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DK1317 Appb

The document discusses different units of measurement used in mechanics including the SI, CGS, and FPS systems. It provides conversion factors between units of length, mass, force, pressure, work, energy, and torque in tables for the different systems.

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56 views3 pages

DK1317 Appb

The document discusses different units of measurement used in mechanics including the SI, CGS, and FPS systems. It provides conversion factors between units of length, mass, force, pressure, work, energy, and torque in tables for the different systems.

Uploaded by

asrikalyan
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
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APPENDIX B

Units of Measurements in
Mechanics

It is evident from the preceding discussions that once units of measurements are
assigned to the three basic concepts of mechanics (length, mass, and time), the
units of all derived concepts such as force, energy, and stress or pressure are
defined. Three systems of units are distinguished: (i) the SI (System Inter-
national) where the units of measuring length, mass, and time are the meter, kilo-
gram, and second, respectively; (ii) the centimeter-gram-second system (CGS);
and (iii) the foot-pound-second (FPS) system. Tables B.1 and B.2 summarize
the conversion factors for length and mass among the three systems, respectively.
It follows from Secs. 3.2 and 3.3 that force F ¼ (mass  length)/(time)2.
In the SI system, F ¼ (kg  m)/s2, which is called the Newton (N), i.e., if a
force of 1 N acts on a body whose mass is 1 kg, the body is accelerated by
1 m/s2. Similarly, in the CGS system, F ¼ (1 g  1 cm)/s2 ¼ 1 dyne, which is

TABLE B.1 Conversion Factors of Length

m cm in ft

1m 1 100 39.3701 3.28084


1 cm 0.01 1 0.393701 0.0328084
1 in 0.0254 2.54 1 0.0833333
1 ft 0.3048 30.48 12 1
1 cm ¼ 10 mm

587
Copyright © 2004 by Marcel Dekker, Inc.
588 Appendix B

TABLE B.2 Conversion Factors of Mass

kg g lb

1 kg 1 1000 2.20462
1g 0.001 1 0.00220462
1 lb 0.453592 453.592 1

the force required to accelerate a 1 g body by 1 cm/s2. In the FPS, the unit of
force is the poundal. A 1 kg force and 1 lb force are also used as units of force
in the CGS and FPS systems, respectively. Table B.3 summarizes the conversion
factors of force.
Units of pressure and stress can be obtained by dividing the unit of force by
the unit of area; i.e., the units of pressure and stress in the SI, CGS, and FPS sys-
tems are N/m2, dyne/cm2, and lb/in2, respectively. Table B.4 summarizes the
conversion factors of pressure and stress.
Both work and energy have the units of force multiplied by length. In the SI
system the unit of work and energy ¼ 1 N  1 m ¼ 1 J. One erg is the unit of
work and energy in the CGS system, where 1 erg ¼ 1 dyne  1 cm. In the FPS
system, the unit of work and energy is the 1 lb ft. It is recalled from Eq. (3.9)
that the unit of torque or moment of a force is the same as that of work and
energy. Table B.5 summarizes the conversion factors of work, energy, and
torque.
It is evident from the definition of strain [Eq. (3.17)] that it has no units, i.e.
dimensionless, because it is defined as length/length. Also, Poisson’s ratio [Eq.
(3.18)] is dimensionless. Since the elastic moduli [Eqs. (3.32), (3.33), and (3.34)]
are defined as stress divided by strain, they have the same units as stress.

TABLE B.3 Conversion Factors of Force

N kg dyne poundal lb

1N 1 0.101972 105 7.23300 0.224809


1 kg force 9.80665 1 9.80665 70.9316 2.20462
 105
1 dyne 1025 1.01972 1 7.233 2.24809
 1024  1025  1026
1 poundal 0.138255 1.40981 1.38255 0.031081
 1022  104
1 lb force 4.44822 0.453592 4.44823 32.174 1
 105

Copyright © 2004 by Marcel Dekker, Inc.


Units of Measurements in Mechanics 589

TABLE B.4 Conversion Factors of Pressure and Stress

N/m2 kg/cm2 lb/in2 (psi) atmos.

1 N/m2 1 1.01972  1025 1.45038  1024 9.86923  1026


1 kg/cm2 980.665  102 1 14.2234 0.967841
1 lb/in2 6.89476  102 0.0703068 1 0.068046
1 atm. 1.01325  105 1.03323 14.6959 1
1 N/m2 ¼ 10 dyne/cm2 1 torr ¼ 133.322 N/m2 ¼ 1/760 atm.
1 N/m2 ¼ 1 Pa 1 psi ¼ 0.704 g/mm2
106 Pa ¼ 1 MPa 1 ksi ¼ 103 psi ¼ 6.985 MPa

TABLE B.5 Conversion Factors of Work, Energy, and Torque

J erg ft lb

1J 1 107 0.7375
1 erg 1027 1
1 ft lb 1.3559 0.7375  1027 1
1 cal ¼ 4.1868 J

Copyright © 2004 by Marcel Dekker, Inc.

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