MODULE 1 – FUNDAMENTAL CONCEPTS

INTRODUCTION
Mechanics may be defined as the physical science which describes and predicts the conditions of
rest or motion of bodies under the action of force systems. In other words, where there is motion
or force, there is mechanics.
Mechanics is divided into three parts as shown below:
Mechs. of Rigid Bodies: Mechs. of Deformable Bodies: Mechs. of Fluids:
Statics Theory of Elasticity Compressible Fluids
Dynamics Strength of Materials Incompressible Fluids
Theory of Plasticity
Theory of Failure

As seen, mechanics of rigid bodies is divided into two parts as “Statics” and “Dynamics”.
Statics, is the branch of mechanics that deals with the bodies that are acted on by balanced
forces. A force system acting on a body is said to be balanced if it has no tendency to change the
state of rest or motion of the body in any way. If a body is in equilibrium, the force system acting
on it must be balanced.
Furthermore, a body in a state of equilibrium must be either at rest or moving along a straight
path with a constant velocity. Most problems in Statics concern bodies at rest.
Statics constitutes a very important part of mechanics since it presents solution methods for the
determination of support forces at bodies in equilibrium and establishment of relationships
between external loads and internal force distribution. Numerous practical engineering problems
involving load carrying members can be solved by using the Principles of Statics.
Dynamics is concerned with moving bodies. It is subdivided into two parts as Kinematics and
Kinetics. Kinematics deals with the geometry of motion without taking into consideration the
loading that causes this motion. Kinetics considers the loads that cause the motion.
In rigid body mechanics, it is assumed that bodies are completely rigid–nondeformable. In reality
though, no structure or machine is completely rigid and it will somewhat deform under the effect
of forces it is subjected to. However, these deformations are generally extremely small and they
neither affect the body in concern nor the equilibrium conditions appreciably. On the other hand,
if the fact considered in the analysis is the amount of deformation in the member or its resistance
against failure, these deformations gain importance and in this case, such bodies become the
subject of mechanics of deformable bodies.
The third part of mechanics, mechanics of fluids is concerned with liquids and gases at rest or in
motion.
A comprehensive knowledge of mathematics is essential for the solution of almost all problems
in mechanics.
FUNDAMENTAL CONCEPTS AND DEFINITIONS
Certain concepts and definitions are basic to the study of mechanics and they should be
understood at the outset.
The basic concepts in mechanics are space, time, mass and force. These concepts cannot be truly
defined. They should be accepted on the basis of our intuition and experience, and used as a
mental frame of reference for our study of mechanics. In Newtonian mechanics, space, time and
mass are absolute quantities, which mean that they are independent of each other (this is not true
in Relativistic Mechanics, where the time of an event depends upon its position and the mass of a
body varies with its velocity) and cannot be defined in terms of other quantities or in simpler
terms. Force is a derived quantity.
Space: is the geometric region occupied by bodies whose positions are described by linear or
angular measurements relative to a specific coordinate system. For three dimensional problems,
three independent coordinates are needed. For two dimensional problems only two coordinates
will be required.
Time: is a concept for measuring the succession and the duration of events. Time is not directly
involved in the analysis of problems in Statics.
Mass: is a measure of the translational inertia of the body, which is its resistance to a change in
velocity. Mass can also be thought of as the quantity of matter in a body. The mass of a body
affects the gravitational attraction force between it and other bodies.
The concept of mass is used to characterize and compare two bodies on the basis of certain
fundamental mechanical experiments depending on the definitions given above. For example: 1)
Two bodies of the same mass will be attracted by the Earth in the same manner. 2) They will also
offer the same resistance to a change in translational motion.

