STATICS OF THE RIGID BODIES

Introduction to Mechanics (Statics) Formula: Moment = Force × Distance

Mechanics is a branch of physics that studies the behavior of physical bodies when they are Important in beams, levers, and structures.
subjected to forces or displacements. It explains how objects move and how they remain at rest
under the influence of forces. Mechanics is generally divided into two major areas: statics and Another foundational principle behind statics is Newton's Laws of Motion, particularly the first
dynamics. law, which states that an object will remain at rest or in uniform motion unless acted upon by an
unbalanced force. Statics applies this principle to situations where forces cancel each other out,
Statics focuses on the study of bodies that are in equilibrium, meaning the objects are either at resulting in equilibrium.
rest or moving with constant velocity while the forces acting on them are balanced. In statics, the
main objective is to analyze forces acting on structures and determine whether the system FREE BODY DIAGRAM (FBD)
remains stable and stationary. A diagram showing all forces acting on an object.
Statics plays a crucial role in many fields such as civil engineering, mechanical engineering, and Steps:
architecture. Engineers apply the principles of statics when designing structures like bridges, 1. Isolate the object
buildings, towers, and machines to ensure that they can safely support loads without collapsing or 2. Draw all forces
deforming. 3. Label magnitudes and directions

A fundamental idea in statics is equilibrium, which occurs when the sum of all forces and the In practical applications, statics helps engineers analyze trusses, beams, frames, and machines
sum of all moments acting on a body are equal to zero. When this condition is satisfied, the object to determine the forces within each component. By understanding these forces, engineers can
does not accelerate and remains stable. design safe and efficient structures that can support loads such as people, vehicles, wind, and other
environmental forces.
A body is in equilibrium when:
• Sum of all forces = 0 APPLICATION OF STATICS
• Sum of all moments = 0 Civil Engineering – bridges, buildings
Object remains at rest and does not rotate. Mechanical Engineering – machines, frames
Another important concept in statics is Force, which is defined as a push or pull acting upon an Architecture – structural stability and load distribution
object. Forces can come from gravity, friction, tension, or applied loads. In analyzing statics
problems, forces are represented as vectors because they have both magnitude and direction. TECHNICAL TERMS USED IN ENGINEERING MECHANICS

Closely related to force is the concept of Moment (physics), also known as torque. A moment Particle. A body of infinitely small volume whose mass can be neglected, is called a particle.
describes the tendency of a force to rotate an object about a point or axis. Moments are essential
when studying structures such as beams and levers. Body. The assemblage of a number of particles is known as a body

Rigid body. A rigid body is one in which the positions of the constituent particles do not change
under the application of external forces, such as the position of particles 1 and 2 in the figure
Force is a push or pull acting on an object. below
Common forces:
• Gravity
• Normal force
• Tension
•Friction

Moment/Torque
Moment is the tendency of a force to rotate an object. Rigid Body
STATICS OF THE RIGID BODIES

Mass (m). The total amount of matter present in a body is known as its mass. The unit of mass is Force. When we push, pull, kick, lift, throw, flick, hit, pick, squeeze, press, inflate, open,
the kilogram, abbreviated kg. close an object we say a force is applied on the object. These actions are nothing but the
Weight. A body is attracted towards the earth due to gravitation. This causes an acceleration application of force. Whatever may be the method of application of the force, they are
directed towards the center of earth. It is called acceleration due to gravity and is denoted by g. The only two types a push or a pull.
resulting force is equal to the weight of body.
Push. We push the door to shut it or open it. A baby walks by pushing a baby walker. A
Weight = mass × acceleration due to gravity payloader pushes a pile of boulders.

