ENGINEERING BIOMECHANICS: STATICS1

Lyann Cancel, Angel Colón, Gabriel Negrón and Nelson Rodriguez2

DIMENSIONS AND UNITS

1. A man has a weight of 188 lb and he runs 400 m in 3 4. A person on a diet might lose 2.3 kg per week. Express
minutes 23 seconds. Calculate his weight in kg and the mass loss rate in milligrams per second, as if the
his running time in seconds. dieter could sense the second by second loss, [Halliday
and Walker 2003, 1N].

STATICS OF PARTICLES

1. The system shown is called Russell’s traction. The

sum of the downward forces exerted at A and B by the
patient’s leg is 32.2 lb. What is the weight? [Bedford
and Fowler 1999, 207].

2. The weight of the person is 230 pounds. Convert his

weight to Newtons.

2. Draw a free body diagram of the human arm

[Inman and Soutas-Little 1998, 241].

3. If an Olympic athlete swims 100 m in 10 seconds.

What is his average velocity in mi/hr?

Numbers in parenthesis refer to the appended references.

1
This problem set was prepared on May 14, 2004 for the
course INGE3031: Statistics. Course Instructor: Dr.
Megh R. Goyal, Professor in Agricultural and
Biomedical Engineering, General Engineering
Department, PO Box 5984, Mayagüez, Puerto Rico
00681-5984. For details contact:
[email protected] or visit at:
http://www.ece.uprm.edu/~m_goyal/home.htm
2
The authors are in the alphabetical order.

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3. The y component of the force F which a person exerts 2. Elements of the lower arm are shown in the figure.
on the handle of the box wrench is known to be 70 lb. The weight of the forearm is 5 lb with mass center at
Determine de x component and the magnitude of F, G. Determine the combined moment about the elbow
[Meriam and Kraige, 33]. pivot O of the weights of the forearm and the sphere.
What must the biceps tension force be so that the
overall moment about O is zero? [Meriam and Kraige,
43].

4. A worker drags a crate across a factory floor by

pulling on a rope tied to a crate. The worker exerts a
force of 450 N on the rope, which is inclined at 38° to
the horizontal, and the floor exerts a horizontal force
of 125 N that opposes the motion. Calculate the
magnitude of the acceleration of the crate if (a) its
mass is 320 kg and (b) its weight is 310 N, [Halliday
and Walker 2003, 96].
3. A man is pulling a load of 8 lb with one arm held as
shown. Determine the force FH this exerts on the
humerus bone H, and the tension developed in the
biceps muscle B. Neglect the weight of the man’s
arm, [Hibbeler 1995, 207].

EQUIVALENT SYSTEM OF FORCES

1. Determine the moment exerted by the 30 lb weight (a)

about E, (b) about S, [Bedford and Fowler 1999, 134].

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4. Determine the joint reaction force during elbow 3. Consider a woman with mass 45 kg running. During a
extension, [Frankel and Nordin 1989, 251]. phase of contact with the ground her vertical (Y) and
horizontal (X) ground reaction forces (GRFs) vary as
shown. What is the change in velocity between the
start of the contact phase (t = 0) and the end of the
contact phase (t = 0.9)?

EQUILIBRIUM OF RIGID BODIES

4. Two children are standing on a diving board of mass
1. At full draw, an archer applies a pull of 150 N to the 65 kg. Knowing that the masses of the children at C
bowstring of the bow shown in the figure. Determine and D are 28 kg and 40 kg, respectively, determine (a)
the bending moment at the midpoint of the bow, [Gere, the reaction at A, (b) the reaction at B, [Beer and
2001, 303]. Johnston 2003, 172].

CENTROIDS AND CENTERS OF GRAVITY

1. A horizontal board has a pin support A and rests on a

scale that measures weight at B. The distance point
from A to B is 90 in. When the person is not on the
board, the scale measures 20 lb. When a 135-lb
person is in position (1), the scale measures 98 lb.
What is the x coordinate of the person’s center of
mass? [Bedford and Fowler 1999 ].
2. A carpenter carries a 12 lb, 2 x 4 inch board as shown.
What downward force does he feel on his shoulder at
A? [Meriam and Kraige, 124].

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2. Determine the center of mass of a body if its weight ANALYSIS OF STRUCTURES
W2 is 175 and the weight (W1) and location (X1) of
the balance board are 81 lb and 5 inches respectively. 1. Consider a woman extending her knee against
X3 = 3.4 ft, X2 = 0.8 ft and S = 194 lb (S is and resistance provided by a physiotherapist. The mass of
upward force acting at a distance X3 from the pivot), the leg (shank + foot) is 5 kg, located at the center of
[Hibbeler 1995, 469]. mass shown, which 12 mm anterior to the joint is. A
force of 250 N is applied perpendicular to the leg at a
distance of 150 mm from the joint, at an angle of 8° to
horizontal, as shown. The quadriceps muscle has a
moment arm = 25 mm (applied via the patella tendon
at 15° from vertical). What is the quadriceps muscle
force, and what is the knee joint (tibio-femoral) force
for equilibrium? [Lee 2003].

3. Determine the center of mass if the length of A is 12

cm and the length of B is 30 cm.

