Addis Ababa Science and

Technology University

Chapter Two
Force System
Engineering Mechanics
Content

2. FORCE SYSTEMS
2.1. Introduction
2.2. Resolution of a Force
2.2.1. Coplanar Force Systems (2-D)
2.2.2. Non-Coplanar Force Systems (3-D)
2.3. Moment, Couple & Force-Couple systems
2.3.1. 2-D
2.3.2. 3-D
2.4. Resultants
2.1 Introduction
• A force can be defined as the action of one body on another
that changes/tends to changes the state of the body acted
on.
• A force can be applied on a body as;
• Contact force:- Applied by direct mechanical contact of the
acting body on the acted one (Created by push and pull).
2.1 Introduction
•Remote action (Body force):- Applied
by remote action as in gravitational,
electrical, Magnetic, etc. forces.
2.1 Introduction
• A force may also be classified as
• Concentrated and
• Distributed
• Concentrated when area of application is negligible
• A force can be distributed over
• Area, as in the case of mechanical contact
• Volume, when considering body forces such as weight
• A line, in the case of the weight of a suspended cable.
The gravitational force this plane
is distributed over the entire
volume of the airplane
KN/m3

Representation of a force
distributed over an area
KN/m2

Representation of a force
distributed over a line
KN/m
2.1 Introduction
•External and Internal Effects
•We can separate the action of a force
on a body into two effects,
internal(strain & stress) and external.
(applied & reactive)
2.1 Introduction
•Principle of Transmissibility
•When dealing with mechanics of rigid
body, we are only concerned about the
net effects of external
•In such cases it is not necessary to
restrict the action of an applied force to
a given point.
2.1 Introduction
•Principle of transmissibility states that a
force may be applied at any point on its
given line of action without altering the
resultant effect of the force external to
the rigid body on which it acts.
2.1 Introduction
• Force System
•A system of forces can be grouped into
different categories depending on their
arrangement in space
•Collinear forces:- are coplanar forces
acting on the same line

•Coplanar Forces:- are forces which act

on the same plane.
2.1 Introduction
•Concurrent forces:-Are forces whose
lines of action intersect at a point

•General forces:-
2.2. Resolution of a Force
2.2.1. Coplanar Force Systems (2-D)
Resolution is the reverse of composition. It is
the process of getting the components of a
vector along different axes
𝐴Ԧ 𝐴Ԧ 𝑛
=
sin ∅ sin 𝛼
t 𝐴Ԧ 𝐴Ԧ
𝐴 Ԧ
𝐴Ԧ𝑛 =sin 𝛼 sin ∅
∅ 𝐴Ԧ𝑡 ∅
𝐴Ԧ
𝛼 𝐴Ԧ𝑡 = sin 𝜃
sin 𝛼
𝜃 𝜃
n
For rectangular coordinate
𝐴Ԧ𝑛
system 𝑠𝑖𝑛 𝛼 = 1
2.2.1. Resolution of a Force
•Rectangular Component
•The most common two-dimensional
resolution
•Rectangular components of a force are
the components of the force along the
rectangular coordinate axes.
•
2.2.2. Non-Coplanar Force Systems (3-D)
•Rectangular components
•Many problems in mechanics requires
analysis in 3 dimension
•To solve such problems it is necessary to
resolve the force into its three mutually
perpendicular components.
•A force F in 3-d system has a rectangular
components Fx, Fy, Fz
Rectangular Components
Rectangular Components
•In solving three-dimensional problems,
one must usually find the x, y and z
scalar components of a given or
unknown force. In most cases, the
direction of a force is described;
A. By two points on the line of action of
the force, or
B. By two angles which orient the line of
action.
Rectangular Components
A. By two points on the line of action of the force, or
• If the coordinates of two point, say A&B, on the line of
action of the force are known and the direction of the
force is from A to B, the force may be written as
Rectangular Components
•B. By two angles which orient the line of
action.
Rectangular Components
Dot product
• It is possible to express the rectangular components of a force
with the aid of the vector operation known as the dot or scalar
product.
P. Q = 𝑃𝑄 cos 𝜃
• This product can be viewed as either
1. The orthogonal projection of 𝑃 cos 𝜃 of P on the direction of Q
multiplied by Q, or
2. As the orthogonal projection of 𝑄 cos 𝜃 of Q in the direction of
P multiplied by P
2.3. Moment, Couple & Force-Couple systems
• Moment
• In addition to moving a body in the direction of application, a
force also tends to rotate
• This tendency of a force to rotate a body about a given axis is
known as the moment
• The axis of rotation maybe any line which neither intersect nor
is parallel to the line of action of the force
Moment
• The moment or rotational tendency of a force is
proportional to magnitude of the force and the moment arm
d, which is the perpendicular distance from the axis to the
line of action of the force.
• The axis of rotation, axis O-O, of the body is normal to the
plane of the body formed by the force and position vector.
magnitude of moment can be obtained by:
M=Fxd
Moment
The cross product
•Useful when dealing with complex 2-
dimensional and 3-dimensional problems.
•The moment of a force F about a point
maybe represented by the cross-product
expression.
M=rXF
• Where r is the position vector from point of
rotation to any point on the line of
application of the force
• The magnitude of this expression is
M = rFsin𝜃
Moment
Varignon's theorem
•One of the most important principles in
mechanics
•states “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.”
Couple
•The moment produced by two equal and
opposite and non-collinear forces

