RESULTANT OF

COPLANAR
FORCES
Part 1
 Branches of Mechanics

Engineering Mechanics

Mechanics of Solids Mechanics of Fluids

Rigid Bodies Deformable Ideal Compressible

Bodies Viscous Fluids Fluids
Fluids
Statics Dynamics Theory of
Theory of Plasticity
Strength of Elasticity
Materials

Kinematics Kinetics
INTRODUCTION
Definition of Mechanics :

In its broadest sense the term ‘Mechanics’ may be defined as the ‘Science
which describes and predicts the conditions of rest or motion of bodies
under the action of forces’.

Mechanics is the physical science concerned with the behavior of bodies

that are acted upon by forces.
INTRODUCTION
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.
INTRODUCTION
 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.
INTRODUCTION
Concept of Rigid Body :

It is defined as a definite amount of matter the parts of which are fixed

in position relative to one another under the application of load.

Actually solid bodies are never rigid; they deform under the action of
applied forces. In those cases where this deformation is negligible
compared to the size of the body, the body may be considered to be rigid.
FORCE
Force

It is that agent which causes or tends to cause, changes or tends to change the
state of rest or of motion of a mass.

A force is fully defined only when the following four characteristics are
known:

(i) Magnitude

(ii) Direction

(iii) Point of application

(iv) Sense.
FORCE
Example: Characteristics of the force 100 kN are :

(i) Magnitude = 100 kN

(ii) Direction = at an inclination of 300 to the x-axis

(iii) Point of application = at point A shown 100 kN

(iv) Sense = towards point A
A
300
PRINCIPLE OF
TRANSMISSIBILITY :
 It is stated as follows : ‘The external effect of a force on a rigid body
is the same for all points of application along its line of action’.

A B
P P

For example, consider the above figure. The motion of the block will be the
same if a force of magnitude P is applied as a push at A or as a pull at B.

P P
O
The same is true when the force is applied at a point O.
 CLASSIFICATION OF FORCE
SYSTEM
Force system

Coplanar Forces Non-Coplanar

Forces
Concurrent Non-concurrent
Concurrent Non-concurrent
Like parallel Unlike parallel
Like parallel Unlike parallel
COPLANAR FORCE
 A coplanar force system consists of forces that lie in the same plane.

 These forces can be concurrent or non-concurrent.

 Coplanar force systems are commonly encountered in two-dimensional

problems and are often analyzed using methods such as vector addition
or graphical techniques like the method of polygons.
CONCURRENT FORCE
SYSTEM
 In a concurrent force system, all the forces have their lines of action
intersecting at a single point.
 The resultant force of a concurrent force system can be determined by
finding the vector sum of all the individual forces.
 Examples of concurrent force systems include the forces acting on a
pin-jointed structure or the forces exerted by a group of ropes attached
to a common point.
NON-CONCURRENT FORCE
SYSTEM
 In a non-concurrent force system, the lines of action of the forces do not
intersect at a single point.
 This type of force system requires additional considerations such as
moments and couples to determine the overall effect on the object.
 An example of a non-concurrent force system is the forces acting on a
beam or a truss structure.
RESULTANT OF COPLANAR
CONCURRENT FORCES
 Resultant, R : It is defined as that single force which can replace a set
of forces, in a force system, and cause the same external effect.

R
F2
=
F1

A A
F3
R  F1  F2  F3
external effect on particle,A is same
RESULTANT OF COPLANAR
CONCURRENT FORCES
Resultant of two forces acting at a point

Parallelogram law of forces : ‘If two forces acting at a point are

represented in magnitude and direction by the two adjacent sides of a
parallelogram, then the resultant of these two forces is represented in
magnitude and direction by the diagonal of the parallelogram passing
through the same point.’

B
C
P2 R


O
P1 A
RESULTANT OF COPLANAR
CONCURRENT
B
FORCES
C
P2
R

O 
P1 A
In the above figure, P1 and P2, represented by the sides OA and OB have
R as their resultant represented by the diagonal OC of the parallelogram
OACB.
It can be shown that the magnitude of the resultant is given by:
R = P12 + P22 + 2P1P2Cos α

Inclination of the resultant w.r.t. the force P1 is given by:

 = tan-1 [( P2 Sin ) / ( P1 + P2 Cos  )]

RESULTANT OF COPLANAR
CONCURRENT FORCES
 Resultant of two forces acting at a point at right angle
B C
P2
R

O 
If α = 900 , (two forces acting at a point are at P1 A
right angle)
B C
R  P1  P2 2
2

P2 R
 P2
tan 
 P1
O
P1 A
RESULTANT OF COPLANAR
CONCURRENT FORCES
 Triangle law of forces

If two forces acting at a point can be represented both in magnitude

and direction, by the two sides of a triangle taken in tip to tail order, the
third side of the triangle represents both in magnitude and direction the
resultant force F, the sense of the same is defined by its tail at the tail of the
first force and its tip at the tip of the second force’.
RESULTANT OF COPLANAR
CONCURRENT
F 1
FORCES
F1
= R θ
θ
A F2
F2

R  F2 F1  F2 R


F1 (180 - sin  = θsin 
- ) sin(180   )
where α and β are the angles made by the resultant
force with the force F1 and F2 respectively.
RESULTANT OF COPLANAR
CONCURRENT FORCES
 Component of a force
Component of a force, in simple terms, is the effect of a force in a certain
direction. A force can be split into infinite number of components along
infinite directions.

Usually, a force is split into two mutually perpendicular components,

one along the x-direction and the other along y- direction (generally
horizontal and vertical, respectively).

Such components that are mutually perpendicular are called

‘Rectangular Components’.

The process of obtaining the components of a force is called ‘Resolution

of a force’.
 RESULTANT OF COPLANAR
CONCURRENT FORCES
 Rectangular component of a force
F
F F
Fy = Fy
x x x
Fx
Fx
Consider a force F making an angle θx with x-axis.

Then the resolved part of the force F along x-axis is given by

Fx = F cos θx

The resolved part of the force F along y-axis is given by

Fy = F sin θx
RESULTANT OF COPLANAR
CONCURRENT FORCES
 Oblique component of a force F  F2
F2 M
F 
F1
F1

 Let F1 and F2 be the oblique components of a force
F. The components F1 and F2 can be found using the
‘triangle law of forces’.

The resolved part of the force F along

OM and ON can obtained by using the equation of a triangle.
F1 / Sin  = F2 / Sin  = F / Sin(180 -  - )
RESULTANT OF COPLANAR
CONCURRENT FORCES
 Sign Convention for force components:
y
y
x
+ve

x
+ve

The adjacent diagram gives the sign convention for force

components, i.e., force components that are directed along positive x-direction
are taken +ve for summation along the x-direction. Also force components
that are directed along +ve y-direction are taken +ve for summation along the
y-direction.