2. Figure (a) is a diagram of the bones and biceps muscle

of a person’s arm supporting a mass. Tension in the
biceps muscle holds the forearm in the horizontal
4. A person stands at the left edge of a uniform sled of position, as illustrated in the simple mechanical model
length L, which lies on frictionless ice. The sled and in fig (b). The weight of the forearm is 9 N, and the
person have equal masses. Where is the center of mass mass m = 2 kg. A) Determine the tension in the point
of the sled? [Modified from Halliday and Walker A [Bedford and Fowler 1999, 315].
2003, 187].

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3. Determine the force applied by the man
2. A steel tape used for measurement in surveying has a
length of 100.0 ft and a total weight of 2 lb. How
much horizontal tension must be applied to the tape so
that the distance marked on the ground is 99.90 ft. The
calculation should also include the effects of elastic
stretching and temperature changes on the tape’s
length, [Hibbeler 1998, 362].

4. A 49 kg rock climber is climbing a “chimney”

between two rock slabs. The static coefficient of
friction between her shoes and the rock is 1.2; between 3. The man using the exercise machine is holding the 80
her back and the rock it is 0.80. She has reduced her lb weight stationary in the position shown. What are
push against the rock until her back and her shoes are the reaction at the built-in support E and the pin
on the verge of slipping. What is her push against the support F? A and C are pinned connections, [Bedford
rock? [Halliday and Walker 2003, 112]. and Fowler 1999, 313].

FORCES IN BEAMS AND CABLE

4. An archer aiming at a target is pulling with a 210 N
1. The cable and pulleys are used to lift the 600-lb stone. force on the bowstring. Assuming that the shape of the
Determine the force that must be exerted on the cable bow can be approximated by a parabola, determine the
at A and the magnitude of the resultant force the internal forces at point J, [Beer and Johnston 2003,
pulley at C must exert on pin B when the cables are in 358].
position shown, [Hibbeler 1998].

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 DRY FRICTION 3. A loaded person sled weighing 80 N rest on an plane
inclined at 20o to the horizontal. Between the sled and
1. A man having a weight of 150 lb. pushes vertically on the plate, the coefficient of static friction is 0.15. (a)
the bottom of crate A, which is stacked on crate B. What is the minimum magnitude of the force F,
Each crate has a weight of 100 lb. If the coefficient parallel to the plane that will prevent the sled from
of static friction between each crate is µs = 0.8 slipping down the plane? (b) What is the minimum
between the bottom crate, his shoes, and the floor is magnitude F that will start the sled moving up the
µs = 0.3, determine if he can cause impending motion, plane? (c) What the value of F is required to move the
[Hibbeler 1998]. sled up the plane at constant velocity? [Halliday and
Walker 2003, 113].

2. The 180 lb tree surgeon lowers himself with the rope

over a horizontal limb of the tree. If the coefficient of 4. A woman pulls a loaded sled of mass m = 75 kg along
friction between the rope and the limb is 0.60, a horizontal surface at constant velocity. The
compute the force with man must exert on the rope to coefficient of kinetic friction µk between the runners
let himself down slowly without causing mayor and the snow is 0.10, and the angle φ is 42°. What is
damage to the limb? [Meriam and Kraige, 373]. the magnitude of the force T on the sled from the
rope? [Halliday and Walker 2003, 102].

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 3. To throw an 80 kg opponent with a basic judo hip
MOMENTS OF INERTIA throw, you intend to pull his uniform with a force F
and a moment arm d1 = 0.30 m from a pivot point
1. The foot segment is subjected to the pull of the (rotational axis) on your right hip. You wish to rotate
two plantar flexor muscles. Determine the him about the pivot point with an angular acceleration
moment of each force about the point of contact α of –6.0 rad/s2. Assume that his rotational inertia I
A on the ground, [Hibbeler 1998]. relative to the pivot point in 15 kg.m2. (a) What must
the magnitude of F be if, before you throw him, you
bend your opponent forward to bring his center of
mass to your hip? [Halliday and Walker 2003, 232].

4. The figure shows the massive shield door at the

neutron test facility at Lawrence Livermore
2. Determine the moment of inertia of a portion of a Laboratory; this is the world’s heaviest hinged door.
bone with length L and mass m with respect to an axis The door has a mass of 44,000 kg, a rotational inertia
which is perpendicular to the bone and passes through about a vertical axis through its huge hinges of 8.7 x
one end of the bone. 104 kg - m2, and a (front) face width of 2.4 m.
Neglecting friction, what steady force, applied at its
outer edge and perpendicular to the plane of the door,
can move it from rest through an angle of 90˚ in 30 s
[Halliday and Walker 2003, 243].

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 REFERENCES

1. Anthony, Bedford and Fowler Wallace. 1999.

Engineering Mechanics Statics. Addison-Wesley.
2. Meriam, J.L. & L.G Kraige. 2002. Engineering
Mechanics Statics. 5th Edition. John Wiley & Sons Inc.
3. Hibbeler. 1998. Engineering Mechanics Statics &
Dynamics. 8th Edition. Prentice-Hall.
4. Lee. 2003. Abstract of the proceeding of the First
Australasian Biomechanics.
<http://www.fhs.usyd.edu.au/ESS/lee/pt2/sample-
problems/index.html)
5. Frankel, Victor and Margareta Nordin. 1989. Basic
biomechanics of the Skeletal System. 2nd Edition.
6. Halliday, Resnick & Walker. 2003. Fundamentals of
Physics. 6th Edition. John Wiley & Sons.
7. Beer F. P. and E. R. Johnston. 2003. Vector Mechanics
for Engineers. 7th Edition. McGraw-Hill.

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