CHAPTER TWO

FORCE SYSTEMS

2.1Introduction
Force: 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).
 Remote action (Body force):-Applied by remote action as in gravitational, electrical, Magnetic
forces etc.

The action of a force on a body can be divided as internal and external. Internal force is a force exerted by
one part of a body on another part of the same body. External force is a force exerted on a body by some
other body. An external force can then be applied on a body as:

 Applied force
 Reactive force
2.1.1 Composition and Resolution of Forces
Composition of forces
Composition of forces is the process of combining two or more forces in to a single resultant force, which
has the same external effect as that of the applied system of forces. In the previous chapter we defined
force to be either sliding or fixed vector depending on what type of bodies it acts-rigid or deformable
bodies respectively.

In engineering mechanics we will be considering rigid bodies only; hence we can treat force as sliding
vector.

As discussed in the previous chapter, we have two laws of adding vectors:

 The parallelogram rule

 The triangle rule

Vector Components
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In addition combining forces to obtain their resultant, we often need to replace a force by its vector
components. The vector sum of the components must be equal the original vector. Thus the forces R in
figure below may be replaced by, or resolved to, two vector components F1 and F2 with the specified
directions by completing the parallelogram as shown to obtain the magnitudes of F1 and F2.

The relationship between a force and its vector components along given axes must not be confused with

the relationship between a force and its perpendicular projections onto the same axes .

 Fa and Fb are perpendicular projection of R onto

axes a and b respectively.
 F1 and F2 are vector components of R.
 Figure above shows that the components of a
vector are not necessarily equal to the projections
of the vector onto the same axes.
 The vector sum of the projections Fa and Fb is
not the vector R, because the parallelogram law
of vector addition must be used to form the sum.
 The components and projections of R are equal
only when the axes a and b are perpendicular.

Note:

☻ Figure above shows that the components of a vector are not necessarily equal to the projections of
the vector onto the same axes.
☻ The vector sum of the projections Fa and Fb is not the vector R, because the parallelogram law of
vector addition must be used to form the sum.
☻ The components and projections of R are equal only when the axes a and b are perpendicular.

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2.2. Two-Dimensional Force Systems

The most common two-dimensional resolution of a force vector is into rectangular components.

F=F x + F y ; where F x and F y are vector components of F in the x- and y- directions.

Each of the two vector components may be written as scalars times the appropriate unit vector. Interms of
the unit vectors i and j, F x = F x i and F y = F y j. So we may write

F = F x i + F y j; where F x and F y are scalar components of F . The scalars can be positive or negative
depending on the quadrant into which F points.

F In the above figure the x and y scalar components are

positive

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2.2.1. Determining the components of a Force

Dimensions are not always given in vertical and horizontal directions, angles need not be
measured counterclockwise from the x-axis, and the origin of coordinates need not be on the line
of action of a force. Therefore it is essential that we are able to determine the correct components
of a force no matter how the axes are oriented or how the angles are measured.

2.2.2. Moment
In addition to its tendency to move a body in the direction of its application, a force also tends to
rotate the body about any axis which doesn’t intersect the line of action of the force and which is
not parallel to it. This tendency of a force to rotate a body about a given axis is known as the
moment, M, of the force. The moment of a force is also known as torque.

Moment about a Point

The fig below shows a two-dimensional body acted upon by a force F in its plane.

The magnitude of the moment or tendency of the force to rotate the body the axis O-O perpendicular to
the plane of the body is proportional to both the magnitude of the force and to the moment arm d, which
is the perpendicular distance from the axis to the line of action of the force. Therefore the magnitude of
moment is defined as

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The moment is a vector M perpendicular to the plane of the body-parallel

to the axis O-O and its sense depends on the direction in which the force
tends to rotate the body. The right hand rule can be used to identify this
sense; curl your fingers in the direction of the tendency to rotate, the
thumb will point in the direction of the moment vector.

