MIET2097

ENGINEERING MECHANICS - STATICS

Statics is a fundamental subject in
engineering.
It underpins much of the design
and analysis you will conduct later

L
W

For example.
aircraft structures
A, B and C pillars for cars
Programming and control of
robotic/automated systems

Above a 2D free body diagram of an F/A-18 in

steady flight
Image courtesy of Australian Defence Department.

Introduction
MIET2097 - Statics: Weeks 1 - 6
MIET2097 Dynamics Weeks 7-12

Lecturer and Course Coordinator:

Dr. A. Bourmistrov
Email: e40018@ems.rmit.edu.au

Course Overview
Week

Topics

(Introduction and Fundamentals)

2D Forces and Moments
2D Equilibrium

2D Equlibrium
Truss Analysis: Method of Joints
Class Test #1: During Self Directed Study Session

Method of Sections

Frames and Machines

Friction
Class Test #2: During Self Directed Study Session

Centroids

Mass Moment of Inertia

Class Test #3: During Self Directed Study Session

7 - 12

Lectures in Dynamics (discussed later)

Statics Midsemester Test: Further details later.
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Breakdown of Statics Assessment

Assessment

Total value

Comments

Tests

5% x 3 = 15

Truss lab

5%

3 tests held Weeks 2, 4 and 6

During the self directed study sessions
TBA

Midsemester Test

30%

TBA: Outside of class time

Closed Book + formula sheet

Statics total 50%

Dynamics total 50%

To be discussed later

Course information
Prescribed textbook
R.C. Hibbeler, Engineering mechanics statics and dynamics Edition 12
You will need Edition 12

Online classroom
myrmitstudies
On the Blackboard there are other learning resources: tutorial problems,
past exam papers, lecture notes

For Engineering Mechanics: Statics

Use www.masteringengineering.com for practice
Includes online textbook and extra problems as well

What is a Credit Point?

For every 12 credit points, we expect you to do 10 hours of study: including
contact hours
For Engineering mechanicsthis means 4 hours of private study every
week

What is Statics?
Newtons First Law
An object in static equilibrium:

has ZERO resultant (net) force acting on it

experiences zero acceleration that is a change in velocity or

direction of motion

In the statics part of this course we analyse objects in static equilibrium.

Newtons Second Law
STATICS

DYNAMICS

F=ma=0

F=ma0

EQUILIBRIUM

ACCELERATION
6

Basic Concepts: Todays topics

Units (Homework)
Significant Figures, Rounding, Prefixes (Homework)
Analysing engineering structures
From the complex to the simple(r)
The Free Body Diagram
Practice Problems
Vectors and Scalars
Forces as vectors
Force Resultants
Assumptions used in statics
Sliding vectors

Analysing Engineering Structures

If we have a plane, or a car or a welding robot, how do we
analyse the forces acting on such complex structures?

Author Unknown,

Jim Ross, www.nasa.gov, Dryden Image Gallery, Active

Aeroelastic Wing (AAW), Dec 15, 2004, public domain,
Accessed 27/09/2010

Girish Tunk, 2010, http://ultimateautos.blogspot.com/2010/04/volkswagenjetta-sedan-2010.html Accessed 27/09/2010

http://www.directindustry.com/prod/fan
uc-robotics-europe/arc-welding-robot32007-162232.html, Accessed
27/9/2010

Analysing Engineering Structures

There are four main things we, as engineers, need to do when analysing
structures:
Measure the external forces acting on a body and ensure our designs are strong
enough to carry them (solid mechanics)
Calculate the strength of supports to carry these external forces (statics)
Look at the links/joins between different parts of structures and work out how strong
those joins have to be (statics, solid mechanics and design)
Look at how forces are transmitted through structures (solid mechanics and design)
Author Unknown,

Girish Tunk, 2010,

http://ultimateautos.blogspot.com/2010/04/volkswagen-jettasedan-2010.html Accessed 27/09/2010

L
W

http://www.directin
dustry.com/prod/fa
nuc-roboticseurope/arcwelding-robot32007162232.html,
Accessed
27/9/2010

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Image courtesy of Australian Defence Department.