FORCE AND THEIR CHARACTERISTICS

Force: A force represents the action of one body on another. Force can be generated either by
the direct contact of bodies or by their effect at a distance. Forces always occur in pairs. Forces
of a pair are always equal in magnitude and opposite in direction. Force is a vector quantity. The
action of a force is characterized by its magnitude, by the direction of its action and by its point
of application. A force tends to move a body in the direction of its action (the push – pull effect
of the force). In addition, a force tends to rotate the body about any axis which does not intersect
the line of action of the force and which is not parallel to it (the moment effect of the force).
Idealization in Mechanics: The mathematical description of a real engineering problem can
become very complex. Thus, idealization (or models) and assumptions are used in mathematics
in order to simplify the application of the theory.
1. Particle: is a body of negligible dimensions. In the mathematical sense, a particle is a
body whose dimensions are considered to be near zero so that we may analyze it as a
mass concentrated at a point. We often choose a particle as a differential element of the
body. We may treat a body as a particle when its dimensions are irrelevant to the
description of its position or the action of forces applied to it. A body considered as a
particle is taken as a unique point, which is generally the mass center of the body. A
particle has mass but no shape and dimensions. In so doing, the principles of mechanics
are reduced to a rather simplified form, since the geometry of the body will not be
involved in the analysis of the problem. The 1 line of actions of all the forces applied to
the body must pass through this point. Forces can only exert push – pull effects on a
particle.
2. Rigid Body: is an idealized body composed of a large number of particles all of which
always remain at fixed distances from each other. In addition to the tendency to move a
body in the direction of its application, a force may also tend to rotate a body about an
axis. A rigid body is assumed to undergo no deformation under the action of applied
forces. Its shape and dimensions remain fixed under all loading conditions and at all
times.
3. Point Force: is an idealized force assumed to act at a point on a body. A constant force
exerted on a body by another is actually distributed over the area of contact between two
bodies. If the area of contact is relatively small, the contact force between the two bodies
may be considered as a point (concentrated) force.

LAWS OF MECHANICS
1) The Parallelogram Law: Two vectors A and B, treated as free vectors, can be replaced
by their equivalent R, which is the diagonal of the parallelogram formed by A and B as
its two sides, as shown. R is called the resultant of A and B. Hence, the combined effect
of two forces A and B (for example acting on a particle) is equivalent to the effect of their
resultant.
2) The Principle of Transmissibility: The effect of a force on a rigid body will remain
unchanged if the forced is moved to act on its line of action. In other words, a force may
be applied at any point on its given line of action without altering the resultant effects on
the rigid body on which it acts.

3) Newton’s First Law: If the resultant force acting on a particle is zero, then the particle is
in equilibrium. Stated mathematically as ( 0 = F v ), where F v is the vector sum (the
resultant) of all the forces acting on the particle.
4) Newton’s Second Law: The acceleration of a particle is proportional to the resultant
force acting on it and is in the direction of this force.

5) Newton’s Third Law: The forces of action and reaction between interacting bodies are
equal in magnitude, opposite in direction and collinear.
6) Newton’s Law of Gravitation: This law states that two particles of mass m1 and m2 are
mutually attracted with equal and opposite forces F v and F v of magnitude F, given by
the formula.

where, “r” is the centroidal distance between the two particles

 “G” is the universal constant of gravitation equal to
A particular case of great importance is that of the attraction of the Earth on a particle located at
its surface. The force F exerted by the Earth on the particle is then defined as the weight W of the
particle.
W = mg Where,
“m” is the mass of the particle
“g” is the gravitational acceleration of the Earth

EXTERNAL AND INTERNAL EFFECTS OF FORCES

Forces can be categorized as internal forces or external forces. There are many
sophisticated and worthy ways of explaining and distinguishing between internal and external
forces. Many of these ways are commonly discussed at great length in physics textbooks -
particularly college-level physics textbooks. For our purposes, we will simply say that external
forces include the applied force, normal force, tension force, friction force, and air resistance
force. And for our purposes, the internal forces include the gravity forces, magnetic force,
electrical force, and spring force. While this is a simplistic approach, it is an approach that will
serve us well in our introduction to physics.
Internal Forces External Forces
Fgrav Fapp
Fspring Ffrict
Fair
Ftens
  Fnorm

