Mechanics of Rigid Bodies
Mechanics- a branch of physical sciences
concerned with the state of rest or motion of
bodies subjected to the action of forces.
- The physical science concerned with
the behavior of bodies that are acted
upon by forces
- Oldest of the Physical sciences
3 types of Mechanics
1. Mechanics of Rigid Bodies
- Statics
- Dynamics
2. Mechanics of Deformable Bodies
3. Fluid Mechanics
Rigid Bodies
- A basic requirement for the study of
the mechanics of deformable bodies
and fluid mechanics
- Essential for the design and analysis
of many types of structural
members, mechanics, mechanical
components, electrical devices, etc,
encountered in
A RIGID BODY DOES NOT DEFORM
UNDER LOAD!!!!!!!!!!!!
Statics- study which deals with the
condition of bodies in equilibrium subjected
to external forces
- In other words, when the force
system acting on a body is
balanced, the system has no
external effect on the body or moves
at constant velocity, the body is in
equilibrium.
Dynamics- a branch of mechanics in which
the forces and their effects on the bodies in
motion are studies
Subdivided into two parts:
1. Kinematics- deals with the
geometry of motion of bodies without
and application of external forces
2. Kinetics- deals with the motion of
bodies with the application of
external forces.
Fundamental Concepts
Mass- quantity of matter possessed by a
body is called mass. The mass of a body
can not change unless the body is damaged
and part of it is physically separated
Length- concept to measure linear
distances
Time- a measure of succession of events.
The successive event selected is the
rotation of the earth about its own axis and
this is called Day
Space- any geometric region in which the
study of a body has been done is called
space
Displacement- defined as the distance
moved by a body/particle in the specified
direction
Velocity- rate of change of displacement
with respect to time
Acceleration- rate of change of velocity
with respect to time
Momentum- product of mass and velocity
Momentum= Mass x Velocity
Particle- an object which has only mass
and no size
- Such a body cannot exist
theoretically
- When we deal with the problem
involving distances considerably
larger compared to the size of the
body, the body may be treated as
particle
Force- represents the action of one body to
another. Characterized by its magnitude,
direction of action and its point of
application
FORCE IS A VECTOR QUANTITY
Newtonian Mechanics- Length, Time,
Mass are absolute concepts independent of
each other
Force is derived concept not
independent of other fundamental concepts.
Force acting on a body is related to mass of
the body and the variation of its velocity with
time.
Force can also occur between bodies
that are physically separated (Ex.
Gravitational, Electrical and magnetic
forces)
Mass- property of matter that does not
change form one location to another
Weight- refers to the gravitational attraction
of the earth on a body or quantity of mass.
Its magnitude depends upon the elevation
at which the mass is located.
Mechanics Idealization
To simplify application of theory
Particle- body with mass but with
dimensions that can be neglected
- Size is negligible compared to
motion
- All forces act through the center of
gravity
- Neglect rotation about center of
gravity
Rigid Bodies- points of application, and line
of action of forces are important
- Rotation and moments about center
of gravity are important
Concentrated Force- effect of a loading
assumed to act at a point (CG) on a body
- Provided the area over which the
load is applies is very small
compared to the overall size of the
body.
Mechanics: Newton’s Three Laws of
Motion
Basis of formation of rigid body mechanics
First Law: Law of Inertia
- A particle at rest, or moving is a
straight line with constant velocity,
tends to remain in this state provided
the particle is not subjected to an
unbalanced force.
Second Law: Law of Acceleration
- A particle of mass m 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
Third Law: Law of Interaction
- For every action there is an equal
and opposite reaction. The mutual
forces of action and reaction
between two particles are equal,
opposite, and colinear.
Units- measurements are always made in
comparison with certain standards
Four systemps of units used for the
measurement of physical quantities
1. FPS (Foot Pound Second) System
2. CGS (Centimitere Gram Second)
System
3. MKS (Meter Kilogram Second)
System
4. SI (System International d’ unites the
french name)
- The fundamental units of the system
are meter (m) for length, kilogram
(kg) for mass and second (s) for time
- The unit for force is newton (N). One
newton is the amount of force
required to induce an acceleration of
1m/sec 2 on one kg mass.
- Weight of a body (in N)= Mass of the
body (in kg) x Acceleration due to
gravity (in m/sec2)
- W=MxG
Dimensions- branch of mathematics
dealing with dimensions of quantities is
called dimensional analysis. There are two
systems of dimensional analysis
Absolute system (MLT system)- a system
of units defined on the basis of length, time,
and mass is referred to as an absolute
system
Gravitation system ( FLT system)- a
system of units defined on the basis of
length, time, and force is referred to as a
gravitational system
- In this system, force is measured in
a gravitational field. Thus, its
magnitude depends upon the
location where the measurement is
made. FLT system refers to the force
length time system
Sliding Vector- has a unique line of action
in space but not a unique point of
Scalars and Vectors
application
- Various quantities in engineering
- Ex. External force in a rigid body,
mechanics may be grouped into
Principle of Transmissibity, Imp in
scalars and vectors
rigid bodies
Scalar Quantity- completely defined by
magnitude alone
- Are
- Length
- Mass
- Moment of inertia
- Energy
- Fixed Vector- for which a unique
- Power
point of application is specified
- Volume
- Ex. Action of a force on a
- work
deformable body
Vector quantity- completely defined only
when its magnitude as well as direction are
specified
- Force
- Moment
- Momentum
- Displacement
- Velocity
- Acceleration
EQUIVALENT FORCE SYSTEM
Vectors Resolution of a force into components
Free vectors- action is not confined to or - Single force F acting on a particle
associated with a unique line in space may be replaced by two or more
- Ex. Movement of a body without forced that together have the same
rotation effect on the particle called
component of force
- Each forced F can be resolved into
an infinite number of possible sets of
components
Triangle rule
- one of the two components, P, is
known. We obtain the second
component, Q, by applying the
triangle rule and joining the tip of P
to the tip of F.
Parallelogram Method
- the line of action of each
component is known. We obtain the
magnitude and sense of the
components by applying the
parallelogram law and drawing lines
through the tip of F that are parallel
to the given line of action.
Adding force by Components
- adding forces using their
components, especially rectangular
components. this method is often the
most convenient way to add forces
and in practice, is the most common
approach
Parallelogram law for the addition of two
forces
- method for finding the resultant
Parallel force system
- one in which the action lines of all
the forces are parallel.
Moment of a Force
- The measure of its ability to produce
turning or twisting about the axis.
- The magnitude of the moment of a
force about an axis which is
perpendicular to a plane containing
the line of action of the force is
defined as the product of the force
and the perpendicular distance from
the axis to rhe line of action of the
force (M=Fd). The distance d is
frequently called the moment arm of
the force
Center of moments
- the axis of moments which is
perpendicular to the plane of forces
appears as a point commonly called
the center of moments.
Varignon’s Theorem
- The moment of a force is equivalent
to the sum of the moments of its
components
Couples
- Couple is made up of two equal,
parallel, oppositely directed forces
- Their moment sum is constant and
independent ofthe moment center.
- The moment of a couple C is equal
to the product of one of the forces
composing the couple multiplies by
the perpendicular distance between
their action line.
- C=Fxd
EQUILIBRIUM
- Remains at rest if originally at rest,
or has a constant velocity if originally
in motion
- Satisfies newton’s first law of motion,
which requires the resultant force
acting on a particle to be equal to
zero
- Follows from Newtin’s second law of
motion
- Force system and particle’s
acceleration is equal to zer0
Equilibrium of a particle
1. When the resultant of all the forces
acting on a particle is zero, the
particle is in equilibrium
2. A particle acted upon by two forces
is in equilibrium if the two forces
have the same magnitude and the
same line of action but opposite
sense
3. A case of equilibriu, of a particle is
represented in figure (a), where four
forces are shown acting in particle A
 - Frictionless pins in fitted
holes, hinges, rough
surfaces, Reactions of this
group involve two
unknowns and are usually
represented by their x and
y components

