Module 1: Fundamental Concepts in Mechanics

Topic Outcomes
This module aims that the students will be able to:
1. Understand the axioms of mechanics
2. Learn the nature of a force
3. Distinguish the action of forces and their effects, and
represent them in diagrams
4. Understand the concept of drawing free body diagrams
5. Learn how to approach the solution of mechanics problems,
and use the SMART problem-solving methodology.
Topic Outline

▪ Introduction
▪ Science of Mechanics
▪ Fundamental Concepts and Principles
▪ Systems of Units
▪ Vectors and Scalar Quantities
▪ Vector Operations
▪ Free Body Diagram (FBD)
▪ Method of Solving Problem
Introduction
Physics vs. Engineering
Physics - science that relates the properties of matter
and energy (mechanics, thermodynamics, electricity
and magnetism & nuclear physics)
Engineering – application of mathematical and
physical sciences (physics, chemistry and biology)to
the design and manufacture of items that benefit
humanity
“Design is the key concept that distinguishes
engineers from scientists”
Science of Mechanics
Mechanics
▪ is a branch of the physical sciences that is
concerned with the state of rest or motion of
bodies that are subjected to the action of forces
▪ physical science which deals with the effects
of forces on objects
▪ External effects
▪ Internal Effects
Branches of Mechanics
1. Mechanics of Rigid Bodies
a. Statics of Rigid Bodies
b. Dynamics of Rigid Bodies
▪ External Effects of forces

2. Mechanics of Deformable Bodies

▪ Internal Effects of forces
3. Fluid Mechanics
a. Fluid Statics
b. Fluid Dynamics
Historical Background
Mechanics - considered as the
oldest of physical science
▪ Archimedes (287-212 B.C.) –
principle of lever and principle of
buoyancy
▪ Stevinus (1548-1620) – laws of
vector combination of forces
▪ Galileo (1584–1620) – first
investigation of dynamic
problems
▪ Newton (1642-1727) –
formulated the laws of
motion and law of
gravitation
Fundamental Concepts and Principles
Space
▪ Geometric region occupied by bodies whose positions
are described by linear and angular measurements
relative to a coordinate system
Length
▪ Used to locate position of a point in space
Time
▪ A succession of events
▪ principles of statics are time independent
▪ Plays an important role in the study of dynamic
Mass
▪ a measure of the inertia of a body, which is its
resistance to a change of velocity
Force
▪ action of one body on another
▪ tends to move a body in the direction of its
action
▪ characterized by its magnitude, direction of its
action and its point of application
Models or Idealizations
▪ used in mechanics in
order to simplify
application of the theory
Particle
▪ Has a mass but a size
that can be neglected
▪ Geometry of the body
will not be involved in
the analysis
Rigid Body
▪ Combination of a large
number of particles
which remain at a fixed
distance from one
another
▪ Deformations are
negligible (change in
length; change in shape)
– internal effects
Concentrated Force
▪ Represents the effect of a
loading which assumed to
act at a point on a body
▪ A load can be represented
by a concentrated force,
provided the area over
which the load is applied is
very small compared to the
overall size of the body
Axioms of Mechanics
1. Parallelogram
Law
▪ States that the
resultant of two
forces acting on a
body is the
diagonal formed
on the vectors of
these forces
2. Triangle Law
▪ (Corollary to Parallelogram Law): If two forces are
represented by their free vectors placed tip to tail,
their, resultant vector is the third side of the triangle
formed, the direction of the resultant being from the
tail of the first vector to the tip of the last vector
3. Principle of
Transmissibility
▪ States that the
external effect of a
force on a body is the
same for all points of
application along its
line of action (i.e.
independent of the
point of application)
4. Two forces are in equilibrium only when
equal in magnitude, opposite in direction
and collinear in action.
5. A set of system of forces in equilibrium may
be added to any system of forces without
changing the effect of the original system.
6. Action and reaction forces are equal but
oppositely directed
Newton’s Laws of Motion

First Law. (Law of Inertia)

