Engineering Mechanics for Preparatory Year

Part (i): statics

Prepared by: Dr. Essam Mohammed

Lecture 4: Moment of a Force
Additional concepts of forces and systems of forces are discussed in this
chapter. These concepts are used extensively in the analysis of equilibrium and
motion of bodies and throughout more advanced mechanics subjects.
The moment of a force, or simply moment, is a measure of a forces ability to
produce twisting, or rotation about a point. Moment has both magnitude
(and size) and direction and is a vector quantity. For example, consider using a
wrench to twist a pipe, as shown in Fig. 4.3. By applying a force to the handle
of the wrench, the force tends to make the pipe twist. Whether or not the pipe
actually does twist depends on details of how the pipe is supported. To create a
greater tendency to twist the pipe, either we could apply a larger force to the
wrench or we could use a wrench with a longer handle. Moment can be
evaluated using both scalar and vector approaches, as follows.

Fig.4-1 Force applied to a wrench to twist a pipe.

4.1.1 Scalar approach

The moment of a force is a vector and can be evaluated using the scalar
approach described here. Consider a force with magnitude F. As shown in
Fig. 4.2, this force produces a moment vector about point O (the twisting action
shown) where the magnitude of this moment is MO, which is given by
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Mo F d

(4-1)

Where
F is the magnitude of the force;
d is the perpendicular distance from point O to the line of action of and is
called the moment arm; and M o has dimensions of force times length.

Fig.4-2 Scalar approach to evaluate the moment of a force.

The moment of a force is a vector, and it has both magnitude and direction. In
the scalar evaluation of the moment, Eq. (4.1) conveniently gives the
magnitude.
The direction of the moment is not provided by Eq. (4.1), but is understood to
be as follows. The line of action of the moment is parallel to the axis through
point O that is perpendicular to the plane containing and the moment arm.
The direction of the moment along the line of action is given by the direction of
the thumb of your right hand when your fingers curl in the twisting direction of
the moment. For summing multiple moments, Eq. (4.1) must be supplemented
with the proper directions for each moment.
4.1.2 Vector approach

Engineering Mechanics for Preparatory Year

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The magnitude and direction of the moment of a force can be obtained using the
cross product as described here. As shown in Fig. 4.3, the moment of a force

M
about a point O is denoted by o and is given as

Mo r F

(4.2)

Where
is the force vector;
is a position vector from point O to any point on the line of action of .
In contrast to Eq. (4.1) for the scalar approach, Eq. (4.2) automatically provides
both the magnitude and direction of the moment.

Fig.4-3 Vector approach to evaluate the moment of a force.

4.2 Direction for moments in two-dimensional problems

In two-dimensional problems, such as Fig. 4.5, the moment of a force about a
given point will be either clockwise or counterclockwise. That is, the moment
of a force about a given point is a vector in either the -z direction or the z
direction, respectively. In two-dimensional problems, when using a scalar
approach, we will always take counterclockwise to be the positive direction for
moments.

Engineering Mechanics for Preparatory Year

Part (i): statics

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Fig. 4-5

This choice is consistent with the right-hand rule for the xy coordinate system
shown, where the z direction, and hence the direction for positive moment
vectors, is out of the plane of the figure.

4.3 Varignons theorem

Varignons theorem, also known as the principle of moments, states that the
moment of a force is equal to the sum of the moments of the vector components

of the force. Thus, if F has vector components F1 , F2 and so on, then the

moment of F about a point A is given by

M A r F r ( F1 F2 .....) r F1 r F2 ........

(4-3)

where
r is a position vector from point A to any point on the line of action of

F . This principle is simply a restatement of the distributive property of the

cross product, but in fairness to Varignon (16541722), he discovered the
concepts underlying Eq. (4.3) well before vector mathematics and the cross
product were invented. Varignons theorem remains very useful for evaluating
moments, especially for scalar evaluations. While the component forces will

often be Cartesian components, in which case F1 , F2 , and F3 would usually be

called Fx , Fy , and Fz , in general the components do not need to be orthogonal,

and there may be an arbitrary number of them.

Engineering Mechanics for Preparatory Year

Part (i): statics

Prepared by: Dr. Essam Mohammed

Example (1)
A 300-N force is applied at A as shown. Determine (a) the moment of the 300N force about D, (b) the smallest force applied at B that creates the same
moment about D.

Solution 1 Scalar approach

We resolve the 300N force into its x and y components and use Varignons
theorem (the principle of moments) to sum the moments produced by each of
these components. With our convention that positive moment is
counterclockwise,

M B (300 cos 25N )(200mm) (300 sin 25N )(100mm) 41700 N .mm
Solution 2 Vector approach

F (300 cos 25i 300 sin 25 j ) N ,

rDA (100i 200 j ) mm,

j
i
k

M D rDA F 100
200
0 (0i 0 j 41700k) N .mm
300 cos 25 300 sin 25 0
M D 41700 N .mm 41.7 N .m
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(b)The smallest force Q at B must be perpendicular to DB at 45
M D Q( DB) Q(200 2 ) 41700 N .mm Q

41700
147.43N
200 2

Fig. 4-10

Example (2)
For the balance mechanism shown in Fig. 4.11(a), determine the value of F so
that the resultant moment of all forces about point O is zero.

