Chapter five
Force Systems
In this chapter, you will learn:
Forces vector analysis
Moments
Couple
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Force
• A force is a vector quantity, because its effect depends on the direction as well as on the magnitude of the action.
Thus, forces may be combined according to the parallelogram law of vector addition.
• The action of the cable tension on the bracket in Fig. 2/1a is represented in the side view, Fig. 2/1b, by the force vector
P of magnitude P. The effect of this action on the bracket depends on P, the angle , and the location of the point of
application A. Changing any one of these three specifications will alter the effect on the bracket, such as the force in
one of the bolts which secure the bracket to the base, or the internal force and deformation in the material of the bracket
at any point
• The complete specification of the action of a force must include its magnitude, direction, and point o application.
• The action of a force on a body can be external and internal.
• The effects of P external to the bracket are the reactive forces (not shown) exerted on the
bracket by the foundation and bolts because of the action of P. Forces external to a body can
be either applied forces or reactive forces.
• The effects of P internal to the bracket are the resulting internal forces and deformations
distributed throughout the material of the bracket.
• The relation between internal forces and internal deformations depends on the material
properties of the body and is studied in strength of materials, elasticity, and plasticity.
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• Forces
There is frequent need to represent forces as vectors, to resolve a single force into components along desired
directions, and to combine two or more concurrent forces into an equivalent resultant force. Specifically,
you should be able to:
1. Resolve a given force vector into its components along given directions, and express the vector in terms of
the unit vectors along a given set of axes.
2. Express a force as a vector when given its magnitude and information about its line of action. This
information may be in the form of two points along the line of action or angles which orient the line of action.
3. Use the dot product to compute the projection of a vector onto a specified line and the angle between
two vectors.
4. Compute the resultant of two or more forces concurrent at a point.
• Moments
The tendency of a force to rotate a body about an axis is described by a moment (or torque), which is a
vector quantity. We have seen that finding the moment of a force is often facilitated by combining the moments
of the components of the force. When working with moment vectors you should be able to:
1. Determine a moment by using the moment-arm rule.
2. Use the vector cross product to compute a moment vector in terms of a force vector and a position vector
locating the line of action of the force.
3. Utilize Varignon’s theorem to simplify the calculation of moments, in both scalar and vector forms.
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• Couples
A couple is the combined moment of two equal, opposite, and noncollinear forces. The unique
effect of a couple is to produce a pure twist or rotation regardless of where the forces are located. The
couple is useful in replacing a force acting at a point by a force–couple system at a different
point. To solve problems involving couples you should be able to:
1. Compute the moment of a couple, given the couple forces and either their separation distance or
any position vectors locating their line of action.
2. Replace a given force by an equivalent force–couple system, and vice versa.
• Resultants
We can reduce an arbitrary system of forces and couples to a single resultant force applied at
an arbitrary point, and a corresponding resultant couple. We can further combine this resultant
force and couple into a wrench to give a single resultant force along a unique line of action,
together with a parallel couple vector. To solve problems involving resultants you should be able to:
1. Compute the magnitude, direction, and line of action of the resultant of a system of coplanar forces
if that resultant is a force; otherwise, compute the moment of the resultant couple.
2. Apply the principle of moments to simplify the calculation of the moment of a system of
coplanar forces about a given point.
3. Replace a given general force system by a wrench along a specific line of action.
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TWO-DIMENSIONAL FORCE SYSTEMS
• Rectangular Components:
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THREE-DIMENSIONAL FORCE SYSTEMS
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Resultants
Parallel Forces. For a system of parallel forces not all in the same
plane, the magnitude of the parallel resultant force R is simply the magnitude
of the algebraic sum of the given forces.
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Example 1
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Example 2 : Determine resultant force
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Example 3
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Direction of a Cartesian Vector
Standardized unit vectors: i, J and k
𝑨
𝒖= A= 𝑨 u
𝑨
𝒖 = 𝐴 𝑥 i + 𝐴𝑦 𝑗 + 𝐴𝑧 𝑘
T𝒉𝒆 𝒎𝒂𝒈𝒏𝒊𝒕𝒖𝒅𝒆 𝒐𝒇 𝒖𝒏𝒊𝒕 𝒗𝒆𝒄𝒕𝒐𝒓 𝒖 𝒊𝒔 𝒓𝒆𝒑𝒓𝒆𝒔𝒆𝒏𝒕𝒆𝒅 𝒂𝒔 𝒖
𝒖 =1
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EXAMPLE 4
The man pulls on the cord with a Force of 70 lb. Represent this force acting on the
support A as a Cartesian vector and determine its direction.
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Example 5
• The roof is supported by cables as shown in the photo. If the cables exert forces on
the hook at A as shown below, determine the resultant force acting at A. Express the result
as a Cartesian vector.
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SAMPLE 6
• The forces F1, F2, and F3, all of which act on point A of the bracket,
are specified in three different ways. Determine the x and y scalar
components of each of the three forces.
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Example 6 continue
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EXAMPLE 7
• Combine the two forces P and T, which act on the fixed structure at B, into a single equivalent force R.
