LECTURE 1 INTRODUCTION AND REVIEW

Preamble
Engineering science is usually subdivided into number of topics such as

 Solid Mechanics
 Fluid Mechanics
 Heat Transfer
 Properties of materials and soon Although there are close links between them in terms of the
physical principles involved and methods of analysis employed.

The solid mechanics as a subject may be defined as a branch of applied mechanics that deals with
behaviours of solid bodies subjected to various types of loadings. This is usually subdivided into
further two streams:

1. Mechanics of rigid bodies or simply Mechanics, and

2. Mechanics of deformable solids.

load – the sum of all the external forces and moments acting on the body or system

The mechanics of rigid bodies is primarily concerned with the static and dynamic behaviour under
external loads of engineering components and systems which are treated as infinitely strong and
undeformable.
Primarily we deal here with the loads and motions associated with particles and rigid bodies.

The mechanics of deformable solids which is branch of applied mechanics is known by several
names i.e. strength of materials, mechanics of materials etc. The mechanics of deformable solids
is more concerned with the internal forces and associated changes in the geometry of the
components involved (deformations) [or it is a study of the relationship between the external loads
on a body and the intensity of the internal loads within the body.]

deformation – local changes of shape within a body,

Strength – the ability of a material to resist deformation. The strength of a component is usually
considered based on the maximum load that can bear before failure is apparent.
Extent of deformation dependent on:

1. Size and shape (geometry)

2. Material

 Structure
 Environmental factors (temperature, humidity)
 Nutrition

3. Load application

 Magnitude, direction, and duration of applied force

 Point of application (location)
 Rate of force application
 Frequency of load application
 Variability of magnitude of force
Of particular importance are the properties of the materials used, the strength of which will
determine whether the components fail by breaking in service, and the stiffness of which will
determine whether the amount of deformation they suffer is acceptable. Therefore, the subject of
mechanics of materials or strength of materials is central to the whole activity of engineering
design.
Usually the objectives in analysis here will be the determination of the stresses, strains, and
deflections produced by loads. Theoretical analyses and experimental results have an equal roles in
this field.
External Loads. A body is subjected to only two types of external loads; namely, surface forces or body
forces, Fig. 1–1.
Surface forces are caused by the direct contact of one body with the
surface of another. In all cases these forces are distributed over the
area of contact between the bodies.
If this area is small in comparison with the total surface area of the
body, then the surface force can be idealized as a single
concentrated force, which is applied to a point on the body.
If the surface loading is applied along a narrow strip of area, the
loading can be idealized as a linear distributed load, w(s). Here the
loading is measured as having an intensity of force/length along the
strip and is represented graphically by a series of arrows along the
lines. The resultant force FR of w(s) is equivalent to the area under
the distributed loading curve, and this resultant acts through the
centroid C or geometric center of this area.
Types of Loads:-

Uniaxial Loads
 Axial
 Compression
 Tension
 Shear

Multiaxial Loads
 Biaxial loading responses
 Triaxial loading responses
 Bending
 Torsion
Abody force is developed when one body exerts a force on another body without direct physical
contact between the bodies. Examples include the effects caused by the earth’s gravitation or its
electromagnetic field. Although body forces affect each of the particles composing the body, these
forces are normally represented by a single concentrated force acting on the body. In the case of
gravitation, this force is called the weight of the body and acts through the body’s center of gravity.
Procedure for Analysis:
The resultant internal loadings at a point located on the section of a body can be obtained using the
method of sections. This requires the following steps.
 Support Reactions.
• First decide which segment of the body is to be considered. If the segment has a support or
connection to another body, then before the body is sectioned, it will be necessary to determine the
reactions acting on the chosen segment.To do this draw the freebody diagram of the entire body and
then apply the necessary equations of equilibrium to obtain these reactions.
 Free-Body Diagram.
• Keep all external distributed loadings, couple moments, torques, and forces in their exact
locations, before passing an imaginary section through the body at the point where the resultant
internal loadings are to be determined.
• Draw a free-body diagram of one of the “cut” segments and indicate the unknown resultants N, V,
M, and T at the section. These resultants are normally placed at the point representing the geometric
center or centroid of the sectioned area.
• If the member is subjected to a coplanar system of forces, only N, V, and M act at the centroid.
• Establish the x, y, z coordinate axes with origin at the centroid and show the resultant internal
loadings acting along the axes.
 Equations of Equilibrium.
• Moments should be summed at the section, about each of the coordinate axes where the resultants
act. Doing this eliminates the unknown forces N and V and allows a direct solution for M (and T).
• If the solution of the equilibrium equations yields a negative value for a resultant, the assumed
directional sense of the resultant is opposite to that shown on the free-body diagram.

Support Reactions –The surface forces that develop at the supports or points of contact between
bodies are called reactions.
For two dimensional problems, i.e., bodies subjected to coplanar force systems, the supports
most commonly encountered are shown in Table 1–1. Note carefully the symbol used to
represent each support and the type of reactions it exerts on its contacting member. As a
general rule, if the support prevents translation in a given direction, then a force must be
developed on the member in that direction. Likewise, if rotation is prevented, a couple
moment must be exerted on the member.