[Ref: various websites and books]

Subject: Engineering Mechanics (EME-151/152)

Unit-1 A : Two Dimensional Force system

1. Introduction:
Everything from individual particles to the tallest buildings to a rushing river experiences
forces and torques. Each object—liquid or solid, large or small-- responds differently under
different conditions. Engineering mechanics examines these external forces by studying statics,
dynamics, materials strength, elasticity, visco-elasticity and fluid dynamics.
As a bridge between theory and application, engineering mechanics is used formulate new
ideas and theories, discover and interpret phenomena, and develop experimental and
computational tools.
Mechanics is the study of forces that act on bodies and the resultant motion that those
bodies experience. With roots in physics and mathematics, Engineering Mechanics is the basis of
all the mechanical sciences: civil engineering, materials science and engineering, mechanical
engineering and aeronautical and aerospace engineering. Engineering Mechanics provides the
"building blocks" of statics, dynamics, strength of materials, and fluid dynamics. Engineering
mechanics is the discipline devoted to the solution of mechanics problems through the integrated
application of mathematical, scientific, and engineering principles. Special emphasis is placed on
the physical principles underlying modern engineering design.
It is defined as that branch of science, which describes and predicts the conditions of rest
or motion of bodies under the action of forces. Engineering mechanics applies the principle of
mechanics to design, taking into account the effects of forces.
Statics- is the 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, the body is in equilibrium.
Dynamics- is also a branch of mechanics in which the forces and their effects on the bodies in
motion are studied. Dynamics is sub-divided into two parts: (1) Kinematics and (2) Kinetics
Kinematics- deals with the geometry of motion of bodies without and application of external
forces.
Kinetics- deals with the motion of bodies with the application of external forces.
Classification of Mechanics:
2. Basic Concepts:

The followings are the basic terms which are used in mechanics:
Mass: The quantity of the matter possessed by a body is called mass. The mass of a body cannot
change unless the body is damaged and part of it is physically separated.
Length: It is a concept to measure linear distances.
Time: Time is the measure of succession of events. The successive event selected is the rotation
of earth about its own axis and this is called a day.
Space: Any geometric region in which the study of a body has been done is called space.
Displacement: It is defined as the distance moved by a body/particle in the specified direction.
Velocity: The rate of change of displacement with respect to time is defined as velocity.
Acceleration: It is the rate of change of velocity with respect to time.
Momentum: The product of mass and velocity is called momentum. Thus
Momentum = Mass × Velocity.
S.I Units (International System of Units): The fundamental units of the system are metre (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 1 m/sec2 on one kg mass.
Weight of a body (in N) = Mass of the body (in kg ) × Acceleration due to gravity (in m/sec2).
Presentation of Units:

Rigid body: A rigid body is defined as a definite quantity of matter, the parts of which are fixed
in position relative to each other. Physical bodies are never absolutely but deform slightly under
the action of loads. If the deformation is negligible as compared to its size, the body is termed as
rigid.

Resistant body: A body is said to be a resistant body, if it does not deform for the purpose for
which it is made. For example the chair, it does not deform if a person sits on it, but it will break
if you put a load of 1000 kg on it. So a resistant body is rigid for the purpose for which it is used.
Particle: It can be defined as an object which has only mass and no size.
• Such a body cannot exist theoretically.
 • When we deal with the problems involving distances considerably larger compared to the
size of the body, the body may be treated as particle.
Scalar Quantity: A quantity is said to be scalar if it is completely defined by its magnitude alone.
Examples of scalar quantities are: Area, length, Mass, Moment of inertia, Energy, Power, Volume
and Work etc.
Vector Quantity: A quantity is said to be vector if it is completely defined only when its
magnitude as well as direction are specified. Examples of vector quantities include: Force,
Moment, Momentum, Displacement, Velocity and Acceleration.
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).
Moment of force: The moment (or torque) of a force about a turning point is the force multiplied by the
perpendicular distance to the force from the turning point.
Moments are measured in newton metres (Nm).; Moment = F d
Example; A 10N force acts at a perpendicular distance of 0.50m from the turning point. What is
the moment of the force?

