FORCE VECTORS

CE 001: Statics of Rigid Bodies

MODULE 2

PREPARED BY: ENGR. MARC DANIEL LAURINA

INTRODUCTION
Tensors
• In mathematics, a tensor is an algebraic object that describes a multilinear relationship between sets
of algebraic objects related to a vector space.
• Tensors have become important in physics because they provide a concise mathematical framework
for formulating and solving physics problems in areas such as mechanics (stress, elasticity, fluid
mechanics, moment of inertia, etc.)
• Types:
1. Order Zero Tensor – Scalar
2. 1st Order Tensor – Vector
3. 2nd Order Tensor – Example: Stress State
4. 3rd Order Tensor – Example: Strain-Gradient Tensor
5. 4th Order Tensor – Example: Elasticity or Stiffness Tensor, Four Dimensional Space-Time
STATICS OF RIGID BODIES LECTURES by Engr. Marc Daniel Laurina
Tensors

 A matrix is a grid of m x n numbers surrounded by square brackets. Here, m is the

number of rows and n is the number of columns.
 A vector is a 1D array of numbers, a matrix where m or n is equal to 1.
 A tensor, however, can be thought of as a generalized matrix which can be described
by its rank. STATICS OF RIGID BODIES LECTURES by Engr. Marc Daniel Laurina
Scalar and Vector
• Many physical quantities in engineering mechanics are measured using either scalars or vectors.

 SCALAR
• It is a real number
• It is any positive or negative physical quantity that can be completely specified by its magnitude.
• Examples of scalar quantities include mass, time, volume, length, speed, energy, and temperature.

 VECTOR
• It is a quantity that helps describe the way that an action is applied to an object or group of objects.
• It is any physical quantity that requires both a magnitude and a direction for its complete
description.
• Examples of vectors are force, position, moment, velocity, acceleration, displacement, and
momentum
STATICS OF RIGID BODIES LECTURES by Engr. Marc Daniel Laurina
 Vector
• Vectors representing physical quantities can be classified as free, sliding, or fixed.
 Fixed Vector
• Its action is associated with a unique point of application
• Described by magnitude, direction & pt of application
 Sliding Vector
• Has a unique line of action in space but not a unique point of application
• Described by magnitude, direction & line of action
 Free Vector
• Its action is not confined or associated with a unique line in space.
• Described by magnitude & direction

STATICS OF RIGID BODIES LECTURES by Engr. Marc Daniel Laurina

Vector

STATICS OF RIGID BODIES LECTURES by Engr. Marc Daniel Laurina

 Vector
 Conventions for Equations and Diagrams
• Vector are written as boldface letters, A
• Magnitude of a vector A is denoted as |A| or simply as A (italic)
• There is no universal method for indicating vector quantities when writing by hand. The more
common notations are
• A vector quantity V is represented by a directed line segment (arrow), having the direction of the
vector and having an arrowhead to indicate the sense.

• The length of the arrow represents the magnitude of the vector, and
the angle θ between the vector and a fixed axis defines the direction
of its line of action. The head or tip of the arrow indicates the sense
of direction of the vector.
STATICS OF RIGID BODIES LECTURES by Engr. Marc Daniel Laurina
Vector

Single-headed Vector

STATICS OF RIGID BODIES LECTURES by Engr. Marc Daniel Laurina

Vector Operation
SCALAR-VECTOR MULTIPLICATION
• If a vector is multiplied by a positive scalar, its magnitude is increased by that amount.
• Multiplying by a negative scalar will also change the directional sense of the vector
• The product of a vector A and a scalar m is a vector mA with magnitude |mA| = |m| |A|.
• The direction is the same as that of A if a is positive and opposite to that of A if a is negative

STATICS OF RIGID BODIES LECTURES by Engr. Marc Daniel Laurina

 VECTOR ADDITION
 The Parallelogram Law for Addition and the Triangle Law
• The method of vector addition is based on what is known as the parallelogram law.
• Two vectors A and B can be added to form a resultant vector R = A + B by using the parallelogram
law.