Fig. 4-11a

Solution 1
Using a scalar approach first, we note that each force has a tendency to twist the
structure about point O in either a clockwise or counterclockwise fashion. In
other words, the moment of each force about point O is a vector that points
either into or out of the plane of Fig. 4.11. Furthermore, we may distinguish
between these by taking the counterclockwise direction to be positive.
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Engineering Mechanics for Preparatory Year

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Thus,

M o 4(4) 8(3) 5(2) F (3) 0

F 0.667 KN

Solution 2
A vector approach can also be used for this problem with the following forces
and position vectors [see Fig. 4.11(b)]:

F1 (8i 4 j ) KN ,

F2 5 j KN ,

F3 Fj KN ,

r1 (4i 3 j ) m,

r2 2i m,

r3 3i m,

M o r1 F1 r2 F2 r3 F3 0
i
4
8

j
3

k
i
0 2

4 0

j
0

k i
03

5 0

j
0

0 F

0 0
0

(0i 0 j 8k) (0i 0 j 10k) (0i 0 j 3Fk) (0i 0 j 0k)

2 3F 0 F

2
KN 0.667 KN
3

Fig. 4-11b

Engineering Mechanics for Preparatory Year

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Example (3)
The structure supports vertical forces F = 200 lb and P = 50 lb. Pipe segments
BC and CD are parallel to the y and x axes, respectively. Determine the
resultant moment of both forces about point O.

Fig. 4-12

Solution 1 Vector Solution

F 200 j lb,

P 50 j lb ,

rOD 18i 12 j 36k in ,

(1)

rOC 12 j 36k

(2)

in .

Using the vectors in Eqs. (1) and (2), we find the moment about point O is
j
j
i
k i
k

M o rOD F rOC P 18 12 36 0 12 36

200

50

(3)

(7200i 0 j 3600k) (1800 i 0 j 0 k) (5400 i 0 j 3600 k) in . lb

Solution 2 Scalar Solution
A scalar solution is possible, but requires good visualization to identify the
appropriate moment arms and a consistent sign convention for moments. In
three-dimensional problems, it is very difficult to unambiguously categorize
moments with words like clockwise and counterclockwise. Thus, we will
usually take the positive coordinate directions to define the directions of
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Engineering Mechanics for Preparatory Year

Part (i): statics

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positive moments (i.e., the right-hand rule governs the direction of positive
moment).

Fig. 4-13

As shown in Fig. 4.13, we extend the lines of action for each force to help
identify the appropriate moment arms. Force F produces positive moment about
the x axis where the moment arm is 36 in, and negative moment about the z axis
where the moment arm is 18 in. Since F is parallel to the y axis, it produces no
moment about this axis. Force P produces negative moment about the x axis
where the moment arm is 36 in: and produces no moment about the other two
axes. Thus,

M OX (200lb)(36in) (50lb)(36in.) 5400 lb.in.

(4)

M OY 0 lb.in.

(5)

M OZ (200lb)(18in) 3600 lb.in.

(6)

Engineering Mechanics for Preparatory Year

Part (i): statics

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Sheet 3
1. Determine the moment of the
force about point O.

(Ans.

2. Determine the moment of the

force about point O.
(Ans.

LEC

3 Determine the moment of the

force about point O.
Neglect the thickness of the
member.
(Ans.

10

Engineering Mechanics for Preparatory Year

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4. Determine the resultant
moment produced by the forces
about point O.
(Ans.

LEC

5. Determine the moment of each

of the three forces about point A
and B.

(Ans.(MF1)A=433N.m

(Clockwise)

,(MF2)A = 1300 N. m (Clockwise)

(MF3)A = 800 N. m (Clockwise))

6. Determine the resultant

moment produced by the forces
about point O.

(Ans.

11

Engineering Mechanics for Preparatory Year

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7. Determine the moment of the
force about point O.

(Ans.

8. The turnbuckle is tightened

until the tension in cable AB is 1.2
kN. Calculate the magnitude of
the moment about point O of the
force acting on point A.

(Ans.

9. The wire AE is stretched between the

corners A and E of a bent plate. Knowing
that the tension in the wire is 435 N,
determine the moment about O of the
force exerted by the wire (a) on corner A,
(b) on corner E.
(Ans.( )
( )

12

Engineering Mechanics for Preparatory Year

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10. Determine the resultant moment
produced by force FB and FC about point
O. Express the result as a Cartesian vector.

(Ans.

11. A precast concrete wall section is

temporarily held by two cables as
shown. Knowing that the tension in
cable BD is 900 N, determine the
moment about point O of the force
exerted by the cable at B.

(Ans.

LEC

12. The 6-m boom AB has a fixed end A.

A steel cable is stretched from the free
end B of the boom to a point C located
on the vertical wall. If the tension in the
cable is 2.5 kN, determine the moment
about A of the force exerted by the cable
at B.

(Ans.

13