Moment = Fd= 10 x 0.50= = 5.0 Nm

Couple: Couple is two equal forces which act in opposite directs on an object but not through the
same point so they produce a turning effect.

The moment (or torque) of a couple is calculated by multiplying the size of one of the force (F)
by the perpendicular distance between the two forces (s).

E.g. a steering wheel in a car; couple= F.d

Laws of Mechanics:
Newton’s law
Law I- Each body remains in its state of rest or motion uniform in direction until it is made to
change this state by imposed forces.
Law II-The change of motion is proportional to the imposed driving force and occurs along a
straight line in which the force acts.
Law III-To every action there is always an equal reaction: or the mutual interactions of two
bodies are always equal but directed contrary.
The Law of Universal Gravitation
The Law of Universal Gravitation states that every point mass attracts every other point mass in
the universe by a force pointing in a straight line between the centers-of-mass of both points, and
this force is proportional to the masses of the objects and inversely proportional to their separation
This attractive force always points inward, from one point to the other. The Law applies to all
objects with masses, big or small. Two big objects can be considered as point-like masses, if the
distance between them is very large compared to their sizes or if they are spherically symmetric.
For these cases the mass of each object can be represented as a point mass located at its center-of-
mass. While Newton was able to articulate his Law of Universal Gravitation and verify it
experimentally, he could only calculate the relative gravitational force in comparison to another
force. It wasn’t until Henry Cavendish’s verification of the gravitational constant that the Law of
Universal Gravitation received its final algebraic form:
F=GMm / [r2]
Where, F represents the force in Newtons, M and m represent the two masses in kilograms,
and r represents the separation in meters. GG represents the gravitational constant, which has a
value of 6.674x10−11 N (m/kg)2 . Because of the magnitude of GG, gravitational force is very
small unless large masses are involved.
Force
Force may be defined as any action that tends to change the state of rest or motion of a body to
which it is applied. The three quantities required to completely define force are called its
specification or characteristics. So the characteristics of a force are:
• Its magnitude.
• Its line of action with the direction and sense.
• Its point of application
a) The magnitude is the intensity of the force. The unit of force intensity in the SI system is the
Newton, noted N. The instrument used to measure a force is the dynamometer.
b) The line of action is, for example the line drawn by the stressed rope when the force is applied
to a rope. This line has a direction (horizontal, vertical, oblique) and a sense (right, left, up,down).
The sense of a force is the sense of the rnovement that it tends to produce; pulling or pushing.
c) The point of application is the point where the force is exerted.
Types of forces: Forces may arise from a number of different effects, including:
• Gravity,
• Electromagnetism or electrostatics,
• Pressure exerted by fluid or gas on part of a structure,
• Wind or fluid induced drag or lift forces,
• Contact forces, which act wherever a structure or component touches anything,
• Friction forces, which also act at contacts

Concentrated force/point load

Distributed force
Principle of transmissibility of forces: The principle of transmissibility states that the point of
application of a force can be moved anywhere along its line of action without changing
the external reaction forces on a rigid body. Any force that has the same magnitude and
direction, and which has a point of application somewhere along the same line of action will
cause the same acceleration and will result in the same moment. Therefore, the points of
application of forces may be moved along the line of action to simplify the analysis of rigid
bodies.

When analyzing the internal forces (stress) in a rigid body, the exact point of application does
matter. This difference in stresses may also result in changes in geometry which will in turn affect
reaction forces. For this reason, the principle of transmissibility should only be used when
examining external forces on bodies that are assumed to be rigid. The exact point of application of
a force will impact how internal forces (stresses) are distributed, so the principle of
transmissibility cannot be applied when examining internal forces.

