COPLANAR

EQUILIBRIUM
ANALYSIS
EQUILIBRIUM
“A body is said to be in equilibrium if the
resultant of the force system that acts on the
body vanishes. Equilibrium means that both the
resultant force and the resultant couple are zero.”
EQUILIBRIUM
EQUATIONS
NOTE: The summations must, of course, include all the forces that
act on the body—both the applied forces and the reactions (the
forces provided by supports).
ANALYSIS OF
SINGLE BODIES
FREE-BODY DIAGRAM OF A
BODY
FREE-BODY DIAGRAM OF A
BODY
The free-body diagram (FBD) of a body is a
sketch of the body showing all forces that act
on it. The term free implies that all supports
have been removed and replaced by the forces
(reactions) that they exert on the body.
FREE-BODY DIAGRAM OF A
BODY
Forces that act on a body can be divided into
two general categories—reactive forces (or,
simply, reactions) and applied forces. Reactions
are those forces that are exerted on a body by
the supports to which it is attached. Forces
acting on a body that are not provided by the
supports are called applied forces.
GENERAL
PROCEDURE FOR
CONSTRUCTING A
FREE-BODY
DIAGRAM
GENERAL PROCEDURE FOR
CONSTRUCTING A FREE-BODY
DIAGRAM
1. A sketch of the body is drawn assuming that all supports
(surfaces of contact, supporting cables, etc.) have been
removed.

2. All applied forces are drawn and labeled on the sketch.

The weight of the body is considered to be an applied force
acting at the center of gravity. the center of gravity of a
homogeneous body coincides with the centroid of its
volume.
GENERAL PROCEDURE FOR
CONSTRUCTING A FREE-BODY
DIAGRAM
3. The support reactions are drawn and labeled on the
sketch. If the sense of a reaction is unknown, it should
be assumed. The solution will determine the correct
sense: A positive result indicates that the assumed
sense is correct, whereas a negative result means that
the correct sense is opposite to the assumed sense.
4. All relevant angles and dimensions are shown on the
sketch.
REACTIONS EXERTED BY VARIOUS COPLANAR
SUPPORT
REACTIONS EXERTED BY VARIOUS COPLANAR
SUPPORT
REACTIONS EXERTED BY VARIOUS COPLANAR
SUPPORT
SAMPLE PROBLEM
SAMPLE PROBLEM
COPLANAR
EQUILIBRIUM
EQUATIONS
COPLANAR EQUILIBRIUM
EQUATIONS
a. General Case a body is in equilibrium under a coplanar force
system if both the resultant force R and the resultant couple CR of
the force system are zero. It follows that the following three
conditions are necessary for equilibrium: where the moment center
O and the orientation of the xy-coordinate system can be chosen
arbitrarily. The two force equations are equivalent to R = 0, and the
moment equation assures us that CR = 0.
COPLANAR EQUILIBRIUM
EQUATIONS
1. Two force equations and one moment equation
The x- and y-directions do not have to be mutually
perpendicular—as long as they are not parallel. Hence, the
equilibrium equations can be restated as
COPLANAR EQUILIBRIUM
EQUATIONS
2. Two moment equations and one
force equation It is possible to replace
one of the force equations by a
moment equation, obtaining

Here, A and B are any two distinct

points, and x’ is any direction that is
notperpendicular to the line AB.
COPLANAR EQUILIBRIUM
EQUATIONS
3. Three moment equations We also
can replace both force equations by
two moment equations. The result is

where A, B, and C are any three

distinct, non-collinear points, as
indicated in Fig. 4.2.
COPLANAR EQUILIBRIUM
EQUATIONS
b. Concurrent force system
Recall that the resultant of a concurrent force system is a force R
that passes through the point of concurrency, which we label as
point O. The moment equation summation of MO = 0 now is
satisfied trivially, so that the number of independent equilibrium
equations is reduced from three to two.
 COPLANAR EQUILIBRIUM
EQUATIONS
1. Two force equations
where x’ and y’ are any two non-parallel directions in
the xy-plane.
 COPLANAR EQUILIBRIUM
EQUATIONS
2. Two moment equations
where A and B are any two points in the xy-plane
(except point O) provided that A, B, and O do not lie on a
straight line.
COPLANAR EQUILIBRIUM
EQUATIONS
3. One force equation and one moment equation
where A is any point in the xy-plane (except point O)
and x’ is any direction that is not perpendicular to the
line OA.
COPLANAR EQUILIBRIUM
EQUATIONS
c. Parallel force system
Assume that all the forces lying in the xy-plane are parallel
to the y-axis. The equation summation of Fx = 0 is
automatically satisfied, and the number of independent
equilibrium equations is again reduced from three to two.
COPLANAR EQUILIBRIUM
EQUATIONS
1. One force equation and one moment equation.
where y’ is any direction in the xy-plane except the x-
direction, and A is any point
in the xy-plane.
COPLANAR EQUILIBRIUM
EQUATIONS
2. Two moment equations
where A and B are any two points in the xy-plane,
provided that the line AB is not
parallel to the y-axis.
STEPS IN WRITING AND
SOLVING
EQUILIBRIUM
EQUATIONS
STEPS IN WRITING AND SOLVING
EQUILIBRIUM EQUATIONS
Step 1: Draw a free-body diagram (FBD) of the body
that shows all of the forces and couples that act on the
body.
Step 2: Write the equilibrium equations in terms of the
forces and couples thatappear on the free-body
diagram.
Step 3: Solve the equilibrium equations for the
unknowns.
SAMPLE PROBLEMS
SAMPLE PROBLEMS
FBD Involving Internal Reactions
Internal Reactions

• Forces that act on the connections internal to the

body.
• The calculations involve more than 1 FBD.
• Uses Newton’s 3rd Law of Motion
• Frames - are rigid structures that are designed to
carry load in a fixed position.
• Machines - contain moving parts and are usually
designed to convert an input force to an output force.
Internal Forces in Members

Observation:
No internal forces are shown on the FBD of the
entire beam.
Reason:
There are 2 internal force system acting on
every section of the beam that are equal in
magnitude but opposite in direction.
Internal Forces in Members
Internal Forces at Connections
Internal Forces in Connections

Notes:
1. The senses of Ax and Ay cannot be chosen arbitrarily here.
2. The senses of Bx and By were chosen arbitrarily, because this
is the first FBD on which these forces appear.
3. P and Q are applied directly to the pin at B, so they do not
appear on this FBD (recall that the pin at B has been removed).
FBD with pin reactions attached to bar AB
Special Case: Equal and Opposite Pin Reactions

If two members are joined by a pin and if there are no external

forces applied to the pin, then the forces that the pin exerts on
each member are equal in magnitude and oppositely directed.

Not equal and opposite in direction if:

• External force is applied to the pin
• More than two members are applied to the pin
Example
Example