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Equilibrant force

An equilibrant force is a force which brings a body into mechanical

equilibrium. According to Newton's second law, a body has zero
acceleration when the vector sum of all the forces acting upon it is zero.
Therefore, an equilibrant force is equal in magnitude and opposite in
direction to the resultant of all the other forces acting on a body.

 Types of Equilibrium
1. Static Equilibrium
2. Dynamic Equilibrium

Static Equilibrium
If some forces are acting on a body horizontally or vertically,
and the body remains it states of rest is called Static
Equilibrium

Dynamic Equilibrium
If some forces are acting on a body horizontally or vertically,
and the body remains it states of motion is called Dynamic
Equilibrium
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 The best way to find out the type of force acting on a free-body
diagram

Free body diagram

A free body diagram consists of a diagrammatic representation of a single body or

a subsystem of bodies isolated from its surroundings showing all the forces acting
on it In physics and engineering, a free body diagram is a graphical illustration
used to visualize the applied forces, moments, and resulting reactions on a body
in a given condition. They depict a body or connected bodies with all the applied
forces and moments, and reactions, which act on the body(ies). The body may
consist of multiple internal members (such as a truss), or be a compact body (such
as a beam). A series of free bodies
and other diagrams may be
necessary to solve complex
problems.

First step in the static

equilibrium analysis of a
rigid body is
identification of all
forces acting on the
body with a free-body
diagram.

• select the extent

of the free-body and
detach it from the
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ground and all other
bodies.

• indicate point of
application,
magnitude, and
direction of external
forces, including the
rigid body weight.

• Indicate point of
application and
assumed direction of
unknown applied
forces. These

usually consist of reactions through which the ground and

other bodies oppose the possible motion of the rigid body.

Include the dimensions necessary to compute the moments of

the forces.

 Clarification on equilibrium
When all the forces that act upon an object are balanced, then the object is
said to be in a state of equilibrium. The forces are considered to
be balanced if the rightward forces are balanced by the leftward forces and
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the upward forces are balanced by the downward forces. This however
does not necessarily mean that all the forces are equal to each other.
Consider the two objects pictured in the force diagram shown below. Note
that the two objects are at equilibrium because the forces that act upon
them are balanced; however, the individual forces are not equal to each
other. The 50 N force is not equal to the 30 N force.
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Equilibrium in Two Dimensions

For a structure subjected to a system of forces and couples which
are lying in the x y plane to remain at rest, it must satisfy the
following three equilibrium conditions:

The above three conditions are commonly referred to as the equations of equilibrium
for planar structures. ∑ Fx and ∑ Fy are the summation of the x and y components of all
the forces acting on the structure, and ∑ Mz is the summation of the couple moments
and the moments of all the forces about an axis z, perpendicular to the plane xy of the
action of the forces.
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Example
1) Suppose that two known forces are pushing an object and an unknown
equilibrant force is acting to maintain that object in a fixed position. One
force points to the west and has a magnitude of 10 N, and the other
points to the south and has a magnitude of 8.0 N. By the Pythagorean
theorem, the resultant of these two forces has a magnitude of
approximately 12.8 N, which is also the magnitude of the equilibrant
force. The angle of the equilibrant force can be found by trigonometry to
be approximately 51 degrees north of east.

2)Find the reactions at support of the following beam

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Applying eqn of equilibrium:

∑Fx=0;

Ax=0

∑Fy=0;
Ay+By-10-20*4=0
Ay+By=90kn………(1)

Considering Z axis passing through A and taking moment

of all the forces about Zaxis (taking clockwise –ve and
anticlockwise +ve)
∑Mz=0; By*10-10*8-20*4*2=0

By=24kn

Putting this 24kn value in eqn (1) we get, Ay=66kn.

Equilibrium - Applications
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What is the difference between the

equilibrium and stability ?
Although both equilibrium and stability of a word have somewhat
similar meanings, they cannot be used interchangeably. There is
a distinct difference between balance and stability, especially in
terms of body movements. When we talk about body movements,
balance refers to the ability to maintain control of a body in a
stationary position while stability refers to the ability to maintain
control of a body while in motion. This is the main difference
between equilibrium and stability.