ENGINEERING MECHANICS

Warm Welcome to Everybody

By
Dr. Mirvat Shamseddine
Email: [Link]@[Link]
 Engineering Mechanics
➢ Mechanics is the science which describes and predicts the
conditions of rest or motion of bodies under the action of
forces. Mechanics is the foundation of most engineering
sciences and is an indispensable prerequisite to their study.
➢ Mechanics can be divided into THREE branches:
❑ Rigid-body Mechanics
❑ Deformable-body Mechanics
❑ Fluid Mechanics
➢ Rigid-body Mechanics deals with:
❑ Statics – Equilibrium of bodies
❑ Dynamics – Accelerated motion of bodies
Topics in Engineering Mechanics
 Topics to be Covered – Statics Part

➢ Review of vector Algebra

➢ Force Vectors
➢ Equilibrium of Particle
➢ Moment of a Force
➢ Force system Resultants
➢ Reduction of distributed forces
➢ Equilibrium of Rigid Body
➢ Reactions
➢ Internal forces
 Topics to be Covered – Dynamics Part

➢ Kinematics of Particle in Cartesian Coordinates

➢ Projectile Motion
➢ Dependent Motion.
➢ Kinematics of Particle in Normal/Tangential Coordinates
➢ Kinetics of Particle in Cartesian Coordinate
➢ Kinetics of Particle in Normal/Tangential Coordinates
➢ Work and Energy
 How to Succeed in Mechanics
Is mechanics hard? Is it too hard for me?
1. Spend time studying: Study about 2 to 3 hours per week for each unit of a
college course credit.
2. Don’t miss class: Listening and participating in class are highly effective.
Participate, pay active attention, and interact when you have the chance!
3. Make your book work for you: Read and use your book actively.
4. The most effective way of learning the principles of mechanics is to solve
problems. Doing this throughout the book will help immensely in
understanding how to apply the theory, and thereby develop your problem-
solving skills.
5. Approach problems systematically: Follow the global
approach - Set Up, Solve, and Reflect.
❖ Set Up: Read the problem carefully and try to correlate the actual physical
situation with the theory you have studied. Draw any necessary diagrams
and tabulate the problem data. Establish a Coordinate System!
 How to Succeed in Mechanics
Is mechanics hard? Is it too hard for me?
4. Approach problems systematically: Follow the global approach -
Set Up, Solve, and Reflect.
❖ Solve: Apply the relevant principles, generally in mathematical form.
Solve the necessary equations algebraically as far as practical; then, use a
consistent set of units and complete the solution numerically. Report the
answer with no more significant figures than the accuracy of the given
data.
❖ Reflect: Study the answer using technical judgment and common sense to
determine whether or not it seems reasonable. Review the problem. Try to
think of other ways of obtaining the same solution.
5. If you get stuck, get help: Use your professor’s office hours and email,
use campus resources.

So remember, you can succeed in mechanics. Just devote time to the

job, work lots of problems, and get help when you need it.
Have fun!
 Chapter 1
General Principles

Content
1.1 Mechanics
1.2 Fundamental Concepts
1.3 Units of Measurement
1.4 The International System of Units
1.5 Numerical Calculations
1.6 General Procedure for Analysis

Large cranes such as this one are required to lift extremely large loads.
Their design is based on the basic principles of statics and dynamics, which
form the subject matter of engineering mechanics.

Dr. Mirvat Shamseddine

12.1 Introduction
Rigid-body Mechanics
➢ a basic requirement for the study of the mechanics of deformable bodies and
the mechanics of fluids (advanced courses).
➢ essential for the design and analysis of many types of structural members,
mechanical components, electrical devices, etc, encountered in engineering.
➢ is usually divided into the following subdisciplines:
❑ Statics
❑ Strength of materials
❑ Dynamics (kinematics and kinetics)
12.1 Introduction
Rigid-body Mechanics
❑ Statics deals with equilibrium of bodies under action of forces (bodies may be
either at rest or move with a constant velocity). include elementary knowledge
for analyzing loads on mechanical systems. This knowledge forms the basis
for sizing and designing components and machine elements.
❑ Strength of Materials deals with the deformation of elastic systems under
loads such as pressure, tension, bending, torsion, and shearing as well as
calculating the resulting stress states.

❑ Dynamics (kinematics and kinetics) investigates moving systems.

Kinematics deals with motion sequences without enquiring into the cause of
motion. Kinetics looks at the motion of rigid bodies under the action of forces.

