Engineers Mechanics- Introduction

What is Mechanics?
Mechanics is the science which describes and predicts the conditions of rest or
motion of bodies under the action of forces. Mechanics is the foundation of
most engineering sciences and is an indispensable prerequisite to their study.

Branches of Mechanics:
- Statics body is at rest under the action of forces. All quantities are
time independent
- Dynamics body is at motion under the action of forces. All quantities
are time dependent
Idealization of Mechanics:
Rigid body assumption no deformation, assumes original geometry

A particle idealizes a body by placing its mass at its center and neglecting its
physical size.
Prof. Banerjee, CE Dept 1-1
Engineers Mechanics- Basics
Fundamental Concepts
Space - associated with the notion of the position of a point P given in
terms of three coordinates measured from a reference point or origin.

Time - definition of an event requires specification of the time and

position at which it occurred.

Mass - used to characterize and compare bodies, e.g., response to

earths gravitational attraction and resistance to changes in translational
motion.

Force - represents the action of one body on another.

In Newtonian Mechanics, space, time, and mass are absolute concepts,

independent of each other. Force, however, is not independent of the
other three. The force acting on a body is related to the mass of the body
and the variation of its velocity with time.

Prof. Banerjee, CE Dept 1-2

Engineers Mechanics- Basics
Vectors and Scalars

Vector: parameters possessing magnitude

and direction which add according to the
parallelogram law.
Examples: displacements, velocities,
accelerations.

Scalar: parameters possessing magnitude but

not direction.
Examples: mass, volume, temperature

Prof. Banerjee, CE Dept 1-3

Engineers Mechanics- Basics
Laws of Mechanics: Parallelogram Law

force: action of one body on another;

characterized by its point of application,
magnitude, line of action, and sense.

Experimental evidence shows that the

combined effect of two forces may be
represented by a single resultant force.

The resultant is equivalent to the diagonal of

a parallelogram which contains the two
forces in adjacent legs.

Force is a vector quantity.

Prof. Banerjee, CE Dept 1-4

Engineers Mechanics- Basics
Laws of Mechanics: Principle of Transmissibility:
Principle of Transmissibility -
Conditions of equilibrium or motion are
not affected by transmitting a force
along its line of action.
NOTE: F and F are equivalent forces.

Moving the point of application of

the force F to the rear bumper
does not affect the motion or the
other forces acting on the truck.

Principle of transmissibility may

not always apply in determining
internal forces and deformations.

Prof. Banerjee, CE Dept 1-5

Engineers Mechanics- Basics
Laws of Mechanics: Newtons Law
Newtons First Law: If the resultant force on a particle is zero, the particle
will remain at rest or continue to move in a straight line.

Newtons Second Law: A particle will have an acceleration proportional

to a nonzero resultant applied force in the same direction.
r r
F = ma
Newtons Third Law: The forces of action and reaction between two
particles have the same magnitude and line of action with opposite sense.

Newtons Law of Gravitation: Two particles (mass M and m respectively)

are attracted with equal and opposite forces,
G = Universal gravitational constant
Mm GM = 6.673(10-11) m3/(kg.s2)
F =G 2
W = mg , g =
r R2 M=mass of earth=5.976(1024) kg
R= radius of earth=6371(103) m
Prof. Banerjee, CE Dept 1-6
Engineers Mechanics- Basics
Systems of Units
International System of Units (SI):
The basic units are length, time, and
mass which are arbitrarily defined as the
Kinetic Units: length [L], time [t], meter (m), second (s), and kilogram
mass [m], and force. (kg). Force is the derived unit,
F = ma
Three of the kinetic units, referred to m
as basic units, may be defined ( )
1 N = 1 kg 1 2
s
arbitrarily. The fourth unit, referred
to as a derived unit, must have a US Customary Units (FPS):
definition compatible with Newtons The basic units are length, time, and
2nd Law, mass which are arbitrarily defined as the
v r slug (-), foot (ft), and second (kg). Force
F = ma is the derived unit,
F = ma
ft
( )
1 lb = 1slug 1
2
s
Prof. Banerjee, CE Dept 1-7
Engineers Mechanics- Basics
Unit Conversion
The NASA Mars Climate Orbiter, the first interplanetary weather satellite
designed to orbit Mars, was lost during entry to Mars orbit because one of the
teams used FPS system and failed to convert them to SI system. As a result, the
$125 million orbiter was lost. As Dr. Stone, director of the Jet Propulsion
Laboratory, California succinctly said "Our inability to recognize and correct this
simple error has had major implications."