Transfer of a Force to a parallel position:

When an external force is moved along the line of action it is observed that there is no change in
the effect(as shown in figure).
However, if external force is moved not along its line of action (parallel position), there is a
change in its external effect. Essentially, moving a force from point A to B (as shown in figure)
requires creating an additional couple moment. So moving a force means you have to “add” a new
couple. Since this new couple moment is a “free” vector, it can be applied at any point on the
body.

When several forces and couple moments act on a body, you can move each force and its
associated couple moment to a common point O.Now you can add all the forces and couple
moments together and find one resultant force-couple moment pair.
When a number of forces and couple moments are acting on a body, it is easier to understand their
overall effect on the body if they are combined into a single force and couple moment having the
same external effect. The two force and couple systems are called equivalent systems since they
have the same external effect on the body.
The two force and couple systems are called equivalent systems since they have the same
external effect on the body.
System of Forces:
Classification of force:
Single force is of two types that is, Tensile and compressive. Generally in a body several forces
are acting. When a number of forces of different magnitude and direction act upon rigid body,
then they are form System of Forces, These are given below

Coplanar Force System: The forces, the lines of action of which lie on the same plane, are
known as coplanar forces.
Non-Coplanar Force System: The forces, the lines of action of which do not lie on the same
plane, are known as non-coplanar force system.

(Example- coplanar force system) (Example- non coplanar concurrent force system)
Concurrent Forces: All forces of this kind, which act at one point, are known as concurrent
forces.
Coplanar-Concurrent System: All such forces the line of action of which lies in one plane and
they meet at one point are called as coplanar-concurrent force system.
 (example- coplanar- concurrent force at point c)
Coplanar-Parallel Force System: If the lines of action of forces are parallel to each other and
they lie in same plane then the system is known as coplanar-parallel forces system.
Coplanar-Collinear Force System: All forces of this kind whose line of action lies in one plane
lie along single line then it is called as coplanar collinear force system.

Non-concurrent Coplanar Forces System: All forces of this kind whose line of action lies in
one plane but they do not meet at one point, are called as non concurrent coplanar force system.

2D- Force System:

(i)Resultant of two coplanar-concurrent Forces-
Resultant of two forces concurrent at a point can be determined either by triangular law of a force
or by using law of parallelogram of forces.
Triangular Law of Forces
If two forces P and Q are acting on a particle A, then the two forces can be added or combined to
form a single force F (resultant) by arranging the forces in tip-to-tail fashion and then the single
force is obtained by connecting the tail of the first force to the tip of the second force. Fig.x(a)
shows two forces acting on A. The two forces can be added either as shown in Fig. x(b) or in Fig.
x(c). Considering the force Q as the first force acting at A, its tail end is at A and tip will be, say
at B1. Now the tail end of force P is merged with the tip of force Q, that is at B1, and the
force P is drawn. The tip of P will be at C (say). Therefore, the force F (addition of
forces P and Q) is obtained by joining A (tail of Q) and C (tip of P). The same can also be
achieved by considering the force P first and then Q as shown in Fig. x(c). Since, the three
forces P, Q and F from the three sides of a triangle, the law is therefore known as triangular law
of forces. The single force F combining
two forces P and Q is called resultant force.
Fig. x: Triangular law of forces

The triangular law of forces is used for the

addition of two forces. However, it can be
extended to add more than two forces,
which extend the law into polygonal law of
forces. Fig.y illustrates the addition of four forces P, Q, S and T. As shown in Fig. y(b), F1, is the
addition of forces P and Q. The resultant of forces P, Q and S is obtained by adding F1 and S as
presented in Fig.y(c) in which triangular law of forces is applied to combine F1 and S.
Similarly, F3 is the resultant of P, Q, S and T, which is an addition of F2 and T. It is pertinent to
mention that the forces can be taken in any order.
 Fig. y Polygonal law of forces
Law of Parallelogram of Forces
This law states that two forces acting on a particle may be replaced by a single force (called
resultant of the two forces) obtained by drawing the diagonal of a parallelogram whose two
adjacent sides are equal to the given two forces.
Let P and Q be two forces acting on a particle A as shown in Fig.z. Constructing a parallelogram
ABCD taking P and Q as its adjacent sides, the diagonal AC gives the resultant force R of the two
forces P and Q. The expressions for the magnitude and direction of R are obtained as follows:
Considering the right angled triangle ACE, from the Pythagoras theorem,
Fig. z Parallelogram law of forces
(AC)2 = (AE)2 + (EC)2, Also, AE = AB + BE
Therefore, (AC)2 = (AB+BE)2 + (EC)2 = (AB)2 + 2 × (AB) × (BE)
+ (BE)2 + (EC)2
Further, from right angled triangle BCE, (BE)2 + (EC)2 = (BC)2
Hence, (AC)2 = (AB)2 + 2 × (AB) × (BE) + (BC)2