•These two forces can’t be combined in to

a single force of the same effect on the
body, as their sum in every direction is
zero
•Their only effect is to create a tendency of
rotation
Couple
•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.
Couple

The magnitude of the couple M = F (a + d ) − Fa

= Fd
Couple
•Equivalent Couples
•Changing the value of F and d does not
change a given couple as long as the
product Fad remains the same.
•Likewise, a couple is not affected if the
forces act in a different but parallel
plane.
Force-Couple System
• The effect of a force on a body is the tendency to push or pull
and to rotate the body.
• The representation of this dual effect can be facilitated by
replacing the given force by an equal and parallel force and
a couple to compensate for the change in the moment of the
forces.
 2.3.2. Moment and Couple 3-D
•Moments in three dimensions
•In two dimensional analysis it is convenient
to use the moment arm rule (M=Fd)
•However, In three dimensions, the
determination of the perpendicular distance
between a point or line and the line of
action of the force can be a tedious
computation.
•In such cases the use of a vector approach
with cross-product multiplication becomes
advantageous
Cross product

𝑀𝑜 = 𝑟𝑦 𝐹𝑧 − 𝑟𝑧 𝐹𝑦 𝑖 + 𝑟𝑧 𝐹𝑥 − 𝑟𝑥 𝐹𝑧 𝑗 + 𝑟𝑥 𝐹𝑦 − 𝑟𝑦 𝐹𝑥 𝑘
• 𝑀𝑥 = 𝑟𝑧 𝐹𝑦 − 𝑟𝑦 𝐹𝑧
• 𝑀𝑦 = 𝑟𝑧 𝐹𝑥 − 𝑟𝑥 𝐹𝑧
• 𝑀𝑧 = 𝑟𝑥 𝐹𝑦 − 𝑟𝑦 𝐹𝑥
2.3.2. Moment and Couple 3-D
• Moment about an Arbitrary Axis
• It is possible to obtain an expression for moment 𝑀 of F about
any axis  through O

• We can use dot product expression

• 𝑀 = 𝑀0 . 𝑛 → 𝑀 = 𝑟 × 𝐹. 𝑛
• Vector expression M = 𝑟 × 𝐹. 𝑛 𝑛
2.3.2. Moment and Couple 3-D
•Varignon's theorem
•Varignon's theorem introduced in two-
dimension can be easily extended to
three dimensions.
2.3.2. Moment and Couple 3-D
• Couples in Three Dimensions
• If the vector r joins any point B on the line of action of −𝐹Ԧ to any
Ԧ The combined moment (couple)
point A on the line of action of 𝐹.
of the two forces about O is;
𝑀 = 𝑟𝐴 × 𝐹 + 𝑟𝐵 × −𝐹 = 𝑟𝐴 − 𝑟𝐵 × 𝐹
𝑀 =𝑟×𝐹
• Magnitude of M
𝑀 = 𝐹𝑑
 2.3.2. Moment and Couple 3-D
• The moment of the couple, 𝑀 = 𝑟 × 𝐹, is the same about all points.
Thus,
✓The moment of a couple is a free vector,
✓whereas the moment of a force about a
point (which is also the moment about a
defined axis through the point) is a
sliding vector whose direction is along
the axis through the point.
✓A couple tends to produce a pure
rotation of the body about an axis
normal to the plane of the forces which
constitute the couple.
2.3.2. Moment and Couple 3-D
•Force-Couple System
•It is possible to carry out replacement of
a force by its equivalent force-couple
system in three dimensions.
2.4. Resultants
•The resultant of a force system is the
simplest force combination that can
replace the original forces without
altering the external effect of the
system on the rigid body to which the
forces are applied.
•The equilibrium of a body is the
condition where the resultant if all
forces that act on it is zero.
2.4. Resultants
•The resultant can be computed by using
the parallelogram rule or using
analytical methods.
2.4. Resultants
• The algebraic method can be used to obtain the resultant force
and its line of action.
Steps
1. Choose a convenient reference point and move all forces to
that point. Also determine the couple resulting from the transfer
of forces.
2.4. Resultants (2D)

2. Addall forces at the point chosen to

form the resultant force R and add all the
couples to form the resultant couple M.
Then the single force-couple system can
be obtained.
2.4. Resultants
3. The line of action of the resultant
force R can be obtained by determining
the arm distance d required to create the
moment M
2.4. Resultants
• The resultant of a force system is the simplest force combination
• Any system of forces may be replaced by its resultant force R and
the resultant couple M

• The magnitude of the resultants and their components are

2.4. Resultants

• The point O selected as the point of concurrency for the force is

arbitrary
• The magnitude and direction of M depend on the particular point
O selected
• However the magnitude and direction of R are the same no
matter which point is selected.
2.4. Resultants
• Resultant of special force system
• Concurrent Forces. When forces are concurrent at a point only
𝑅 = σ 𝐹 is used because there is no moment about the point of
concurrency.
• Parallel Forces. For a of parallel forces not all in the same plane,
the magnitude of the resultant force R is simply the algebraic sum
of the given forces.
The position of its line of action is obtained from the principle of
moments by requiring that 𝑀 = 𝑟 × 𝐹
• Coplanar Forces.
2.4. Resultants
•Wrench Resultant. When the resultant
couple vector is parallel to the
resultant force R the resultant is called
a wrench.
 2.4. Resultants
•Any general force system may be represented
by a wrench applied along a unique line of
action.
Thank you