FPS SI Giga (G) = 109

1 ft = 0.3048 m Mega (M) = 106
1 slug = 14.59 kg Kilo (k) = 103
1 lb = 4.4482 N Milli (m) = 10-3
1 kip (kilopound) = 1000 lb Micro () = 10-6
Nano (n) = 10-9

g = 9.81 m/s2 (SI)

= 32 ft/s2 (FPS)

Prof. Banerjee, CE Dept 1-8

Engineers Mechanics- Basics
Method of Problem Solution
Problem Statement: Solution Check:
Includes given data, specification of - Test for errors in reasoning by
what is to be determined, and a figure verifying that the units of the
showing all quantities involved. computed results are correct,
- always apply experience and physical
Free-Body Diagrams: intuition to assess whether results seem
Create separate diagrams for each of reasonable
the bodies involved with a clear
indication of all forces acting on
each body.
Fundamental Principles:
The fundamental principles are
applied to express the conditions of
rest or motion of each body. The
rules of algebra are applied to solve
the equations for the unknown
quantities.
Prof. Banerjee, CE Dept 1-9
Engineers Mechanics- Basics
Numerical Accuracy

The accuracy of a solution depends on 1) accuracy of the given

data, and 2) accuracy of the computations performed. The solution
cannot be more accurate than the less accurate of these two.

The use of hand calculators and computers generally makes the

accuracy of the computations much greater than the accuracy of the
data. Hence, the solution accuracy is usually limited by the data
accuracy.

As a general rule for engineering problems, the data are seldom

known with an accuracy greater than 0.2%.

Prof. Banerjee, CE Dept 1 - 10

Engineers Mechanics- Review of Vector Algebra/Applications

Vectors

Vector classifications:
- Fixed or bound vectors have well defined points of
application that cannot be changed without affecting
an analysis.
- Free vectors may be freely moved in space without
changing their effect on an analysis.
- Sliding vectors may be applied anywhere along their
line of action without affecting an analysis.

Equal vectors have the same magnitude and direction.

Negative vector of a given vector has the same magnitude

and the opposite direction.

Prof. Banerjee, CE Dept 1 - 11

Engineers Mechanics- Review of Vector Algebra/Applications

Addition of Vectors
Parallelogram rule for vector addition

Triangle rule for vector addition

Law of cosines,
C
B R 2 = P 2 + Q 2 2 PQ cos B
r r r
C R = P+Q

Law of sines,
sin A sin B sin C
= =
B Q R A

Vector addition is commutative,

r r r r
P+Q = Q+ P

Vector subtraction

Prof. Banerjee, CE Dept 1 - 12

Engineers Mechanics- Review of Vector Algebra/Applications

Addition of Vectors
Addition of three or more vectors through
repeated application of the triangle rule

The polygon rule for the addition of three or

more vectors.
Vector addition is associative,
r r r r r r r r r
P + Q + S = (P + Q ) + S = P + (Q + S )

Multiplication of a vector by a scalar

Prof. Banerjee, CE Dept 1 - 13

Engineers Mechanics- Review of Vector Algebra/Applications

Application: Resultant of Several Concurrent Forces

Concurrent forces: set of forces which all
pass through the same point.

A set of concurrent forces applied to a

particle may be replaced by a single
resultant force which is the vector sum of the
applied forces.

Vector force components: two or more force

vectors which, together, have the same effect
as a single force vector.

Prof. Banerjee, CE Dept 1 - 14

Engineers Mechanics- Review of Vector Algebra/Applications

Rectangular Components of a Vector

May resolve a vector into perpendicular components
r so
r
that the resulting parallelogram is a rectangle. Fx and Fy
are referred to as rectangular vector components and

r r r
F = Fx + Fy
r r
Define perpendicular unit vectors i and j which are
parallel to the x and y axes.