❑ Machine Dynamics Building on the fundamentals of engineering mechanics,

machine dynamics deals with the interaction between dynamic forces and
motion quantities in machines.
1.2 Fundamental Concepts
Basic Quantities
➢ Length (Space) – needed to locate the position of a point P in space in terms
of three coordinates measured from a reference point or origin, and describe
size of the physical system – Distances, Geometric Properties
➢ Time - definition of an event requires specification of the time and position at
which it occurred.
➢ Mass – quantity of matter in a body, measure of inertia of a body (its
resistance to change in velocity)
➢ Force - represents the action of one body on another. A force is characterized
by its point of application, magnitude, and direction, i.e., a force is a vector
quantity.

In Newtonian Mechanics, space, time, and mass are absolute concepts,

independent of each other. Force, however, is not independent of the
other three. The force acting on a body is related to the mass of the body
and the variation of its velocity with time.
1.2 Fundamental Concepts
Idealization - To simplify application of the theory
➢ Particle:
❑ A body with mass but with dimensions that can be neglected.
❑ When a body is idealized as a particle, the principles of mechanics reduce
to a simplified form, since the geometry of the body will not be concerned
in the analysis of the problem.

Size of earth is insignificant

compared to the size of its
orbit. Earth can be modeled
as a particle when studying its
orbital motion
1.2 Fundamental Concepts
Idealization - To simplify application of the theory
➢ Rigid Body:
❑ A rigid body can be considered as a combination of a large number of
particles in which all particles remain at a fixed distance from one another,
both before and after applying a load.
❑ The geometry of the body is considered.
❑ Material properties of a rigid body are not required to be considered when
analyzing the forces acting on the body.
❑ Generally, the assumption of Rigid Body is realistic since actual
deformations in structures, machines, mechanisms, etc. are relatively
small.

A rigid body does not deform under load!

1.2 Fundamental Concepts
Idealization - To simplify application of the theory
➢ Concentrated Force: A concentrated force represents the effect of a loading
which is assumed to act at a point (CG) on a body
❑ provided the area over which the load is applied is very small compared to
the overall size of the body.
1.2 Fundamental Concepts
Newton’s Three Laws of Motion
Basis of formulation of rigid body mechanics

➢ Newton’s First Law: A particle originally at rest, or moving in a straight line

with constant velocity, tends to remain in this state provided the particle is not
subjected to an unbalanced force

First law contains the principle of

the equilibrium of forces - main
topic of concern in Statics
1.2 Fundamental Concepts
Newton’s Three Laws of Motion
Basis of formulation of rigid body mechanics

➢ Newton’s Second Law: A particle of mass m acted upon by an unbalanced

force F experiences an acceleration a that has the same direction as the force
and a magnitude that is directly proportional to the force.

 
F = ma
Second Law forms the basis for
most of the analysis in Dynamics
1.2 Fundamental Concepts
Newton’s Three Laws of Motion
Basis of formulation of rigid body mechanics

➢ Newton’s Third Law: The mutual forces of action and reaction between two
particles are equal, opposite, and collinear.

Third law is basic to our understanding of Force. Forces always

occur in pairs of equal and opposite forces.
1.2 Fundamental Concepts
Newton’s Law of Gravitational Attraction
➢ Newton’s Law of Gravitation: Any two particles or bodies have a mutual
attractive (gravitational) force acting between them.
1.2 Fundamental Concepts
Gravitational Attraction of the Earth
➢ According to Newton’s law of gravitation, any two particles or bodies have a
mutual attractive (gravitational) force acting between them.
➢ Weight of a Body: If a particle is located at or near the surface of the earth,
the only significant gravitational force is that between the earth and the
particle. The weight of a body is the gravitational force exerted by earth on the
object.
➢ If we assume the earth to be a nonrotating sphere of constant density and
having a mass m= Me , then

❑ r is the distance between the earth’s

center and the particle
❑ g is the acceleration due to gravity. g =
9.82 𝑚/𝑠 2 at the surface of the earth.
1.2 Fundamental Concepts
Gravitational Attraction of the Earth
Remember:
❑ Mass is a property of matter that does not change from one location to another.
❑ Weight refers to the gravitational attraction of the earth on a body or quantity
of mass. Its magnitude depends upon the elevation at which the mass is located
1.3 Units of Measurement
➢ Kinetic Units: length, time, mass, and force.
❑ Three of the kinetic units, referred to as basic units, may be defined
arbitrarily. The fourth unit, referred to as a derived unit, must have a
definition compatible with Newton’s 2nd Law,
 
