Republic of the Philippines

NUEVA ECIJA UNIVERSITY OF SCIENCE AND

Cabanatuan City, Nueva Ecija, Philippines
ISO 9001:2015 CERTIFIED
TECHNOLOGY

COLLEGE OF ENGINEERING – Mechanical Engineering

MODULE
in
STATICS OF
RIGID BODIES

PREPARED BY:

THERMODYNAMICS
ENGR. TYRONE JOHN B. DIAZ 1
ENGR. CHRISTIAN S. CASTILLO
ENGR. BRYAN DOMINIC G. PADUA
ENGR. MARK JOHN M. DELA CRUZ
 i

Disclaimer

This document does not claim any originality and cannot be used as a substitute for
prescribed textbooks. The information presented here is merely a collection by the
committee members for their respective teaching assignments. Various sources as
mentioned at the reference of the document as well as freely available material from internet
were consulted for preparing this document. The ownership of the information lies with the
respective authors or institutions. Further, this document is not intended to be used for
commercial purpose and the committee members are not accountable for any issues, legal or
otherwise, arising out of use of this document. The committee members make no
representations or warranties with respect to the accuracy or completeness of the contents of
this document and specifically disclaim any implied warranties of merchantability or fitness
for a particular purpose. The committee members shall be liable for any loss of profit or any
other commercial damages, including but not limited to special, incidental, consequential, or
other damages.
 Statics of Rigid Bodies 1

UNIT I. INTRODUCTION TO MECHANICS

Overview

In this unit, you will learn about the basic concepts which serves as the foundation of
mechanics. You will also learn about the different types of force systems, resultant, and vector
operations.

Learning Objectives:

At the end of this unit, I am able to:

1. Identify and use the basic concepts in mechanics.
2. Identify the different types of force systems.
3. Calculate the resultant of force systems.
4. Perform vector operations.

Introduction to Mechanics
 Statics of Rigid Bodies 2

Setting Up

Name: ____________________________________________ Date: ___________________

Course/Year/Section: __________________________

Directions: Answer the following questions.

1. What is statics?

2. What is a rigid body?

3. What is a free body diagram?

4. What is the difference between scalar and vector quantities?

5. What are the different types of force systems?

6. What are the two methods of obtaining the resultant of force systems?

7. What are the common vector operations?

Lesson Proper

Introduction to Mechanics
 Statics of Rigid Bodies 3

INTRODUCTION TO MECHANICS

Engineering
Mechanics

Mechanics of Mechanics of
Solids Fluids

Deformable
Rigid Bodies Ideal Fluids
Bodies

Strength of
Statics Dynamics Viscous Fluids
Materials

Theory of Compressible
Kinematics
Elasticity Fluids

Theory of
Kinetics
Plasticity

Figure 1. Outline of engineering mechanics.

Statics of rigid bodies is a branch of engineering mechanics dealing with the analysis

of forces acting on rigid bodies in equilibrium.

DEFINITION OF TERMS

Rigid Body

A rigid body is defined as a definite amount of matter where every part is in a fixed

position relative to one another. In simple terms, rigid bodies are solids which cannot be

deformed. In reality, solid bodies are not rigid since they deform under a definite amount of

force depending on the material. However, in most cases, these deformations are negligible

when compared to the size of the body, thus, the body can be assumed to be a rigid body.

These small deformations will be studied on another branch of mechanics: strength of

Introduction to Mechanics
 Statics of Rigid Bodies 4

materials.

Mass

Mass is a constant property of a body which defines how well it resists a change in

motion (similar to inertia).

Force

Force is the action that is exerted by one body to another. The three main components

of a force are the magnitude (the measure of how big the force is), the position of its line of

action (which is usually expressed as an angle from a specified axis), and the direction in

which the force acts along the line of action.

Force System

A force system is a combination of two or more force vectors.

Scalar and Vector Quantities

The two main types of quantities in mechanics are scalar and vector quantities.

Quantities that are defined by only a magnitude are called scalar quantities. This type

of quantity does not possess a direction. Some examples of scalar quantities are mass, area,

time, and energy. These quantities can be measured but does not need to have a direction for

the measure to make sense.

Quantities that are defined with both a magnitude and direction are called vector

quantities. Some examples of vector quantities are velocity, force, acceleration, and

displacement.

