SCIE6004 – Physics I

Week 7
Equilibrium and Elasticity

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1. The Requirements of Equilibrium
(1) The vector sum of all the external forces that act on the
body must be zero
(2) The vector sum of all the external torques that act on the
body, measured about any possible point, must also be
zero.

Fnet  0 (balance of forces)   net  0 (balance of torques)
Balance of forces Balance of torques
Fnet, x  0  net,x  0
Fnet, y  0  net,y  0
Fnet,z  0  net,z  0 2
Another requirement for static
 equilibrium:
(3) The linear momentum P of the body must be zero.

2. The Center of Gravity 

The gravitational force Fg on a body efectively acts at a

single point, called the center of gravity (cog) of the body.
If g is the same for all elements of a body, then the body’s
center of gravity(cog) is coincident with the body’s center of
mass (com).

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Example, static equilibrium

A safe (mass M=430 kg), hanging

by a rope (negligible mass) from
a boom ( a= 1,9 m and b 2,5 m)
that consist s of a uniform
hinged beam (m=85 kg) and
horizontal cable (negligible
mass).
(a)What is the tension in the
cable? In other words, what is
the magnitude of the force on
the beam from the cable?
(b) Find the magnitude of the
net force on the beam
from the hinge.
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3. Elasticity

A stress is defined as deforming force per unit area,

which produces a strain, or unit deformation.
Stress and strain are proportional to each other.
The constant of proportionality is called a modulus of
elasticity.

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(a) A cylinder subject to tensile stress stretches by an amount ∆L.
(b) A cylinder subject to shearing stress deforms by an amount ∆x,
somewhat like a pack of playing cards would
(c) A solid sphere subject to uniform hydraulic stress from a fluid
shrinks in volume by an amount ∆V.
All the deformations shown are greatly exaggerated
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Elasticity: Tension and Compression
For simple tension or compression, the stress on the object is
defined as F/A, where F is the magnitude of the force applied
perpendicularly to an area A on the object.
F ΔL
E
A L
The strain, or unit deformation, is then the dimensionless
quantity ΔL/L, the fractional change in a length of the specimen.
The modulus for tensile and compressive stresses is called the
Young’s modulus and is represented in engineering practice by
the symbol E.

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A stress–strain curve for a steel test specimen.
The specimen deforms permanently when the stress is equal
to the yield strength of the specimen’s material.
It ruptures when the stress is equal to the ultimate strength of
the material.
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 Elasticity: Shearing

In the case of shearing, the stress is also a force per unit

area, but the force vector lies in the plane of the area rather
than perpendicular to it.
The strain is the dimensionless ratio x/L, with the quantities
defined as shown in the figure.
The corresponding modulus, which is given the symbol G in
engineering practice, is called the shear modulus.

F ΔX
G
A L

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 Elasticity: Hydraulic Stress

In the figure, the stress is the fluid pressure p on the object, where
pressure is a force per unit area.
The strain is ΔV/V, where V is the original volume of the
specimen and ΔV is the absolute value of the change in volume.
The corresponding modulus, with symbol B, is called the bulk
modulus of the material.
The object is said to be under hydraulic compression, and the
pressure can be called the hydraulic stress.

ΔV
pΒ
V

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Reference.
Halliday D.; Resniick R. and Walker J. (2010). Fundamentals Of
Physics , ninth Edition , John Wiley & SONS Inc, New York,
ISBN: 978-0-470-55653-5

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Fluids- I

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 What is a Fluid?
• A fluid, in contrast to a solid, is a substance that can flow.
• Fluids conform to the boundaries of any container in
which we put them.
They do so because a fluid cannot sustain a force that is
tangential to its surface.
That is, a fluid is a substance that flows because it cannot
with stand a shearing stress.
• It can, however, exert a force in the direction perpendicular

to its surface.

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 1. Density and Pressure

Density
To find the densityρ of a fluid at any point, we isolate a
small volume element V around that point and measure the
mass m of the fluid contained within that element.
If the fluid has uniform density, then:
Density is a scalar property;
its SI unit is: kg/m3 .

Pressure
If the normal force exerted over a flat area A is uniform over that
area, then the pressure is defined as:

The SI unit of pressure is ; N/m2 , which is given a special name,

the pascal (Pa). 1 atm=1.013x105 Pa =760 torr =14.7 lb/in2.
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Fluids at Rest

A tank of water in
which a sample of
water is contained in an
imaginary cylinder of
horizontal base area A.