 The moment M obeys all the rules of vector combination and may be considered a sliding vector
with a line of action coinciding with the moment aixs.
 SI unit of Moment: Newton-meters (N.m)
 Moment about a point means moment with respect to an axis normal to the plane and passing
through the point.
 Sign Convention: In representing moment by its tendency to rotate, it is a good practice to assign
a direction (sense) to the moment using sated conventions, counterclockwise (+ve) or clockwise
(-ve) or vice versa. We can use either of them we need to be consistent. Here we will be treating
counter clockwise moment as positive moment and clockwise moment as negative moment.

The moment of F about point A ( or about the

z-axis passing through point A) is positive. The
curved arrow of the figure is a convenient way
to represent moments in two-dimensional
analysis.

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The Cross Product:

In many situations, especially in three dimensional problems, it is convenient to use a vector approach
for moment calculations. The moment about point A in the above figures may be represented by the cross
product expression

Where r is a position vector which runs from the moment reference point A to any point on the line of
action of F. The magnitude of this expression is given by

We establish the direction and sense of M by applying the right hand rule to the expression r x F. If the
fingers of the right hand are curled in the direction of rotation from the positive sense of r to the positive
sense of F, then the thumb points in the positive sense of M.

Note: we must maintain the sequence r x F because the sequence F x r would produce a vector with a
sense opposite to that of the correct moment.

Important! As was the case with the scalar approach, the moment M may be thought of as the moment
about point A or as the moment about the line O-O which passes through point A and is perpendicular to
the plane containing the vectors r and F.

Couple in 2D

The moment produced by two equal, opposite, and non-collinear forces is called a couple.

Consider the action of two equal and opposite forces F and –F a distance d apart.

 These two forces cannot be combined into a single force because

their algebraic sum is zero.
 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. This couple has a magnitude

 Its direction is CCW by inspection.

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Important! Note that the magnitude of the couple is independent of the distance a which locates the
forces with respect to the moment center O. It follows that the moment of a couple is has the same value
for all moment centers

Vector algebra Method

We can also express the moment of a couple by using vector algebra.

 The combined moment about point O of the two forces forming the couple is

M =r A × F+ r B × (−F )=( r A−r B ) × F

Where rA and rB are position vectors which run from point O to arbitrary points
A and B on the lines of action of F and –F, respectively. Because r A −r B=r ,
M can be expressed as
M =r × F
 Here again, the moment expression contains no reference to the moment center
O, and therefore, is the same for all moment centers. Thus, we may represent M
by a free vector as shown in the lower figure, where the direction of M is
normal to the plane of the couple and the sense of M is established by the right
hand rule.

Because the couple vector is always perpendicular to the plane of the forces which
constitute the couple, in 2D analysis we can represent the sense of a couple vector as CW or CCW by one
of the conventions given below .

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Equivalent Couples
Changing the values of F and d doesn’t change a given couple as long as the product of F and d
remains the same. In addition, a couple is not affected if the forces act in a different but parallel
plane.

Figure above shows four different configurations of the same couple M.

Force –Couple Systems

The effect of force acting on a body is the tendency to pull or push the body in the direction of the force,
and to rotate the body about any fixed axis which doesn’t intersect the line of the force. This dual effect
can be represented by an equal parallel force and a couple to compensate for the change in the moment of
the force.

The replacement of a force by a force and couple is illustrated below, where the given force F acting at
point A is replaced by an equal force F at some point B and the CCW couple M = Fd.

The transfer is seen in the middle figure, where the equal and opposite forces F and –F are added
at point B without introducing any net external effects on the body. We now see that the original
force at A and the equal and opposite one B constitute the couple M = Fd. At the right figure, we
have replaced the original force at point A by the same force acting at different point B and a
couple, without altering the external effects of the original force on the body.

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Resultants
Most problems in mechanics deal with a system of forces, and it is usually necessary to reduce
the system to its simplest from to describe its action.
Resultant: The resultant of a system of forces is the simplest force combination which can
replace the original forces without altering the external effect on the rigid body to which the
forces are applied.
The most common type of force system occurs when the forces all act in a single plane, say x-y
plane, as illustrated below by the system of three forces F1, F2, and F3.
We obtain the magnitude and direction of the resultant force R by forming the force polygon shown in the
right side of the figure above, where the forces are added head-to-tail in any sequence. Thus, for any
system of coplanar forces we may write

Graphically, the correct line of action may be obtained by preserving the correct lines of action of the
forces and adding them by the parallelogram law. We see this in the left side part of the figure above
where the sum R1 of F2 and F3 is added to F1 to obtain R. The principle of transmissibility has been used
in this process.

