UNIT I Basic Concepts of Engineering Mechanics

Lecture 1: Fundamental Principles, Resolution and Composition of forces and equilibrium of

particles and Principle of transmissibility
Instructional Objectives:
After completing the course, you should be able to analyze forces and find out the resultant
forces in two and three dimensions.
Mechanics: Oldest of the Physical Sciences
Archimedes (287-212 BC): Principles of Lever and Buoyancy!
1.1 Definitions:
Science is the knowledge that comes from observing facts about the universe carefully,
carrying out experiments and making statements that are always true in particular
conditions.
The word science comes from the Latin "scientia," meaning knowledge. Science refers to a
system of acquiring knowledge. This system uses observation and experimentation to
describe and explain natural phenomena.
Engineering is the application of mathematics and science to the design and manufacture
of items that benefit humanity.
Engineering design may be defined as a process of devising a system, component or
process to meet desired needs.
Mechanics is a branch of the physical sciences that is concerned with the state of rest or
motion of bodies subjected to the action of force.
Engineering mechanics is the branch of engineering that applies principles of mechanics
to design.
Engineering is the process of putting things together to get a desired outcome, technology is
engineering that has been proven to work over and over again. Technology is always
improving due to the advances in Engineering.
Engineering is creation of a new facility, machinery or establishment to produce goods,
materials and life needs. Hence it is detailing and creating hence should include design,

procurement, construction and start-up. Technology is proprietary knowledge (know-how)

once given the establishment/facility can be created with the help of engineering

Mechanics
Mechanics of
Fluids

Mechanics of
Solids

Mechanics of Deformable
Bodies

Mechanics of Rigid
Bodies
Statics

Dynamics

Kinematics

Kinetics

1.2 Rigid-body Mechanics:

A basic requirement for the study of the mechanics of deformable bodies and the
mechanics of fluids

Essential for the design and analysis of many types of structural members, mechanical
components, electrical devices, etc, encountered in engineering.
A rigid body does not deform under load.
Statics: deals with equilibrium of bodies under action of forces (bodies may be either
at rest or move with a constant velocity).
Dynamics: deals with motion of bodies (accelerated motion)

1.3 Fundamental Concepts :

Length (Space): needed to locate position of a point in space, & describe size of the
physical system distances, geometric properties
Time : measure of succession of events

basic quantity in Dynamics

Mass: quantity of matter in a body measure of inertia of a body (its resistance to

change in velocity)
Force: represents the action of one body on another characterized by its magnitude,
direction of its action, and its point of application Force is a vector quantity

1.4. Newtonian Mechanics:

Length, Time and Mass are absolute concepts independent of each other.
Force is a derived concept not independent of the other fundamental concepts. Force
acting on a body is related to the mass of the body and the variation of its velocity
with time.
Force can also occur between bodies that are physically separated (Ex: gravitational,
electrical, and magnetic forces).
Important Points:

Mass is a property of matter that does not change from one location to another.

Weight refers to the gravitational attraction of the earth on a body or quantity of mass.
Its magnitude depends upon the elevation at which the mass is located.

Weight of a body is the gravitational force acting on it.

1.5 Idealizations :
Idealizations are needed to simplify application of the theory
Continuum: Continuous distribution of mass or matter with no void or empty spaces.
Particle : A body with mass but with dimensions that can be neglected.

Size of earth is insignificant compared to the size of its

orbit. Earth can be modeled as a particle when studying its
orbital motion
Rigid Body: A combination of large number of particles in which all particles
remain at a fixed distance (practically) from one another before and after applying a
load.
Material properties of a rigid body are not required to be considered when
analyzing the forces acting on the body. In most cases, actual deformations
occurring in

structures, machines, mechanisms, etc. are relatively small, and

rigid body assumption is suitable for analysis.

Concentrated Force : Effect of a loading which is assumed to act at a point (CG) on a
body.

 Provided the area over which the load is applied is very small compared to
the overall size of the body.
Example: Contact Force between a wheel and ground.

1.6 Newtons Three Laws of Motion:

Basis of formulation of rigid body mechanics.
First Law: A particle originally at rest, or moving in a straight line with constant
velocity, tends to remain in this state provided the particle is not subjected to an
unbalanced force.
First

law

contains

the

principle

of

the

equilibrium of forces main topic of concern in

Statics.