Substituting AB = P, BC = AD = Q, BE = BC (cosӨ) = Q cosӨ and AC = R, the magnitude of the

resultant force R of the two forces P and Q is
R2 = P2 + 2PQ cos Ө + Q2 , Or R =SQRT [P2 + 2PQ cosӨ + Q2]
The direction of resultant R, defined by the angle α , which the resultant makes with the force P is
obtained from right angled triangle ACE, that is-
tan α = CE/AE = CE/ {AB + BE}
Substituting CE = BC (sin Ө) = Q sin Ө along with the values of AB and BE, it yields-
tan α = Q sinӨ/ {P + Q cosӨ}
The above two laws are used to determine the components of a given force into two inclined
components, which are not perpendicular to each other
Parallelogram law -summarised
If two forces represented by AB and AC acting with angle α are applied to a body at point A.
Their action is equivalent to the action of one force, represented by vector AD, obtained as the
diagonal of the parallelogram constructed on the vectors AB and AC directed as shown in the
figure.

Force AD is called the resultant of AB and AC and the forces

are called its components.
If we consider two forces P and Q (included angle α) acting at point A and their resultant is R-
Special cases-

(ii) Resultant of more than two coplanar-concurrent Forces-

The effect of a force in a direction not along its own line of action is called a component of the
force.The process of finding the magnitudes of the components of a force is called resolving
the force into its components.

The force, F, in this diagram can be considered to be the sum of two perpendicular forces, as
shown in the next diagram. Imagine that these diagrams have been drawn to scale.
For example, let 1cm represent 0.1N of force.These forces are the vertical and horizontal
components of F.From the diagram we see that the magnitude of the vertical component Fv is
given by-

and the magnitude of the vertical component Fh is given by-

The magnitude of the component of a force in a direction at 90° to its own line of action is
therefore always equal to zero. This is why it is often useful to resolve a force into its vertical and
horizontal components: these two components can then be considered as two independent forces.
Now, the replacement of a single force by a several components which will be equivalent in
action to the given force is called resolution of a force. This concept is used to determine the
resultant of multiple forces acting at a point by finding their components in two mutually
perpendicular (say x and y directions) directions i.e. ∑Fx and ∑Fy.

Then, Resultant of all forces will be= SQRT [ (∑Fx)2 + (∑Fy)2]

Lami’s Theorem:

It states that,” If three forces acting at a point are in equilibrium each force will be proportional to
the sine of the angle between the other two forces.”Suppose the three forces P, Q and R are acting
at a point O and they are in equilibrium as shown below-.