For weight, W Pull. A bucket full of water lifted up by applying a pull. A load lifted using a pulley. A car
towed by a towing crane. A body falling under gravity.
Unit used in Weight
Metric Units (SI) English Units
Newton Pound-force
For mass, m

Unit used in mass

Metric Units (SI) English Units
kg Pound-force

For acceleration due to gravity, g CHARACTERISTICS OF A FORCE

Unit used in acceleration due to gravity a) Magnitude

Metric Units (SI) English Units b) Position of its line of action
9.81 m / s 2
32.2 ft / s2 c) Direction (or sense) in which the force acts
NEWTON’S LAW OF MOTION along its line of action
Newton’s First law. This law states that every object or body continues in its state of rest Note: A change in any of these characteristics will result in a corresponding change in
or of uniform motion along a straight line, so long as it is under the influence of a the external and internal effects of the force.
balanced force system’.
UNIT OF FORCE
Newton’s Second law. This law states that ‘the rate of change momentum of a body is
directly proportional to the impressed force and it takes place in the direction of the force SI or Metric system: Newton (N)
acting on it’. English units: pound (lb) or kip (k) = 1000 lb
Newton’s Third law. This law states that ‘action and reaction are equal in magnitude but POINT OF APPLICATION OF FORCE AND LINE OF ACTION OF FORCE
opposite in direction.
The point on the body where a force act is called the point of application of force and a
FORCE AND THEIR CHARACTERISTICS line drawn through the point of application of the force in the direction of force is called
the line of action of the force.
STATICS OF THE RIGID BODIES

Friction. The force of friction always acts on all the moving objects and its direction is
always opposite to the direction of motion.
TYPES OF CONTACT FORCES
Normal Force. A book resting on a table has the force of gravity pulling it toward the
Earth. But the book is not moving or accelerating, so there must be opposing forces
acting on the book. This force is caused by the table and is known as the normal force.
CHARACTERISTICS OF FORCE
Applied Force. It refers to a force that is applied to an object whether it is being pushed
a) Forces are due to an interaction of at least two objects. or pulled.
b) It may change the state of motion of an object.
Frictional Force. It is the force caused by the relative motion of two surfaces that come
c) It may change the shape of an object.
into contact with each other.
d) Forces applied on an object in the same direction add to one another and the
resultant is in the same direction. Tension Force. It is the force applied to a cable or rope that is anchored on opposite ends
e) When forces are applied on an object in the opposite direction then their resultant to opposing walls or other objects. This causes a force that pulls equally in both
or net force is the difference between these opposing forces and its resulting directions.
direction is the same as that of larger force.
f) If the two forces acting on an object are equal in magnitude but opposite in Compressive Force. It is the force applied on a certain object which tends to compress.
direction, then the net force acting on the body is zero. Spring Force. It is the force created by a compressed or stretched spring.
g) It is a vector quantity hence they should be specified by giving its magnitude and
the direction. Resisting Force. The air resistance is a special type of frictional force that acts upon
h) If the magnitude or the direction or both changes, then the effect of force also objects as they travel through the air. The force of air resistance is often observed to
changes. oppose the motion of an object.

TYPES OF FORCES NON-CONTACT FORCES

Contact Forces. A force which can be applied only when it is in contact with an object. All Magnetic Force. The force exerted by a magnet, e.g. How magnet repel and attract each
mechanical forces are contact forces. other.

Non-Contact Forces. A force which can be applied without any contact with two bodies. Electrostatic Force. The force exerted by a charged body. These forces exist without
contact between the two bodies. e.g. When a comb is run through dry hair, then the comb
CONTACT FORCES can attract small pieces of paper.
Muscular Force. The force resulting due to the action of muscles. Muscular force can be Gravitational Force. The force exerted by the earth on a body. Actually, this force exists
applied only when it is in contact with the object. between any two bodies in the universe.
STATICS OF THE RIGID BODIES

