Engineers Mechanics- Couple Moment

Moment of a Couple
Two forces F and -F having the same magnitude,
parallel lines of action, and opposite sense are said
to form a couple.

Moment of the couple,

r r r r r
( )
M = rA F + rB F
r
r r
= (rA rB ) F
r r r
= rF =C Special Notation
M = rF sin = Fd = C

The moment vector of the couple is

independent of the choice of the origin of the
coordinate axes, i.e., it is a free vector that
can be applied at any point with the same
effect.

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Engineers Mechanics- Couple Moment
Moment of a Couple

Two couples will have equal moments if

F1d1 = F2 d 2

the two couples lie in parallel planes, and

the two couples have the same sense or

the tendency to cause rotation in the same
direction.

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Engineers Mechanics- Couple Moment
Addition of Couples
Consider two intersecting planes P1 and
P2 with each containing a couple
r r r
M 1 = r F1 in plane P1
r r r
M 2 = r F2 in plane P2

Resultants of the vectors also form a

couple
r r r r r r
M = r R = r (F1 + F2 )

Sum of two couples is also a couple that is equal

to the vector sum of the two couples
r r r r r
M = r F1 + r F2
r r
= M1 + M 2

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Engineers Mechanics- Couple Moment
Summary

A couple can be represented by a vector with magnitude

and direction equal to the moment of the couple.

Couple vectors obey the law of addition of vectors.

Couple vectors are free vectors, i.e., the point of application

is not significant.

Couple vectors may be resolved into component vectors.

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Engineers Mechanics- Equivalent Force-Couple System
Translation of a force at A to a parallel position at O

Force vector F can not be simply moved to O without modifying its

action on the body.

Attaching equal and opposite force vectors at O produces no net

effect on the body.

The force may be replaced by an equivalent force vector and

couple moment vector, i.e, a force-couple system.
r r r
(
MO = r F )
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Engineers Mechanics- Equivalent Force-Couple System
System of Forces: Reduction to a Force and Couple

A system of forces may be replaced by a collection of force-couple systems

acting at a given point O
The force and couple vectors may be combined into a
resultant force vector and a resultant couple vector,
r r rR r r r
R = F (
MO = r F + C )
add applied couple moment , if any, present in the rigid body

The force-couple system at O may be moved to O

with the addition of the moment of R about O ,
rR rR r r
M O' = M O + s R

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Engineers Mechanics- Equivalent Force-Couple System
Equivalent Systems: Significance
Mathematically, two systems of forces are equivalent if they can be reduced to
the same force-couple system.

Each system must produce same push or pull in the rigid body , i.e, should
have the same resultant vector R

Each system must produce same turning action about any point in the rigid
body, i.e., should have the same resultant couple vector MR

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Engineers Mechanics- Equivalent Force-Couple System
Further Reduction of a System of Forces
If the resultant force and couple at O are mutually
perpendicular, they can be replaced by a single force acting
along a new line of action.

The resultant force-couple system for a system of forces

will be mutually perpendicular if:

1) the forces are coplanar, or

2) the forces are parallel. coplanar

parallel

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Engineers Mechanics- Equivalent Force-Couple System
Reduction of a Coplanar Force System to a Single Force

System of coplanar forces

r isrreduced to a
force-couple system R and M OR that is
mutually perpendicular.
r r rR r r
R = F (
MO = r F )
System can be reduced to a singler force
by moving the line of action of rR until
its moment about O becomes M OR

In terms of rectangular coordinates,

xR y yRx = M OR

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Engineers Mechanics- Equivalent Force-Couple System
Reduction of a Parallel Force System to a Single Force

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Engineers Mechanics- Equivalent Force-Couple System
Example of Coplanar Force System
3 tugboats moving USS John F. Kennedy

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Engineers Mechanics- Equivalent Force-Couple System
Distributed Force-Reduction to a Single Force

Total load (resultant)

L A distributed load is represented by plotting the load
W = wdx = dA = A per unit length, w (N/m) . The total load is equal to
0
the area under the load curve.

Line of action
(x )W = x dW = x wdx A distributed load can be replaced by a
concentrated load with a magnitude equal to the
or
area under the load curve and a line of action
(x )A = x dA passing through the area centroid.

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