Free Body Diagram (FBD)

A free body diagram is a tool used to visualize and simplify the solving of mechanics

problems by isolating the body to be analyzed and only showing the points and lines of action

of forces exerted on the body. Take the following figure as an example:

Introduction to Mechanics
 Statics of Rigid Bodies 5

Figure 2. Weight system.

We can isolate point B to get the following free body diagram:

Figure 3. Free body diagram at point B.

This would allow us to make equations by addition of the vectors.

Introduction to Mechanics
 Statics of Rigid Bodies 6

RESULTANTS OF FORCES

Parallelogram Law

Parallelogram law is one of the fundamental axioms in mechanics. It is used in

addition of vectors. The resultant of two vectors can be obtained by making a parallelogram

using the two vectors as the two sides of the parallelogram. This can be demonstrated using

the following figure:

Figure 4. Force system with two vectors.

To get the resultant of the two vectors, F and T, a parallelogram can be created by making

lines parallel to each vector.

Figure 5. Resultant of two vectors using parallelogram law.

Introduction to Mechanics
 Statics of Rigid Bodies 7

The resultant is formed by connecting point A to the opposite vertex of the parallelogram.

The same result can also be obtained by using the head-to-tail method.

Figure 6. Parallelogram law and heat-to-tail method.

As shown in the figure above, the tail of the vector F is placed on the head of the vector

T to form two sides of a triangle (left side of the figure). The third side is the resultant of the

two vectors and can be formed by connecting the tail of the vector T to the head of the vector

F. The same result can be achieved even if the order of the vectors is reversed (right side of the

figure).

The head to tail method can also be applied to a system of vectors with more than two

vectors.

Figure 7. Resultant of a force system with 4 vectors.

Introduction to Mechanics
 Statics of Rigid Bodies 8

The resultant vector, R is the straight line from starting point of the first vector to

the head of the last vector.

TYPES OF FORCE SYSTEMS

Coplanar Forces – forces that are lying on the same plane.

Figure 7. Two coplanar forces.

Colinear Forces – forces that are acting along the same line of action.

Figure 8. Two collinear forces.

Parallel Forces – forces with the same angle but different lines of action.

Figure 9. Two parallel forces.

Introduction to Mechanics
 Statics of Rigid Bodies 9

Concurrent Forces – forces that meet in a single common point.

Figure 10. Three concurrent forces

Components of Forces

Any force vector in a plane (we will be using the x-y plane as an example) can be

broken down into two components, the x and y components.

Figure 11. Components of force F.

Take the figure above as an example. The force vector, F can be broken down into its

components Fx and Fy which can be obtained by projecting the vector into the x and y axes,

respectively. This can also be achieved by using trigonometry.

Introduction to Mechanics
 Statics of Rigid Bodies 10

Figure 12. Right triangle formed by force F and its components

The force F and its components Fx and Fy forms a right triangle where the components

are the two legs, and the force F is the hypotenuse. Based on this, the following formulas can

be used to get the magnitudes of the components of a force:

Fx
cosθ =
F
Fx = Fcos

Similarly,

Fy
sinθ =
F
Fy = Fsin

Using the Pythagorean theorem,

F2x + F2y = F2

F= F2x + F2y

Introduction to Mechanics
 Statics of Rigid Bodies 11

Note that the angle, ϴ is the angle between the x-axis and the force F.

This same principle can be applied to vectors in three-dimensional space, with the addition

of the third axis (z-axis). The equations become:

F= F2x + F2y + F2z ;

Fx = Fcos x

Fy = Fcos y

Fz = Fcos z

Where θx, θy, and θz are the angles from the force to the x-axis, y-axis, and z-axis, respectively.

RESULTANT OF TWO OR MORE CONCURRENT COPLANAR FORCES

Resultant Force – it is the sum of two or more forces. The resultant force can be used to

replace multiple forces and still achieve the same effect on a body.

There are two methods of acquiring the resultant of concurrent coplanar forces:

Graphical Method

The graphical method can be done by using the head-to-tail method. This method will

require the use of a ruler and a protractor. Additionally, it can also be done using a Computer

Aided Drafting (CAD) software.

Example:

Introduction to Mechanics
 Statics of Rigid Bodies 12

To get the resultant, the heads and tails of the force vectors are connected to make a

continuous line of force vectors. This can be done in any order.