The importance of categorizing a force as being either internal or external is related to the
ability of that type of force to change an object's total mechanical energy when it does work upon
an object. When net work is done upon an object by an external force, the total mechanical
energy (KE + PE) of that object is changed. If the work is positive work, then the object will gain
energy. If the work is negative work, then the object will lose energy. The gain or loss in energy
can be in the form of potential energy, kinetic energy, or both. Under such circumstances, the
work that is done will be equal to the change in mechanical energy of the object. This principle
will be discussed in great detail later in this lesson. Because external forces are capable of
changing the total mechanical energy of an object, they are sometimes referred to
as nonconservative forces.
When the only type of force doing net work upon an object is an internal force (for
example, gravitational and spring forces), the total mechanical energy (KE + PE) of that object
remains constant. In such cases, the object's energy changes form. For example, as an object is
"forced" from a high elevation to a lower elevation by gravity, some of the potential energy of
that object is transformed into kinetic energy. Yet, the sum of the kinetic and potential energies
remains constant. This is referred to as energy conservation and will be discussed in detail later
in this lesson. When the only forces doing work are internal forces, energy changes forms - from
kinetic to potential (or vice versa); yet the total amount of mechanical is conserved. Because
internal forces are capable of changing the form of energy without changing the total amount of
mechanical energy, they are sometimes referred to as conservative forces.
External forces are forces caused by external agent present outside of the
system. External non-zero net force imparts an acceleration to the center of mass of the system
regardless of point of application. Internal forces are forces exchanged by the objects in the
system. Internal forces may cause acceleration in different parts of the system but does not cause
any acceleration in the center of mass of the entire system. 
Example: Friction is an external force if the body experiencing friction in the system.
If both the bodies involved in friction are considered as a system, then it acts as an internal force.

External Forces are those which are applied to the boundary of a structure. This includes explicit
externally applied forces as well as the forces that are applied by the supports to restrain the
structure as shown in the figure below.
Internal forces are those that are exerted on a portion of a structure by the rest of the structure.
You would only see these forces if you were to make a cut in the structure and separate it into
two free body diagrams.
 Figure 1.1: External and Internal Forces in a Structure

The difference between internal and external forces is illustrated by the sample beam
structure shown in Figure 1.1. The top diagram in the figure shows the full structure, including
the supports. This is not a free body diagram because it does not include all of the forces acting
on the system (it is missing the reactions). The full structure is converted to a free body diagram
in the second diagram from the top of the figure. This structure has a fixed end at the left (point
A) which contributes three unknown reactions: the horizontal and vertical
reactions Ax and Ay and the reaction moment MA. It also has a roller support at point D which
contributes only one reaction force Dy (perpendicular to the rolling direction). A uniformly
distributed load of 10kN/m is applied to the entire length of the beam. This means that for every
meter of beam length, 10kN of force is spread out evenly across that length. In addition, an extra
point load of 30kN is applied at Point C in the downwards direction. The beam structure also has
a hinge located at point B. This hinge allows the beam to rotate freely on either side of point B
(just like a door hinge). Since the hinge can rotate freely, there cannot be any internal moment at
point B. In the free body diagram of the full structure, all of the forces shown are external forces,
meaning that they are applied to the boundary of the structure (the outside). These external forces
include both the reactions and the distributed/point loads.

The lower two diagrams in Figure 1.1 show the internal forces at two different points on
the beam (points B and C). In order to investigate the internal forces, we must separate the
structure into two separate parts, each with a separate free body diagram. The forces/moments on
either side of the cut must be equal and opposite in direction for the two separate pieces. For the
separation at point B, the structure is being cut at the location of the hinge. The hinge cannot
have any moment in it (since it has no resistance to rotations). Therefore, there are only two
forces at the cut for the hinge, a vertical force and a horizontal force. The vertical force VB,
which is perpendicular to the beam, represents the shear force within the beam at point B. On the
left side of the cut, VB points down, and on the right side it points up. These are in the opposite
direction and have the same magnitude (VB). The horizontal force NB, which is parallel to the
beam, represents the axial force (tension or compression) within the beam at point B. On the left
side of the cut, NB points to the right, and on the right side it points to the left. Again, they point
in opposite directions and have the same magnitude. As they are drawn here, they would
represent a tension force in the beam. If the arrows were both in the reverse direction, they would
represent a compression in the beam.

