Chapter 2:

Concurrent force systems

Objectives
 To understand the basic characteristics of forces
Department of Mechanical Engineering
 To understand the classification of force systems  To
understand some force principles

 To know how to obtain the resultant of forces in 2D and

 To know how to obtain the components of forces in 2D
and 3D systems
Characteristics of forces
 Force: Vector with magnitude and direction
 Magnitude – a positive numerical value representing the
size or amount of the force

 Directions – the slope and the sense of a line segment used

to represent the force
– Described by angles or dimensions
Department of Mechanical Engineering
 – A negative sign usually represents opposite direction
 Point of application
– A point where the force is applied
– A line of action = a straight line extending through the point of
application in the direction of the force
 The force is a physical quantity that needs to be represented
using a mathematical quantity

Department of Mechanical Engineering

Example

Vector to represent Force

A vector is the mathematical representation that
best describes a force

A vector is characterized by its magnitude and

direction/sense

direction j Mechanical Engineering

Department of
 i
Math operations and manipulations of vectors
can be used in the force analysis
1000 N

α magnitude

Free, sliding, and fixed vectors

Point of application
 Vectors have magnitudes, slopes, and senses, and lines of
applications Line of action

 A free vector
– The application line does not pass a certain point in space
 A sliding vector
– The application line passes a certain point in space
 A fixed vector
– The application line passes a certain point in space
Department of Mechanical Engineering
 – The application point of the vector is fixed

Vector/force notation
The symbol representing the force  bold face or
underlined letters

The magnitude of the force  lightface (in the text

book, + italic)

A=A or A=A
Classification of forces
 Based on the characteristic of the interacting bodies:
Department of Mechanical Engineering
 – Contacting vs. Non-contacting forces  Surface
force (contacting force)
– Examples:
» Pushing/pulling force
» Frictions
 Body force (non-contacting force)
– Examples:
» Gravitational force
» Electromagnetic force

Classification of forces
 Based on the area (or volume) over which the force is acting –
Distributed vs. Concentrated forces
 Distributed force
Department of Mechanical Engineering
 – The application area is relatively large compare to the whole loaded
body
– Uniform vs. Non-uniform
 Concentrated force
– The application area is relatively small
compare to the whole loaded body

What is a force
system?
 A number of forces (in 2D or 3D system) that is treated as a
group:
 A concurrent force system
– All of the action lines intersect at a common point
 A coplanar force system
– All of the forces lie in the same plane

Department of Mechanical Engineering

 A parallel force system
– All of the action lines are parallel
 A collinear force system

– All of the forces share a common line of action

The external and internal effects

A force exerted on the body has two effects:
– External effects
» Change of motion
» Resisting forces (reactions)
– Internal effects
» The tendency of the body to deform  develop
strain, stresses
– If the force system does not produce change of motion

Department of Mechanical Engineering

 » The forces are said to be in balance
» The body is said to be in (mechanical) equilibrium

External and internal effects

Example 1: The body changes in motion
a
F

Not fixed, no (horizontal) support

Example 2: The body deforms and produces

(support) reactions  The forces must be in
balance
Department of Mechanical Engineering
 F
Fixed support
Support Reactions

Principle for force systems

 Two or more force systems are equivalent when their
applications to a body produce the same external effect
 Transmissibility
 Reduction =
– A process to create a simpler equivalent system
– to reduce the number of forces by obtaining the
“resultant” of the forces
 Resolution =
– The opposite of reduction

Department of Mechanical Engineering

 – to find “the components” of a force vector  “breaking
up” the resultant forces

Principle of Transmissibility
 Many times, the rigid body assumption is taken  only the
external effects are the interest
 The external effect of a force on a rigid body is the same for
all points of application of the force along its line of action



Department of Mechanical Engineering

 

Resultant of Forces –
Review on vector addition
 Vector addition

Department of Mechanical Engineering

 B
R=A+B=B+A
A R
 Triangle method (head-to-tail R A

method)
– Note: the tail of the first vector
and the head of the last vector B
become the tail and head of the
resultant  principle of the force
polygon/triangle
 Parallelogram method
– Note: the resultant is the
diagonal of the parallelogram
formed by the vectors being
summed

Department of Mechanical Engineering

 Resultant of Forces – Review on geometric laws
Law of Sines A

Resultant of two concurrent forces

Pay attention to the
 The
angle and the sign of the
magnitude
R2 = F12 + F22 −2F1F2 cosγ of last term !!!
the resultant (R) is
given by R2 = F12 + F22 + 2F1F2
cosφ

