1.
General principles
1.1Mechanics: Is the branch of the physical sciences concerned with the state of rest or
motion of bodies subjected to forces or thermal disturbances.
Mechanics: state of rest or motion of bodies that are subjected to forces.
A good understanding of topic is needed for:
Structural engineering
Machine design
Fluid flow
Electrical devices
Molecular and atomic behavior
There are three branches of mechanics:
1. Rigid body mechanics –the subject matter of this course
2. Deformable body mechanics
3. Fluid mechanics
Rigid body mechanics:
Static’s: Te study of body at rest or moving with a constant velocity (the subject
matter of this course)
Dynamics: The study of accelerated motion of bodies (CE250)
1.2 Fundamental concepts
Basic Quantities: (These are used in mechanics problems)
Length: used to define the position and size of a physical system
Time: Static’s is time independent. Times plays an important role in the study of
dynamics
Mass: a measure of the effect of gravitational attraction between two bodies.
Force: a measure of the effect of a ‘push’ or a ‘pull’ excreted by one body on the
another
Idealizations: used to simplify the applications of theoretical concepts in mechanics
Particle: an object that has mass but a negligible size (earth compared to its
orbit)
Rigid body: the combination of a large number of particles when they remain
at a fixed distance from each other before and after a force is applied.
Concentrated force: a measure or the effect of a “ push or a pull” exerted by
one body on another.
W1 W2
W1 W2
Bridge
Newton’s three laws of motion:
Table1-1 SOLAR SYSTEM MASES AND DISTANCES
Mass:
Of the earth =4.095(1023)slug =5.976(1024)kg
Of the moon =5.037(1021)slug =7.350(1022)kg
Of the sun =1.364(1029)slug =1.990(1030)kg
Mean of the average radius:
Of the earth =2.090(107) ft =6.371(106)m
Of the moon =5.702(106) ft =1.738(106)m
Of the sun =2.284(109) ft =6.960(108)m
Mean of the average distance from the earth
To the moon =1.261(109)ft =3.844(108)m
To the sun =4.908(107)ft =1.496(1011)m
Radius of sphere of equal volume
Polar radius =2.0856(107) =6.357(106)m
=2.0925(10 )ft =6.378(106)m
7
1.3.2 Mass and weight
The mass m of a body is an absolute quantity that is independent of the position of the
body and independent of the surroundings in which the body is placed . The weight W of
the body is the gravitational attraction excreted on the body by the earth or by any other
massive body such as the moon. Therefore the weight of the body depends on the
position of the body relative to some other body. Thus for Eq.1-2 at the surface of earth:
Weight obtained from Newton’s law of gravitational attraction
mm
W g e2 mg
re
W mg ( force )
Where
me is the mass of the earth
re is the mean radius of the
me
g G is the gravitational acceleration .
re2
m
g 9.81 2
s
ft
g 32.2 2
s
G=universal constant for gravitation from experiments
m3
G 66.73 10 12
kgs 2
Newton’s three laws of motion
First law: A particle originally at rest, or moving in a straight line with constant velocity
will remain in the state provided the particle is not subjected to an unbalanced force.
Second law: A particle acted upon by an unbalanced force F experiences an acceleration
a that has the same direction as the force and a magnitude that is directly proportional to
the force. If F is applied to a particle of mass m, this law may be expressed
mathematically as:
Basis of dynamics
F ma
m
F1 F2
F2 F 1
F F2 F 1
F ma
Newton’s second law of motion forms the basis of dynamics
Third law : For every action of a particle on another ,there is a reaction equal in
magnitude and opposite in sense acting along the same line of the action .
Action – reaction
F F
1.3 Units of measurements
Note that Newton’s second law of motion relates all the four basic quantities of length,
time, mass, and force F ma . Therefore, their units are also related. In fact, by selecting
three of the units arbitrarily, the fourth can be derived.
System of units:
Unit system Length Time Mass Force
SI Meter Second Kilogram Newton (N)
(m) (s) (Kg) kg * m
International system of units 2
s
(Derived unit)
FPS Foot Second Slug Pound
US units (ft) (s) lb * s 2 (lb)
ft
(Derived unit)
1.4 The international system of units
Base units: m,s,kg
Prefixes : G(gega)_ 109 1km=1000m
M(mega) 106
k(kilo) 103 1m=1000mm
1mm=1*10-3
m(milli) 10-3
(micro) 10-6
n(nano) 10-9
Please read the corresponding sections in your textbook. Make sure you understand all
the rules of use.
1.6General procedures for analysis in static’s
Read the problem very carefully
Draw the necessary diagrams
Apply relevant principles
Solve necessary equations .Pay special attention to the units being used.
Verify the obtained answer.