If the structure is cut at point C (the bottom diagram in Figure 1.1), then there are three
unknown internal forces at the cut, VC, NC and the bending moment MC. Since there is no hinge
at point C, the beam can transmit moment through the beam at that point. The axial force and
shear force at point C point in opposite directions as before on either side of the cut. The
moments are also in opposite directions on either side of the cut, being drawn counter clock-wise
on the left side, and clock-wise on the right side. At point C, there is also a point load of 30kN.
When the structure is cut at point C, the point load must be located on one side of the cut or the
other, but cannot be located on both free body diagrams. If the point load is located on the right
side of the cut (as shown in the figure), then the internal shear force VC will be the shear force to
the left of the point load. If the point load was located on the left side of the cut, then VC would
be the shear on the right side of the point load. This is important to clarify, because the point load
instantaneously changes the shear at point C, so it is meaningless to talk about the shear right at
point C, only immediately to the left or right side of it. This is also true if a cut is being made at a
reaction load location (caused by a support). From the point of view of the beam, there is no
difference between an applied point load or a reaction load. They are both just external forces.
The moment and axial force at point C will be the same regardless of which side of the cut the
point load gets put on.
Sign Conventions There are two different types of sign conventions that we will be concerned
with in structural analysis.

External Forces (or those applied to an FBD)

The first sign convention is for external forces. This may include forces that are caused by
internal forces but which are applied at a cut in the structure (on a free body diagram). The sign
convention for point forces is shown in Figure 1.2. In these notes, forces towards the right (→)
will be considered positive and so will forces that point up (↑). Accordingly, forces that point to
the left (←) or down (↓) will be considered negative. For moments, as discussed previously,
counter clock-wise (CCW ↶) rotations will be considered positive and clock-wise rotations
(CW ↷) will be considered negative.
 Figure 1.2: Sign Convention for External Forces

Internal Forces
The sign convention for internal forces is more complex. This is because for internal forces (the
forces in a structure at a cut), the forces on either side of the cut must be equal, but in opposite
directions (see Figure 1.1). For example, for the shear at point B in Figure 1.1 VB, the force on
the left side of the cut (which could be called VBAB) points down (negative), but the force on the
right side of the cut (VBBC) points up (positive). Is this equivalent to a positive or negative
internal shear at point B? The situation is similar for the axial force at point B (N B) and the
moment shown at point C (on the left side MC is CCW positive and on the right side it is CW
negative). As these are shown would they be positive or negative axial force and moment?

The sign convention for the internal forces is effectively arbitrary. It doesn't matter which
way we define the internal forces to be positive or negative, as long as we are consistent. The
sign conventions for internal forces that will be used in these notes are shown in Figure 1.3. As
the figure shows, the positive sense for axial force (tension) will have a different arrow direction
depending on which side of the cut you are looking at. For positive axial force, the arrow will
always point away from the member. Likewise, for negative axial force (compression), the force
will always point towards the member at a cut or at a member end. Shear force is a bit more
difficult, positive shear is created by a pair of vertical forces which cause a member to shear such
that the left side of the member is pushed up and the right side of the member is pushed down. If
the structural member is oriented so that it is vertical, then positive shear may be defined such
that the shear is positive if the lower side is pushed to the left, but this may not always be the
most convenient way to define positive shear for a vertical member, which will be seen later on.
For moment, the easiest way to think about it is that for positive moment, the compression side
of the member is on top (recall that when a structural member bends, one side is put into tension
and the other side is put into compression). For a horizontal member in positive bending, it will
bend such that the shape of the member is concave up as shown in the figure. Note that whether
the member is in positive or negative moment, the moment arrow will always point towards the
compression side of the member.
 Figure 1.3: Sign Convention for Internal Forces

FORCE SYSTEMS

Concurrent Force Systems

Force is a vector which has both amount and direction. When different forces act on a
body and meet at a common point or passes through a same point, then the system is known as
concurrent force system.
A body with concurrent forces acting on it is shown in figure below.

If the forces do not meet at a common point, then there will be an unbalanced moment in
the body and the condition of equilibrium will not be satisfied.
 In force concurrent systems, equilibrium conditions must be satisfied and it is given
below.