Second Law: A particle of mass acted upon by an unbalanced force experiences

acceleration that has the same direction as the force and a magnitude that is directly
proportional to the force.

Accelerated Motion.

Second Law forms the basis for most of the analysis in Dynamics.
Third Law: The mutual forces of action and reaction between two particles are equal,
opposite, and collinear.

Action-Reaction
Third law is basic to our unde rstanding of Force Forces always occur
in pairs of equal and opposite forces.

1.7 Newtons Law of Gravitational Attraction:

Weight of a body (gravitational force acting on a body) is required to be computed in Statics
as well as Dynamics. This law governs the gravitational attraction between any two particles.

F = mutual force of attraction between two particles

G = universal constant of gravitation
Experiments G = 6.673x10-11 m3 / (kg.s2 )
Rotation of Earth is not taken into account
1, 2 = masses of two particles,
=
Weight of a body (gravitational force acting on a body) is required to be computed in Statics
as well as Dynamics.

Weight of a Body: If a particle is located at or near the

surface of the earth, the only significant gravitational force
is that between the earth and the particle.
=

=

whe re r = distance between the earths center and the particle

and

= = acceleration due to gravity (9.81m/s 2 )

= . , = , .

1.8 Units:
Unit is defined as the numerical standard used to measure the qualitative dimension of a
physical quantity. When mass or force, length and time are accepted as basic quantities, then
all other quantities are secondary or derived quantities in terms of these basic quantities.
Four Fundame ntal Quantities
Quantity

Dimensional

SI Unit

Symbol
Unit

Symbol

Mass

Kilogram

kg

Length

Meter

Time

Second

Force

Newton

N = kg m/ s 2

N = kg m/s 2

1 Newton is the force required to give a mass of 1 kg an acceleration of 1 m/s 2

Metric System (SI)

SI System offers major advantages relative to the FPS system
Widely used throughout the world
Use one basic unit for length meter; while FPS uses many basic
units inch, foot, yard, mile
SI based on multiples of 10, which makes it easier to use & learn
whereas FPS is complicated, for example.
SI system 1 meter = 100 centimeters, 1 kilometer = 1000
meters, etc
FPS system 1 foot = 12 inches, 1 yard = 3 feet, 1 mile =
5280 feet, etc.

U.S. Customary System (FPS)

Force (lb) = mass (slugs) acceleration (ft/sec2 )
Thus (slugs) = lb.sec2 /ft
Therefore 1 slug is the mass which is given an acceleration of 1 ft/sec 2 when
acted upon by a force of 1 lb
Conversion of Units
Converting from one system of unit to another;

The standard value of g (gravitational acceleration)

SI units,

= . /

FPS units,

= . /

Units Prefixes
Multiple/Submultiple

Exponential

Prefix

SI

Form
109

giga

Symbol
G

1 000 000

106

mega

1 000

103

kilo

0.001

10-3

milli

0.000 001

10-6

micro

0.000 000 001

10-9

nano

1 000 000 000

1.9 Scalars and Vectors:

Scalars: only magnitude is associated.
Ex: time, volume, density, speed, energy, mass

Vectors : possess direction as well as magnitude, and must obey the parallelogram law of
addition (and the triangle law).
Equivalent Vector: = + (Vector Sum)
Ex: displacement, velocity, acceleration, force, moment, momentum

A Vector V can be written as: = Vn

V = magnitude of V
n = unit vector whose magnitude is one and whose direction coincides with that of V
Unit vector can be formed by dividing any vector, such as the geometric position vector, by
its length or magnitude
Vectors represented by Bold and Non-Italic letters, V (or rightwards arrows above, V)
Magnitude of vectors represented by Non-Bold, Italic letters (V)

Free Vector: whose action is not confined to or associated with a unique

line in space e.g. Movement of a body without rotation.

Sliding Vector: has a unique line of action in space but

not a unique point of application e.g. External force on a
rigid body
Principle of Trans missibility states that the
conditions of equilibrium or conditions of motion
of a rigid body will remain unchanged if a force

acting at a give point of the rigid body is replaced by a force of the same magnitude
and same direction, but acting at a different point, provided that the two forces have
the same line of action.
Important in Rigid Body Mechanics
Fixed Vector: for which a unique point of application is
specified. e.g.: Action of a force on deformable body.

