4.

7 Simplification of a Force and Couple

System

A system of forces and couple moments acting on a body can be
replaced by an equivalent system.

A system is equivalent if the external effects it produces on a

body are the same as those caused by the original force and
couple moment system.

External effects of a system are :

 the translating and rotating motion of the body if the body
is free to move,
 the reactive forces at the supports if the body is held fixed
Moving a force from one point to another along its line of action

The stick is subjected to the force F at A.

A pair of equal but opposite forces F & – F

is applied at B, which is on the line of
action at F.

– F at B and F at A will cancel each other,

leaving only F at B.

Force F has been moved from A to B
without modifying its external effects on the
stick.

F is a sliding vector and it can be applied at any point along its line of
action (Principle of Transmissibility).
Moving a force to another point that is not along its line of action

The stick is subjected to the force F which
is perpendicular to it at A.

A pair of equal but opposite forces F & – F

is applied at B.

– F at B and F at A form a couple that

produce the couple moment M = Fd.

Force F has been moved from A to B
without modifying its external effects on the
stick.
 System of Forces and Couple moments

A system of several forces and couple moments acting on a
body can be reduced to
 an equivalent single resultant force acting at a point O, &
 a resultant couple moment

FR = ∑ F
(MR)O= ∑ MO + ∑M

Sum of moments of all the forces about O Sum of all the couple moments

= =

If the force system lies in the x–y plane and any couple moments
are perpendicular to this plane, then the previous equations reduce
to the following 3 scalar equations.

(FR)x = ∑ Fx

(FR)y = ∑ Fy

(MR)O = ∑ MO + ∑M
 Procedure for simplifying a force & couple system to
an equivalent resultant force-couple system.
1. Establish the coordinate axes with the origin located at
point O and the axes having a selected orientation.

2. Force Summation
• For coplanar force system, resolve each force into its x & y
components before summing the forces.
• For 3-D problems, express each force as a Cartesian vector before
summing the forces.

3. Moment Summation
• For coplanar force system, use the principle of moments to
determine the moments.
• For 3-D problems, use the vector cross product to determine the
moments
Example 4.14
Given :
A system of forces is given as
shown.

Find :
Replace the force and couple system by an equivalent resultant
force and couple moment acting at point O.
Solution
 Force Summation
• Resolve each force into its x & y
components.
+ (FR)x = ∑ Fx:
→
(FR)x = (3 kN) cos 30ο + (5 kN) (3/5)
= 5.598 →

+ ↑ (FR)y = ∑ Fy:
(FR)y = (3 kN) sin 30ο – (5 kN) (4/5) – (4 kN)
= – 6.50 kN
= 6.50 kN ↓
• Magnitude of the resultant force FR

FR = [(F ) ] + [(F ) ]
R x
2
R y
2

= (5.598)2 + (6.50)2 kN

= 8.58 kN (FR)y = 6.50 kN

• Direction of the resultant force FR

 (FR ) y 
θ = tan 
−1


 (FR )x 
 6.50 kN 
−1
= tan  
 5.598 kN 
= 49.3ο
 Moment Summation
+ (MR)O = Σ MO :

(MR)O = (3 kN sin 30ο ) (0.2 m)

– (3 kN cos 30ο ) (0.1 m)
+ [5 kN (3/5)] (0.1 m)
– [5 kN (4/5)] (0.5 m)
– (4 kN)(0.2 m)

= – 2.46 kN·m
= 2.46 kN·m

(FR)y = 6.50 kN
Example 4.15
Given :
A force and couple system is
acting on the member as shown.

Find :
Replace the force and couple system by an equivalent resultant
force and couple moment acting at point O.
Solution
 Force Summation
• Resolve the 500-N force into its x & y components.
• The couple forces of 200 N need not be considered as their
resultant is zero.
+
→ (FR)x = ∑ Fx:
(FR)x = (500 N) (3/5)
= 300 N →

+ ↑ (FR)y = ∑ Fy:
(FR)y = (500 N) (4/5) – 750 N
= – 350 N
= 350 kN ↓
• Magnitude of the resultant force FR

FR = [(F ) ] + [(F ) ]
R x
2
R y
2

= (300)2 + (350)2 N

= 461 N

• Direction of the resultant force FR

 (FR ) y 
θ = tan 
−1


 (FR )x 
 350 N 
−1
= tan  
 300 N 
= 49.4ο
 Moment Summation
+ (MR)O = ΣMO + ΣMc :

(MR)O ={ [(500 N) (4/5)] (2.5 m)

– [(500 N) (3/5)] (1 m)
– (750 N)(1.25 m)}
+ 200 N·m
= – 37.5 N·m
= 37.5 N·m
Example 4.16
Given :
A structural member is subjected to a
couple moment M and forces F1 and
F2 as shown in the figure.