In concurrent force system, moment equilibrium equation is not required because the
condition is already satisfied within the system. In the below figure, forces F1 and F2 meets at
same point O. It is obvious that the sum of moments produced by these two forces about O will
be zero.

Resultant of two concurrent forces is shown in the below figure.

The magnitude R is calculated as below.

Here, F1 and F2 are concurrent forces and φ is the angle between them. In a concurrent force
system, the below conditions holds good.

• Non parallel forces are concurrent.

• The system is in equilibrium and the equilibrium conditions are satisfied.
• Moment equilibrium equations are not required as the condition of moment equilibrium is
already satisfied, due to the concurrent nature of force.

Non Concurrent, Non Parallel Systems

It is defined as the forces which lies in the line of activity but do not intersect or forms a
parallel at a common point. The forces are the general system of forces.
 In the figure, there are four forces; F1, F2, F3 and F4 respectively. These forces act on a
single A plane.
Consider an example for non-concurrent, non-parallel systems. A man is standing on the
ladder which is resting against a wall. Here, the forces on the ladder do not meet at a common
point but it lies on a single plane which is the wall.
The resultant of non-concurrent, non-parallel systems is obtained by the principles of
equilibrium. In non-concurrent force system, consider three equilibrium conditions; force
equilibriums in x-direction and y&-direction, and moment equilibrium by sum of moments about
point O.

The pair of force system is solved graphically along with parallelogram or triangle law.
After calculating the pair of forces, calculate the resultant of the forces and combine it to
determine the new resultant.

Coplanar Force Systems

Coplanar force system refers to the number of forces which remain in same plane. It is
also stated as the number of forces in a system which remains in single plane. This force system
can be concurrent, parallel and non-concurrent and non-parallel.

I. Concurrent coplanar force system

The concurrent coplanar force system refers to the number of forces which interest at a
common point with their lines of action. It is not recommended that all the separate vectors are to
meet at the common point. It is the simplest coplanar force system to resolve to determine the
resultant force.
II. Parallel coplanar force system
The concurrent coplanar force system refers to the number of forces which are parallel to
each other with their lines of action. This force system is mostly used in the analysis of simple
beams with number of point loads.

III. Non-concurrent and non-parallel coplanar force systems

Non-concurrent and non-parallel coplanar force systems refer to the number of forces
which are not parallel and do not lie at the common point with their lines of action. It is not the
simplest coplanar force system to resolve to determine the resultant force when compared to
concurrent and parallel coplanar systems.

COMPONENTS OF A FORCE
Forces acting at some angle from the coordinate axes can be resolved into mutually
perpendicular forces called components. The component of a force parallel to the x-axis is called
the x-component, parallel to y-axis the y-component, and so on.

Components of a Force in XY Plane

 
 
Given the slope of the line of action of the force as v/h
 

Components of a Force in 3D Space

 

Given the direction cosines of the force:

Given the coordinates of any two points along the line of action of the force (with reference to
the figure shown, one of the points is the origin):

MOMENT OF A FORCE
The effect of a force on a rigid body depends on its point of application, as well as its
magnitude and direction. It is common knowledge that a small force can have a large turning
effect or leverage. In mechanics, the term ‘moment’ is used instead of ‘turning effect’.
The moment of a force, M is defined as the turning effect of the force about a pivot and is
the product of the force (F) and the perpendicular distance (d) from the line of action of the force
to the pivot.
 Moment = Force x Distance or M = (F)(d)
A moment has dimensions of force times length (Nm). The direction of a moment about a
point or axis is defined by the direction of the rotation that the force tends to give to the body. A
clockwise moment is usually considered as having a positive sign and an anticlockwise moment
a negative sign. The determination of the moment of a force in a coplanar system will be
simplified if the force and its point of application are resolved into its horizontal and vertical
components.
Moment is the measure of the capacity or ability of the force to produce twisting or
turning effect about an axis. This axis is perpendicular to the plane containing the line of action
of the force. The magnitude of moment is equal to the product of the force and the perpendicular
distance from the axis to the line of action of the force. The intersection of the plane and the axis
is commonly called the moment center, and the perpendicular distance from the moment center
to the line of action of the force is called moment arm.

From the figure above, O is the moment center and d is the moment arm. The moment M
of force F about point O is equal to the product of F and d.

