Lecture 04

Statics
ES 113
MR. MOADI
 Objectives
By the end of the lecture you should be able to:
• Analyze the static equilibrium of rigid bodies in
two and three dimensions.
• Draw complete and correct free-body diagrams.
• Find reactions at supports and connections.
• Examine rigid bodies supported by statically
indeterminate reactions and partial constrains.
 Introduction
Mechanics: science that defines or predicts the
condition of rest or motion of bodies under the
action of forces. It is divided into:
• Mechanics of rigid bodies (subdivided into
statics & dynamics)
• Mechanics of deformable bodies
• Mechanics of fluids
 Introduction
Statics is the branch of mechanics concerned
with bodies at rest and forces in equilibrium.
In this part of the study of mechanics, bodies are
assumed to be perfectly rigid. A rigid body is
one which does not deform, in other words the
distance between the individual particles
making up the rigid body remains unchanged
under the action of external forces.
 Equilibrium of a Particle
When the resultant of all forces acting on a particle is zero, the
particle is in equilibrium, i.e., it is not disturbed from its existing
state of rest (or uniform movement). The closed triangle or polygon
is a graphical expression of the equilibrium of a particle. The
equilibrium of a particle to which a single force is applied may be
maintained by the application of second force, which is equal in
magnitude and direction, but opposite in sense, to the first force.
This second force, since it restores equilibrium, is called the
equilibrant. When a particle is acted upon by two or more forces,
the equilibrant has to be equal and opposite to the resultant of the
system. Thus the equilibrant is the vector drawn closing the vector
diagram and connecting the finishing point to the starting point.
Equilibrium of rigid bodies
 Equilibrium of rigid body

The necessary and sufficient conditions that a

(two dimensional) rigid body is in equilibrium
are then:
 Equilibrium of rigid bodies
Static Determinacy
If a body is in equilibrium under the action of coplanar
forces, the equations of statics above must apply. In
general then, three independent unknowns can be
determined from the three equations. Note that if
applied and reaction forces are parallel (i.e., in one
direction only) only two separate equations obtain and
then only two unknowns can be determined. Such
systems of forces are said to be statically determinate.
 Equilibrium of rigid bodies
In statics and structural mechanics, a structure is
statically indeterminate (or hyperstatic) when
the static equilibrium equations (force and
moment equilibrium conditions) are insufficient
for determining the internal forces and reactions
on that structure.
 Forces
A force represents the action of one body on
another and is generally characterized by its
point of application, its magnitude, and its
direction.
 Forces
Force is represented as a vector .i.e. an arrow
with its magnitude.
 Forces
e.g. for the force shown in figure 2, magnitude
of force is 4KN, direction is 40° with the
horizontal in fourth quadrant, point of
application is C and line of action is AB.
 Forces
Force Classification
Forces are classified as either contact (i.e. force
exerted by a body on supporting surface) or
body forces (i.e. weight); generated by virtue of
a body being exposed to a force field i.e. gravity,
electric or magnetic field. Forces may be further
classified as either concentrated or distributed.
 Forces
External forces: come from outside, acts upon
the structure, it is a force placed on a structure
from outside.
Internal forces: forces which a structure must
provide within itself to resist external forces
placed on it. If external forces are greater than
internal forces, the structure will collapse.
 Forces
5 types of recognized forces
• Compression -shortens or crushes
• Tension – stretches or pulls apart
• Shear- pushes parts apart
• Torsion – twists
• Bending – stretches and squashes at the same
time
Forces