EXTERNAL AND INTERNAL EFFECTS OF FORCES 1) The baseball player was running 20 kilometers an hour towards the third base.
2) The volume of that box at the north side of the road is 2 cubic meters.
External Effect of a Force. Manifested by a change in, or a tendency to change, the state 3) The temperature of the room was 39 degrees Celsius.
the motion of the body upon which it acts. 4) The car accelerated north at a rate of 10 meters per second squared.
Internal Effect if a Force. It produces stress and deformation in the body where the force
FORCE SYSTEMS
is applied.
SYSTEM OF FORCES
EFFECTS OF FORCES
When several forces of various magnitude and direction act upon a body they are said to
It may set a body into motion. A football when kicked begins to move. An object
form system of forces.
released from a height starts moving vertically downward under the influence of
gravitational force. 1) Coplanar forces - the forces whose lines of action lie on the same plane.
It may bring a body to rest. A moving ball can be stopped by hand. The rolling body 2) Collinear forces - the forces whose lines of action lie on the same line.
stops after some time due to friction. A car can be stopped by applying brakes. 3) Concurrent forces - the forces whose lines of action intersect at one point.
4) Coplanar concurrent forces - the forces which meet at one point and their lines of
It may change the magnitude of motion. When a force is applied in the direction of action also lie on the same plane.
motion, magnitude of velocity increases. An accelerator of a car is pushed to increase the 5) Coplanar non-concurrent forces - the forces which do not meet at one point, but
speed of the car, due to which driving force in the direction of motion increases. When a
their lines of action lie on the same plane.
force is applied in the opposite direction of motion, the magnitude of velocity
6) Non-coplanar concurrent forces - the forces which meet at one point, but their lines of
decreases. The brakes of a car are applied to decrease the speed of the car, due to which
action do not lie on the same plane.
retarding force in the opposite direction of motion increases.
7) Non-coplanar non-concurrent forces - the forces which do not meet at one point and
It may change the direction of motion. When a ball is hit by a bat its direction changes. A their lines of action do not lie on the same plane
ball strikes on a wall and rebounds due to the reaction given by the wall on the ball.
COMPONENTS OF A FORCE
It may change the magnitude and direction of motion. When a ball is hit by a bat, its
speed and direction changes. A body projected making an acute angle with the ground A single force F acting on a particle may be replaced by two or more forces that, together,
changes its magnitude and direction of velocity continuously. have the same effect on the particle. These forces are called components of the original
force F. Each force can be resolved into an infinite number of possible sets of components.
SCALAR QUANTITY vs VECTOR QUANTITY
Resolution of a Force. The process of splitting of a force into its two rectangular
Scalar Quantity. A scalar quantity is a quantity that is fully described by a magnitude only.
components (horizontal and vertical) is known as resolution of the force, as shown in
It is described by just a single number.
Figure below. In this figure, F is the force which makes an angle θ with the horizontal axis,
Vector Quantity - A vector is a quantity that has both a magnitude and a direction. Vector and has been resolved into two components, namely �� and �� , along the x − axis and
quantities are important in the study of motion.
y−axis respectively
Is it a Scalar or Vector Quantity?
STATICS OF THE RIGID BODIES

Unit used in Moment

Metric Units (SI) English Units
N−m lb−ft
�� = � cos θ
Moment of a force
�� = � sin θ
Resolution of a force Moment = � × �

Where:
Note: If the force F makes an angle of θ with the horizontal, the horizontal component of
the force is multiplied by cos θ � = force

MOMENT OF A FORCE � = moment arm

= perpendicular distance
The turning effect produced by a force on a body is known as the moment of the force.
The magnitude of the moment is given by the product of the magnitude of the force
and the perpendicular distance between the line of action of the force and the point or
axis of rotation. This figure is shown in Figure (a).

TYPES OF MOMENTS

a) If the tendency of a force is to rotate the body in the clockwise direction, it is said to be a
clockwise moment and is taken positive. This figure is shown in Figure (b).

b) If the tendency of a force is to rotate the body in the anticlockwise direction, it is said to be
anticlockwise moment and is taken negative. This figure is shown in Figure (c).