Department of Mechanical Engineering

 The direction (relative to the direction of F1) can be given by the law of sines
Resultant of three concurrent forces
and more sinβ=F2 sinφ R

 Basically it is a repetition of finding resultant of two forcesα

 The sequence of the addition process is arbitrary
 The
Laws“force
of polygons”
Cosines may be different c b


c 2 = a 2 +b 2 − 2ab cos γ
γ C
b 2 = a 2 + c 2 − 2ac cos β
β a
B
a 2 = b 2 + c 2 − 2ac cos
α

Department of Mechanical Engineering

  The final

Department of Mechanical Engineering

 resultant has to be the same

Resultant of more than two forces

 The polygon method becomes tedious when dealing
with three and more forces
 It’s getting worse when we deal with 3D cases
 It is preferable to use “rectangular-component” method

Department of Mechanical Engineering

Example Problem 2-1
 Determine:
– The resultant force (R)
– The angle θ between the R and the x-
axis
 Answer:
– The magnitude of R is given by
R2 = 9002 +6002 + 2(900)(600)cos400

Department of Mechanical Engineering

 R =1413.3 ≈1413lb

– The angle α between the R and the

900-lb
force is given by
sinα sin(1800 − 400 )
600 = 1413.3
α = 15.836 o

–
The angle θ therefore is θ=15.8360
+350 = 50.80

Department of Mechanical Engineering

Example Problem 2-2

 Determine
– The resultant R
– The angle between the R
and the x-axis

Department of Mechanical Engineering

Another example

 If the resultant of the force

system is zero, determine
– The force FB
– The angle between the
FB and the x-axis

Department of Mechanical Engineering

Force components

Department of Mechanical Engineering

Resolution of a force into components

 The components of a resultant force are

not unique !!
R = A + B = (G + I ) + H
= C + D = E +F
 The direction of the components must be
fixed (given)

Department of Mechanical Engineering

How to obtain the components of a force (arbitrary
component directions)?
Parallel to u
 Steps:
– Draw lines parallel to u and v crossing
the tip of theR
– Together with the original u and v
lines, these two lines produce the
parallelogram
– The sides of the parallelogram
represent the componentsRof
Parallel to v – Use law of sinesto determine the
magnitudes of the components
Fu Fv 900
sin 45o = sin 25o = sin 110o
900 sin 45 o
Fu = 677 N
sin 110 0 =
900 sin 25 0
Fv = 405 N
sin 110 o =
Department of Mechanical Engineering
Example Problem 2-5
 Determine the components of F = 100 kN along
the bars AB and AC

 Hints:
– Construct the force
triangle/parallelogram
– Determine the angles α, β, γ
– Utilize the law of sines
Department of Mechanical Engineering
Another example

Determine the magnitude of the components of

R in the directions along u and v, when R =
1500 N

Department of Mechanical Engineering

Rectangular components of a force
 What and Why rectangular components?

– Rectangular components  all of the components are perpendicular to

each other (mutually perpendicular)
– Why? One of the angle is 90o ==> simple
 Utilization of unit vectors
 Rectangular components in 2D and 3D  Utilization of the Cartesian c.s.
Arbitrary rectangular

Department of Mechanical Engineering

 The Cartesian coordinate system
z  The Cartesian coordinate axes
are arranged following the right-
hand system (shown on the
right)
 The setting of the system is
arbitrary, but the results of the
analysis must be independent of
the chosen system
x
y

Unit vectors
 A dimensionless vector of unit magnitude

Department of Mechanical Engineering

  The very basic coordinate system used to specify coordinates
in the space is the Cartesian c.s.
 The unit vectors along the Cartesian coordinate axis x, y and z
are i, j, k, respectively
 The symbol en will be used to indicate a unit vector in some
ndirection (not x, y, nor z)
 Any vector can be represented as a multiplication of a
magnitude and a unit vector
A is in the positive

A=Aen =A
direction along n
en = AA =
AA
B is in the negative B=−Ben =−
direction along n

Department of Mechanical Engineering

The rectangular components of a force in 2D system
 While the components must be perpendicular to each other, the directions do
not have to be parallel or perpendicular to the horizontal or vertical

directions
F = Fx +Fy = Fx i + Fy j
Fx =F cosθ Fy
y
=F sinFθ
Fy = Fy j
F= Fx2 +Fy2
F θ=
j tan−1
Fx = Fx i
y
θ x
i Fx