Let α = Angle between force P and Q.,β = Angle b/w force Q and R.,
γ = Angle between force R and P
Then according to Lami’s Theorem,
P α sine of angle between Q and R α sinβ.
Therefore, P/sinβ = constant.
Similarly, Q/sin γ= constant and R/sin α = constant
Or , P/sinβ = Q/sin γ = R/sin α = constant
Law of Polygon of Forces : The Law of Polygon of Forces states that – if any number of
coplanar concurrent forces can be represented in magnitude and direction by the sides of a
polygon taken in order; then their resultant will be represented by the closing side of the polygon
taken in opposite order”. Also, if the forces form a closed polygon, then the system is in
equilibrium.
Assume five concurrent forces are acting at a point, following figure shows a system of five
forces 1 , 2 , 3 , 3 and 5 . The forces are forming a closed polygon in the first figure, hence
they are in equilibrium. In the second figure, the system is not in equilibrium, and the closing
side, shown by dotted line, denotes the Resultant of the force system.
Resultant of non concurrent force system: By using principle of moments/ Varignon,s principle
Varignon’s theorem:[ Principle of moments]
According to the varignon’s theorem, the moment of a force about a point will be equal to the
algebraic sum of the moments of its component forces about that point.
Principle of moments states that the moment of the resultant of a number of forces about any
point is equal to the algebraic sum of moments of all the forces of the system about the same
point.
For concurrent forces:
Let us consider the following figure where forces F1 and F2 are acting at a point O on a body as
displayed here-
For Non-concurrent forces:
Let us consider two force F1 and F2 are acting at point A and B in a resistant body. R is their
resultant acting at point C. Then according to Varignon’s principle-
Moment of R about any point say O= Sum of the moment of its constituent forces F1 and F2
about point O.
We get, R x OC =F1 x OA+ F2 x OB,

[Hint: OC= OB-BC=OA+AB-BC & R= F1 + F2]

This relation can be used to find the resultant of several non concurrent forces acting on any
resistant body like the one shown in figure.

Distributed Force system:

A distributed force is any force where the point of application of the force is an area or
a volume. This means that the "point of application" is not really a point at all. Though distributed
forces are more difficult to analyze than point forces, distributed forces are quite common in real
world systems so it is important to understand how to model them.
Distributed forces can be broken down into surface forces and body forces. Surface forces are
distributed forces where the point of application is an area (a surface on the body). Body forces
are forces where the point of application is a volume (the force is exerted on all molecules
throughout the body). Below are some examples of surface and body forces.
In the following figures, the water pressure pushing on the surface of this dam is an example of a
surface force. The gravitational force on this airplane is distributed over the entire volume of the
airplane, and is an example of a body force.

Discrete Distributed Force-

If the loading on the object is a set of parallel discrete forces, the resultant force is simply the sum of all the
forces, or
FR = Σ Fi
In the system of discrete forces, If all forces are parallel to the y direction then the scalar equation simplify
to;
Σ(x F) = x' ΣF
Here, x is the Cartesian coordinate of the individual force, and x' is the coordinate of the force resultant FR.
Rearranging this equation gives-
If the forces are further restricted so that they all lie in the x-y plane (2-D plane stress), then z' = 0 and only
the above equation applies.

Continuous Distributed Force-

If instead of a system of point loads, consider a continuous distributed force f(x) that acts in the x-
y plane and is parallel to the y axis, then through calculus the second equation (x') above becomes

The force resultant is simply the force magnitude FR given by

The force magnitude FR is located a distance x' from the origin.

In the case of a uniform line load as shown below, it is unnecessary to perform the integrations
because the force resultant is always the value of the distributed load multiplied by the distance
over which it acts. The location of the force resultant is always the center point (centroid) of the
distributed load.
For a triangular line load, it can be shown that the force resultant is one half of the peak value of
the distributed load multiplied by the distance over which it acts. The location of the force
resultant is two-thirds of the distance from the vertex to the peak value of the load

Free body diagram:

Free body diagram is necessary to investigate the condition of equilibrium of a body or system.
While drawing the free body diagram all the supports of the body are removed and replaced with
the reaction forces acting on it.
1. Draw the free body diagrams of the following figures.
2. Draw the free body diagram of the body, the string CD and the ring.