Vector components may be expressed as products of

the unit vectors with the scalar magnitudes of the
vector components.
r r r Fx = F cos
F = Fx i + Fy j
Fy = F sin
r
Fx and Fy are referred to as the scalar components of F

Prof. Banerjee, CE Dept 1 - 15

Engineers Mechanics- Review of Vector Algebra/Applications

Application: Addition of Concurrent Forces

Wish to find the resultant of 3 or more
concurrent forces,
r r r r
R = P+Q+S

Resolve each force into rectangular components

r r r r r r r r
R x i + R y j = Px i + Py j + Q x i + Q y j + S x i + S y j
r r
(
= ( Px + Q x + S x )i + Py + Q y + S y j )
The scalar components of the resultant are
equal to the sum of the corresponding scalar
components of the given forces.
R x = Px + Q x + S x R y = Py + Q y + S y
= Fx = Fy
To find the resultant magnitude and direction,
2 2 1 R y
R = Rx + R y = tan
Rx
Prof. Banerjee, CE Dept 1 - 16
Engineers Mechanics- Review of Vector Algebra/Applications

Rectangular Components of a Vector in Space

r
Components of the vector F
Fx = F cos x F y = F cos y Fz = F cos z
r r r r
F = Fx i + F y j + Fz k
r r r
= F (cos x i + cos y j + cos z k )
r
= F
r r r r
= cos x i + cos y j + cos z k
r r
cos 2 x + cos 2 y + cos 2 z = 1 is a unit vector along the line of action of F
and cos x , cos
r y , and cos z are the direction
F = Fx2 + Fy2 + Fz2 cosines for F
Prof. Banerjee, CE Dept 1 - 17
Engineers Mechanics- Review of Vector Algebra/Applications

Application: Rectangular Components of a Force Vector in Space

The magnitude of the force vector is
F and the direction of the force is
defined by the location of two
points,
M ( x1 , y1 , z1 ) and N ( x2 , y 2 , z 2 )

r
d = vector joining M and N
r r r
= d xi + d y j + d z k
d x = x2 x1 d y = y 2 y1 d z = z 2 z1
r r
F = F
r 1 r r r
(
= d xi + d y j + d z k
d
) d = d x2 + d y2 + d z2

Fd y dx dy dz
Fx =
Fd x
Fy = Fz =
Fd z cos x = ; cos y = ; cos z =
d d d d d d

Prof. Banerjee, CE Dept 1 - 18

Engineers Mechanics- Review of Vector Algebra/Applications

Scalar Product of Two Vectors

The scalar product or dot product between
two vectors P and Q is defined as
r r
P Q = PQcos (scalar result)

Scalar products:
r r r r
- are commutative, P Q = Q P
r r r r r r r
- are distributive, P (Q1 + Q2 ) = P Q1 + P Q2
r r r
- are not associative, (P Q ) S = undefined
Scalar products with Cartesian unit components,
r r r r r r r r
P Q = (Px i + Py j + Pz k ) (Qx i + Q y j + Qz k )
r r r r r r r r v r r r
i i =1 j j =1 k k =1 i j = 0 j k = 0 k i = 0
r r
P Q = Px Qx + Py Q y + Pz Qz
r r
P P = Px2 + Py2 + Pz2 = P 2
Prof. Banerjee, CE Dept 1 - 19
Engineers Mechanics- Review of Vector Algebra/Applications

Applications: Scalar Product of Two Force Vectors

Angle between two force vectors:
r r
P Q = PQ cos = Px Qx + Py Q y + Pz Qz
Px Qx + Py Q y + Pz Qz
cos =
PQ

Projection of a force vector on a given axis:

POL = P cos = projection of P along OL
r r
P Q = PQ cos
r r
P Q
= P cos = POL
Q
Note:
r
- For an axis defined by a unit vector (): r Q
r r = r
POL = P Q

= Px cos x + Py cos y + Pz cos z

Prof. Banerjee, CE Dept 1 - 20

Engineers Mechanics- Review of Vector Algebra/Applications

Vector Product of Two Vectors

Concept of the moment of a force about a point is
more easily understood through applications of
the vector product or cross product.

Vector product of two vectors P and Q is defined

as the vector V which satisfies the following
conditions:
1. Line of action of V is perpendicular to plane
containing P and Q.
2. Magnitude of V is V = P Q sin
3. Direction of V is obtained from the right-hand
rule.

