Engineering Mechanics for First Year B.E.

Degree Students

COURSE CONTENT IN BRIEF

1. Introduction. 2. Resultant of concurrent and non-concurrent coplanar forces.

3. Equilibrium of concurrent and non-concurrent coplanar forces.

4. Analysis of plane trusses. 5. Friction.

6. Centroid and Moment of Inertia.

7. Resultant and Equilibrium of concurrent non-coplanar forces. 8. Rectilinear and Projectile motion.

9. Newtons second law, DAlemberts principle, banking and super elevation.

10. Work, Energy, and Power.

11. Impulse- Momentum principle.

Books for Reference

1.Engineering Mechanics, by Meriam & Craige, John Wiley & Sons. 2.Engineering Mechanics, by Irwing Shames, Prentice Hall of India.

3.Mechanics for Engineers, by Beer and Johnston, McGraw Hills Edition

4.Engineering Mechanics, by K.L. Kumar, Tata McGraw Hills Co.

CHAPTER I

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. This Course on Engineering Mechanics comprises of Mechanics of Rigid bodies and the sub-divisions that come under it.

Branches of Mechanics
Engineering Mechanics

Mechanics of Solids

Mechanics of Fluids

Rigid Bodies

Deformable Bodies

Ideal Viscous Compressible Fluids Fluids Fluids

Theory of Plasticity

Statics Dynamics

Strength of Materials

Theory of Elasticity

Kinematics

Kinetics

Fundamental Concepts and Axioms

Rigid body :

It is defined as a definite amount of matter the parts of which are fixed in position relative to one another. 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.

Particle

A body whose dimensions are negligible when compared to the distances involved in the discussion of its motion is called a Particle. For example, while studying the motion of sun and earth, they are considered as particles since their dimensions are small when compared with the distance between them.

Space

The concept of space is associated with the notion of the position of a point, defined using a frame of reference, with respect to which the position of the point is fixed through three measures specific to the frame of reference. These three measures are known as the coordinates of the point, in that particular frame of reference.

y x

6 Mass :
It is a measure of the quantity of matter contained in a body. It may also be treated as a measure of inertia, or resistance to change the state of rest, or of uniform motion along a straight line, of a body. Two bodies of the same mass will be attracted by the earth in the same manner.

Continuum :
A particle can be divided into molecules, atoms, etc. It is not feasible to solve any engineering problem by treating a body as a conglomeration of such discrete particles. A body is assumed to be made up of a continuous distribution of matter. This concept is called Continuum.

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) (ii) (iii) (iv) Magnitude Direction Point of application and Line of action.

Scalars and Vectors

A quantity is said to be a scalar if it is completely defined by its magnitude alone. Example : Length, Area, and Time.

Whereas a quantity is said to be a vector if it is completely defined only when its magnitude and direction are specified. Example : Force, Velocity, and Acceleration.

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

A force that can replace a set of forces, in a force system, and cause the same external effect is called the Resultant.
( More detailed discussion on Resultant will follow in Chapter 2 )

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Axioms of Mechanics

(1) Parallelogram law of forces : It is stated as follows : 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 P2 R P1 A

Contd..

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Contd.. P2 O B C R 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 Inclination of the resultant w.r.t. the force P1 is given by: = tan-1 [( P2 Sin ) / ( P1 + P2 Cos )]

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(2) 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 O 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. The same is true when the force is applied at a point O. P

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(3) Newtons Laws of motion: (i) First Law : If the resultant force acting on a particle is zero, the particle will remain at rest (if originally at rest) or will move with constant speed in a straight line (if originally in uniform motion). (ii) Second Law : If the resultant force acting on a particle is not zero, the particle will have an acceleration proportional to the magnitude of the resultant and in the direction of this resultant i.e., F a ,or F = m.a , where F, m, and a, respectively represent the resultant force, mass, and acceleration of the particle. (iii) Third law: The forces of action and reaction between bodies in contact have the same magnitude, same line of action, and opposite sense.

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Note : 1. Axioms are nothing but principles or postulates that are self evident facts which cannot be proved mathematically but can only be verified experimentally and/or demonstrated to be true. 2. The three basic quantities of mechanics are length, time, and force. Throughout this Course we adopt SI units and therefore they are expressed in meters, seconds, and Newtons, written as m, s, and N respectively.