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Algebraic Method
We can use algebra to obtain the resultant force and its line of action as follows:

Step 1: Choose a convenient reference point and move all forces to that point replacing each force by
equivalent force-couple system.

Step 2: Add all forces at that point to form the resultant force R, and add all couples to form the resultant
couple M. This results in a single force-couple system.

Step 3: Finally find the line of action of R by requiring R to have a moment of M about the reference
point i.e. using principle of moments (Varignon’s theorem).

These three procedures are illustrated below.

Step 1

St
ep
2

Step 3

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Principle of Moments

This process is summarized in equation form by

The first two equations reduce a given system of forces to a force-couple system at an arbitrary chosen
but convenient point.

The last equation specifies the distance d from the specified point to the line of action of R, and states that
the moment of the resultant about any point equals the sum of the moments of the original forces of the
system about the same point. This extends varignon’s theorem to the case of non-concurrent force
systems; we call this extension the principle of moments.

Note:

 For concurrent system of forces where the lines of action of all forces pass through a common
point, the moment sum ∑ M about that point is zero. Thus, the line of action of the resultant
R=∑ F passes through that point.
 For a parallel force system, select a coordinate axis in the direction of the forces. If the resultant
force R for a given force system is zero, the resultant of the system need not be zero because the
resultant may be a couple. The three forces given below, for instance, have a zero resultant force
but have a resultant clockwise couple M = F3d.

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2.3. Three Dimensional Force Systems

Rectangular Components
Many problems in mechanics require analysis in three dimensions and often three dimensional forces are
resolved into three mutually perpendicular components which are called rectangular components. The
rectangular components Fx, Fy, and Fz of F are given as follows.

Using the direction cosines of F, which

are l = cos θ x , m = cos θ y , n = cos θ z
where l 2 + m 2 + n2 = 1, we may write the
force as

Expression of the force as a Vector

The vector expression for the force is equal to its magnitude times a unit vector ⃗
u F which characterizes
the direction of F, or

F=F ⃗
u F Where F is the magnitude of F

It is clear from the above equations that ⃗

u F = li+mj +nk which shows that the scalar components of the
unit vector ⃗
u F are the direction cosines of the line of action of F.
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

i. By two points on the line of action of the force

F=F ⃗
uF =

ii. By two angles which orient the line of action of the force

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Consider the geometry of figure below. We assume that the

angles θ∧ϕ are known

Finding Projection of a Force along a Specified Axis

If u is a unit vector in a specified direction, the projection of F in the u-direction, as shown in figure
below, has the magnitude Fu = F∙u. If we want to express the projection in the u-direction as a vector
quantity, then we multiply its scalar component by the unit vector to give Fu = (F∙u)u.

F Projection of F onto u-axis

Fu = F.u……….Scalar form (magnitude only)

Fu = F.uu……..Vector form

Fu = u (unit vector)

Fu = F.u

Moment and Couple in 3D

Consider a foce F with agiven line of action, as given below, and anu point O which is not on this line.

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 The moment MO of F about an axis through O normal to the

plane has the magnitude MO = Fd, where d is the
perpendicular distance from O to the line of F. This moment
is also referred to as the moment of F about point O.
 The vector MO is normal to the plane and is directed along
the axis through O. The correct direction and sense of the
moment are established by the right hand rule. The thumb
points in the direction of MO if the fingers of the right hand
curl in the direction of rotation from r to F through the angle
α.

The cross product expression for MO may be written in the determinant form

To have some more confidence, examine the three components of a force about a point as
obtained from figure below.

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The figure shows the three components of a force F acting at

point O located relative to O by the vector r. The scalar
magnitudes of the moments these forces about the positive x-,
y-, and z- axes through O can be obtained from the moment-
arm rule as follows:

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Moment about an Arbitrary Axis

We can now obtain an expression for the moment M λ of F about any axis through O, as shown in
the figure.