The magnitude of the resultant can be measured using a ruler and the angle using a

protractor. As a standard, the angle is measured with respect to the x-axis. In this example, the

Introduction to Mechanics
 Statics of Rigid Bodies 13

resultant, R is 4.81 N and 65° from the negative x-axis, or 245° (65°+180°) degrees from the

positive x-axis. Note that when the angle is measured counterclockwise from the x-axis, the

angle is positive, if the angle is measure clockwise from the x-axis, the angle is negative. For

example, 245° from the positive x-axis is the same as -115° (245°-360°) from the positive x-

axis.

This method requires extreme precision when drawing and measuring the figure to

get an accurate result.

Analytical Method

The resultant, R of a concurrent coplanar force system can be obtained using the

component method.

R = R2x + R2y

Rx = ∑Fx

Ry = ∑Fy

Where ∑F and ∑F are the summation or total of all the x and y components of the forces,
x y

respectively. As a standard, all angles should be measured from the positive x-axis, as to avoid

any confusions regarding the signs of the components. For example,

Introduction to Mechanics
 Statics of Rigid Bodies 14

The vector F has an angle of 60° from the negative x-axis, which is also equal to 240° or -120°

from the positive x-axis.

To get the direction of the resultant, the following equation can be used:

Ry
tanθ =
Rx

− 1 Ry
= tan
Rx
Note that this angle is the smallest angle from the x-axis to the resultant. To get the location of

the resultant, the signs of its components can be used. Recall the signs of the components in

the four quadrants:

Introduction to Mechanics
 Statics of Rigid Bodies 15

Example:

Find the resultant of the concurrent coplanar force system, given that the vectors F = 50 kN, P

= 37 kN, Q = 22 kN, and T = 71 kN.

Introduction to Mechanics
 Statics of Rigid Bodies 16

First, the x and y components of each vector are calculated using the formulas:

Fx = Fcos

Fy = Fsin

It can be helpful to use a table for the calculated values.

y- component,
Magnitude, kN Angle, degrees x-component, kN kN
(F) (θ)
Fcosθ, (Fx) Fsinθ, (Fy)
F 50 -90 0 -50
P 22 -135 -15.56 -15.56
Q 37 80 6.42 36.44
T 71 165 -68.58 18.38

∑F = 0 − 15.56 + 6.42 − 68.58 =

x
− 77.72 kN = Rx

∑F = − 50 − 15.56 + 36.44 + 18.38 = − 10.74 kN = R

y y
Solving for the magnitude of the resultant,

R = R2x + R2y

Introduction to Mechanics
 Statics of Rigid Bodies 17

R = ( − 77.72)2 + ( − 10.74)2

R = 78.46 kN

Solving for the direction of the resultant,

− 1 Ry
θ = tan
Rx
−1 − 10.74
θ = tan
− 77.72
θ = 7.87°

Since both the x and y components of the resultant are negative, the resultant is in the third

quadrant.

Introduction to Mechanics
 Statics of Rigid Bodies 18

Vector Operations

The four common types of vector operations are:

1. Vector Addition – the addition of two vectors is the same as getting the resultant of

the vectors.

2. Vector subtraction – vector subtraction is done by adding one vector to the other

vector but with a reversed direction.

3. Dot product – it can be used to calculate work. The dot product of two vectors is a

scalar quantity. The dot product of the vectors A and B is obtained using the

following formula:

A ∙ B = |A||B|cosθ

where θ is the angle between the two vectors.

Example:

Find the dot product of vectors A and B, given that A = 80 N and B = 50 N.

The angle between the two vectors is:

θ = 50° + 20° = 70°

Therefore,

A ∙ B = |A||B|cosθ

Introduction to Mechanics
 Statics of Rigid Bodies 19

A ∙ B = (80)(50)cos70°

A ∙ B = 1368.08

4. Cross product – it can be used to calculate torque or moment. The cross product of

two vectors is a vector that is perpendicular to the two vectors. The cross product of

the vectors A and B is obtained using the following formula:

A × B = |A||B|sinθ n

where θ is the angle between the two vectors and n is the unit vector perpendicular

to both vectors A and B.

Example:

Find the cross product of vectors A and B, given that A = 80 N and B = 50 N.

The angle between the two vectors is:

θ = 50° + 20° = 70°

A × B = (80)(50)sin70°n

A × B = 3758.77

Introduction to Mechanics
 Statics of Rigid Bodies 20

REFERENCES
Singer, F. L. (1975). Engineering Mechanics Statics and Dynamics (Third ed.). New York: Harper &
Row.