3. Draw the free body diagram of the following figures.

Equilibrium and its types:

If a given object is in static equilibrium, both the net force and the net torque on the object must
be zero. Let’s break this down:
(i) Net Force Must Be Zero
The net force acting on the object must be zero. Therefore all forces balance in each direction. For
example, a car moving along a highway at a constant speed is in equilibrium, as it is not
accelerating in any forward or vertical direction. Mathematically, this is stated as Fnet = ma = 0.
(ii) Net Torque [moment] Must Be Zero
The second condition necessary to achieve equilibrium involves avoiding accelerated rotation
(maintaining a constant angular velocity). A rotating body or system can be in equilibrium if its
rate of rotation is constant and remains unchanged by the forces acting on it.
For a rigid object which is not moving at all i.e. under static equilibrium we have the following
conditions:
• The (vector) sum of the external forces on the rigid object must equal zero: ∑F = 0
When this condition is satisfied we say that the object is in translational equilibrium

• The sum of the external moments on the rigid object must equal zero. ∑M = 0
When this condition is satisfied we say that the object is in rotational equilibrium.

When both ∑F = 0 and ∑M = 0 are satisfied we say that the object is in static equilibrium.

Nearly all of the problems we will solve in this chapter are two–dimensional problems (in the xy
plane), and for these, above equations reduce to

∑Fx = 0 ; ∑Fy = 0 & ∑Mxy = 0

Types of Equilibrium: 1-Stable equilibrium, 2- Unstable equilibrium, 3- Neutral equilibrium

Example-1: In a jib crane, the jib and the tie rod are 5 m and 4 m long respectively. The height
of crane post in 3 m and the ties red remains horizontal. Determine the forces produced in jib and
tie rod when a load of 2 kN in suspended at the crane head.

Solution: From figure: sin q = 3/5 = 0.6; we get, q = 36.87o

Let P1 and P2 be the forces developed in jib and tie rod respectively. The three forces P1, P2 and
W are shown in figure with the angle between the forces calculated from the given directions. The
line of action of forces P1, P2 and weigh W meet at the point C, and therefore Lami’s theorem is
applicable. That gives:
∴P1/sin 270o = P2/sin 53.13o = 2/sin36.87o
 P1 = 2 × sin 270 o / sin 36.87o = 2 × 1/0. = –3.33 kN
P2 = 2 × sin 53.13 o / sin 36.87o = 2 × 0.8 / 0.6 = 2.667 kN
The –ve sign indicates that the direction of force P1 is opposite to that shown in figure obviously
the tie rod will be under tension and jib will in compression.

Examples-2: A string ABCD w hose extremity A is fixed has weights W1 and W2 attached to it at
B and C, and passes round a smooth peg at D carrying a weight of 800 N at the free end E shown
in Figure. If in a state of equilibrium, BC is horizontal and AB and CD make angles of 150o and
120o respectively with BC, make calculation for (a) the tension in portion AB, BC, CD and DE of
the string. (b) the value of weights W1 and W2 (c) The load o n the peg at D

Solution: Let T1, T2, T3, T4 be the tension in segments AB, BC, CD and DE of the string.
Under equilibrium condition, T5 = T4 = 800 N
Applying Lami’s theorem at point B,
T1/sin90o = T2/sin120o = W1/sin150o
We get, T1 = T2 sin 90o / sin 120o = 400 × 1/0.866 = 461.89 N
W1 = T2 sin 150o / sin 120o = 400 × 0.5 / 0.866 = 230.95 N
(c) Load on peg at D = T3 sin 60o + W = 800 sin 60o + 800 = 692.82 + 800 = 1492.82 N

Example-3: Three cylinders weighting 1kN each and of 80mm diameter are placed in a channel
of 180mm width as shown in figure. Determine the pressure exerted by (i) the cylinder A on B at
the point of contact, (ii0 the cylinder B on the base and (iii) the cylinder B on the wall.

Answer-

Applying Lami’s eqn at O: ,

Applying Lami’s equation at P: ,

Example-4 Five planar concurrent forces 50N, 60N, 70N, P1 and P2 are acting at equal angular
separation of 72o are in equilibrium. Determine P1 and P2.

Answer:

Example 5: Two equal heavy spheres of 50mm radius are in equilibrium within a smooth cup of
150mm radius. Show that the reaction between the cup(R) and one of the sphere is double than
the reaction that is between spheres (S).

R=2S