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.
Second Law. (Law of
Acceleration)
A particle 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. If F is
applied to a particle of mass m , this
law may be expressed
mathematically as
Third Law. (Law of Action
and Reaction)
The forces of action and
reaction between interacting
bodies are equal in
magnitude, opposite in
direction, and collinear (they
lie on the same line)
Systems of Units
Vectors and Scalar Quantities
▪ Scalar – any positive or negative physical quantity that
can be completely specified by its magnitude (length,
mass, time)
▪ Vector – any physical quantity that requires both a
magnitude and direction (force, displacement,
moment, acceleration, momentum)
▪ Is shown graphically by an arrow. The length of the
arrow represents the magnitude, the angle ⍬
between the vector and a fixed axis defines the
direction of its line of action. The head or tip of the
arrow indicates the sense of direction of the vector
▪ Free Vector – is one whose action is not
confined to or associated with a unique line in
space (e.g. moment)
▪ Sliding Vector – has unique line of action but
not a unique point of application. For example
when an external force acts on a rigid body, the
force can be applied at any point along its line
of action without changing its external effect
▪ Fixed Vector – one which has a unique point
of application is specified
Vectors Operations
▪ Multiplication and
Division of a Vector by a
Scalar
If a vector is multiplied by a
positive scalar, its
magnitude is increased by
that amount. Multiplying by
a negative scalar will also
change the directional
sense of the vector.
Free Body Diagram (FBD)

▪ Free-body diagrams (FBD) are fundamental to all

engineering disciplines that are concerned with the effects
that forces have on bodies.
▪ The construction of an FBD is the key step that translates a
physical problem into a form that can be analyzed
mathematically.

▪ The FBD of a body is a sketch of the body showing all

forces that act on it. The term free implies that all
supports have been removed and replaced by the forces
(reactions) that they exert on the body.
▪ Forces that act on a body can be divided into two general
categories - reactive forces (or, simply, reactions) and
applied forces.

▪ Reactions are those forces that are exerted on a body by

the supports to which it is attached.

▪ Forces acting on a body that are not provided by the

supports are called applied forces.

▪ All forces, both reactive and applied, must be shown on

free-body diagrams.
General Procedure for Constructing a Free-Body Diagram
1. A sketch of the body is drawn assuming that all supports
(surfaces of contact, supporting cables, etc.) have been
removed.
2. All applied forces are drawn and labeled on the sketch. The
weight of the body is considered to be an applied force acting
at the center of gravity
3. The support reactions are drawn and labeled on the sketch. If
the sense of a reaction is unknown, it should be assumed.
The solution will determine the correct sense: A positive result
indicates that the assumed sense is correct, whereas a
negative result means that the correct sense is opposite to
the assumed sense.
4. All relevant angles and dimensions are shown on the sketch.
Reactions Exerted by Various Coplanar Supports