Department of Mechanical Engineering

The rectangular components in 3D systems
z
k en

F = Fx + Fy + Fz Fz = Fz k

= Fx i + Fy j + Fz k
F = Fe n F

F Fx i + Fy j + Fz k
en = = θz
F F
Fx = F cos x θx θy
θ
Fy = Fy j
Fy = F cos y Fx = Fx i
θ
j y
Fz = F cos z
θ
i
F = Fx 2 + Fy 2 + Fz2 x e n = cos x i + cos y j + cos z k
θ θ θ

Department of Mechanical Engineering

θx =cos−1 FFx θy =cos−1 FFy θz =cos−1 FFz
Dot Products of two vectors

A • B = B • A = A B cos = AB cos
θ θ
A

Special cosines:

θ Cos 0o = 1
Cos 30o = ½ √3
Cos 45o = ½ √2 It’s a scalar !!!
B Cos 60o = 0.5
Cos 90o = 0

Department of Mechanical Engineering

Dot products and rectangular components
 The dot product can be used to obtain the rectangular components
of a force (a vector in general)

An = A • en = A cos n (magnitude)
θ
An = Anen (the vectorialcomponent
in the n direction)

An = (A • en )en
The component alongen

At = A −A n
The component alonget

Remember, en and et are perpendicular

Department of Mechanical Engineering

Cartesian rectangular components
 The dot product is particularly useful when the unit vectors are

of the Cartesian system (the i, j, k)

y
Fx = F•i
F =F cosθ
Fy = Fy j
Fy = F• j=F cos(90−θ)

90-θ
=F sinθ
j
θ Fx = Fx i
Also, in 3D, x
i

Fz = F•k
F = F x +F y =F x i+F y j=(F•i)i+(F• j)j
Department of Mechanical Engineering
More usage of dot products …
 Dot products of two vectors written in Cartesian system
A •B=A x B x +A y B y +A z B z
 Themagnitude of a vector (could be a force vector),
here A is the vector magnitude

A •A=A 2 cos0=A 2 =A x A x +A y A y +A z A z
 Theangle between two vectors (say between vectors A
and B)
θ=cos−1
AxBx

Department of Mechanical Engineering

+AAByBy +AzBz 

Department of Mechanical Engineering

The rectangular components of arbitrary direction

k
Fz = Fz k
en

F = Fx + Fy + Fz
F
Ft
= Fx i + Fy j + Fz k θ zn
F = Fne n + Ft e t Fx = Fx i Fn Fy = Fy j

θ xn θ yn
Fn = F • e n
j y
= ( Fx i + Fy j + Fz k ) • e n
i
= Fx i • e n + Fy j • e n + Fz k • e n
x Can you show the following?

= Fx cosθ xn + Fy cosθ yn + Fz cosθ zn e n = cos xn i + cos yn j + cos znk

θ θ θ

Department of Mechanical Engineering

Summarizing ….

 The components of a force resultant are not unique

 Graphical methods (triangular or parallelogram methods)
combined with law of sinus and law of cosines can be used to
obtain components in arbitrary direction
 Rectangular components are components of a force (vector)
that perpendicular to each other
 The dot product can be used to
– obtain rectangular components of a force vector
– obtain the magnitude of a force vector (by performing
selfdot-product)
– Obtain the angle between two (force) vectors
Department of Mechanical Engineering
Example Problem 2-6
 Find the x and y scalar components of the

force
 Find the x’ and y’ scalar components of the
force
 Express the force F in Cartesian
vector form for the xy- and x’y’-
axes

Department of Mechanical Engineering

 F =(211i+397j)N=(382ex' +238ey' )N

Example Problem 2-6

F = F cos F = F cos(90 − )
x y θ
F = F cosθ F = F cos(90 − )
x' y' β
90 28β 62 o
θ = − =
62 30 32 o β
β = − =
F = 450 cos 62 = 211N
x θ
F = 450 sin 62 = 397 N
y
F = 450 cos 32 = 382 N
x'
F = 450 sin 32 = 238 N Writing the F in Cartesian vector form:
y

Department of Mechanical Engineering

 Example Problem 2-8 B

 Find the angles θx, θy, and θz (θx is

the angle between OB and x axis
and so on ..)
 The x, y, and x scalar
components of the force.
 The rectangular component Fn of
the force along line OA
 The rectangular component of the
force perpendicular to line
OA (say Ft)
angles