Analysing Engineering Structures

We can perform experiments to measure the forces on our
structures:

Source: Guy Norris Things with Wings The Commercial

Aviation Blog, Wing ultimate load test complete on 787, in
Aviation Week, 29th March, 2010, Accessed 27th Sept 2010

http://auto.howstuffworks.com/car-driving-safety/safety-regulatorydevices/car-testing.htm/printable, How Car Testing Works, by Akweli

Parker, Car Safety Pictures Gallery, Picture by: Bill Pugliano/Getty Images,
Accessed 28th Sept 2010

http://www.nasaimages.org/luna/servlet/det
ail/nasaNAS~5~5~22484~127038:FIDORover accessed 28th Sept 2010, 4th Jan
1999 (photo taken from JPL collection),
NASA Great Images in Nasa Collection,
public domain

Once weve got values for our forces, how do we determine

what kind of supports/joins we need and how strong these have
to be?

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Analysing Engineering Structures

In estimating the support forces required to keep a structure
stable, we:
Make assumptions
For our analysis in statics we will assume all structures act as rigid
bodies (if a force is applied to a structure, it retains its shape)

Make approximations
What is p equal to? What is g equal to? What is sinq equal to?

Make simplifications
These steps allow us to go from something really complex, to
something we can do rough calculations on. Once initial calcs
are performed we can move to more complex models & calcs.
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From the complex to the simple

How do we go from a structure, which is really very complicated to
something a bit simpler?
Assuming we can now estimate or measure the
loads (forces) an engineering structure can
withstand, the next steps are to:
Learn how to simplify our structures
Learn how we can model the connection points
These are things we will now learn about in Statics

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Analysing Engineering Structures: Simplifying Structures

We start off with a car:

We could consider breaking it into parts

to see if that makes it easier

Picture is public domain, no rights asserted by the author

Motor Vehicle Structures: concepts and Fundamentals, ButterworthHeinemans 2001, Brown, Robertson. Serpento, pp 22, 84, 85, 188

Maybe not!!
We need to be able to simplify our structure, so we can work out how strong
it needs to be
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Analysing Engineering Structures: Simplifying Structures

So, for example if we were interested in calculating the forces on
our shock absorbers/suspension system, we can model the car as
a whole

In 3 dimensions
In 2 dimensions

Adapted from, Motor Vehicle Structures: concepts and Fundamentals,

Butterworth-Heinemans 2001, Brown, Robertson. Serpento, pp 68, 69

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Analysing Engineering Structures:

Simplifying Structures & Loads
Once we have simplified our structure, we can apply our measured loads and
begin analysis

Bending loads

3D well get to later

2D we can nearly manage

now..
Fpt = loads on the power train

Fpf = front passenger load

Fpr = rear passenger load
Fl = luggage load
R = reaction forces produced by the suspension

Obviously these situations

need to be examined in
both the dynamic and the
static cases

Motor Vehicle Structures: concepts and Fundamentals,

Butterworth-Heinemans 2001, Brown, Robertson.
Serpento, pp 68, 69

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Analysing Engineering Structures

What we have just done is draw what is called a free body diagram
Free body diagrams form the basis for our computational modelling
In a Free body diagram we:
- Draw a schematic representation of the OUTLINE of the body or system
- internal forces and features are excluded
- forces and moments acting on the body are represented in a simple way
without losing any important information: idealisation and assumptions.

We need to have a good grasp of free

body diagrams, to understand loading
and to make our analysis easier!

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Free Body Diagrams

We need to be able to practice drawing free body
diagrams to ensure we:
Correctly identify all the forces acting on a structure
Are aware of the assumptions we use in identifying those
forces
Are aware of mating parts (see first example)
Are able to specify the types of joints and supports
needed to keep a structure stable
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Free Body Diagrams

Before we can look at 3D structures, we will examine 2D
structures
Before we can look at 2D structures, we need to examine
what your text calls particles
We will draw some free body diagrams (F.B.Ds) of particles
first and then move on to 2D systems
Once we have learnt a bit about FBDs we will then consider
how we can model forces and loads which our structures
experience.
Then we can apply loads to our free body diagrams and do
some real engineering!
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Free Body Diagrams: Particles

Taken from, Engineering Mechanics: Statics, 12th Edition in SI Units, Statics Study Pact, Free-Body Diagram Workbook, Peter Schiavone, R.C Hibbeler, Pearson, 2010, pp86

What would the free body diagram of the drum look like?
What does that tell us about mating parts?