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The pressure at a point in a fluid in static equilibrium
depends on the depth of that point but not on any
horizontal dimension of the fluid or its container.

A free-body diagram
of the water sample.

The balance of the 3 forces is written as: F2 = F1 + mg

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If p1 and p2 are the pressures on the top and the bottom surfaces
of the sample, F1= p1 A F2 = p2 A

Since the mass m of the water in the cylinder is,m=ρV, where the
cylinder’s volume V is the product of its face area A and its height
(y1- y2), then m = ρA(y1- y2).

Therefore, p2 A = p1 A + ρAg(y1-y2)

p2 = p1 + ρg(y1-y2)

If y1 is at the surface and y2 is at a depth h below the surface, then

p = p0 + ρgh

(where po is the pressure at the surface, and p the pressure at

depth h). 17
 2. Measuring Pressure: The Mercury Barometer

A mercury barometer is a
device used to measure the
pressure of the atmosphere.
The long glass tube is filled
with mercury and the space
above the mercury column
contains only mercury vapor,
whose pressure can be
neglected.
If the atmospheric pressure is
p0 , and  is the density of
mercury, p0 =ρgh
(a) A mercury barometer.
(b) Another mercury barometer.
The distance h is the same in both cases.
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 Measuring Pressure: The Open-Tube Manometer

An open-tube manometer measures the

gauge pressure pg of a gas.
It consists of a U-tube containing a liquid,
with one end of the tube connected to the
vessel whose gauge pressure we wish to
measure and the other end open to the
atmosphere.
If po is the atmospheric pressure, p is the
pressure at level 2 as shown, and  is the
density of the liquid in the tube, then
p  p  p  gh
g 0
An open-tube manometer, connected to measure the gauge pressure of
the gas in the tank on the left. The right arm of the U-tube is open to the
atmosphere.
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 3. Pascal’s Principle

A change in the pressure applied to an enclosed

incompressible fluid is transmitted undiminished to
every portion of the fluid and to the walls of its
container.

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 Pascal’s Principle and the Hydraulic Lever

A hydraulic arrangement that can be used to magnify a forces, Fi ,

The work done is however, not magnified and is the same for both
the input and output force. .
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The force Fi is applied on the left and the downward,
force F0 from the load on the right produce a
change p in the pressure of the liquid that is given by :
p = Fi / Ai = F0 / A0
F0= Fi( A0/ Ai)
If we move the input piston downward a distance di, the
output piston moves upward a distance do,
such that the same volume V of the incompressible liquid is
displaced at both pistons.
V = Ai di = A0d0 , then : d0= Ai(di /d0)
Then the output work is:  A 0   Ai 
W  Fo d0   Fi   di   Fidi
 Ai   A0  22
 4. Archimedes Principle

When a body is fully or partially submerged in a fluid, a

buoyant force from the surrounding fluid acts on the body.
The force is directed upward and has a magnitude equal to
the weight of the fluid that has been displaced by the body.
The net upward force on the object is the buoyant force, Fb.
The buoyant force on a body in a fluid has the magnitude
Fb = mf g (buoyant force),
where mf is the mass of the fluid that is displaced by the
body.

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 Floating and Apparent Weight

When a body floats in a fluid, the magnitude Fb of the buoyant

force on the body is equal to the magnitude Fg of the
gravitational force on the body. Fb= Fg
That means, when a body floats in a fluid, the magnitude Fg of the
gravitational force on the body is equal to the weight mfg of the fluid
that has been displaced by the body, where mf is the mass of the fluid
displaced. Fg =mf g
That is, a floating body displaces its own weight of fluid.
The apparent weight of an object in a fluid is less than the actual
weight of the object in vacuum, and is equal to the difference between
the actual weight of a body and the buoyant force on the body.

 apparent   actual   magnitude of 

       
 weight   weight   buoyant force  24
 Example, Floating, buoyancy, and density

A block of density ρ=800 kg/m3

floats face down in a fluid of
density ρf =1200 kg/m3 The block
has height H=6,0 cm.
(a)By what depth h is the block
submerged
(b)If the block is held fully
submerged and the released .
What is the magnitude of its
acceleration?

Source: Halliday D, at All 25

Reference.
Halliday D.; Resniick R. and Walker J. (2010). Fundamentals Of
Physics , ninth Edition , John Wiley & SONS Inc, New York, ISBN:
978-0-470-55653-5

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Thank You
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