Engineering Mechanics

Equivalent force systems:

problems
A 36-N force is applied to a wrench to tighten a
showerhead. Knowing that the centerline of the wrench
is parallel to the x axis. Determine the moment of the
force about A.
The frame ACD is hinged at A and D and is
supported by a cable that passes through a ring at B
and is attached to hooks at G and H. Knowing that
the tension in the cable is 1125 N, determine the
moment about the diagonal AD of the force exerted
on the frame by portion BG of the cable.
 Brief Revision
• Force components in rectangular coordinates
and vector addition.
• Cross-product and moment (torque) of a force
about a point.
• Dot-product between two vectors and
projection of a vector along a given direction
λ.
• Triple-product and the moment of a force
about an axis (given direction λ.)
• Concept of a couple.
Moment about a
point
Couple
Equivalent systems
Multiple force moment
Equivalent Force Moment Systems
• Couples Mj and forces Fi
act on the body.
• The net forces and
moments about the origin
O are as shown.
• Two force systems are O
equivalent if they have
the same resultant force
and moments.
• Equivalent about one
point O guarantees
equivalence everywhere
 Special Force Systems
• Parallel force system

• Coplanar force system

 Example 1
Determine the resultant of the four forces and one
couple which act on the plate shown.
Solution
Solution
Vector approach
 Tugboat Problem
1. Four tugboats are used to bring an ocean liner to its pier. Each tugboat
exerts 100kN push in the direction shown. Determine the point on hull
where a single, more powerful tugboat should push to produce the
same effect as the original four tugboats. Also determine the total push
and its direction to be exerted by the single tugboat.
Tug Boats

Tugboats are used to tow big

liners etc. to the shore.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tugboat
 Problem 2
• A concrete foundation mat in the shape of a regular hexagon with
3-m sides supports four column loads as shown. Determine the
magnitude and the point of application of the resultant four loads.
• Find the loads at points B and F so that the effective load passes
through the center
Moment in 3D
Moment about an axis
Distance between two lines L and F

M= ·r⇥F
M = F2 d
q
F2 = F 2 F12

F1 = (F · )
F2 = F F1
Couple in 3D
Force-couple system
Multiple forces and moments
Simplest Resultant
Wrench
Solved problem 3.12
BJ 10ed
Wrench
Step-1
Step-2

Step-3
 Step-4

Step-5

Step-6

Intersection with x-y plane z = 0

Step-7

Same procedure for arbitrary force-couple

 Using Symmetry to convert 3D problems to 2D
(adapted from http://oli.web.cmu.edu)

• Box has 3-planes of symmetry.

• Loading had only one plane of symmetry
• Using symmetry and static equivalence, the problem can be converted into
a 2D problem
 Problem 3
• Find the simplest resultant for the forces
acting on the simply supported beam
Simple Example
(http://oli.web.cmu.edu)
 Distributed forces
• Forces act per unit volume/area/length
• Per unit volume (N/m3)
– Density
– uniformly charged bodies (involving charge density)
• Per unit area (N/m2)
– hydrostatic load
– wind forces
• Per unit length (N/m)
– Can be used when one of the dimension is large
compared to the other two.
– between two current carrying wires.
– on the railway lines
Converting Force/Area to Force/Length

• Placing 5 typical books, each 300mm x 200 mm x

50mm, and each weighing 10 N on a long wooden
shelf that is 200 mm deep.
 Hydrostatic Forces
• Act normal to the surface
• Force per unit area (N/m2) (pressure)
• The total pressure at depth z is:
– p = ρgz = γz
 Non-Uniform Forces
(http://oli.web.cmu.edu)