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EXAMPLE 8
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EXAMPLE 9
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EXAMPLE 10
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CONTINUE
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Example 11
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Example 12
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Example 13
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Moment (M)
• In addition to the tendency to move a body in the direction of its application, a force can also
tend to rotate a body about an axis. The axis may be any line which neither intersects nor is
parallel to the line of action of the force. This rotational tendency is known as the moment M of
the force.
• Moment is also referred to as torque.
• Consider a pipe wrench. One effect of the force applied perpendicular to the handle of the
wrench is the tendency to rotate the pipe about its vertical axis.
• The magnitude of this tendency depends on both the magnitude F of the force and the effective
length d of the wrench handle.
• Moment directions may be accounted for by using a stated sign convention, such as a plus sign
for counterclockwise moments and a minus sign for clockwise moments, or vice versa.
• d: Moment arm
M=F d Moment about a Point
2&3-dimensional
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Varignon’s Theorem
• One of the most useful principles of mechanics is Varignon’s theorem,
which states that the moment of a force about any point is equal to
the sum of the moments of the components of the force about the
same point.
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Example 14
Determine the moment of the force about point O.
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Example 15
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Example 16
• Two forces act on the rod. Determine the resultant moment they
create about the point O. Express the result as a Cartesian vector.
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Example 17: Calculate the magnitude of the moment about the base
point O of the 600-N force.
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Example 18
Determine the moment produced by the force F in figure below about point O. Express the result as a Cartesian vector.
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Continue
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Moment of a Couple
The moment produced by two equal, opposite, and noncollinear forces is called a couple. Couples
have certain unique properties and have important applications in mechanics.
Consider the action of two equal and opposite forces F and -F a distance d apart, as shown in Fig.a.
These two forces cannot be combined into a single force because their sum in every direction is zero.
Their only effect is to produce a tendency of rotation. The combined moment of the two forces about
an axis normal to their plane and passing through any point such as O in their plane is the couple M.
This couple has a magnitude (Scalar Formulation)
Its direction is counterclockwise when viewed from above for the case illustrated.
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Continue
• We may also express the moment of a couple by using vector algebra.
Vector Formulation
• The moment expression contains no reference to the moment center O and,
therefore, is the same for all moment centers. Thus, we may represent M
by a free vector, as shown in Fig. c.
• The couple vector can be represented as clockwise or counterclockwise
by one of the conventions.
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Equivalent Couples
• If two couples produce a moment with the same magnitude and direction . then these two
couples are equivalent.
• Changing the values of F and d does not change a given couple as long as the product Fd
remains the same. Likewise, a couple is not affected if the forces act in a different but parallel
plane.
• Four different configurations are shown of the same couple M. In each of the four cases, the
couples are equivalent and are described by the same free vector which represents the identical
tendencies to rotate the bodies.
Resultant Couple Moment
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Force–Couple Systems
• The effect of a force acting on a body is the tendency to push or pull the body in the direction of
the force, and to rotate the body about any fixed axis which does not intersect the line of the force.
We can represent this dual effect more easily by replacing the given force by an equal parallel force
and a couple to compensate for the change in the moment of the force.
• The given force F acting at point A is replaced by an equal force F at some point B and the
counterclockwise couple M = Fd. The transfer is seen in the middle figure, where the equal and
opposite forces F and - F are added at point B without introducing any net external effects on the
body.
• We have replaced the original force at A by the same force acting at a different point B and a
couple, without altering the external effects of the original force on the body. The combination of
the force and couple in the right-hand part is referred to as a force–couple system.
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Example 19
Determine the magnitude and direction of the couple moment acting on the gear in fig. below.
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Example 20
• Determine the couple moment acting on the pipe shown in Fig. below. Segment AB is directed 30" below the
x-y plane.
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Example 21
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EXAMPLE 22
Replace the horizontal 80-lb force acting on the lever by an equivalent
system consisting of a force at O and a couple.
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Example 23
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Example 24
• Determine the magnitude and direction of the couple M which will replace the two given couples and still
produce the same external effect on the block. Specify the two forces F and F, applied in the two faces of the
block parallel to the y-z plane, which may replace the four given forces. The 30-N forces act parallel to the y-
z plane.
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Example 25
A force of 40 lb is applied at A to the handle of the control lever which is attached to the fixed shaft OB. In
determining the effect of the force on the shaft at a cross section such as that at O, we may replace the force by
an equivalent force at O and a couple. Describe this couple as a vector M.
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Example 26
Determine the resultant of the force and couple system which acts on the rectangular solid.
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Example 27
Determine the resultant of the system of parallel forces which act on the plate. Solve with a vector approach.
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• Equilibrium (chapter six)
You will use the preceding concepts and methods when you study
equilibrium in the following chapters. Let us summarize the concept of
equilibrium:
1. When the resultant force on a body is zero (F 0), the body is in
translational equilibrium. This means that its center of mass is either at
rest or moving in a straight line with constant velocity.
2. In addition, if the resultant couple is zero ( M 0), the body is in
rotational equilibrium, either having no rotational motion or rotating
with a constant angular velocity.
3. When both resultants are zero, the body is in complete equilibrium.
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