ENGINEERING
MECHANICS
Volume1
Statics
By
J. L. Meriam & L. G. Kraige
Seventh Edition
Mechanics
• Mechanics is the physical science which deals with the effects of
forces on objects.
• The principles of mechanics are central to research and development in the fields of
1. Vibrations
2. Stability and strength of structures and machines
3. Robotics
4. Rocket and spacecraft design
5. Automatic control
6. Engine performance
7. Fluid flow
8. Electrical machines
9. Molecular, atomic, and subatomic behavior
• The subject of mechanics is logically divided into two parts:
1. Statics:
Concerns the equilibrium of bodies under action of forces
2. Dynamics:
Concerns the motion of bodies
• Engineering Mechanics is divided into these two parts, Vol. 1 Statics
and Vol. 2 Dynamics
Basic Concepts
Space:
• Space is the geometric region occupied by bodies whose positions
are described by linear and angular measurements relative to a
coordinate system
• For three-dimensional problems, three independent coordinates are
needed. For two-dimensional problems, only two coordinates
are required
Time:
• Time is the measure of the succession of events and is a basic
quantity in dynamics. Time is not directly involved in the analysis of
statics problems
Mass:
• Mass is a measure of the inertia of a body, which is its resistance to
a change of velocity
• Mass can also be thought of as the quantity of matter in a body
• The mass of a body affects the gravitational attraction force between
it and other bodies
Force:
• Force is the action of one body on another
• A force tends to move a body in the direction of its action. The action
of a force is characterized by its magnitude, by the direction of its
action, and by its point of application
• Force is a vector quantity
Particle:
• A particle is a body of negligible dimensions
• In the mathematical sense, a particle is a body whose dimensions are
considered to be near zero so that we may analyze it as a mass
concentrated at a point
• We often choose a particle as a differential element of a body
Rigid body:
• A body is considered rigid when the change in distance between any
two of its points is negligible
• Statics deals primarily with the calculation of external forces which
act on rigid bodies in equilibrium
• Determination of the internal deformations belongs to the study of
the mechanics of deformable bodies
Scalars and Vectors
• Two kinds of quantities in mechanics—scalars and vectors
Scalar quantities are those with which only a magnitude is associated.
Examples of scalar quantities are time, volume, density, speed, energy
and mass
Vector quantities are those which possess direction as well
as magnitude, and must obey the parallelogram law of addition.
Examples of vector quantities are displacement, velocity, acceleration,
force, moment, and momentum.
• Vector can be further classified as
free vector:
• if a body moves without rotation, then the movement or displacement of any
point in the body may be taken as a vector.
• We may represent the displacement of such a body by a free vector.
sliding vector:
• When an external force acts on a rigid body, the force can be applied at any
point along its line of action without changing its effect on the body as a
whole,* and thus it is a sliding vector
fixed vector:
• The action of a force on a deformable or non-rigid body must be
specified by a fixed vector at the point of application of the force.
• The forces and deformations within the body depend on the magnitude and
line of action of force.
Conventions for Equations and Diagrams
• A vector quantity V is represented by a line segment having an
arrowhead
Mathematical representation:
underline, V, or an arrow over the symbol,
• The direction of the vector ‘V’ may be measured by an angle ‘ϑ’ from
some known reference direction.
• Vectors must obey the parallelogram law of combination.
• Two vectors ‘V1’ and ‘V2’, treated as free vectors
• Vector sum
Rectangular components.
When expressed in rectangular components, the direction of the vector
with respect to the x-axis is clearly specified by the angle ϑ,
where
• Unit Vector
The vector n is called a unit vector. Thus,
The vector V is the vector sum of the
Components in the x-, y-, and z-directions,
we can express V as follows:
the direction cosines l, m, and n of V, which
are defined by
from the Pythagorean theorem
Newton’s Laws