Example1-1
Convert 2 km/h to m/s. How many ft/s is this?
Solution:
Since 1 km =1000m and 1 h =3600s, the factors of conversion are arranged in the
following order, so that a cancellation of units can be applied
2km 1000m 1h
2km / h
h km 3600 s
2000m
0.566m / s
3600s
From table 1-2 ft=. 30048 m thus
0.556m 1 ft
.556m / s *
s 0.3048m
1.82 ft / s
Example1-2:
Convert he quantities 300 lb-s and 52slug/ft3 to appropriate SI units
Solution
Using tables 1-2, 1 lb =4.4482 N
4.4482 N
300lb.s 300lb.s
lb
1334.5n.s 1.33kN.s
also,1slug 14.593kg
and1 ft 0.3048m
25slug 14.5938kg 1 ft
3
52 slug / ft
3
ft 3 1slug 0.348m
26.8(10 3 )kg / m 3
26.8Mg / m 3
2. Force vectors
Chapter objectives:
Introduction to force and position vectors
Procedures for adding forces
Resolving forces into components
Projecting forces along the axis
2.1 Scalars and vectors
Physical quantities are expressed by means of scalars and vectors.
Scalar: A quantity characterized by a positive or a negative number. Examples: mass,
volume, length, etc
Vector: a quantity that has:
A magnitude
A direction, and
A directional sense
Examples: position, force, and moment vectors.
Geometrically, a vector is represented by an arrow in the following manner:
The length of the arrow represents the magnitude of the vector
The angle , between a reference axis and the line of the arrow represents the
direction and
The arrow head represents the sense
Line of action
Head
Tail Reference axis
The vector is denoted as A or A
Magnitude of A is given by A or A
2.2 Vector operations
Multiplication and division by a scalar:
In a A , only magnitude and sense are affected:
If a is positive then the same sense is kept
If a is negatives then the opposite sense is obtained.
If B aA , then B a A or (B=aA); also
1 1
If B A , then B A provided a 0
a a
Vector addition:
B
Say the vector R A B is required A
If A and B are collinear, then scalar addition is used and R=A+B
If A and B are not collinear, then use the parallelogram law R=A+B=
A
B
R=A+B
A+B B
A B
R=A-B
R=A+B
B
A
A-B
Vector subtractions:
R A B is rewritten as R A ( B) and then the rules of vector addition are applied .
Resolution of a vector:
To resolve R along a and b, take the reverse action used in the parallelogram law
a R
2.3 Vector Addition of forces
When multiply forces we need to be added, use two forces at a time and then add third to
their resultant or use the “Rectangular components method”, discussed in section 2.4.
Procedure for analysis:
Make a sketch using the parallelogram law
Determine all the interior angles
Label all unknowns angles and forces
Redraw sketch, if necessary, to show head to tail addition of components
Use the sine and cosine laws to determine unknowns if other than 900angles are
present
A
Sine law c B
b a
C
A B C
sin a sin b sin c
cos ine, law
c A B
2 2
2 AB cos c
B A C 2 2
2 AC cos b
A B C 2 2
2 BC cos a
Mathematics window 2.2
Some common formulae from trigonometry used frequently in mechanics
For right triangles
r x 2
y 2 Pythagoras theorem
r
y
0
90
x
y y
sin , sin 1
r r
x x
cos , cos 1
r r
y y
tan , tan 1
x x
x y x
sin , cos , tan
r r y
y r sin r cos , x r cos r sin
y
Y
4
3 4,3
2 P
1 y
x
1 2 3 4 5 X
Fig: 2.15 The units of a vector magnitude must be consistent with the scale of the
coordinate axis .If the axis indicate meters, the magnitude of the vector P is measured in
meters.
Y
A
100N
AY
Y
x AX
AY=100sin30=50.0N
Ax=100cos30=86.66N
Fig: 2.16
Example Problem 2-1
Two forces are applied at a point in a body as shown in fig 2-12a. Determine the
magnitude of the resultant R of the two forces and the angle between the x-axis and the
line of action of the resultant.
