CHAPTER Introduction: Concepts and

1 Principles

ENCE232

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Contents 2

• What is Mechanics?

• What Can You Do with Statics Knowledge?

• Fundamental Concepts

• Fundamental Principles

• Systems of Units

• Method of Problem Solution

What is Mechanics? 3

 Mechanics is the science which describes and predicts

the conditions of rest or motion of bodies under the
action of forces.

• Categories of Mechanics:
- Rigid bodies
 Statics
 Dynamics
- Deformable bodies
- Fluids

• Mechanics is an applied science - it is not an abstract

or pure science but does not have the empiricism
found in other engineering sciences.

• Mechanics is the foundation of most engineering sciences

and is an indispensable prerequisite to their study.
 What is Statics? 4

Statics is the branch of mechanics that is concerned with the

analysis of loads (force and torque, or "moment") acting
on physical systems that do not experience an acceleration
(a=0), but rather, are in static equilibrium with their environment.
What Can You Do with Statics
5
Knowledge?
Calculate the force
in each member of
this structure (a
truss) in order to
design it to
withstand the loads
that it will
experience.
What Can You Do with Statics
6
Knowledge?
Determine the
forces that this
prosthetic arm
will need to
withstand to
make exercise
possible for the
wearer.
Fundamental Concepts 7

• THE FORCE

• THE PARALLELOGRAM LAW

• THE PRINCIPLE OF

TRANSMISSIBILITY

• NEWTON’S LAWS OF MOTION

 Fundamental Concepts 8

1. Force
•A force is a phenomenon that causes or prevents either deformation or
movement.

•All forces are produced from the interaction of two or more bodies (or
collections of matter), and the interaction between the bodies can take
several forms which gives rise to different ways that forces can be
produced.

•Fundamental Forces of Nature are Gravity, Electromagnetic force and

Strong and Weak nuclear forces
 Fundamental Concepts 9

1. Force
 Fundamental Principles 10

2. Parallelogram Law
The resultant of two vector quantities represented in magnitude, direction,
and sense by two adjacent sides of a parallelogram both of which are
directed toward or away from their point of intersection is the diagonal of
the parallelogram through that point

• Parallelogram Law
 Fundamental Principles 11

3. Principle of Transmissibility
The state of rest or motion of a rigid body is unaltered if a force acting on the
body is replaced by another force of the same magnitude and direction but
acting anywhere on the body along the line of action of the applied forces.

The exact point of application of a force will imp

how internal forces (stresses) are distributed, so t
principle of transmissibility cannot be applied wh
examining internal forces.
 Fundamental Concepts 12

4. Newton's law of gravitation

It states that any particle of matter in the universe attracts any
other with a force varying directly as the product of the masses
and inversely as the square of the distance between them.
 Fundamental Concepts 13

4. Newton's law of gravitation

 Fundamental Principles 14

5. Newton's laws of motion

• Newton’s First Law: If the resultant force on a particle is zero, the
particle will remain at rest or continue to move in a straight line.
• Newton’s Second Law: A particle will have an acceleration
proportional to a nonzero resultant applied force.
 
F  ma
• Newton’s Third Law: The forces of action and reaction between two
particles have the same magnitude and line of action with opposite
sense.
• Newton’s Law of Gravitation: Two particles are attracted with equal
and opposite forces,
Mm GM
F G W  mg , g 
r2 R2
 Fundamental Principles
15
Free-body diagrams
• One of the most useful aids for solving
a statics problem is the free body
diagram (FBD).

• A free body diagram is a graphic,

dematerialized, symbolic representation
of the body (structure, element or
segment of an element) in which all
connecting "pieces" have been
removed.

• A FBD is a convenient method to model

the structure, structural element, or
segment that is under scrutiny. It is a
way in which to conceptualize the
structure, and its composite elements, so
that an analysis may be initialized.
 Systems of Units 16
• International System of Units (SI):
The basic units are length, time, and
mass which are arbitrarily defined as the
• Kinetic Units: length, time, mass, meter (m), second (s), and kilogram
and force. (kg). Force is the derived unit,
F  ma
• Three of the kinetic units, referred to  m
1 N  1 kg 1 2 
as basic units, may be defined  s 
arbitrarily. The fourth unit, referred
to as a derived unit, must have a • U.S. Customary Units:
definition compatible with Newton’s The basic units are length, time, and
2nd Law, force which are arbitrarily defined as the
  foot (ft), second (s), and pound (lb).
F  ma Mass is the derived unit,
F
m
a
1 lb
1slug 
1 ft s
Method of Problem Solution 17

• Problem Statement: • Solution Check:

Includes given data, specification of - Test for errors in reasoning by
what is to be determined, and a verifying that the units of the computed
figure showing all quantities results are correct,
involved. - test for errors in computation by
• Free-Body Diagrams: substituting given data and computed
Create separate diagrams for each of results into previously unused equations
the bodies involved with a clear based on the six principles,
indication of all forces acting on - always apply experience and
each body. physical intuition to assess whether
• Fundamental Principles: results seem “reasonable”
The six fundamental principles are
applied to express the conditions of
rest or motion of each body. The
rules of algebra are applied to solve
the equations for the unknown
quantities.