematics, 12 students like English, 4 students like both Mathematics and English, and 6 students like neither Mathematics nor English. The number of students in the group is ____

Verbal Aptitude

Charity : P :: Retaliation : Q Choose the appropriate pair of words P and Q that fit the analogy.

Analytical & Spatial Aptitude

A paper shown in Panel I is folded along the dashed lines (- - -) to construct a cube. The shaded regions shown in Panel I appear on the outer surface of the cube. Referring to cubes shown in Panel II, which one of the options is correct?

Quantitative Aptitude

Consider the cube shown below with its 8 corners labelled a, b, c, d, e, f, g, and h. The figure is representative. All corners are to be colored such that any two corners that are connected by an edge must be of different colors. The minimum number of colors required to achieve this is ________

Analytical & Spatial Aptitude

Four hills H1, H^2, H^3, and H4 are present in an area. The following observations are made about them: i. Neither H2 nor H3 is the easternmost hill. ii. Neither H2 nor H3 is the westernmost hill. iii. Neither the easternmost hill nor the westernmost hill is the southernmost hill. iv. Two hills are located to the west of H^2. v. The southernmost hill has at least two hills to its east. The southernmost hill is ________.

Quantitative Aptitude

As shown in the figure, circle C1 with center O1 and radius r1 touches the square VWXY at points P and Q while circle C2 with center O2 and radius r2 touches the square VWXY at points R and S. The two circles touch each other at T. Given r1 = 1 cm and VY̅̅̅̅ = VW̅̅̅̅̅ = 4 cm, r^2 = _____ cm.

Calculus

Consider the contour C shown in the figure below. For the vector F⃗ = (x + 2y)êx + (2x + 4y)êy, the integral ∮ F⃗ ⋅ dl⃗ C =________. Here dl⃗ represents an infinitesimal length along the contour C.

Strength of Materials & Elasticity

The Fourier series representation of a square wave is shown in the figure below. The fluctuations seen near x = ±1 are named after which one of the following scientists?

Basic Fluid Mechanics

The following equation with respect to 𝜑(x, t), where a is a non-zero constant, represents ________. 𝜕𝜑 𝜕t + a 𝜕𝜑 𝜕x = 0

Thermodynamic Cycles of Gas Turbines

Which one of the following makes an ideal air-standard Stirling cycle?

Compressible Flow & Shocks

In fluid dynamics, d'Alembert's paradox refers to which one of the following?

Linear Algebra

The number of independent elastic constants that a fully anisotropic linear elastic material can have is ______.

Thin-Walled Structures

A cantilever beam with an unsymmetric cross-section is subjected to a transverse shear force (P) at its free end. P acts at the shear center of the beam cross-section. Which one of the following statements is TRUE about the deformation of this beam?

Compressors and Turbines

The figure below depicts two ideal gas turbine cycles, cycle 1-2-3-4-1 and cycle 1-2-3'-4'-1, on a T-s diagram. Which one the following statements is FALSE?

Basic Fluid Mechanics

The velocity potential function (𝜑) given below represents which one of the following? 𝜑 = 5x - 12y

Airfoil & Wing Theory

The fundamental purpose of the Kutta condition in the thin airfoil theory is ________.

Inlets, Combustors & Nozzles

In the figure shown below, the flow at the nozzle exit is ________.

Strength of Materials & Elasticity

An n × n square matrix A satisfies AT = A-1. The determinant of this matrix may take which of the following value(s)?

Dynamic Stability

Which of the following statements is/are TRUE about the stability of an aircraft?

Compressors and Turbines

For a given air-standard power, the propulsive efficiency of a turbofan engine is more than that of a turbojet engine. Which of the following is/are the reason(s) for this?

Airfoil & Wing Theory

Shown below are qualitative illustrations of the lift curve for an airfoil when two different control surfaces are in their respective retracted and deployed configurations. Which of the following is/are TRUE?

Linear Algebra

The state of stress at a point in a^2-D body, in the x-y Cartesian coordinate system, is represented in matrix form as [σ]. The transformation matrix [Q] rotates the coordinate system to a new x'-y' Cartesian coordinate system. Select the CORRECT option(s) that represent(s) the state of stress in the new coordinate system.

Airfoil & Wing Theory

The figure below shows the blading of the rotors of two different axial turbomachines under their typical operating conditions, labelled as Configuration I and Configuration II. Which of the following statements is/are TRUE?