Vector products:
- are not commutative, Q P = ( P Q )
- are distributive, P (Q1 + Q2 ) = P Q1 + P Q2
- are not associative, ( P Q ) S P (Q S )
Prof. Banerjee, CE Dept 1 - 21
Engineers Mechanics- Review of Vector Algebra/Applications

Vector Products: Rectangular Components

Vector products of Cartesian unit vectors,
r r r r r r r r
i i = 0 j i = k k i = j
r r r r r r r r
i j =k j j =0 k j = i
r r r v r r r r
i k = j j k = i k k = 0

Vector products in terms of rectangular

coordinates
r r r r r r r
V = (Px i + Py j + Pz k ) (Q x i + Q y j + Q z k )
r r
= (Py Q z Pz Q y )i + ( Pz Q x Px Q z ) j
r
+ (Px Q y Py Q x )k
r r r
i j k
= Px Py Pz
Qx Q y Qz
Prof. Banerjee, CE Dept 1 - 22
Engineers Mechanics- Review of Vector Algebra/Applications

Application: Moment of a Force About a Point

Moment of a force produces a turning action on a
rigid body
The moment of a force F about O is defined as
r r r
MO = r F
r is the position vector of A from O

The moment vector MO is perpendicular to the

plane containing O and the force F.

Magnitude of MO measures the tendency of the force

to cause rotation of the body about an axis along MO.
M O = rF sin = Fd
d is the perpendicular distance of the line of action
of Force F from O. The sense of the moment may be
determined by the right-hand rule.

Prof. Banerjee, CE Dept 1 - 23

Engineers Mechanics- Review of Vector Algebra/Applications

Application: Rectangular Components of the Moment of a Force about origin

The moment of F about O,

r r r r r r r
M O = r F , r = xi + yj + zk
r r r r
F = Fx i + Fy j + Fz k
r r r r
M O = M xi + M y j + M z k

r r r
i j k
= x y z
Fx Fy Fz

r r r
= ( yFz zFy )i + ( zFx xFz ) j + (xFy yFx )k

Prof. Banerjee, CE Dept 1 - 24

Engineers Mechanics- Review of Vector Algebra/Applications
Application: Rectangular Components of the Moment of a Force about an
Arbitrary Point

The moment of F about B,

r r r
M B = rA / B F

r r r
rA / B = rA rB
r r r
= (x A xB ) i + ( y A y B ) j + (z A z B ) k
r r r r
F = Fx i + Fy j + Fz k

r r r
i j k
r
M B = (x A xB ) ( y A yB ) (z A z B )
Fx Fy Fz

Prof. Banerjee, CE Dept 1 - 25

Engineers Mechanics- Review of Vector Algebra/Applications

Mixed Triple Product of Three Vectors

Mixed triple product of three vectors,
r r r
S (P Q ) = scalar result = volume of parallelepiped

The six mixed triple products formed from S, P, and

Q have equal magnitudes but not the same sign,
r r r r r r r r r
S (P Q ) = P (Q S ) = Q (S P )
r r r r r r r r
= S (Q P ) = P (S Q ) = Q (P S )

Evaluating the mixed triple product,

r r r
S (P Q ) = S x (Py Q z Pz Q y ) + S y ( Pz Q x Px Q z )
S Q (
+ S z Px Q y Py Q x )
P Sx Sy Sz
= Px Py Pz
Qx Qy Qz
Prof. Banerjee, CE Dept 1 - 26
Engineers Mechanics- Review of Vector Algebra/Applications

Application: Moment of a Force About an Axis Passing Through the Origin

Moment MO of a force F applied at the point A

about a point O,
r r r
MO = r F

Scalar moment MOL about an axis OL is the

projection of the moment vector MO onto the
axis,
r r r r r
M OL = M O = (r F )
Moments of F about
r the coordinate axes
(components of M O ) r r r v
M x = yFz zFy r = xi + y j + zk
M y = zFx xFz
M z = xFy yFx

Prof. Banerjee, CE Dept 1 - 27

Engineers Mechanics- Review of Vector Algebra/Applications

Application: Moment of a Force About an Arbitrary Axis

Moment of a force about an arbitrary axis,

r r
M BL = M B
r r r
= (rA B F )
r r r
rA B = rA rB

The result is independent of the location

of point B along the given axis!!

Prof. Banerjee, CE Dept 1 - 28