Y
F2=800lb
560
X
F1=500lb
(a)
Y
F2=800lb 360 0 2 * 56 0
180 0 56 0 124 0
2
R
560
560
X
(b) F1=500lb
F=500lb
560
F2=800lb
560
Fig:2-12
Solution:
The resultant R of the two forces is determined by adding the force vectorially using the
parallelogram law as illustrated in fig 2-12b. The magnitude R of the resultant is obtained
by using the alternate form of the law of cosines as expressed by equation 2-1 Thus
R F
1
2
F22 2 * F1 * F2 * cos c
500 2
800 2 2 * 500 * 800 * cos 56 0
R 665.32lb 665lb
Since the line of action of force F1coincides with the X-axis , the line of action of the
resultant R with respect to the X- axis is given by Eq.2-2 as
F sin
sin 1 2
R
800 sin(180 0 56 0 )
sin 1 85.46 0 85.5 0
665.32
A parallelogram law of forces is constructed by drawing lines parallel to the two
unknown forces as shown in fig:2-12b
C A 2
B 2 2 AB cos c
R F
1
2
F22 2 F1 F2 cos c
C B
sin c sin b
665 500
sin 56 0
sin
500
sin sin 56 0.623
665
38.6
180 56 38.6 85.4
Example problem 2-2
Two forces are applied to an eye bracket as shown in fig 2-13a. Determine the magnitude
of the resultant R of the two forces and the angle between the x-axis and the line of
action of the resultant.
R
Y
Y 600N
F2=600N
140
40 900N
350
X 350 (b) X
(a)
F1=900N
-F1
R
1400
F2
750
Solution:
The resultant R of the two forces is determined by adding the force vectorially using the
parallelogram law as illustrated in fig 2-13b. The magnitude R of the resultant is obtained
by using the alternate form of the law of cosines as expressed by equation 2-1 Thus
R F1
2
F22 2 * F1 * F2 * cos 140
900 2
600 2 2 * 900 * 600 * cos 140 0
R 1413.3N 1413N
the line of action of resultant R with respect to the 900 N force is given by Eq.2-2 as
F2 sin 600 sin 40 0
sin 1 sin 1 15.84 0
R 1413.3
Thus as shown in fig 2-13b,
350 15.84 0 350 50.84 0 50.80
1413 900
sin 140 sin
900
sin 1 sin 140
1413
24.2
75 24.2 50.8
Example2-3
Determine the magnitude of the resultant R and the angles between the axis and the line
of action of the resultant for three forces shown in fig 2-19a
Y
F1=500lb
F2=600lb
F3=700lb
300 300 1000
400
200
X
(a)
R12 500 2
600 2 2 * 500 * 600 * cos 120 0
954lb
Y
Y
R12=953.9lb
R12
1200
F1=500lb
12 F2=600lb 670
F3=700lb
600 600 200
X
X (c)
(b)
Y
R12=953.9lb
2
F3=700lb
200
X
(d)
Fig2-19
Solution
First the resultant R12 of the forces F1and F2 is determined by adding the two forces
vectorially using the parallelogram law as illustrated in fig 2-19b. The magnitude R12
(obtained using EQ 2-1) is
600 954
sin 12 sin 120
12 330
The line of action of the resultant R12 with respect to the forces F2 (see Fig 2-19b)
is given by Eq 2-2 as
Next, the resultant R of forces R 12 and F3 (see fig 2-19c) determined by adding the two
forces vectorially using the parallelogram law as illustrated in fig 2-19b. The magnitude
R (obtained using EQ 2-1) is
R 2 R122 F32 2 R12 F3 cos 2
R 954 2
700 2 2(954)(700) cos 113)
R 1386.3lb 1386lb
The line of action of the resultant R with respect to the force F3(see fig 2-19d) is given by
Eq 2-2 as
R12 sin 2 953.9 sin 67.0 0
sin 1 sin 1 39.30 0
R 1386.3
700 1386
sin sin 113
27.7 0
67 20 27.7 59.3
Sample problem 2.3
An ocean liner is being towed by the two tugboats. If the total force applied to the ocean
liner is 30,000 lb in the direction N450E, and tug A is pulling in a northern direction
while tug B pulls N 200E, determine the forces applied by each of the tugboats.
Solution:
The forces applied by the two tugs must add to equal forces on the ocean liner:
B A F
30000
450
F A
1100
45
25
250
200
X B
200
(b)
We draw the vector diagram to represent this, as shown in the accompanying
diagram, now, by the law of sines
A B F
0
0
sin 25 sin 45 sin 110 0
F 30000lb
Therefore,
A=13,500lb and B =22,600lb
Note that, since this is not a right triangle, the Pythagorean theorem does not
apply
Sample Problem 2.4
A support frame consists of two members A and B arranged as illustrated in the diagram
at the right .The forces F applied to the bracket can be resolved in to the components A
and B along the members A and B , respectively .For the case where the angle is fixed
,design the frame by choosing the angle such that the magnitude of the force in each
member is the same when a force is applied at the end .