Compressors and Turbines

A multi-stage axial compressor can be operated at two points, A and B, both of which lie on the same speed line, as shown in the figure below. If 𝜂 is the isentropic efficiency of the compressor, select the statements that is/are TRUE.

Atmospheric Flight Mechanics

Which of the following statements is/are TRUE regarding critical and drag divergence Mach numbers of a wing?

Strength of Materials & Elasticity

A flow is steady, inviscid and one-dimensional, with no shaft work or body forces. Which of the following is/are possible under the given conditions?

Atmospheric Flight Mechanics

An aircraft starts gliding in power-off condition at an altitude of 4 km. Given that the maximum lift to drag ratio of the aircraft is 15, the maximum glide range that the aircraft can cover, measured along the ground, is ________ km (rounded off to the nearest integer).

Linear Algebra

If a matrix can be written as A = uvT, where both u and v are n-dimensional real- valued non-zero column vectors, then the rank of the matrix A is ________ (answer in integer).

Structural Dynamics & Aeroelasticity

The response x(t) of a freely vibrating single degree of freedom underdamped system is given below. In the equation, A and 𝜙 are constants. The damping ratio of the system is ________ (rounded off to 3 decimal places). x(t) = Ae-5t sin(10t + 𝜙)

Wind Tunnel Testing & Instrumentation

The vortex shedding frequency behind a landing gear model is found to be 50 Hz when tested in a wind tunnel operating at 5 m/s. If the actual landing gear size is 10 times that of the model, and it is designed to operate at 50 m/s, then the expected vortex shedding frequency behind it is ________ Hz (rounded off to the nearest integer).

Airfoil & Wing Theory

An elliptic wing has a span of 6 m and a planform area of 6 m^2. When generating a lift coefficient of 0.6, the induced drag it incurs is ________ × 10-3 (rounded off to 1 decimal place).

Space Dynamics & Orbital Mechanics

An earth satellite has the instantaneous position vector r⃗ and velocity vector v⃗ as given below. Here p̂ and q̂ denote the unit vectors along the x and y axes of the perifocal frame, respectively. Assume that the value of gravitational parameter is 398600 km3/s^2. Which one of the following trajectories does the satellite follow? r⃗ = (8000p̂ + 9000q̂) km and v⃗ = (-6p̂ + 6q̂) km/s

Basic Fluid Mechanics

For the matrix A = [a b c d], if the relation a + b = c + d holds and a, b, c, d ≠ 0, then which one of the following statements about A is FALSE?

Compressors and Turbines

In an ideal turbofan engine shown in the figure below, the compressor is driven by the high pressure turbine, and the fan is driven by the low pressure turbine. The stations 0, 2, 3, 4, 4.5, and 5 refer to free-stream, compressor inlet, compressor outlet, combustor exit, high pressure turbine exit, and low pressure turbine exit, respectively, and the subscript 't' refers to the total condition. Also, 𝜏r = Tt0 T0⁄ , 𝜏c = Tt3 Tt2⁄ and 𝜏𝜆 = Tt4 T0.⁄ The total temperature ratio of the high pressure turbine (Tt4.5 Tt4⁄ ) is given by ______.

Rocket Propulsion

An ideal rocket has characteristic exhaust velocity of 1200 m/s, mass flow rate of 75 kg/s, thrust coefficient of 1.5, and nozzle throat area of 0.025 m^2. The chamber pressure in kPa and the specific impulse due to gravity in seconds are ________, respectively. Assume that the acceleration due to gravity is 9.8 m/s^2.

Strength of Materials & Elasticity

Consider a unit square body as shown in the figure below. The body is subjected to the deformation field u = -ay and v = ax, where 'a' is a constant. Due to the application of this deformation field, the body undergoes _______ in the x-y plane.

Rocket Propulsion

Consider a launch vehicle of mass 10 tons being launched vertically. The vehicle has 8 tons of propellant, which burns completely at a constant rate over 50 s. If the engine specific impulse is 250 s, and the acceleration due to gravity at sea level is g0, the acceleration experienced by the vehicle at lift-off is ________.

Compressors and Turbines

The figure below shows a compressor stage with station numbers 1, 2, and 3 as indicated. If p0i, T0i, and Ci refer to the average values of total pressure, total temperature, and absolute flow speed, respectively, at the ith station, select the CORRECT option considering losses.