EXAMPLE
A ladder rests against a smooth wall and a person weighing 900 N stands on it at the middle. The
weight of the ladder is 100 N. Determine the support reactions at the wall (R W) and at the ground
(RG).
Solution:
As the ladder is at rest, the conditions of equilibrium for a rigid body can be used to calculate the
reactions. By taking moments around the point where the ladder rests on the ground, the moment
of the reaction RG can be ignored as it has no lever arm (moment is zero). According to the third
condition for equilibrium, the sum of moments must equal zero, therefore:
The vertical component of RG must, according to the second condition, be equal but opposite to
the sum of the weight of the ladder and the weight of the person on the ladder, because these two
forces are the only vertical forces and the sum of the vertical forces must equal zero, i.e.
RGy = 1,000 N
Using the first condition of equilibrium it can be seen that the horizontal component of R G must
be equal but opposite in direction to RW, i.e.
RGX = 250 N
Because RG is the third side of a force triangle, where the other two sides are the horizontal and
vertical components, the magnitude of RG can be calculated as:
(10002 + 2502 ) ½ = 1030.8 N
VECTOR ANALYSIS
Vector analysis, a branch of mathematics that deals with quantities that have both
magnitude and direction. Some physical and geometric quantities, called scalars, can be fully
defined by specifying their magnitude in suitable units of measure. Thus, mass can be expressed
in grams, temperature in degrees on some scale, and time in seconds. Scalars can be represented
graphically by points on some numerical scale such as a clock or thermometer. There also are
quantities, called vectors, that require the specification of direction as well as magnitude.
Velocity, force, and displacement are examples of vectors. A vector quantity can be represented
graphically by a directed line segment, symbolized by an arrow pointing in the direction of the
vector quantity, with the length of the segment representing the magnitude of the vector.

Vector Addition and Subtraction

A variety of mathematical operations can be performed with and upon vectors. One such
operation is the addition of vectors. Two vectors can be added together to determine the result
(or resultant). Addition of vectors means that the individual components are added together, that
is

Visually you can utilize the head-to-tail or parallelogram rules

Vector subtraction is similar

Parallelogram Method
 Draw the vectors so that their initial points coincide. Then draw lines to form a complete
parallelogram. The diagonal from the initial point to the opposite vertex of the parallelogram is
the resultant.

Vector Addition:

1. Place both vectors u⃗ and v⃗ at the same initial point.

2. Complete the parallelogram. The resultant vector u⃗ +v⃗ is the diagonal of the parallelogram.

Vector Subtraction:
1. Complete the parallelogram.
2. Draw the diagonals of the parallelogram from the initial point.

Triangle Method
Draw the vectors one after another, placing the initial point of each successive vector at the
terminal point of the previous vector. Then draw the resultant from the initial point of the first
vector to the terminal point of the last vector. This method is also called the head-to-tail method.
Vector Addition:
Vector Subtraction:

Products of Vectors
The multiplication of vectors leads to two types of products, the dot product and the cross
product.
The dot or scalar product of two vectors a and b, written a·b, is a real number |a||b| cos (a,b),
where (a,b) denotes the angle between the directions of a and b. Geometrically,

If a and b are at right angles then a·b = 0, and if neither a nor b is a zero vector then the
vanishing of the dot product shows the vectors to be perpendicular. If a = b then cos (a,b) = 1,
and a·a = |a|2 gives the square of the length of a.
The associative, commutative, and distributive laws of elementary algebra are valid for the dot
multiplication of vectors.
The cross or vector product of two vectors a and b, written a × b, is the vector
where n is a vector of unit length perpendicular to the plane of a and b and so directed that a
right-handed screw rotated from a toward b will advance in the direction of n (see Figure 2).
If a and b are parallel, a × b = 0. The magnitude of a × b can be represented by the area of the
parallelogram having a and b as adjacent sides. Also, since rotation from b to a is opposite to that
from a to b,

Figure 1.4: Cross-product formed by multiplication of two vectors

This shows that the cross product is not commutative, but the associative law
(sa) × b = s(a × b) and the distributive law

are valid for cross products.