Vector Addition: Procedure for Analysis

Parallelogram Law (Graphical):

Resultant Force (diagonal)
Components (sides of parallelogram)
Algebraic Solution:
Using the coordinate system
Trigonometry (Geometry):
Resultant Force and Components from Law of Cosines and Law of Sines
Law of Sines: Consider the triangle ABC inscribed in a circle with centre O and radius .

From basic geometry, we know that

A = CAB = DOB.
From the right triangle DOB, we deduce

sin A =

By repeating the same argument for angles B and C, we

obtain the Law of Sines.

=
=

Law of Cosines: Consider the following triangle ABC.

From the right triangle ADC, we deduce
2 + 2 = 2
and

(i)
(ii)

From the right triangle BDC, we deduce

( )2 + 2 = 2 2 = 2 2 + 2 + 2
Substituting (i) and (ii) in (iii), we get

(iii)

= +

1.10 Force Systems:

Force: Magnitude (P), direction (arrow) and point of application (point A) is important
Change in any of the three specifications will alter the effect on the bracket.

Force is a Fixed Vector

In case of rigid bodies, line of action of force is important (not its point of application if we
are interested in only the resultant external effects of the force),
we will treat most forces asExternal effect: Forces applied (applied force); Forces exerted
by bracket, bolts, Foundation (reactive force).
Inte rnal effect: Deformation, strain pattern permanent strain;
depends on material properties of bracket, bolts, etc.

Concurrent force:
Forces are said to be concurrent at a point if their lines of action intersect at that point.
, are concurrent forces; R will be on same plane; = +

(Apply Principle of Transmissibility)

Components and Projections of Force
Components of a Force are not necessarily equal to the Projections of the Force unless
the axes on which the forces are projected are orthogonal (perpendicular to each
other).

1 and 2 are the components of R and = +

and are perpendicular projections on axes

and , respectively.
+ unless and are perpendicular to
each other.

Problem 1.1
The two forces act on a bolt at A. Determine
their resultant.
SOLUTION:

Graphical solution - construct a parallelogram with sides in the same direction as P

and Q and lengths in proportion.

Graphically evaluate the resultant which is

equivalent in direction and proportional in magnitude to the diagonal.

Graphical solution -1: A parallelogram with sides equal
to P and Q is drawn to scale. The magnitude and
direction of the resultant or of the diagonal to the
parallelogram are measured.

Graphical solution-2: A triangle is drawn with P and Q

head-to-tail and to scale. The magnitude and direction of
the resultant or of the third side of the triangle are measured

R 98 N 35

Trigonometric solution - use the triangle rule for vector addition in conjunction with
the law of cosines and law of sines to find the resultant.
Trigonometric solution - Apply the triangle rule.
From the Law of Cosines,

R 2 P 2 Q 2 2 PQ cos B
40 N 60 N 240 N 60 N cos 155
2

R 97.73N

From the Law of Sines,

sin A sin B

Q
R
Q
60 N
sin 155
R
97.73N
A 15.04

sin A sin B

20 A

= .

Problem 1.2
A barge is pulled by two tugboats. If
the resultant of the forces exerted by
the tugboats is 5000 lbf directed along
the axis of the barge, determine
a) the tension in each of the ropes
for = 45o ,
b) the value of for which the tension in rope 2 is a minimum.
SOLUTION:

Find a graphical solution by applying the Parallelogram Rule for vector addition. The
parallelogram has sides in the directions of the two ropes and a diagonal in the
direction of the barge axis and length proportional to 5000 lbf.

Find a trigonometric solution by applying the Triangle Rule for vector addition. With
the magnitude and direction of the resultant known and the directions of the other two
sides parallel to the ropes given; apply the Law of Sines to find the rope tensions.

The angle for minimum tension in rope 2 is determined by applying the Triangle Rule
and observing the effect of variations in
Graphical solution - Parallelogram Rule with known
resultant direction and magnitude, known directions
for sides.

