Permatang Pauh Campus

Penang Malaysia

MEC 412 : Engineering Statics

Semester 1
Chapter 1: Introduction

By
Rosley Bin Jaafar
Faculty of Mechanical Engineering
rosley110@uitm.edu.my/019-5668192
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 MEC 412: Chapter 1
Introduction
Learning Outcome
Upon completion of this chapter, student should be able to;

⚫ describe of time, mass, force, space, scalar, vector and Newton`s

law.
⚫ show how to perform unit conversions
⚫ know the method of problem solution in engineering of mechanics

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 MEC 412: Chapter 1
Introduction
Chapter outline

⚫ Introduction to Statics
⚫ Conceptual Idealizations used in Statics
⚫ Fundamental Quantities in SI System
⚫ Newton’s Three Laws of Motion
⚫ Newton’s Law of Gravitational Attraction
⚫ System of units
⚫ Prefixes
⚫ Method of problem solving

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WHAT MAY HAPPEN IF STATICS IS NOT APPLIED
PROPERLY?

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 Chapter 1
Introduction
1.0 Introduction to Statics
⚫ Mechanics is the science which describes and predicts the conditions of
rest and motion of bodies under the action of forces.
⚫ Mechanics can be divided into 3 branches:

Mechanics

Mechanics of Mechanics of Mechanics of fluids

rigid bodies deformable bodies (Sem 2: MEC 441)
(Sem 4: MEC 442)

Statics Dynamics Compressible fluids Incompressible

(Sem 1: MEC412) (Sem 3: MEC420) (gases) fluids (liquids)

Mechanics of Materials
(Sem 3: MEC 411)
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 Chapter 1
Introduction
….1.Introduction to Statics

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 Chapter 1
Introduction
What is Statics?
➢ Knowledge of statics is fundamental to many engineering
applications as it enables engineers to make predictions about how
things will behave when they are subject to some actions.
➢ For example engineers need to predict how a bridge structure will
behave under the influence of forces such as the cars, trucks &
trains that will cross it and even under its own self weight.
➢ Engineering Statics is an analytical tool which can be used to make
predictions about how forces affect structures. You will use the
technique to predict how forces cause beams, columns and
machine parts to bend, stretch and possibly break.

Statics is the study of methods for quantifying the forces between

bodies. ... Statics is an essential prerequisite for many branches of
engineering, such as mechanical, civil, aeronautical, and bioengineering,
which address the various consequences of forces.

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 Chapter 1
Introduction
….What is Statics?
⚫ Statics deals with the equilibrium of bodies, that is those that
are either at rest or move with a constant velocity.
⚫ In statics we will assume the bodies to be perfectly rigid, no
deformation.
⚫ This is never true in the real world everything deforms a little
when a load is applied.
⚫ Dynamics is concerned with the accelerated motion of bodies.

Why is it important for engineers to have a good

understanding of static forces?

❖ To be able to calculate the dimensions of such structures and

machines, architects and engineers must first determine the
forces that act on their interconnected part. Statics provides the
analytical and graphical procedures needed to identify and
describe these unknown forces.
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 Chapter 1
Introduction
What Can You Do with Statics Knowledge?
Calculate the force in each member of this structure in order to
design it to withstand the loads that it will experience.

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 Chapter 1
Introduction
What Can You Do with Statics Knowledge?
Determine the forces that this prosthetic arm will need to
withstand to make exercise possible for the wearer.

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 Chapter 1
Introduction
What Can You Do with Statics Knowledge?
Design the joints and support of the Shuttle Remote Manipulator
System (SRMS) so that it can be used to pick up and support
various payloads.

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 Chapter 1
Introduction
1.1 Conceptual Idealizations used in Statics
y
⚫ Space - the geometric region occupied by
bodies whose positions are described by
linear and angular measurements relative to
a coordinate system.
x

z
Cartesian plane

⚫ Particle is a body of negligible dimension

(no size or shape) but has a mass.
F1
⚫ Eg: Size of Earth insignificant compared to its
size of orbit
**All forces acting on a particle are
considered to act through the same
concentric point F2
F3

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 Chapter 1
Introduction
⚫ Rigid body is a body of combination of a large number of
particles and is considered rigid when the relative
movement between its parts are negligible.
⚫ A body which has mass and a size and which remains rigid
and unaltered under the action of forces. Forces acting on
a rigid body do not generally all act at the same point
⚫ Eg: Deformations in structures, machines and mechanism

F1

F2

F3

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 Chapter 1
Introduction
1.2 Fundamental Quantities in SI System
⚫ Time - the measure of the succession of events
⚫ Common units of measure: second, minute, hour
⚫ Mass - Comparison of action of one body against another . Measure
of resistance of matter to a change in velocity
⚫ Common units of measure: kilogram, gram
⚫ Length – Locate position and describe size of physical system.
Define distance and geometric properties of a body
⚫ Common units of measure: meter, kilometer, millimeter.
⚫ Force - A force is a push or pull, or any action that has the ability
to change motion

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 Chapter 1
Introduction
⚫ A force is a Vector quantity and must have
Magnitude, Direction (line of action) and
Point of action.
⚫ Force - the action of one body on another
body. A force tends to move a body in the
direction of its action.
⚫ – “push” or “pull” exerted by one body on
another
– Occur due to direct contact between
bodies
Eg: Person pushing against the wall or a car.
– Occur through a distance without direct
contact
Eg: Gravitational, electrical and magnetic
forces
⚫ Common SI units of measure: Newton
⚫ Forces can be classified as distributed
force/load and concentrated force/load.