Department of Mechanical Engineering

 Example Problem 2-8
B

 To find the angles:

– Find the length of the 3
cos −
1
59. 0 o
diagonal OB, say d θx = 5.831 =
– d = 5.831 m cos −
1 4
46 .7 o
θy = 5. 831 =
– Use cosines to get the
3
cos −
1
59.0 o
θz = 5.831 =

 The scalar components in the Fx =F

cosθx =12.862kN x, y, and z directions:

Fy =F cosθy =17.150kN Fz =F cosθz

=12.862kN
Department of Mechanical Engineering
Example Problem 2-8
 To find the rectangular component Fn
of the force along line OA:
– Needs the unit vector along OA
– Method 1 : Follow the method
described in the book
– Method 2: utilize the vector

F = (12.862i+17.150j+12.862k)kN
position of A (basically vector
OA)

OA= rA =3i+1j+3k eOA = rrAA = 33i2++11j2++3k32

Department of Mechanical Engineering

 3i+1j+3k 0.688i+0.230j+0.688k
– Remember, that any vector can be represented as a
multiplication = 4.36 = of its magnitude and a unit

vector along its line of application

Example Problem 8-2
F OA =F•eOA
 The scalar component of F along OA
FOA = (12.862i+17.150j+12.862k)•(0.688i+0.230j+0.688k)
FOA =12.862×0.688+17.150×0.230+12.862×0.688 = 21.643kN 

The vector component of F along OA

FOA = (F•eOA)eOA = 21.6(0.688i+0.230 j +0.688k)

=14.86i+ 4.97j+14.86k

Department of Mechanical Engineering

  The vector component of F perpendicular to OA
Ft = F−FOA = (12.862i+17.150j+12.862k)−(14.86i+ 4.97j+14.86k) =
(−2i+12.18j+ 2k)

 The scalar component of F perpendicular to OA

Ft =| Ft |=| (−2i+12.18j− 2k) |= (−2)2 +12.182 + (−2)2 =12.50kN Check:

F = FOA2 +Ft2 = 21.643 +12.50 ≈ 25kN

2 2

Resultants by rectangular
components

 The Cartesian rectangular components of forces can be

utilized to obtain the resultant of the forces
y •Adding the x vector components, we obtain the
x vector component of the resultant

F1
F1y
Department of Mechanical Engineering
F2x
R x =∑F x =F 1x +F 2x
F1x

F2
•Adding the y vector components, we obtain the y
F2y

vector component of the resultant

x y =∑F y =F 1y +F 2y

•The resultant can be obtained by performing the vector addition of these two
vector components

R = R x +R y =R x i+R y j
Resultants by rectangular components
 The scalar components of the resultant

Department of Mechanical Engineering

 R x = F1x +F2x =(F1x +F2x)i =Rxi

R y = F 1y +F 2y =(F 1y +F 2y )j=R y j

 The magnitude of the resultant R= Rx2 +Ry2

 The angles formed by the resultant and the Cartesian axes

θx =cos−1 RRx θy =cos−1
RRy
 All of the above results can be easily extended for 3D system
Please do example problems 2-9, 2-10, and 2-11

Department of Mechanical Engineering

HW Problem 2-20

 Determine the non-rectangular components of R

Department of Mechanical Engineering

HW Problem 2-37
 Determine the
components of F1 and F2
in x-y and x’-y’ systems

Department of Mechanical Engineering

HW Problem 2-44

 Express the cable tension in Cartesian

form
 Determine the magnitude of the
rectangular component of the cable force
 Determine the angle α between cables
AD and BD

Typo in the problem!!!

B(4.9,-7.6,0)
C(-7.6,-4.6,0)

Don’t worry if you don’t get the solution in the back of the
book
Department of Mechanical Engineering
HW Problem 2-46

 Determine the scalar components

 Express the force in Cartesian
vector form
 Determine the angle α between the
force and line AB

Department of Mechanical Engineering

HW problems 2-55
 Given: F1 = 500 lb, F2 = 300 lb, F3
= 200 lb
 Determine the resultant
 Express the resultant in the
Cartesian format
 Find the angles formed by the
resultant and the coordinate axes

Department of Mechanical Engineering

HW Problem 2-49

 Given T1 and T2 are 650 lb,

 Determine P so that the resultant of T1, T2 and P is zero

Department of Mechanical Engineering