Introduction to Mechanics
 Statics of Rigid Bodies 21

Assessing Learning

Activity 1.1

Name: ____________________________________________ Score: ___________________

Course/Year/Section: __________________________ Date: _____________________

Directions: Find the components of the forces in the figure below given A = 50 N, B =

60 N, C = 67 N, and D = 35 N.

Introduction to Mechanics
 Statics of Rigid Bodies 22

Assessing Learning

Activity 1.2

Name: ____________________________________________ Score: ___________________

Course/Year/Section: __________________________ Date: _____________________

Directions: Find the resultant of the forces in the figure below using the analytical

method given A = 50 N, B = 60 N, C = 67 N, and D = 35 N.

Introduction to Mechanics
 Statics of Rigid Bodies 23

Setting Up

Name: ____________________________________________ Date: ___________________

Course/Year/Section: __________________________

Directions: Answer the following questions.

1. What is a moment?

2. What is a couple?

3. What is are the requirements for two forces to be considered a couple?

4. What is the moment of a couple?

Introduction to Mechanics
 Statics of Rigid Bodies 24

Lesson Proper

MOMENT AND COUPLES

Moment of a Force

The moment of a force about a point is defined as the product of the magnitude of the

force and the perpendicular distance from the point to the line of action of the force.

Mathematically speaking, the moment of a force F about a point O, is the product of the

magnitude of force F, and the perpendicular distance, d (also called the moment arm) from

point O to the line of action of force F.

MF
O
= Fd

The moment of a force about point O describes how the action of the force causes a

rotation of the moment arm with point O as the center of rotation. A positive moment

produces a clockwise rotation while a negative moment produces a counterclockwise

rotation.

The principle of components of forces can be applied to solve for more complicated

moment problems. Moments can be added just like force vectors.

Introduction to Mechanics
 Statics of Rigid Bodies 25

Example 1.

The force F can be broken down into its horizontal and vertical components. The

moment of force F about point O is equal to the sum of the moments of its horizontal and

vertical components about point O.

F F
MF
O
= MOx + MOy

Using the Pythagorean theorem, the inclination of the force can be found.

Introduction to Mechanics
 Statics of Rigid Bodies 26

The horizontal and vertical components of force F can then be found using the

Pythagorean theorem.

6
For the horizontal component, Fx = Fcosθ = 50 N( ) = 44.72 N
45
3
For the vertical component, Fy = Fsinθ = 50 N( ) = 22.36 N
45
Now that the force F is broken down its to its horizontal and vertical components Fx,

and Fy, the moment arm of the two forces can be easily measured.

Introduction to Mechanics
 Statics of Rigid Bodies 27

F
MOx = Fxd = (44.72 N )(6 m) = 268.32 Nm (ccw) = − 268.32 Nm

F
MOy = Fyd = (22.36 N )(9 m) = 201.24 Nm (ccw) = − 201.24 Nm

F F
MF
O
= MOx + MOy = − 268.32 Nm + ( − 201.24 Nm) = − 469.56 Nm (ccw)

Example 2. Find the total moment about point C, given: F=33 N, T=45 N, P=20 N. Find the

vertical force R acting through point A that can produce the same amount of moment as the

three forces.

First, get the horizontal and vertical components of the three forces.

Introduction to Mechanics
 Statics of Rigid Bodies 28

4
Fx = Fcosθ = 33 N ( ) = 23.33 N
32
4
Fy = Fsinθ = 33 N ( ) = 23.33 N
32
2
Tx = Tcosθ = 45 N ( ) = 12.36 N
53
7
Ty = Tsinθ = 45 N ( ) = 43.27 N
53
4
Px = Pcosθ = 20 N ( ) = 16 N
5
3
Py = Psinθ = 20 N ( ) = 12 N
5
Calculate the moment of each component about point C.

MFx
C
= Fxd = (23.33 N)(5 m) = 116.65 Nm (cw)

MFy
C
= Fyd = (23.33 N)(3 m) = 69.99 Nm (ccw) = − 69.99 Nm

MTx
C
= Txd = (12.36 N)(8 m) = 98.88 Nm (cw)

MTy
C
= Tyd = (43.27 N)(1 m) = 43.27 Nm (cw )

MPx
C
= Pxd = (16 N)(0) = 0

Introduction to Mechanics
 Statics of Rigid Bodies 29

MPy
C
= Pyd = (12 N)(8 m) = 96 Nm (ccw) = − 96 Nm

∑M = M C
Fx
C
+ MFy
C
+ MTx
C
+ MTy
C
+ MPx
C
+ MPy
C

∑M = 116.65 Nm + ( − 69.99 Nm) + 98.88 Nm + 43.27 Nm + 0 + ( − 96 Nm)

C

∑M = 92.81 Nm (cw)
C

Couple

A couple is defined as two equal parallel forces with opposite directions.

