Engineering Mechanics I: Force

Systems
 Force- External and Internal Effects
 External forces are forces caused by an external factor. External non-zero net force
imparts an acceleration to the center of mass of the system regardless of the point of
application, such as; applied force, normal force, tension force, friction force, and
Bracket
air resistance force. External forces are either applied forces or reactive forces.
 Internal forces are forces internally exchanged by the objects in the
system. Internal forces may cause acceleration in different parts of the system
but does not cause any acceleration in the center of mass of the entire system.
Internal effects include the gravity forces, magnetic force, electrical force, and
spring force.
 Example: The effects of P externally applied to the bracket are reactive forces
happening inside of the structure exerted on the bracket by the foundation and
bolts because of the action of P. The effects of P internal to the bracket are the
resulting internal forces and deformations distributed throughout the material of
the bracket.
 NOTE THAT: The relation between internal forces and internal deformations are
a function of the material properties of the body and is studied in strength of
materials, elasticity, and plasticity. 2
 Force- Transmissibility Principle
 Mechanics of a rigid body insits the use of external forces, where deformations
in the body. In such cases, experience shows us that it is not necessary to restrict
the action of an applied force to a given point.
 Example:
The force P acting on the rigid plate may be applied at A or at B or at any other
point on its line of action, and the net external effects of P on the bracket will not
change. The external effects are represented in the force exerted on the plate by the
bearing support at O and the force exerted on the plate by the roller support at C.
 Principle of transmissibility,
“A force may be applied at any point on its given line of action without altering the
resultant effects of the force external to the rigid body on which it acts. Thus,
whenever we are interested in only the resultant external effects of a force, the force
may be treated as a sliding vector, and we need specify only the magnitude,
direction, and line of action of the force, and not its point of application.”

3
 Force systems classification

Forces

Contact Forces Concentrated Distributed

Body Forces Forces
Forces

Concentrated forces are

applied over a finite area Distributed forces are
Contact forces Body forces are and is therefore really a distributed over an
distributed force. area as in the case of
are produced by produced by the If the dimensions of the mechanical contact,
direct physical position of a area are very small over a volume when a
contact, between body within a compared with the other body force such as
dimensions of the body, weight is acting , or
the objects of the force field such we assume that the force over a line, as in the
system. as weight force. is concentrated at a point case of the weigth of a
with negligible loss of suspended cable.
accuracy.
 Action and Reaction

 Action of a force is associated with a reaction. The action and reaction magnitudes are equal, however the
directions are opposite.

 It is essential to distinguish between the action and the reaction in a pair of forces. As a first step we need to isolate
the body in question, then identify the force exerted on that body (not the force exerted by the body).
 Note that it is very easy to mistakenly use the wrong force of the pair unless we distinguish carefully between
action and reaction.
Meriam, J. L., & Kraige, L. G. (2012). Engineering mechanics: dynamics (Vol. 2). John Wiley & Sons.
 Concurrent Forces

 A set of forces is said to be concurrent when their lines of action intersect at one single point. Therefore, they can be
added using the parallelogram law in their common plane to obtain their sum or resultant R .
 Sum of two forces

R=F1+F2

Meriam, J. L., & Kraige, L. G. (2012). Engineering mechanics: dynamics (Vol. 2). John Wiley & Sons.
Vector Components

 When treating forces applications, forces are assumed to be similar to

vectors, such that the vector sum of the components must equal the
original vector. Thus, the force R may be replaced by, or resolved into,
two vector components F1 and F2 with the specified directions by
completing the parallelogram as shown to obtain the magnitudes of F1
and F2.
 Procedure:
 The two vectors are combined through the following steps:
1. Add two equal, opposite, and collinear forces F and -F of convenient
magnitude, which taken together produce no external effect on the body.
2. Add F1 and F to produce R1
3. Combine with the sum R2 of F2 and -F yield the resultant R, which is correct
in magnitude, direction, and line of action.
 Two-Dimensional Force Systems
 Rectangular components, the resultant force vector is resolved into
rectangular components as follows;
𝐅 = 𝐅𝐱 + 𝐅𝐲
 The vector components can be written as follows,
𝐅𝐱 = Fx 𝐢
𝐅𝐲 = Fy 𝐣
 Where 𝐹𝑥 and 𝐹𝑦 are the scalar components of the vector F, that can
be positive or negative, depending on the quadrant into F points.
𝐹𝑥 = 𝐹𝑐𝑜𝑠(𝜃)
𝐹𝑦 = 𝐹𝑠𝑖𝑛 𝜃
𝐹= 𝐹𝑥2 + 𝐹𝑦2
𝐹
−1 𝑦
𝜃 = tan
𝐹𝑥 Meriam, J. L., & Kraige, L. G. (2012). Engineering mechanics: dynamics (Vol. 2). John Wiley & Sons.
 Determining the components of a force
 Dimensions are not always given in horizontal and vertical directions. Angles need
not be measured counterclockwise from the x-axis, and the origin of coordinates need
not be on the line of action of a force. Therefore, it is essential that we be able to
determine the correct components of a force no matter how the axes are oriented or
how the angles are measured.