Shear force
Forces

Torsion force

Bending force
Forces
 SYSTEMS OF FORCES

When a mechanics problem or system has more than one force

acting, it is known as a ‘force system’ or ‘system of force’
 SYSTEMS OF FORCES
Concurrent forces
Forces whose line of action meet at one point are said to be
concurrent. The forces F1 and F2 shown in figure ‘a’ have a
common point of application and are concurrent at the point A.
Thus, they can be added using the parallelogram law in their
common plane to obtain their sum or resultant R.
 SYSTEMS OF FORCES
Collinear Forces
When the lines of action of all the forces of a
system act along the same line, this force system
is called collinear force system.
 SYSTEMS OF FORCES
Parallel Forces
 SYSTEMS OF FORCES
Coplanar Force System
When the lines of action of a set of forces lie in a
single plane is called coplanar force system.
Non-Coplanar Force System
 Forces
Suppose the two concurrent forces lie in the
same plane but are applied at two different
points as in figure b. By the principle of
transmissibility, we may move them along their
lines of action and complete their vector sum R
at the point of concurrency A, as shown in figure
b. We can replace F1 and F2 with the resultant R
without altering the external effects on the body
upon which they act.
 Forces
We can also use the triangle law to obtain R, but
we need to move the line of action of one of the
forces, as shown in figure c.
 Forces
Internal & external effects
The action of a force in a body can be separated
into two effects; internal and external. For the
bracket of figure above, the effects of P external
to the bracket are the reactive forces (not
shown) exerted on the bracket by the
foundation and bolts because of the action of P.
 Forces
Principle of Transmissibility: which states that a
force may be applied at any point on its given line
of action without altering the resultant effects of
the force external to the rigid body on which it
acts. Thus, whenever we are interested in only the
resultant external effects of a force, the force may
be treated as a sliding vector, and we need specify
only the magnitude, direction, and line of action
of the force, and not its point of application.
Forces
 Scalar quantities
A scalar is a quantity that has only magnitude, either
positive or negative.
For example; mass, length, area, volume and speed are
the scalar quantities frequently used in Statics.
Scalars are indicated by letters in Itallic type, such as
the scalar ‘A’.
 VECTOR QUANTITIES

A vector is a quantity that has both a magnitude and a

direction.
For example; weight, force, moment, position, velocity and
acceleration are the vector quantities frequently used in
Statics.
Vectors are indicated by bold letters, such as ‘A’ or A
The magnitude of a vector is always a positive quantity and
is symbolized in Itallic type, written as A or A
Scalar and Vector Quantities
Scalar and Vector Quantities
Scalar and Vector Quantities

Vectors must obey the parallelogram law of

combination. This law states that two vectors
A and B, treated as free vectors, may be
replaced by their equivalent vector (A+B), which
is the diagonal of the parelellogram formed by A
and B as its two sides, as shown in the figure.
Vector Components (Resolution of Vectors)

In addition to combining forces to obtain their

resultant, we often need to replace a force by its
vector components in directions which are
convenient for a given application. The vector
sum of the components must equal the original
vector.
 Rectangular Components
The most common two-dimensional resolution
of a force vector is into rectangular
components. It follows from the parallelogram
rule that the vector F of figure may be written
as:
 Rectangular Components
Where Fx and Fy are vector components of F in
the x- and y-directions.
The scalar components can be positive or
negative, depending on the quadrant into which
F points.
Rectangular components
 Free-body Diagram of a Particle
A sketch showing the physical conditions of a
problem is known as a space diagram. This can
be reduced to a diagram showing a particle and
all the forces acting on it. Such a diagram is
called a free-body diagram.
 Example 1
A rigid rod is hinged to a vertical support and
held at 50° to the horizontal by means of a cable
when a weight of 250N is suspended as shown
in the figure. Determine the tension in the cable
and the compression in the rod, ignoring the
weight of the rod.
Solution
Example 2
 Example 3
A ladder rests against a smooth wall and a man weighing 900N
stands on it at the middle. The weight of the ladder is 100N.
Determine the support reactions at the wall (RW) and at the
ground (RG)
 Problem 4
What horizontal force P must a worker exert on the rope to
position the 50-kg crate directly over the transport vehicle?

ANS: P= 126.6N
 Problem 5
Determine the value of tension acting on the rope of
the figure below given the mass of the traffic light to be
9kg.
Problem 6
Problem 7
Problem 8
Problem 9
Problem 10