Airfoil & Wing Theory

An experimental study is planned to map out the low-Reynolds number incompressible steady two-dimensional aerodynamic characteristics of a promising novel airfoil. The operational parameters of the problem are the speed, density and viscosity of the freestream, the chord of the airfoil and its angle of attack. If the objective is to achieve this with the minimum number of test runs Nmin while taking 10 equally-spaced test values of each independent parameter of the problem in a suitable range, then Nmin is ________.

Compressors and Turbines

Which of the following process(es) is/are involved in the compression of air in an ideal ramjet engine?

Thin-Walled Structures

The deformation of an open-section bar subjected to pure torsion can be solved by choosing an appropriate Prandtl stress function. Which of the following statements is/are true about the Prandtl stress function?

Compressors and Turbines

The figure below shows the velocity triangles at the inlet and outlet of the rotor of a low hub-to-tip ratio axial compressor at the mid-span of the blade. The absolute and relative velocities of the flow are denoted by C and W, respectively. The subscripts 1 and 2 refer to the locations before and after the rotor, respectively. The blade velocity is denoted by U. Select the CORRECT statement(s) for this device.

Airfoil & Wing Theory

Consider the flow over an oval modeled using the elementary potential flows as shown below. U represents uniform flow velocity and 𝛤 represents circulation around an irrotational line vortex. Which of the following statements is/are TRUE for this model?

Atmospheric Flight Mechanics

What is/are the use(s) of the single horseshoe vortex model of finite wing aerodynamic theory?

Differential Equations

Consider the differential equation with the initial conditions given below. If y(x) is the solution of the equation, the value of the slope, dy dx , at x = ln(2) is ________ (rounded off to three decimal places). d2y dx2 + 2 dy dx + y = 0 with y|x=0 = 0 and dy dx| x=0 = 1

Basic Fluid Mechanics

An object of mass 1 kg is launched with an initial speed of vo into a large tank filled with a viscous liquid. The liquid exerts a resistive force (drag) of the form D = 𝛼v on any object that is moving inside it, where v is the instantaneous speed of the object and 𝛼 = 1 kg/s. If the effect of gravity is ignored, the time taken by the object to slow down to the speed vo/2 is ________ s (rounded off to 2 decimal places). Assume that the tank is sufficiently large for the above deceleration to happen inside the tank.

Basic Fluid Mechanics

The minimum value of the function f(x) = |x| + |2x + 3| for real x is ________ (rounded off to 1 decimal place).

Basic Fluid Mechanics

Isobutane (C4H10) is burnt completely in pure oxygen as per the reaction given below. Given that the standard heats of formation (in kcal/mole) of isobutane, carbon dioxide, and water vapour are -31.489, -94.052, and -60.150, respectively, the heat of reaction is ________ kcal (rounded off to 2 decimal places). C4H10 + 6.5 O^2 → 4 CO2 + 5 H2O

Basic Fluid Mechanics

A furnace of 250 MW rating is used to melt and raise the temperature of aluminium from 25 oC to 900 oC. Aluminium has a solid-state specific heat, latent heat, and liquid-state specific heat of 0.9 kJ/kg-K, 390 kJ/kg, and 1.108 kJ/kg-K, respectively, and the furnace has 70% efficiency. The melting point of aluminium is 660 oC. The amount of aluminium that can be processed per hour is ________ kg (rounded off to 1 decimal place).

Atmospheric Flight Mechanics

For an airfoil section the pitching moment coefficient is determined about a reference point that is 0.3 times the chord behind the leading edge. It varies with the lift coefficient as shown in the table below. The distance of the aerodynamic center from the leading edge of the airfoil as a fraction of the chord is ________ (rounded off to one decimal place). cl 0.2 0.4 0.6 0.8 cm - 0.02 0 0.02 0.04

Space Dynamics & Orbital Mechanics

An earth satellite moves in an elliptical orbit with a perigee altitude of 300 km and an apogee altitude of 3000 km. Assume that the radius of the earth is 6378 km. The eccentricity of the orbit is __________ (rounded off to three decimal places).

