Statics of Rigid Bodies

Introduction to Mechanics

Engr. Felix Paul c.Rabago

Instructor i
 Engineering Mechanics
Mechanics may be defined as the science, which
describes and predicts the conditions of rest or
motion of bodies under the action of forces.
Engineering mechanics is the branch of
engineering that applies the principles of
mechanics to design, which must take into
account the effect of forces
 Engineering Mechanics
The goals of engineering mechanics courses are
to build strong foundation, to acquaint the
student with as many general methods of attack
as possible, to illustrate the application of these
methods to practical engineering problems, but
to avoid routine drill in the manipulation of
standardized methods of solution
Engineering Mechanics
 IDEALIZATION OF MECHANICS
Mathematical models or idealizations are used
in mechanics to simplify the application of
theory. Now we, will define some of the
important idealizations. Others will be discussed
at points where they are needed
 IDEALIZATION OF MECHANICS
Particle. A particle has a mass, but a size that
can be neglected. For example, the size of the
earth is insignificant compared to the size of its
orbit, and therefore the earth can be modeled
as a particle when studying its orbital motion.
When a body is idealized as a particle, the
principles of mechanics reduce to a rather
simplified form since the geometry of the body
will not be involved in the analysis of the
problem
 IDEALIZATION OF MECHANICS
Rigid Body is the one in which the
distance between any two arbitrary
points is invariant. Actually, solid
bodies are not rigid, but deform
under the action of forces. It is
assumed to be rigid, if the
deformation is negligible
compared to the size of the body.
Example: A wheel of a car; a lever
supporting two weights at its ends.
 IDEALIZATION OF MECHANICS
Concentrated Force. A
concentrated force represents
the effect of a loading which is
assumed to act at a point on a
body. We can represent a load
by a concentrated force,
provided the area over which
the load is applied is very small
compared to the overall size of
the body. An example would be
the contact force between a
wheel and the ground.
 Basic Concepts
For the investigation of problems of engineering
mechanics, we must introduce the concept of
space, mass, time, and force. These basic
concepts cannot be truly defined but are
developed for axiomatic thinking and mutual
understanding.
 Basic Concepts
Space refers to the geometric region that the
body occupies. The positions of bodies are
described by linear and angular measurements
relative to a coordinate system.
 Basic Concepts
Mass is the quantity of matter in the body.
Matter refers to the substance of which physical
bodies are composed. Each body is made up of
atoms and molecules. Mass can also be regarded
as a measure of the inertia of a body, which is its
resistance to a change of motion.
 Basic Concepts
Time is the measure of sequence of events. Time
is related to the concepts of before, after and
simultaneous occurrence of two or more events.
Time is a basic quantity in dynamics and it is not
directly involved in the analysis of statics
problems.
 Basic Concepts
Force may be defined as any action that tends to
change the state of rest of a body to which it is
applied. The specifications or characteristics of a
force are its magnitude, its point of application,
and its direction. Force is a vector quantity. In
Newtonian mechanics, space, time and mass are
absolute concepts, i.e., independent of each
other. The concepts of force is related to the mass
of the body with Newton’s second law
 Basic Concepts
FORCE to simply put it, is either a PUSH or a
PULL. Force tends to change the state of motion
of the body on which it is acted upon
 SYSTEM OF FORCES
When several forces of various magnitudes and
directions act upon a body, they are said to
constitute a system of forces. The system of
forces may be classified according to the
orientation of the lines of action of the forces as
follows:
 SYSTEM OF FORCES
Force Systems in Plane: System of forces consists
of a set of forces with their lines of action lying in
the same plane
Force Systems in Space: System of forces consists
of a set of forces with their lines of action lying in
the space
 SYSTEM OF FORCES
Both force systems in plane and force systems in
space can further be classified into:
• Concurrent force system;
• Parallel force systems; and,
• Non-concurrent or general force system.
SYSTEM OF FORCES
 SYSTEM OF FORCES
Concurrent Force System in a
Plane. In this system, the lines
of action of all forces pass
through a single point and
forces lie in the same plane
 SYSTEM OF FORCES
Parallel Force System in a Plane. In this system,
the lines of action of all forces lie in the same
plane and are parallel to each other
 SYSTEM OF FORCES
General Force System in a Plane. The lines of
action of these forces lie in the same plane but
they are neither parallel nor concurrent.
 SYSTEM OF FORCES
Concurrent Force System
in Space. The lines of
action of all forces pass
through a single point but
not lie in the same plane.
Tripod carrying a camera
as shown in the figure
below for example
 SYSTEM OF FORCES
Parallel Force System in
Space. The lines of action
of all forces are parallel to
each other, but not lie in
the same plane.
 SYSTEM OF FORCES
General Force System in Space.
The lines of action of these
forces do not lie in the same
plane and they are neither
parallel nor concurrent.
Concurrent force systems can
act on a particle or a rigid body.
Parallel and general force
systems can act only on a
system of particles, a rigid body
or a system of rigid bodies