The moment of a couple is equal to the product of the magnitude of the forces and the

perpendicular distance between the two forces.

MF
O
= Fd

This equation can be derived by solving for the resultant moment of the two forces

about point O.

MF
O
= − Fa (ccw)

MF
O
= F(d + a)

Introduction to Mechanics
 Statics of Rigid Bodies 30

∑M = − Fa + F(d + a) = − Fa + Fd + Fa
O

∑M = Fd
O
This shows that the moment of a couple is independent of the location of the point O.

Introduction to Mechanics
 Statics of Rigid Bodies 31

Equilibrium

Equilibrium is the state of a system where the resultant of the force system is zero.
This means that the forces on the system will not produce any change in the state of motion of
the system. In order to achieve a state of equilibrium, the following conditions must be met:

∑F= 0 and ∑M = 0
The resultant of the forces and moments must be equal to zero. Consequently, the
resultants of the forces and moments in all planes must also be equal to zero, which gives us
up to 6 equations,

∑F = 0 x
∑M = 0 x

∑F = 0 y
∑M = 0 y

∑F = 0 z
∑M = 0 z

Introduction to Mechanics
 Statics of Rigid Bodies 32

Action of Forces

Type of body removed Sketch of reacting bodies Action of body removed on

the free body
Earth
Flexible cord, rope, or
cable (weight neglected)

Smooth surface
Roller

Smooth pin or hinge

Ball-and-socket joint

Example 1.

In the figure below, cylinders A and B, with weights 400 lb and 200 lb, respectively, are
resting on smooth inclines. They are connected by a bar of negligible weight hinged to each
cylinder at its geometric center by smooth pins. Find the force P acting cylinder B that will
hold the system in the given position.

Introduction to Mechanics
 Statics of Rigid Bodies 33

The first step in solving any problem is to draw the free body diagrams of each component.

NA

NB

Introduction to Mechanics
 Statics of Rigid Bodies 34

NA

The normal force NA is the reaction of the surface to the cylinder, which is perpendicular to
the surface. Using the free body diagram of cylinder A, we can generate two equations using
the equilibrium conditions,

∑F = 0
x

∑F = 0
y
For the summation of the forces in the x-axis,

∑F = N sin60° − Fsin75° = 0
x A

sin75°
NA = F
sin60°
For the summation of the forces in the y-axis,

∑F = N cos60° + Fcos75° − 400 lb = 0

y A
Substituting the value of NA in the previous equation,

Introduction to Mechanics
 Statics of Rigid Bodies 35

sin75°
(F )(cos60°) + Fcos75° − 400 lb = 0
sin60°
Solving for F, we arrive with,

F= 489.90 lb
We can now use the value of F to solve for NA,

sin75° sin75°
NA = F = (489.90 lb)( )
sin60° sin60°

NA = 546.41 lb

Looking at the free body diagram of the connecting bar, we get the following equations,

∑F = F − Q = 0
x x x

Fx = Qx

∑F = Q − F = 0
y y y

Fy = Qy
Therefore,

Q= F= 489.90 lb

Introduction to Mechanics
 Statics of Rigid Bodies 36

NB

Looking at the free body diagram of cylinder B, we get the following equations,

∑F = Qcos15 − N sin45° − Psin60° = 0

x B
Substituting the value of Q,

(489.90 lb)cos15 − NBsin45° − Psin60° = 0

473.21 lb − NBsin45° − Psin60° = 0

473.21 lb − Psin60°
NB =
sin45°

∑F = N cos45° − Pcos60° − Qsin15° − 200 lb = 0

y B
Substituting the value of Q and NB from the previous equation,

473.21 lb − Psin60°
( )cos45° − Pcos60° − (489.90 lb)sin15° − 200 lb = 0
sin45°

Solving for P,

Introduction to Mechanics
 Statics of Rigid Bodies 37

P = 107.18 lb

Introduction to Mechanics