If n is a unit vector in the λ -direction, then we find the

component of MO in the direction of λ as follows:

M λ= MO.n…..Scalar form (magnitude only)

Vector Expression
for moment of F
about λ-axis

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The expression r x F .n is known as a triple scalar product. The triple scalar product may be represented
by the determinant

where α , β ,∧γ are the direction cosines of the unit vector.

Varignon’s Theormem in 3D
The varignon’s theorem discussed in 2D can easily be extended to 3D systems. Figure below a system of
concurrent forces F1, F2, F 3,….

The sum of the moments about point O of these forces is

Using symbol M O to represent the sum of the moments on the left side of the above equation, we have

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Couples in 3D
Consider the figure below.
The body is subjected to two equal and opposite forces. The
combined moment of the two forces about point O is

However, r A −r B=r , so that all reference to the moment center O

disappears , and the moment of the couple becomes

NOTE:- The moment of a couple is a free vector, where as the moment of a force about a point
(which is also the moment a defined axis through the point) is a sliding vector whose direction is
along the axis through the point

Couple vectors obey all of the rules which govern vector quantities. Looking at the figure below,
the couple vector M1 due to F1 and –F2 may be added as shown to the couple vector M2 due to F2
and –F2 to produce the couple M by F and –F.

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Equivalent Force-Couple System in 3D

The procedures used in 2D forces will also apply to 3D force system. The replacement process is
represented in figure below.

In the above figure, the force F acting on a rigid body at point A is replaced by an equal force at
point B and the couple M =r x F . By adding the equal and opposite forces F and – F at B, we
obtain the couple composed of – F and the original F .

Resusltants in 3D
In 2D force systems we showed that a force could be moved to a parallel position by adding a
corresponding couple. To illustrate this consider the system of 3D forces acting on the rigid body
shown in figure below.

In the figure above, we moved all the three forces to the arbitrary point O by introducing a
couple for each force transferred. For example, we move force F1 to O provided we introduce
the couple M 1=r 1 x F 1.

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When all forces are shifted to O in this manner, we have a system of concurrent forces at O and a
system of couple vectors, represented in part b. The concurrent forces may be vectorially added
to produce a resultant force R, and the couples may also be added to produce a resultant couple
M. The general force system is, then, is reduced to

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Wrench Resultant
When the resultant couple vector M is parallel to the resultant force R, as shown below, the
resultant is called a wrench.

Any general force system may be represented by a wrench applied along a unique line of action
which is illustrated below.

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In part b, M is resolved into components M1 along the direction of R and and M2 normal to R. In
part c, the couple M2 is replaced by its equivalent of two forces R and –R. This step leaves the
resultant R, which acts along a new and unique line of action, and the parallel couple M1, which
is a free vector. Thus, the resultants of the original general force system have been transformed
into a wrench. We see from part d that the axis of the wrench resultant lies in a plane through O
normal to the plane defined by R and M. The wrench is the simplest form in which the resultant
of a general force system may be expressed.

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Example:

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Quiz (5%)

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Assignment (5%)

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Replace the
horizontal 80-N force acting on the lever by an equivalent system consisting of a
force at O and a couple.

Solution:
We apply two equal and opposite 80-N forces at O and identify the CCW couple
M = Fd ⟹M = 80(9sin600) = 624 N-m (CCW)

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Example 2:

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Example 3:

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Quiz (5%)

Assignment (5%) Examples 1:

Find the resultant of four forces and one couple which act on the plate

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50 mm

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Examples:

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Example:

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Solution: Locate coordinates of C and D first; C = (-1.5, 0, 4.5) and D = (0, 3, 0)

Quiz (5%)

Assignment (5%)

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Assignment 5[5%]
1. The thin rectangular plate is subjected to
the four forces shown. Determine the
equivalent force-couple system at O. Is
R perpendicular to MO?

2. Replace the two forces and single couple

by an equivalent force-couple system at
point A.
3. Determine the x- and y- coordinates of a
point through which the resultant of
parallel forces passes

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