3. The external effect of a force on a body is manifest in a change in the state of inertia of the body. While the internal effect of a force on a body is in the form of deformation.

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CHAPTER 2

RESULTANT OF CONCURRENT COPLANAR FORCES Composition of forces and Resolution of force

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.
Y-Direction
F2 Fy
Fx R

F1

F3

X-Direction

In the above diagram F1, F2, F3 form a system of concurrent coplanar forces. If R is the resultant of the force system, then its magnitude and direction are given by: Contd..

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Contd.. (i) Magnitude, R = (F )2 + (F )2 x y (ii) Direction, = tan 1(Fy / Fx) , where: Fx = Algebraic summation of x-components of all individual forces. Fy = Algebraic summation of y-components of all individual forces.

= Angle measured to the resultant w.r.t. x-direction.

The process of obtaining the resultant of a given force system is called Composition of forces. Note: The orientation of x-y frame of reference is arbitrary. It may be chosen to suit a particular problem.

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F

Component of a force :
Fx F

Fy

Fx

Fig. 1

Fx Fig. 2

Fy

Fy

F
Fig. 3

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.

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y

Sign Convention for force components:

The adjacent diagram gives the y x sign convention for force components, +ve i.e., force components that are directed along positive x-direction are taken +ve x +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. Oblique Components of a force: When the components of a force are not mutually perpendicular they are called Oblique Components. Consider the following case.
Contd..

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Contd.. F2

Let F1 and F2 be the oblique components of a F force F. The components F1 and F2 can be F1 found using the triangle law of forces, which states as follows: 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.
F F1 F2 F1 / Sin = F2 / Sin = F / Sin(180 - - )

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EXERCISE PROBLEMS
1. A body of negligible weight, subjected to two forces F1= 1200N, and F2=400N acting along the vertical, and the horizontal respectively, is shown in Fig.1. Find the component of each force parallel, and perpendicular to the plane. F1 = 1200 N Y F2 = 400 N

3
FIG. 1

Ans : F1X = -720 N, F1Y = -960N, F2X = 320N, F2Y = -240N

21 2. Determine the X and Y components of each of the forces shown in FIG.2.

F2 = 390 N 12
5 40 F3 =400 N

Y
X

30
F1 = 300 N FIG. 2

(Ans : F1X = 259.81 N, F1Y= -150 N, F2X= -150N, F2Y= 360 N, F3X = -306.42 N, F3Y= -257.12N )

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3. Obtain the resultant of the concurrent coplanar forces shown in FIG.3 600N

800N
20 40

30

FIG. 3

200N

(Ans: R = 522.67 N, = 68.43)

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4. A disabled ship is pulled by means of two tug boats as shown in FIG. 4. If the resultant of the two forces T1 and T2 exerted by the ropes is a 300 N force acting parallel to the X direction, find : (a) Force exerted by each of the tug boats knowing = 30. (b) The value of such that the force of tugboat 2 is minimum, while that of 1 acts in the same direction. Find the corresponding force to be exerted by tugboat 2. T2

20

R = 300 N X - direction

FIG. 4 T1 ( Ans: a. T1= 195.81 N, T2 = 133.94 N b. = 70, T1 = 281.91 N, T2(min) = 102.61 N )

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5. An automobile which is disabled is pulled by two ropes as shown in FIG. 5. Find the force P and resultant R, such that R is directed as shown in the figure. P
20 40 R

Q = 5 kN
FIG. 5 (Ans: P = 9.4 kN , R = 12.66 kN)

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6. A collar, which may slide on a vertical rod, is subjected to three forces as shown in FIG.6. The direction of the force F may be varied . Determine the direction of the force F, so that resultant of the three forces is horizontal, knowing that the magnitude of F is equal to (a) 2400 N, (b)1400N 1200 N 60 F COLLAR ROD 800 N FIG.6

( Ans: a. = 41.81 ; b. The resultant cannot be horizontal.)

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7. Determine the angle and the magnitude of the force Q such that the resultant of the three forces on the pole is vertically downwards and of magnitude 12 kN. Refer Fig. 7. 5kN 30 Q 8kN

(Ans: = 10.7 , Q = 9.479 kN ) Fig. 7