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 Chapter 1
Introduction
⚫ A force system divided into four:
⚫ Concurrent forces;
⚫ Parallel forces;
⚫ Coplanar forces;
⚫ Collinear forces.
❖ A force system is said to be concurrent,
if the lines of all forces intersect at a
common point.
❖ A force system is said to be coplanar, if
the lines of the action of all forces lie in
one plane.
❖ Parallel forces lie in the same plane and
have lines of action that never intersect
each other. Two forces that are parallel
can either be in the same direction or in
opposite directions.
❖ When the lines of action of all the forces
of a system act along the same line, this
force system is called collinear force 21

system.
 Chapter 1
Introduction
⚫ The force of gravity on an object is called
weight.
⚫ Mass and weight are not the same; (Mass
= how much stuff) and (Weight = the force
of gravity pulling on that stuff)
⚫ A 10-kilogram rock has a mass of 10
kilograms no matter where it is in the
universe.
⚫ A 10-kilogram rock’s weight however, can
vary greatly depending on where it is.
 Chapter 1
Introduction
1.3 Newton’s Three Laws of
Motion
⚫ First Law
“A particle originally at rest, or
moving in a straight line with
constant velocity, will remain
in this state provided that the
particle is not subjected to an
unbalanced force”

⚫ 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
F = ma
that is directly proportional to
the
force”

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 Chapter 1
Introduction
⚫ Third Law
“The mutual forces of action and
reaction between two particles
are equal and, opposite and
collinear”

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 Chapter 1
Introduction
1.4 Newton’s Law of Gravitational Attraction
m1 m2
F =G
where
r2
F = force of gravitation between two particles
G = universal constant of gravitation
m1,m2 = mass of each of the two particles
r = distance between the two particles
mMe
Weight, W =G 2
r
Letting g = GMe / r 2 yields

Then W = mg
⚫ g is dependent upon r. Most cases use g = 9.81 m/s²
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 Chapter 1
Introduction
1.5 System of units
⚫ Base units are units of length, mass and time.
▪ Length Mass Time
⚫ SI Units Meter (m) Kilogram (kg) Second (s
⚫ English Units Foot (ft) Slug (slug) Second (s)

⚫ Force: Newton (N)

1 N = (1 kg)(1 m/ s²)
1 Newton is the force required to give a mass of
1 kg an acceleration of 1 m/ s².

⚫ Weight is a force. The weight of 1 kg Mass is:

W = mg
W = (1 kg)(9.81 m/ s²)
W = 9.81 N

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 Chapter 1
Introduction
1.6 Prefixes
⚫ For a very large or very small numerical quantity, the units can be modified
by using a prefix
⚫ Each represent a multiple or sub-multiple of a unit
Eg: 4,000,000 N = 4000 kN (kilo-newton)
= 4 MN (mega- newton)
0.005m = 5 mm (milli-meter)

Exponential form Prefix SI Symbol

Multiple
1 000 000 000 109 Giga G
1 000 000 106 Mega M
1 000 103 Kilo k
Sub-Multiple
0.001 10-3 Milli m
0.000 001 10-6 Micro μ
0.000 000 001 10-9 nano n
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 Chapter 1
Introduction

Example
Evaluate each of the following and express with SI units having an
approximate prefix: (a) (50 mN)(6 GN), (b) (400 mm)(0.6 MN)2

Solution
First convert to base units, perform indicated
operations and choose an appropriate prefix

(50mN )(6GN ) (400mm)(0.6MN )2

 ( )  ( ) 
= 50 10−3 N 6 109 N

= 400(10 )m0.6(10 )N 
−3 6 2

= 300(10 )N
= 400(10 )m0.36(10 )N 
6 2
−3 12 2

= 300(10 )N 
 1kN  1kN 
  = 144(10 )m.N
6 2 9 2
  
3 3
10 N 10 N
= 300kN 2 = 144Gm.kN 2
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 Chapter 1
Introduction
2.0 Method of problem solving
⚫ The solution of problems in Problem

mechanics can be
approached in a very Statement of problem
systematic manner:
⚫ state the given data
Free body diagram (FBD)
⚫ state the results desired
⚫ draw necessary diagrams
(free-body diagrams) Equation formulation
⚫ develop equations
⚫ solve the problem to obtain
solution Solution

⚫ check solution
⚫ CHECK UNITS!! Error checking
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 Chapter 1
Introduction
⚫ Problem Solving
technique.
⚫ Ability to imagine/visualise
mechanism
⚫ Draw Free Body Diagram
(FBD)
⚫ Applied Newton’s Laws &
others related
⚫ Basic Math/Physic

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 Chapter 1
Introduction

Thank You

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