Republic of the Philippines
DON HONORIO VENTURA STATE UNIVERSITY
Villa de Bacolor, Pampanga
STATICS OF RIGID BODIES
A. Course Code / Title : Statics 213 / Statics of Rigid Bodies
B. Module Number : Module 9 - Resultant of Parallel Force System
C. Time Frame : 6th week (1.5 hours)
D. Description:
This module looks into equivalent single force for parallel force system.
E. Objectives:
At the end of this module, the learner should be able to :
1. Identify the different types of loads.
2. Resolve distributed loading into its equivalent single load and its position
3. Solve the magnitude and location of the resultant of parallel force system.
F. Contents:
Resultant of Parallel Forces
The resultant of a force system is defined to be the simplest that can replace the original
system without changing its external effect on a rigid body.
P1 P2 P3
A B
d1
d2
d3
Let: R = resultant
R=ΣF
d = distance of the resultant from specific point (location of resultant)
P1, P2, P3, …Pn = applied loads on the body
d1, d2, d3,..dn = distances of loads from specific point respectively
Apply Varignon’s Theorem to solve for d:
M A Fd
Rd P1d1 P2 d 2 P3 d 3
P1d1 P2 d 2 P3 d 3
d
R
( Pd i )
d
R
Problem:
For the system of parallel forces, determine the magnitude, direction and the position of the
resultant force.
20 N 30 N 40 N
A B
2m 2m 3m 1m
Solution:
a. Solve for the resultant R of the forces:
Since all the forces are acting downward, so take all forces going down to be
positive(+).
R F
R 20 30 40
R 90N
b. For the location of the resultant:
R = 90N
d
20 N 30 N 40 N
A B
2m 2m 3m 1m
Get the moment of the resultant about A:
M A Rd
M A 90d
Get the moment of the forces about A:
M A 20(2) 30(4) 40(7)
M A 440N m
Equate MA:
MA MA
90d 440
d 4.89m
R = 90N, acting downward at 4.89 m right of A
Three Types of Loads
1. Concentrated Load
A single load applied at a certain point on the structure.
Distributed loading
loading that is distributed over its surface
Examples are: pressure of the wind on the face of a sign, the pressure of water within a
tank, or the weight of sand on the floor of a storage container.
The intensity of coplanar distributed loading is measured in N/m or lb/ft
The external effect caused by a coplanar distributed loading acting on a body can be
represented by a single resultant force.
This resultant force is equivalent to the area under the loading diagram, and has a line of
action that passes through the centroid or geometric center of this area.
2. Uniformly Distributed Load
w (N/m) @ L/2
3. Varying Load
L
w (N/m) @ /3 from toe and
2L
toe heel /3 from heel
Problems:
For the system of parallel forces, determine the magnitude, direction and the position of the
resultant force.
1.
15 N
50 N/m
1m 1m
2m
Solution:
a. Transform the uniformly distributed load to its equivalent concentrated load:
P = wl P = 100N
P = 50N/m (2m)
1m 1m
P = 100 N 50 N/m
2m
Location of P = L/2 = 1m
b. The equivalent force system:
100 N
15 N
1m 2m 1m
4m
Solving for R:
Since all forces are going down, then take all downward forces to be positive (+).
R = ΣF ⤈
R = 100 + 15
R = 115 N
115N
15 N
100 N
1m 2m 1m
A B
Solving for the location of R:
Apply Varignon’s theorem:
MA :
Rd 100(1) 15(3)
115d 145
d 1.261m
R = 115N, acting downward, located at 1.261m to the right of A.
2.
15 kN
10 kN/m
1m 1m 3m 1m
Solution:
a. Transform the varying load into its equivalent concentrated load:
P = 15 kN
1
P wl
2
1
P (10)(3)
2
P 15kN / m 3m
P = 15 kN/m acting 2 m from toe and 1 m from heel
b. The equivalent force system:
15 kN P = 15 kN
1m 1m 2m 2m
Solving for R:
R = ΣF
R = 15 + 15
R = 30 kN ↓
Location of R:
R = 30 kN
15 kN P = 15 kN
A B
1m 2m
2m
d
Applying Varignon’s theorem:
ΣMA:
Rd = 15(1) + 15(3)
30d = 60
d=2m
R = 30 kN, acting downward, located at 2m to the right of A.
3.
15 kN
10 kN/m
5 kN/m
1m 1m 3m 1m
Solution:
The given distributed load is a combination of rectangle and triangle or two triangles:
Rectangle and triangle
15 kN
10 kN/m
5 kN/m
1m 1m 3m 1m
P = 5(3) = 15 kN P = 1/2(5)(3) = 7.5 kN
1.5 m 1.5 m
5 kN/m 5 kN/m
2/ 3 1/3 (3) = 1
(3) = 2
3m 3m
The equivalent force system
37.5 kN
15 kN 7.5 kN
15 kN
A B
1.5m 0.5m 1m
1m 1m 3m 1m
d
Solve for R:
R = ΣF ⤈
R = 15 + 15 + 7.5
R = 37.5 kN
Location of R:
ΣMA: ↻+
Rd = 15 (1) + 15 (3.5) + 7.5 (4)
37.5d = 97.5
d = 2.6m
R = 37.5 kN, directed downward, located at 2.6m right of A.
Another Solution:
Combination of two triangles:
15 kN
10 kN/m
5 kN/m
1m 1m 3m 1m
P = 1/2 (10)(3) =15 kN
1
P = /2 (5)(3) = 7.5 kN
1m 2m
2m 1m
The equivalent force system:
P = 15 kN
R = 37.5 kN P = 7.5 kN
15 kN
10 kN/m
5 kN/m
1m 1m 1m
1m 1m 3m 1m
d
Solve for R:
R = ΣF ⤈
R = 15 + 7.5 + 15
R = 37.5 kN
Location of R:
ΣMA: ↻+
Rd = 15 (1) + 7.5 (3) + 15 (4)
37.5d = 97.5
d = 2.6m
R = 37.5 kN, downward, 2.6m right of A.
G. References:
1. Vector Mechanics for Engineers 10th Edition, Beer, F.P., Johnston, [Link], Mazurek,
D.F., Cornwell, P.J.2013
2. Engineering Mechanics Statics 13th Edition, Hibbeler, R.C.,2013
3. Engineering Mechanics Statics 14th Edition, Hibbeler, R.C.,2016
4. Engineering Mechanics Statics 3rd Edition, Pytel, A., Kiusalaas, J., 2010