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Free Body Diagrams: Particles

Taken from, Engineering Mechanics: Statics, 12th Edition in SI Units, Statics Study Pact, Free-Body Diagram Workbook, Peter Schiavone, R.C Hibbeler, Pearson, 2010, pp86

We need to know about different types of forces

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Free Body Diagrams: Rigid Bodies

Taken from, Engineering Mechanics: Statics, 12th Edition in SI Units, Statics Study Pact, Free-Body Diagram Workbook, Peter Schiavone, R.C Hibbeler, Pearson, 2010, p115

21

Representing Forces on FBDs

We can now simplify our structures
How do we represent forces on our FBDs in a way
which will allow us to do some maths?
We represent forces and moments, as VECTORS

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Representing Forces on FBDs

Vectors and scalars
Vector quantities specify a magnitude and direction
Scalars quantities specify only magnitude
The following quantities are often used in engineering analysis.
Which are vectors and which are scalars?
a) Mass
e) Force
b) Velocity
f) Acceleration
g) Length
c) Weight
h) Displacement
d) Area
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2D Vectors
In two dimensions we use the x and y (Cartesian) axes.

We can specify the vector, V by:

y
V

x-component and a y-component

magnitude and an angle

j
i

is and js (Cartesian Vector Notation)

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Components of a vector
Vectors can be resolved (or split) into components along
perpendicular axes.
The x and y components of V are:
Vx = 6 units and Vy = 5 units (or as 6i + 5j)
y
V

We can calculate the angle V makes

with the positive x-axis via:

tan q

Vy
x

Vx

Vy
Vx

How would we calculate the

magnitude of V?

tan q 1.2
q 50.2

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Vectors Example 1
Given that F1 =2.5N in the x-dirn and 4.3N in the y-dirn (2.5i + 4.3j N):
Find the magnitude of F1 and
the angle between this vector and the horizontal (x) axis.
y
F1
F2

4.3N

2.5N

x
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Vectors Example 2
Find the scalar components of F2 parallel to the horizontal (x)
and vertical (y) axes. Then express F2 in Cartesian notation.
y

F1

F2=10N
60
x
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Vector addition Example 3

To find the sum (or resultant) of two vectors, their x and y scalar
components are added as follows:
y

60

F1is 2.5i + 4.3j N

F2=10N
x

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Vector Addition Example 4

Find the resultant force, F, of F1 and F2.
Given that F1= 1.5i + 2.3j
State the magnitude and orientation of F.
y

F
F2=10N
5

F1

13
12

x
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Vector Addition Example 3

The screw eye is
subjected to two forces, F1
and F2. Determine the
magnitude and direction of
the resultant force.

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Vector Addition Example 3

Parallelogram Law
Unknown: magnitude of
FR and angle

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Vector Addition Example 3

Parallelogram Law

Trigonometry

Unknown: magnitude of
FR and angle

Law of Cosines

100N 2 150N 2 2100N 150N cos115

10000 22500 30000 0.4226 212.6 N 213N

FR

Law of Sines

39.8 15
54.8

150 N 212 .6 N

sin q sin 115

150 N
0.9063
sin q
212 .6 N
32
q 39 .8

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Example 2-29

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Example 2-15

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Assumption: Rigid bodies

Do not deform
In reality, all materials deform under applied load.
If material is very rigid and force is not large, the deformation is very
small and can be neglected.
F

Rigid

Deformable

The RIGID BODY ASSUMPTION will be applied to all analysis in

MIET2097 - Statics.
36

Assumption: Rigid Bodies

Our assumption means that when we want to calculate the
effect of a force at a point which lies on the line of action of that
force, we can take a short-cut
F

F
Q

O
-F

Q
F

We can treat our forces like trams: they

can run anywhere along their tracks,
their line of action.

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Principle of transmissibility
RIGID BODY ASSUMPTION allows us to treat an applied force as a
SLIDING VECTOR
Force can SLIDE along its LINE OF ACTION without altering its
external effect on the body
Known as the principle of transmissibility.
F
F
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Accessing Mastering Engineering

For each topic, you will have practice questions

To access the website:

1.Buy a copy of Engineering Mechanics: Statics, 12th Edition
2.REGISTER at the website:
www.masteringengineering.com
Click on the student tab
Click on the yes I have an access code and type in the access code listed in the
front of your paper copy of the textbook.
The course ID is MIET20970512. This is the course you need to enrol into on the
mastering engineering website
You will be identified on the system by your RMIT student number
You will need to choose your own password.

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