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Experiment Name: Verification of law of concurrent forces and Equilibrium condition.

Objectives The object of the following experiments is to show that a system of co-planar
forces, when in equilibrium, have a closed vector diagram. The resolution of
forces and vector force diagrams are often used in engineering to find a solution
to a problem, particularly where calculation may be difficult or complex due to
the geometries involved.
Equipment/Apparatus The apparatus consists of a table with five pulley/clamp units. In the center of the
Description table a circular protractor and a central location peg. The three specimens, a
circle , a bell crank and a rectangular bar are used to illustrate various points
covered by the three theories below.
Theoretical Background Parallelogram of Forces
When several force of various magnitudes and direction act upon a body, they
constitute a system of forces. We are concerned with finding the condition for
such a system to be in equilibrium. The first
principle is the Parallelogram of Forces. This was first used indirectly by
Stevinus in 1586 and finally formulated by Newton and Varignon in 1687

Parallelogram Law
If two forces, represented by vector AB and AC acting under angle a on a body at
point A, their action is equivalent to the action of a single force, represented by
the vector AD. AD is obtained as the diagonal of the parallelogram constructed
on the vectors AB and AC, and directed a shown below.

An alternative to constructing a parallelogram is to make a triangle ACD. Take

the vector AC and from its end C draw CD equal and parallel to AB. Then the
third side of the triangle gives the resultant, the vector AD. Obtained in this way
the vector AD is the Geometric sum of vectors AC and CD.
The triangle ACD is called a Triangle of Forces.
If the angle between the vectors is small the triangle becomes narrow. Thus in
the limit where the two forces act on the same line and the same direction, the
resultant is equal to the sum of the two. Similarly if the forces act in opposite
directions the resultant is the difference and acts in the direction of the larger
force. So the resultant of two co-linear forces is the algebraic sum. From this
we may conclude a general law.

The Equilibrium Law :- Two forces can be in equilibrium only if they are equal
in magnitude, opposite in direction and co-linear in action. The resultant of such
a system is zero and their combined
action on a rigid body is no force at all, (neglecting internal stresses). A
generalisation of this gives a third law.

The Law of Superposition :- The action of a given system of forces on a rigid

body will in no way be changed if we add to or subtract from them another
system of forces in equilibrium.
Procedure Experiment One :- Concurrent Forces in a Plane

1. Place the load ring over the central peg.

2. Set up two load cords on the disc with the pulley blocks at the edge of
the apparatus table.
3. Read the angle of each cord from the circular scale.
4. Place a weight on the hanger on each cord, e.g. 5N at 30o and 5N at 90o
5. Now draw the two forces on paper to a suitable scale and work out the
resultant and its direction.
6. To check your workings set up a third cord at 180o to the resultant and
find the mass required to balance the disc specimen in the center of the
apparatus.
7. Repeat the experiment twice more with different angles and forces.

Experiment Two :- Equilibrium Law

1. To confirm the equilibrium law set up two equals loads at 1800 to each
other and note that the load ring stays at rest in the centre.
2. Note that when one force only is applied the load ring is held by the
central peg.
3. A balanced system will have a gap all-round the peg.
4. As the weights are made to a tolerance band there will always be a
difference between two weights of the same denomination.
5. Thus if the ring touches the peg see what force is required by hand to
move the plate away from the peg.
6. A very small force shows the system to be in a nominal balance or
equilibrium. A heavy force shows that there is a definite resultant force
acting.

Note:- The total load comprises both the hanger and the weight(s) thereon.
Results and Conclusion