Find :
Replace this system by an equivalent resultant force and couple
moment acting at its base, point O.
Solution
• Express the forces and couple moments as Cartesian vectors.
F1 = {– 800 k} N

F2 = F2 uCB
 rCB 
= F 2  
 rCB 
 
 − 0.15 i + 0.1 j 
= (300 N)  
 (− 0.15)2 + (0.1)2 
 
= {– 249.6i+166.4j} N

M = {– 500(4/5) j + 500(3/5) k} N·m

= {– 400j + 300 k} N·m
 Force Summation
FR = ∑ F:
FR = F1 + F2
= {– 800 k} N + {– 249.6i+166.4j} N
= {– 249.6i + 166.4j – 800 k} N

 Moment Summation
(MR)O = ΣM + ΣMO :
(MR)O = M + ( rC × F1) + ( rB × F2)
= (– 400j + 300 k)
+ [1k × (– 800 k)]
i j k
+ − 0.15 0.1 1
− 249.6 166.4 0
= {– 166i – 650j + 300 k} N·m
4.8 Further Simplification of a Force and
Couple System

An equivalent system of single resultant force FR acting at a
specified point, O and a resultant couple moment (MR)O for
a force & couple system can be further reduced to an equivalent
single resultant force if the lines of action of FR and (MR)O are
perpendicular to each other.

This condition is satisfied by the following force systems:

1. Concurrent Force System

2. Coplanar Force System

3. Parallel Force System
 Concurrent Force System

A concurrent force system is one in which the lines of action of
all the forces intersect at a common point O.

Since the lines of action of all the forces passes through O, the
force system produce no moment about O.

The equivalent system can be represented by a single resultant
force acting at O.
FR = ∑ F
 Coplanar Force System

In a coplanar force system, the lines of

action of all the forces lie in the same
plane.

The resultant force FR = ∑ F of this system

also lies in this plane.

The moment of each of the forces about any point O is directed

perpendicular to this plane.

The resultant moment (MR)O = ∑ MO and resultant force FR are

mutually perpendicular.

The resultant moment can be replaced by moving the resultant
force FR a perpendicular distance d away from point O.

The distance d is given by

(MR)O = FR d

(MR)O
d=
FR
 Parallel Force System

The parallel force system shown in the figure consists of forces
that are all parallel to the z axis

The resultant force FR at point O must also be parallel to the z axis.

As the moment produced by each force lies in the plane of the
plate, the resultant couple moment (MR)O also lies in this plane,
along the moment axis a.

The resultant couple moment (MR)O and resultant force FR are
mutually perpendicular.

The equivalent system can be further reduced to an equivalent
single resultant force FR, acting through point P located on the
perpendicular b axis.

The distance d is given by
(MR)O = FR d

(MR)O Σ MO
d= =
FR FR
 Reduction to a Wrench

In general, a 3-D force and couple
moment system will have an equivalent
resultant force FR acting at point O and a
resultant couple moment (MR)O that are
not perpendicular to one another.

This kind of force system cannot be further reduced to an
equivalent single resultant force.

However, the resultant couple moment (MR)O can be resolved
into components parallel and perpendicular to the line of action
of FR.

The perpendicular component M┴ can be replaced by moving FR
to point P, a perpendicular distance d away from point O given by
M┴
d=
FR

Since the parallel component M║ is a free vector, it can be moved
to point P.

This combination of a resultant force FR and collinear couple
moment M║ is referred to as a wrench or a screw as it tends to
translate and rotate the body about its axis.

A wrench is the simplest system that can represent any general
force and couple moment system acting on a body.
Example 4.17
Given :
The beam is subjected to the
force and couple system as
shown

Find :
Replace the force and couple system by an equivalent resultant
force, and specify where its line of action intersects the beam,
measured from point O.
Solution
 Force Summation
• Resolve the 8-kN force into its x & y components.

+
→ (FR)x = ∑ Fx:
(FR)x = 8kN(3/5)
= 4.80 kN →

+ ↑ (FR)y = ∑ Fy:
(FR)y = – 4 kN + 8 kN(4/5)
= 2.40 kN ↑
• The magnitude of the resultant force FR is

FR = [(F ) ] + [(F ) ]
R x
2
R y
2

= (4.8)2 + (2.4)2
= 5.37 kN

• Direction of the resultant force FR

 (FR ) y 
θ = tan −1


 (FR )x 
 2.4 N 
= tan −1  
 4.8 N 
= 26.6ο
 Moment Summation
• Assuming the line of action of FR intersects the beam at a
distance d from O.