3. Reactionary equivalent to a force

and a couple
4. Resolving each force F into - Caused by fixed supports
rectangular components that oppose any motion of
5. We conclude that the necessary and the free body and thus
sufficient conditions for the constrain it completely.
equilibrium of a particle are scalar Reactions of this group
equations involve three unknowns
6. When the force and the couple are usually consisting of the two
both equal to zero, the external components of the force and
forces form a system equivalent to the moment of the couple
zero, and the rigid body is said to be
in equilibrium
7. The system of external forces
imparts no translational or rotational
motion to the body
8. In addition to the forces applied to a
structure, its supports exert reaction
on it. Specific reaction is associated
with each type of support
Reactions for a two-dimensional
structure
- The reactions exerted on a
two-dimensional structure fall into
three categories
1. Reactions Equivalent to a force
with known line of action
- Rollers, frictionless surfaces,
short links and cables, collars
on frictionless rods, and
frictoinless pins in slots. Each
of these supports and
connectoins can prevent
motion in one direction only

2. Reactions equivalent to a force of

unknown direction and magnitude
Statically Indeterminate Reactions and
Partial Constraints
1. Completely Constrained and
statically determinate
- The types of supports used
where such that the rigid
body could not possibly
move under the given loads
or under any other loading
conditions. The reactions
corresponding to these
supports involved three
unknowns and could be
determined by solving the
three equations available
2. Statically Indeterminate
- The number of unknowns
exceeds the number of
equilibrium equations
available
3. Partially Constrained
- The constraints provided by
the supports are not
sufficient to keep the object
from moving. In such a case,
the three equations of
equilibrium are not satisfied.
There are fewer unknowns
than equations
4. Improperly Constrained
- The supports (even though
the may provide sufficient
number of reactions) are
arranged in such a way that
the reactions must be either
concurrent or parallel.