T1 3700 lbf T2 2600 lbf

Trigonometric solution - Triangle Rule with Law of Sines

T1
T2
5000 lbf

sin 45 sin 30 sin 105

T1 3660 lbf T2 2590 lbf

The angle for minimum tension in rope 2 is

determined by applying the Triangle Rule and
observing the effect of variations in .
The minimum tension in rope 2 occurs when T1 and
T2 are perpendicular.

2 = 5000 sin 30

2 = 2500

1 = 5000 cos 30

2 = 4330

= 90 30

= 60

1.11 Rectangular Components of a Force: Unit Vectors:

May resolve a force vector into perpendicular components so that
the resulting parallelogram is a rectangle. and are referred to as
rectangular vector components and
= +

Define perpendicular unit vectors and which are parallel to the

x and y axes
Vector components may be expressed as products of the unit
vectors with the scalar magnitudes of the vector components.
= +
and are referred to as the scalar components of

1.12 Addition of Forces by Summing Components

Want to find the resultant of 3 or more concurrent forces.

R PQ S
Resolve each force into rectangular components
+ = + + + + +
= ( + + ) + ( + + )

The scalar components of the resultant are equal to

the sum of the corresponding scalar components of the
given forces.

Rx Px Qx S x
Fx

Ry Py Qy S y
Fy

To find the resultant magnitude and direction

R Rx2 Ry2

tan 1

Ry
Rx

Problem 1.3

Four forces act on bolt A as shown.

Determine the resultant of the force on
the bolt.

Solution:
Steps:

Resolve each force into rectangular components.

Determine the components of the resultant by adding the corresponding force components.
Calculate the magnitude and direction of the resultant.

1. Resolve each force into rectangular components

force mag

F1 150

F2
80

F3 110

F4 100

x comp
129.9
27.4
0
96.6

y comp
75.0
75.2
110.0
25.9

Rx 199.1 Ry 14.3
2. Determine the components of the resultant by adding the corresponding force components.
3. Calculate the magnitude and direction

R 199.12 14.32 = 199.6

tan

14.3 N
199.1 N

= 199.6

4.1

1.13 Equilibrium of a Particle

When the resultant of all forces acting on a particle is zero, the particle is in
equilibrium.

Newtons First Law: If the resultant force on a particle is zero, the particle will
remain at rest or will continue at constant speed in a straight line.

Particle acted upon by two forces:

- equal magnitude
- same line of action
- opposite sense

Particle acted upon by three or more forces:

-

graphical solution yields a closed

polygon

algebraic solution

R F 0

1.14 Rectangular Components in Space:

With the angles between and the axes,

Fx F cos x Fy F cos y Fz F cos z

F Fx i Fy j Fz k

F cos x i cos y j cos z k

cos x i cos y j cos z k

is a unit vector along the line of action of F

and cos x , cos y , and cos z are the direction cosines for F .

Direction of the force is defined by

the location of two points,

M x1 , y1 , z1 and N x2 , y2 , z2

d vector joining M and N

d xi d y j d z k
d x x2 x1 d y y2 y1 d z z 2 z1

F F

d xi d y j d z k
d
Fd y
Fd x
Fd z
Fx
Fy
Fz
d
d
d

Problem 1.4

The tension in the guy wire is 2500 N.

Determine:
a) Components Fx, Fy, Fz of the force acting
on the bolt at A,
b) the angles qx, qy, qz defining the direction
of the force

SOLUTION:

Based on the relative locations of the points A and B, determine the unit vector
pointing from A towards B.
Apply the unit vector to determine the components of the force acting on A.
Noting that the components of the unit vector are the direction cosines for the vector,
calculate the corresponding angles.

Step 1: Determine the unit vector pointing from A

towards B.

AB 40 m i 80 m j 30 m k
AB

40 m 2 80 m 2 30 m 2

94.3 m

40 80 30
i
j
k
94.3 94.3 94.3

0.424 i 0.848 j 0.318k

Step 2: Determine the components of the force.

F F

2500 N 0.424 i 0.848 j 0.318k

1060 N i 2120 N j 795 N k

Step 3: Noting that the components of the unit vector are the direction cosines for the
vector, calculate the corresponding angles.

cos x i cos y j cos z k

0.424 i 0.848 j 0.318k

x 115.1
y 32.0
z 71.5