ESci 124n

Engineering Mechanics II
Dynamics of Rigid Bodies

Prepared by:
Ruel C. Lamberte
Department of Agricultural and Biosystems Engineering
Course Instructor
 Module 1
Introduction to Dynamics of
Rigid Bodies
Learning Outcomes:

After completing module no.1, the students must be able to:

1. Explain what is mechanics.
2. Apply the fundamental concepts and unit of measurement in solving of dynamics
problems.
3. Explain what is dynamics.
4. Differentiate the branches of dynamics.
Lesson 1.1

 This lesson will cover the following topics:

• Definition of Mechanics

• Fundamental Concepts and Unit of Measurement

 Mechanics
a branch of the physical sciences that is
concerned with the state of rest or motion of
bodies subjected to the action of forces.

STATICS DYNAMICS
Fundamental Concepts
Basic Quantities
• Length
Used to locate the position of a point in space and thereby describe the
• Time
Conceived as a succession of events.
• Mass
Measure of a quantity of matter that is used to compare the action of one body to
another.
• Force
Considered as a “push” or “pull” exerted by one body on another.
Characterized by its magnitude, direction and point of application.
Fundamental Concepts
Idealizations
• Particle
Has a mass, but a size that can be neglected.

• Rigid Body
Combination of a large number of particles in which all the particles remain at a
fixed distance from one another, both before and after applying a load.

• Concentrated Force
Represents the effect of a loading which is assumed to act at a point on a body.
Fundamental Concepts
Newton’s Laws of Motion
• First Law
A particle originally at rest, or moving in a straight line with constant velocity, tends
to remain in this state provided the particle is not subjected to an unbalanced force.
Fundamental Concepts
Newton’s Laws of Motion
• Second Law
A particle acted upon by an unbalanced force F experiences an acceleration a that
has the same direction as the force and a magnitude that is directly proportional to
the force.
Fundamental Concepts
Newton’s Laws of Motion
• Third Law
The mutual forces of action and reaction between two particles are equal, opposite,
and collinear.
Fundamental Concepts
Newton’s Laws of Gravitational Attraction

where:
F – force of gravitation between two particles.
G – universal constant of gravitation (66.73 x 10-12 m3 / kg.s2)
m1 , m2 – mass of each of the two particles.
r – distance between the two particles.
Fundamental Concepts
Weight

Derived from Newton’s Law of Gravitational Attraction, , with the following

assumptions:
• m1 = m
• m2 = Me
• F=W
• g = GMe / r2
Unit of Measurements
Table 1. Systems of Units
Name Length Time Mass Force Acceleration Due
to Gravity (g)
International meter second kilogram Newton 9.81 m/s2
System of Units (m) (s) (kg) (N or kg.m/s2)
(SI)
U.S. Customary foot second slug pound 32.2 ft/s2
(FPS) (ft) (s) (lb.s2/ft) (lb)