Airfoil & Wing Theory

Consider a finite wing of aspect ratio 10 with span effectiveness factor 0.95. Its airfoil section has a lift slope of 0.106 per degree and a zero-lift angle of attack of -1.5°. The lift coefficient of the wing at an angle of attack of 3.5° is ________ (rounded off to 2 decimal places).

Strength of Materials & Elasticity

WA and WB are the respective maximum take-off weights of an aircraft for two ambient air conditions given below. Condition A: p = 1 bar, T = 50 oC; Condition B: p = 0.66 bar, T = -30 oC If all other parameters relevant for take-off are kept the same in these two conditions, the ratio WB/WA is ________ (rounded off to 3 decimal places).

Thin-Walled Structures

A thin-walled circular tube is made of a material whose magnitude of the ultimate strength, both in tension and compression, is 200 MPa. The mean radius of the tube is 0.2 m and the wall thickness is 0.004 m. Based on the maximum stress criteria, the maximum torque that the tube can sustain is ________ kN-m (round off to the nearest integer).

Structural Dynamics & Aeroelasticity

A system comprising a bar, spring and mass is shown in the figure below. The bar, having negligible mass, is made of a material having Young's modulus E = 200 GPa, cross-sectional area A = 100 mm2, and length L = 100 mm. The spring stiffness k = 200 kN/mm and the mass M = 100 kg. The natural frequency of free vibration of the system is ________ rad/s (rounded off to the nearest integer).

Strength of Materials & Elasticity

A stepped cantilever beam, made of a material having Young's modulus E = 200 GPa, is shown in the figure below. The length and the moment of inertia of the beam from point A to B are L1 = 100 mm and I1 = 100 mm4, respectively. The length and the moment of inertia of the beam from point B to C are L^2 = 100 mm and I^2 = 700 mm4, respectively. A shear force P = 30 N is applied at point A of the beam. The magnitude of the deflection of the beam at point A is ________ mm (rounded off to 1 decimal place).

Compressors and Turbines

A centrifugal compressor has a constant-width radial diffuser. The diameters at the diffuser inlet and outlet are 0.2 m and 0.3 m, respectively. The flow at the diffuser inlet and outlet is assumed to be steady and uniform. The average velocity at the diffuser inlet and outlet are (60 êr + 75 ê𝛉) m/s and (u êr + 50 ê𝛉) m/s, respectively. If the flow through the diffuser is treated as steady and incompressible, the value of u is ________ (rounded off to the nearest integer).

Compressors and Turbines

A gas mixture at a pressure of 800 kPa and a density of 5 kg/m3 enters a turbine stage. The temperature of the gas at the nozzle exit and the stage exit are 790 K and 750 K, respectively. Assume the specific heats are constant for the gas mixture in the range of temperatures considered. The specific heat at constant pressure is 0.72 kJ/kg-K and the ratio of specific heats is 1.33. The value of the degree of reaction of the turbine stage is ________ (rounded off to 2 decimal places).

Airfoil & Wing Theory

Thin airfoil theory predicts the zero-lift angle of attack 𝛼L=0 of NACA 2412 airfoil as -2.1°. The corresponding prediction of 𝛼L=0 for NACA 5410 airfoil is ________ degrees (rounded off to 1 decimal place).

Compressible Flow & Shocks

Consider a centered Prandtl-Meyer expansion fan at a 𝜃 = 4° corner in a Mach 1.78 air flow, as shown in the figure below. The angle ψ (see figure) made by the ending wave of the fan with respect to the incoming stream is ________ degrees (rounded off to 1 decimal place). An excerpt from the table of Prandtl-Meyer function for air is provided below. M ν [deg] M ν [deg] M ν [deg] 1.72 18.40 1.82 21.30 1.92 24.15 1.74 18.98 1.84 21.88 1.94 24.71 1.76 19.56 1.86 22.45 1.96 25.27 1.78 20.15 1.88 23.02 1.98 25.83 1.80 20.73 1.90 23.59 2.00 26.38

Compressible Flow & Shocks

A Mach 1.5 air flow enters a round duct of length 20 cm and diameter 3 cm. If the flow exits with Mach number 1.1, the average Fanning friction factor f of the duct is ________ × 10-3 (rounded off to 1 decimal place). An excerpt from the Fanno flow table for air is given below. M 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 1.5 1.6 𝟒𝒇𝑳∗ 𝑫 × 𝟏𝟎𝟒 99.35 336.4 648.3 997.4 1361 1724