a) Flexible Cable (Negligible Weight). A flexible cable exerts

a pull, or tensile force, in the direction of the cable. With the
weight of the cable neglected, the cable forms a straight line.
If its direction is known, removal of the cable introduces one
unknown in a free-body diagram—the magnitude of the force
exerted by the cable.
b) Frictionless Surface: Single Point of Contact. When a
body is in contact with a frictionless surface at only one point,
the reaction is a force that is perpendicular to the surface,
acting at the point of contact. This reaction is often referred
to simply as the normal force.
c) Roller Support. A roller support is equivalent to a frictionless
surface: It can only exert a force that is perpendicular to the
supporting surface. The magnitude of the force is thus the
only unknown introduced in a free-body diagram when the
support is removed
d) Surface with Friction: Single Point of Contact. A friction
surface can exert a force that acts at an angle to the surface. The
unknowns may be taken to be the magnitude and direction of the
force. However, it is usually advantageous to represent the
unknowns as N and F, the components that are perpendicular
and parallel to the surface, respectively. The component N is
called the normal force, and F is known as the friction force.
e) Pin Support. A pin is a cylinder that is slightly smaller than the
hole into which it is inserted, as shown in (a). Neglecting friction,
the pin can only exert a force that is normal to the contact
surface, shown as R in (b). A pin support thus introduces two
unknowns: the magnitude of R and the angle α that specifies the
direction of R (α is unknown because the point where the pin
contacts the surface of the hole is not known). More commonly,
the two unknowns are chosen to be perpendicular components of
R, such as Rx and Ry shown in (c).
f) Built-in (Cantilever) Support. A built-in support, also known as
a cantilever support, prevents all motion of the body at the
support. Translation (horizontal or vertical movement) is
prevented by a force, and a couple prohibits rotation. Therefore, a
built-in support introduces three unknowns in a free-body
diagram: the magnitude and direction of the reactive force R
(these unknowns are commonly chosen to be two components of
R, such as Rx and Ry) and the magnitude C of the reactive couple.
Reminders when you are drawing free-body diagrams:
1. A sketch of the body is drawn assuming that all supports
(surfaces of contact, supporting cables, etc.) have been
removed.
2. Be neat. Because the equilibrium equations will be derived
directly from the free-body diagram, it is essential that the
diagram be readable.
3. Clearly label all forces, angles, and distances with values (if
known) or symbols (if the values are not known).
4. The support reactions must be consistent with the information
presented.
5. Show only forces that are external to the body (this includes
support reactions and the weight). Internal forces occur in
equal and opposite pairs and thus will not appear on free-
body diagrams
Sample Problem
1. The uniform and
homogeneous 6-m bar
AB in Fig. (a) is
supported in the
vertical plane by rollers
at A and B and by a
cable at C. The mass
of the bar is 50 kg.
Draw the FBD of bar
AB. Determine the
number of unknowns
on the FBD.
Solution:
▪ W: The Weight of the Bar
The weight W is shown as a vertical force acting at G, the
center of gravity of the bar. Because the bar is homogeneous,
G is located at the center of the bar. The magnitude of the
weight is W = mg =(50)(9.81) = 491N.

▪ NA: The Normal Reaction at A

Removal of the roller support at A dictates that we show the
force that this support can exert on the bar. We note that a
roller support can exert a single force that is normal to the
supporting surface. Therefore, on the FBD we show the
reaction at A as a vertical force and label its magnitude as NA.
Solution:
▪ NB: The Normal Reaction at B
Following an argument similar to that for NA, we conclude that
the removal of the roller support at B means that we must show
a horizontal force at that point. On the FBD, we label this
reaction as NB.
▪ T: The Tension in the Cable at C
The force exerted by a cable is a tensile force acting in the
direction of the cable. Therefore, the force exerted on the bar by
the cable is shown as a force of magnitude T, acting at 20◦ to
the horizontal.
▪ We note that there are three unknowns on the FBD: the
magnitudes of the three reactions (NA, NB, and T).
 B
W = 491 N NB

40

G T
C 20

A 40

NA
Method of Solving Problem

Four Step method of approaching problems

(SMART Methodology)
1. Strategy
The statement of a problem should be clear and precise, and it should
contain the given data and indicate what information is required. The first
step in solving the problem is to decide what concepts you have learned that
apply to the given situation and to connect the data to the required
information. It is often useful to work backward from the information you
are trying to find: Ask yourself what quantities you need to know to obtain
the answer, and if some of these quantities are unknown, how can you find
them from the given data.
2. Modelling
The first step in modeling is to define the system; that is, clearly define
what you are setting aside for analysis. After you have selected a
system, draw a neat sketch showing all quantities involved with a
separate diagram for each body in the problem. For equilibrium
problems, indicate clearly the forces acting on each body along with any
relevant geometrical data, such as lengths and angles. These diagrams
are known as free-body diagrams
3. Analysis
After you have drawn the appropriate diagrams, use the fundamental
principles of mechanics to write equations expressing the conditions of
rest or motion of the bodies considered.
4. Reflect and Think
After you have obtained the answer, check it carefully.