• Hydrostatic Forces
Non-Continuous non-uniform Loading

• Load replaced by an equivalent triangular loading

 Problem 4-5
1. An automatic valve consists of a 225 x 225 mm square plate of uniform
thickness weighing 200 N (total). The valve is pivoted about a
horizontal axis through A located at a distance h = 100 mm above the
lower edge. Determine the depth of water d for which the valve will
open.
2. Consider the same setup as in Problem 1 with the following difference:
replace the square plate with an isosceles triangle of width 225 mm at
the top and height of 225 mm.
 Problem 7
• The quarter circular uniform gate AB has a width of 6m. The gate
controls the flow of water over the edge B. The gate has total
weight of 6800 kg and is hinged about its upper edge A. Find P
required to keep the gate closed.
 Problem 8
1. The quarter circular uniform gate AB has a width of
6m. The gate controls the flow of water over the edge
B. The gate has total weight of 6800 kg and is hinged
about its upper edge A. Find P required to keep the
gate closed.
Arch Dam at Idduki
The gate ABC (cross-section shown) is made of two rectangular panels AB and BC having
uniform thickness and welded together at B. The gate is 500 mm wide and is used to
maintain water level in two adjacent channels. The gate is pivoted about a horizontal axis
through A by hinges located along its top edge. To ensure that the depth of water does not
exceed 1500 mm in the left channel, determine the maximum value of the total weight of
the gate. The depth of water in the right side channel is 900 mm. Neglect the thickness of
the gate in calculating the center of gravity, and the reduction in its weight due to buoyancy
effects. Take the specific gravity of water = 10 kN/m3.
If the combined moment of two forces about point C is zero, determine
(a) the magnitude of the force P
(b) the magnitude R of the resultant of the two forces
(c) the coordinates x and y of the point A on the rim of the wheel about which the
combined moment of the two forces is a maximum
(d) the combined moment MA of the two forces
about A
Tutorial-1: Additional Problems
 Extra Problem 1

Determine the wrench resultant of the three

forces acting on the bracket. Calculate the
coordinates of the point P in the x-y plane
through which the resultant force of the wrench
acts. Also find the magnitude of the couple M of
the wrench.
 Extra Problem 2

Replace the two forces and the negative wrench

by a single force R applied at A and the
corresponding couple M.
The resultant of the two forces and couple may
be represented by a wrench. Determine the
vector expression for the moment M of the
wrench and find the coordinates of the point P in
the x-z plane through which the resultant force
of the wrench passes.
Tutorial-2: Additional Problems
 Extra Problem 1

Wmin = 41.8kN

A hollow steel cone with internal dimensions as

shown in Figure has a pinhole at the top. The
cone is filled with water. What is the minimum
weight of the cone which will prevent the water
from up-lifting the cone and flowing out? Use g =
10 m/s2.
 Extra Problem 2

p = 7.48 MPa

Oil pressure in the vertical hydraulic cylinder of length 1.5

m shown in Figure controls opening and closing of the
vertical rectangular gate against the pressure of fresh
water on the opposite right-hand side. The gate has a
horizontal width of 2 m perpendicular to the plane of this
paper. For a depth h = 3 m of water, calculate the required oil
pressure p which acts on the 150-mm- diameter piston of the
hydraulic cylinder. Specific weight of fresh water is 10 kN/
m 3.
Extra Problem 3

M = 17.3N.m

The gate AB is a a 260-kg rectangular plate 1.5 m high and 1.1 m

wide and is used to close the discharge channel at the bottom of an oil
reservoir. As a result of condensation in the tank, fresh water collects
at the bottom of the channel. Calculate the moment M applied about
the hinge axis B required to close the gate against the hydrostatic
forces of the water and oil. The specific gravity of the oil is 0.85.
Density of water is 1000 kg/m3 and acceleration due to gravity g =
9.81 m/s2.
 Extra Problem 4

A buoy in the form of a uniform 8-m pole 0.2 m in

diameter has a mass of 200 kg and is secured at
its lower end to the bottom of a fresh-water lake
with 5 m of cable. If the depth of the water is 10
m, calculate the angle made by the pole with the
horizontal.