+ (MR) O = ΣMO:
(2.4) (d) kN·m = – [(4 kN) (1.5 m)]
– 15 kN·m
– [8 kN (3/5) (0.5 m)]
+ [8 kN(4/5) (4.5 m)]

d = 2.25 m
Example 4.18
Given :
The jib crane is subjected to
three coplanar forces.

Find :
Replace this loading by an equivalent resultant force and specify
where the resultant’s line of action intersects the column AB and
boom BC.
Solution
 Force Summation
• Resolve the 2.50-kN force into its x & y components.

+
→ (FR)x = ∑ Fx:
(FR)x = – 2.50 kN(3/5) – 1.75 kN
= – 3.25 kN
= 3.25 kN ←

+ ↑ (FR)y = ∑ Fy:
(FR)y = – 2.50 kN(4/5) – 0.60 kN
= – 2.60 kN
= 2.60 kN ↓
• Magnitude of the resultant force FR

FR = [(F ) ] + [(F ) ]
R x
2
R y
2

= (3.25)2 + (2.60)2 kN

= 4.16 kN

• Direction of the resultant force FR

 (FR ) y 
θ = tan 
−1


 (FR )x 
 2.60 N 
−1
= tan  
 3.25 N 
= 38.7ο θ
 Moment Summation
• Assuming the line of action of FR
intersects AB at a distance y from A.

• Summing the moments about point A,

+ (MR)A = ΣMA:

(3.25 kN) (y) = [(1.75 kN) (1m)]

– [(0.60 kN) (0.6m)
+ [2.50 kN (3/5) (2.2 m)]
– [2.50 kN (4/5) (1.2 m)]

y = 0.458 m
• By the principle of transmissibility, FR can be placed at the point
where it intersects BC, at a distance x from B.

+ (MR)A = ΣMA:

(3.25 kN) (2.2) – (2.6kN)(x)

= [(1.75 kN) (1m)]
– [(0.60 kN) (0.6m)
+ [2.50 kN (3/5) (2.2 m)]
– [2.50 kN (4/5) (1.2 m)]
x = 2.177 m
Example 4.19
Given :
The slab is subjected to four parallel forces.

Find :
Determine the magnitude and the direction of a resultant force
equivalent to the given force system and locate its point of
application on the slab.
Solution
 Force Summation

+ ↑ FR = ∑ F:
– FR = – 600 N + 100 N – 400 N – 500 N
= – 1400N
FR = 1400 N ↓
 Moment Summation
+ (MR)x = ΣMx:

– FR y = (100 N) (5m)
– (400 N) (10 m)
– (1400N) y = – 3500 N·m
⇒ y = 2.50 m

+ (MR)y = ΣMy:

FR x = (600 N) (8m)
– (100 N) (6 m)
(1400N) x = 4200 N·m
⇒ x=3m
Example 4.20
Given :
The pedestal is subjected to
three parallel forces.

Find :
Replace the force system by an equivalent resultant force and
specify its point of application on the pedestal.
 Force Summation

FR = ∑ F:

FR = FA + FB + FC

= {– 300 k} kN + {– 500k} kN + {100k} kN

= {– 700 k} kN

=
  Moment Summation

(MR)O = ΣMO:
rP × FR = (rA × FA)
+ (rB × FB)
+ (rC × FC)

(xi + yj) × (– 700 k) = (4i) × (–300 k)

+ (–4i + 2j)×(–500 k)
+ (–4j) ×( 100 k)

–700 x (i ×k) –700 y (j ×k) = –1200 (i ×k)

+ 2000 (i ×k) –1000 (j×k)
– 400(j ×k)
700 xj–700yi = 1200j – 2000j –1000i– 400i
• Equating the respective i, j components, we have
i: – 700y = –1400

y = 2m

j: 700x = – 800

x = – 1.14 m
 Note
• The location of x and can also be determined by scalar analysis
+ (MR)x = ΣMx:

(–700 kN) y = (–100 kN) (4m)

– (500 kN) (2 m)
⇒ y= 2m

+ (MR)y = ΣMy:

(700 kN) x = (300 kN) (4 m)

– (500 kN) (4 m)

⇒ x = – 1.14 m