• If the two vectors are collinear (both vectors have the same line of action), the resultant is
formed by an algebraic or scalar addition

STATICS OF RIGID BODIES LECTURES by Engr. Marc Daniel Laurina

RESOLUTION OF A VECTOR
• A vector may be resolved into components having known lines of action by using the
parallelogram law.

STATICS OF RIGID BODIES LECTURES by Engr. Marc Daniel Laurina

 VECTOR
ADDITION OF
FORCES
 Force Vector
 A force is a vector quantity since it has a specified magnitude and direction. Consequently, forces are
added together or resolved into components using the rules of vector algebra
 Two common problems in statics involve either finding the resultant force given its components or
resolving a known force into components.
 Often the magnitude of a resultant force can be determined from the law of cosines, while its
direction is determined from the law of sines:

STATICS OF RIGID BODIES LECTURES by Engr. Marc Daniel Laurina

 Problem 1
 The screw eye in figure is subjected to two forces, F1 and F2. Determine the magnitude and direction
of the resultant force.

STATICS OF RIGID BODIES LECTURES by Engr. Marc Daniel Laurina

 Problem 2
 Resolve the horizontal 600-lb force in figure into components acting along the u and v axes and
determine the magnitudes of these components

STATICS OF RIGID BODIES LECTURES by Engr. Marc Daniel Laurina

COMPONENTS
OF TWO
DIMENSIONS
Addition of a System of Coplanar Forces

• In the plane, a force can be resolved into two rectangular components.

• There are two separate notations for doing this:
1. Scalar Notation
2. Cartesian Vector Notation

STATICS OF RIGID BODIES LECTURES by Engr. Marc Daniel Laurina

Scalar Notation

• We write the force F as (Fx , Fy) where Fx and Fy are the scalar components of the
force F in the directions of the positive x- and y-axes, respectively.
• If Fx and Fy are negative, it means that |Fx | and |Fy | are directed along the
negative x- and y-axes, respectively.

Fx and Fy are directed along the positive axis Fy is directed along the negative y axis
STATICS OF RIGID BODIES LECTURES by Engr. Marc Daniel Laurina
Cartesian Vector Notation

• We write the force F as

where i and j (Unit vectors) represent the positive directions of the x- and y-axes,
respectively

STATICS OF RIGID BODIES LECTURES by Engr. Marc Daniel Laurina

COPLANAR FORCE RESULTANTS

• The resultant of several coplanar forces (forces that all lie in the same plane) can
easily be determined if an x, y-coordinate system is established and the forces are
resolved along the axes. For example,

• then the resultant is given by

STATICS OF RIGID BODIES LECTURES by Engr. Marc Daniel Laurina

COPLANAR FORCE RESULTANTS

• In the general case, the x and y components of the resultant of any number of
coplanar forces can be represented symbolically by the algebraic sum of the x and y
components of all the forces i.e.

• The magnitude and direction of the resultant force are given by

STATICS OF RIGID BODIES LECTURES by Engr. Marc Daniel Laurina

UNIT VECTORS

• A unit vector is a vector with a magnitude of one. Unit vectors are used to describe
a direction, but not a specific magnitude. It defines:
𝑨
𝑢𝐴 =
𝐴

• The unit vector is dimensionless and defines the direction of vector A.

• For two dimension, the positive directions of the x, y axes are defined by the
Cartesian unit vectors i, j, respectively

STATICS OF RIGID BODIES LECTURES by Engr. Marc Daniel Laurina

POSITION VECTORS IN TERMS OF COMPONENTS

• The position vector r is defined as a fixed vector which locates a point in space
relative to another point.

STATICS OF RIGID BODIES LECTURES by Engr. Marc Daniel Laurina

Problem 3

• Determine the magnitude of the resultant force and its direction theta measured
counterclockwise from the positive x axis

STATICS OF RIGID BODIES LECTURES by Engr. Marc Daniel Laurina

Problem 4

• Determine the magnitude of the resultant force and its direction, measured
counterclockwise from the positive x axis.

STATICS OF RIGID BODIES LECTURES by Engr. Marc Daniel Laurina

 END OF
SLIDE

TO GOD BE THE GLORY