 Rectangular components are convenient for finding the sum or resultant R of two
forces which are concurrent. Consider two forces F1 and F2 which are originally
concurrent at a point O. The figure next shows the line of action of F2 shifted from O
to the tip of F1 according to the triangle rule. In adding the force vectors F1 and F2,
we get the following;

𝑹 = 𝑭𝟏 + 𝑭𝟐 = 𝐹1𝑥 𝒊 + 𝐹1𝑦 𝒋 + (𝐹2𝑥 𝒊 + 𝐹2𝑦 𝒋)

𝑅𝑥 𝒊 + 𝑅𝑦 𝒋 = 𝐹1𝑥 + 𝐹2𝑥 𝒊 + 𝐹1𝑦 + 𝐹2𝑦 𝒋

Meriam, J. L., & Kraige, L. G. (2012). Engineering mechanics: dynamics (Vol. 2). John Wiley & Sons.
 Resultants

• The resultant of a system of forces is the simplest force

combination which can replace the original forces without altering
the external effect on the rigid body to which the forces are
applied.
• Equilibrium of a body is the condition in which the resultant of all
forces acting on the body is zero.
𝑹 = 𝑭𝟏 + 𝑭𝟐 + 𝑭𝟑 + ⋯ + 𝑭𝒏 = ෍ 𝑭

𝑅𝑥 = σ 𝐹𝑥 , 𝑅𝑦 = σ 𝐹𝑦 , 𝑅 = (σ 𝐹𝑥 )2 +(σ 𝐹𝑦 )2
𝑅𝑦 σ 𝐹𝑦
𝜽= tan−𝟏 = tan −𝟏
𝑅𝑥 σ 𝐹𝑥
Meriam, J. L., & Kraige, L. G. (2012). Engineering mechanics: dynamics (Vol. 2). John Wiley & Sons.
 Three-Dimensional Force systems
 Rectangular components, the resultant force vector is into
rectangular components as follows;
𝐅 = 𝐅𝐱 + 𝐅𝐲 + 𝐅𝒛
 The vector components can be written as follows,
𝐅𝐱 = Fx 𝐢
𝐅𝐲 = Fy 𝐣
𝐅𝒛 = Fz 𝐤
 Where 𝐹𝑥 , 𝐹𝑦 and 𝐹𝑧 are the scalar components of the vector F, that
can be positive or negative, depending on the quadrant into F
points.
𝐹𝑥 = 𝐹𝑐𝑜𝑠(𝜃𝑥 )
𝐹𝑦 = 𝐹𝑐𝑜𝑠 𝜃𝑦
𝐹𝑧 = 𝐹𝑐𝑜𝑠 𝜃𝑧
𝐹= 𝐹𝑥2 + 𝐹𝑦2 + 𝐹𝑧2 Meriam, J. L., & Kraige, L. G. (2012). Engineering mechanics: dynamics (Vol. 2). John Wiley & Sons.
Moment
 The magnitude of the moment or tendency of the force to rotate the body about the
axis O-O perpendicular to the plane of the body is proportional both to the
magnitude of the force and the moment arm d, which is the perpendicular distance
from the axis to the line of action of the force. The moment is therefore given as
follows;
𝑴= 𝒓×𝑭
Where r is a position vector which runs from the moment reference point A to any point
on the line of action F.
 When dealing with forces which all act in a given plane, we customarily speak of the
moment about a point. By this we mean the moment with respect to an axis normal to
the plane and passing through the point. Thus, the moment of force F about point A
has the magnitude 𝑀 = 𝐹𝑑 and is counterclockwise.
 Moment directions may be accounted for by using a stated sign convention, such as a
plus sign (+) for counterclockwise moments and a minus sign (-) for clockwise
moments, or vice versa.
 The moment of F about O-O is a vector pointing in the direction of the thumb,
with fingers curled in the direction of the rotational tendency.
Meriam, J. L., & Kraige, L. G. (2012). Engineering mechanics: dynamics (Vol. 2). John Wiley & Sons.
END
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