F
B
Solution:
Draw a vector diagram of the force and its components , as shown in the figure
At the right . The components can be dtermined by the use of the law of sines:
sin(180 ) sin(
F A B
sin( ) sin sin
The magnitude of A and B are to be equal, and the law of sines requires that A
sin
AB
sin 1800
F
Therefore the sins of must equal the sine of , and the two solutions are B
The first solution is correct, and the two angles are equal .The second solution yields a
configuration such that A and B are parallel, which is physically incorrect
Sample problem 2.5
A 500N is to be resolved in to components along lines a-a’ and b-b’ Determine the angle
and the component along b-b’ if it is known that the component along a-a’ is 320N
Solution:
Draw a force vector diagram of the force and the two components. The angle between Fa
And F b is (180-70) =1100 therefore, by the law of sine’s
(1)
500 F
b 500 sin Fb sin(110 0 )
sin(110 ) sin
0
(2)
500 320
500 sin(70 ) 320 sin(110 0 )
sin 110 sin(180 110 )
sin(70 )
320 b’
sin(70 ) sin 110 F1
500
sin(70 ) 0.601
500
70 sin 1 (0.601)
1100
70 37
330 a
700 a
from, , eq1
500 sin 500 sin 33 b
Fb
sin 110 sin 110
Fb 290 N
2.4 Addition of a System of coplanar forces
This section deals with the resolution of a force in to its rectangular components.
Or definition of force in terms of its rectangular components. This is done by using a
rectangular coordinate system, which makes it easy when resolving forces in to
components, or calculates the resultant of a set of forces.
Fx'
Fy'
Fy F
F;
Fx F ' Fx' Fy'
F Fx Fy
Two notations may be used for representing the diagonal sense of the rectangular
components:
1.Scalar notation:
Directional sense: in terms of algebraic scalar
Examples of positive scalars: Fx , Fy , and Fx'
Examples of negative scalars: Fy'
Important: signs are used only for computational purpose and not graphically.
3. Cartesian vector notation
In two-dimensional analysis, unit vectors i , and , j are used to designate the X and Y-
axes.
i a vector with a unit magnitude acting in X –direction
j a vector with a unit magnitude acting in y direction
y
F Fx'
j Fy'
i
-j
Fy
x F'
Fx i
F ' Fx' i Fy' ( j )
F Fx i Fy j
Fx' i Fy' j
F Fx
2
Fy2
Fy
tan 1
Fx
Coplanar forces resultants:
Definition: Forces, which lie in the same plane. Either scalar notation or Cartesian vector
notation may be used to determine the resultant of several coplanar forces.
Procedure for analysis:
Individual forces must be resolved in to their x and y components.
Respective components are added using scalar algebra (since they are
collinear)
Obtain the resultant force by adding the resultant of x and y components using
the parallelogram law.
Conceptual illustration of the procedure
F2
F1
F3
Find FR F1 F2 F3
Important note: use the correct sign convention:
Directional sense along positive coordinate axis scalar
Directional sense along the negative coordinate axis scalar
Also sketch the resultant and its components and find FR and the angle the resultant
makes with the x-axis.
F1 F1x i F1 y j
F2y F1y
F2 F2 x i F2 y j
F2x F1x F3 F3 x i F3 y j
F3x
F3x FR F1 F2 F3
F3y F1x i F1 y j F2 x i F2 y j F3 x i F3 y j
( F1x F2 x F3 x )i ( F1 y F2 y F3 y ) j
( FRx )i ( FRy ) j
FRy FR
FRx
FRx FRx F2 X F3 x
FRy F1 y F2Y F3 y
FR F2
Rx FRY2
Also the direction angle , which specifies the orientation of the force , is determined
from trigonometry:
FRy
tan 1
FRx
Example2.4.2
Determine the magnitude R of the resultant of the four forces shown in the figure and the
angle between the x-axis and the line of action of the resultant.
F2=60 lb
F3=75 lb
F1=80 lb
650
300 280 F4=90 lb
0
17
400
400
Solution
F1x 80 cos 140 0 61.28lb F1 y 80 sin 140 0 51.42lb
F2 x 60 cos 110 0 20.52lb F2 y 60 sin 110 0 56.38lb
F3 x 75 cos 45 0 53.03lb F3 y 75 sin 45 0 53.03lb
F4 x 90 cos 17 0 86.07lb F4 y 90 sin 17 0 26.31lb
Once the rectangular components of the forces are known, the components Rxand Ry of
the resultant are obtained from the expressions
R x Fx F1x F2 x F3 x F4 x
61.28 20.52 53.03 86.07 57.30lb
R y Fy F1 y F2 y F3 y F4 y
51.42 56.38 53.03 26.31 187.14lb
The magnitude R of the resultant is
y
R
R R 2
x R y2 x 730
57.03 2
187.14 2
195..7lb x
The angle x is obtained form the expression
Ry 187.14
x tan 1 tan 1 73.0 0 Figure 2-29
Rx 57.30
The resultant R of the four forces of fig 2-29a is shown in fig 2-29b