F = ma
➢ System of Units
❑ International System of Units (SI):
The basic units are length, time, and mass F = ma
which are arbitrarily defined as the meter  m
(m), second (s), and kilogram (kg). Force 1 N = (1 kg )1 2 
 s 
is the derived unit,
❑ U.S. Customary Units: F
The basic units are length, time, and force m=
which are arbitrarily defined as the foot a
1 lb
(ft), second (s), and pound (lb). Mass is 1slug =
the derived unit, 1 ft s
1.3 Units of Measurement
System of Units
1.3 Units of Measurement
Conversion of Units
➢ Units obey the same algebraic rules as variables and numbers.
➢ When units are not consistent, you may need to convert to appropriate ones.
➢ Units can be treated like algebraic quantities that can cancel each other out.
➢ A conversion factor is
❑ A ratio of units that is equal to 1.
❑ Used to convert between units
1.3 Units of Measurement
Conversion of Units
1.3 Units of Measurement
Conversion of Units
1.4 The International System of Units
➢ Scientific notation: employs powers of 10 to
write large or small numbers.
➢ Prefixes: When a numerical quantity is either
very large or very small, the units used to define This number should between 1 and 10
its size may be modified by using a prefix.
1.5 Numerical Calculations
Dimensional Homogeneity
➢ Any physical formula must be dimensionally consistent (each term must have
the same dimension).
➢ Technique to check the correctness of an equation
➢ Both sides of equation must have the same dimensions
➢ Dimensions (length, mass, time, combinations) can be treated as algebraic
quantities
• add, subtract, multiply, divide
➢ Cannot give numerical factors: this is its limitation

Base Notation SI Unit The dimensional form of the equation

quantities
1 2
Length L m x = at
Time T s 2
Mass M Kg L 2
L= 2T =L
T
1.5 Numerical Calculations
Significant Figures
➢ A significant figure in a quantitative result is the one that is reliably known.
➢ All non-zero digits are significant
➢ Zeros are significant when:
❑ Between other non-zero digits: Example: M= 30004 kg has 5 significant
figures. V= 6.055 mL has 4 significant figures.
❑ After the decimal point and another significant figure, i.e. trailing zeros in
the decimal portion ONLY are significant. Example: F= 0.0450 N has 3
significant figures.
✓What zeros are not considered significant:
1. Leading zeros to the left of the first nonzero digits
Example: M= 0.0019 g has only 2 significant figures.
2. Trailing zeros in a whole number
Example: T=500 s has only 1 significant figure.

❑ Can be clarified by using scientific notation

1.5 Numerical Calculations
Significant Figures
➢ A significant figure is one that is reliably known
▪ All non-zero digits are significant
▪ Zeros are significant when
- between other non-zero digits
- after the decimal point and another significant figure
- can be clarified by using scientific notation

Significant figures are meaningful digits

32.60 kg has 4 sig. figs; scientific

notation : 3.260×101 kg.

2500 = 2.5×103 has 2 sig figs

2500 = 2.50×103 has 3 sig figs
1.5 Numerical Calculations
Rounding Off Numbers
✓ In order to record a measurement to correct significant figures, rounding rules
of numbers should be reviewed.
✓ When rounding, examine the figure following (i.e., to the right of) the figure
that is to be last. This figure you are examining is the first figure to be
dropped.
1. If it is less than 5, drop it and all the figures to the right of it.
Example: rounding 62.5347 to four significant figures yields 62.53.
2. If it is more than 5, increase by 1 the number to be rounded, that is, the
preceding figure.
Example: rounding 3.78721 to three significant figures yields 3.79.
3. If it is 5, round the number so that it will be even. Keep in mind that zero
is considered to be even when rounding off.
Example: rounding 726.835 to five significant figures yields 726.84
Example: rounding 24.8514 to three significant figures yields 24.8

30
1.6 General Procedure for Analysis
The most effective way of learning the principles of engineering mechanics
is to solve problems .

➢ Problem Statement:
Read the problem carefully and try to correlate the actual physical situation with the
theory studied. The problem statement includes given data, specification of what is to
be determined, and a figure showing all quantities involved.
➢ Free-Body Diagrams:
Create separate diagrams for each of the bodies involved with a clear indication of all
forces acting on each body.
➢ Fundamental Principles:
Apply the relevant principles, generally in mathematical form. When writing any
equations, be sure they are dimensionally homogeneous. Solve the necessary
equations, and report the answer with no more than three significant figures.
➢ Solution Check:
Study the answer with technical judgment and common sense to determine whether
or not it seems reasonable.