CHAPTER-4

Force System Resultants

Book:
▪ Engineering Mechanics Statics, R. C. Hibbeler, 12th Ed
 FORCE SYSTEM RESULTANTS
• Moment of a Force – Scalar Formulation

• Cross Product

• Moment of a Force – Vector Formulation

• Principle of Moments

• Moment of a Couple
 MOMENT OF A FORCE – SCALAR FORMULATION
• When a force is applied to a body it will produce a tendency for
the body to rotate about a point that is not on the line of action
of the force
• This tendency to rotate is sometimes called a torque, but most
often it is called the moment of a force or simply the moment
• A force applied to the handle of the wrench will tend to turn the bolt
about point O (or the z-axis)
• The magnitude of the moment is directly proportional to the
magnitude of F and the perpendicular distance or moment arm ‘d’
• The larger the force or the longer the moment arm, the greater the
moment or turning effect
 MOMENT OF A FORCE – SCALAR FORMULATION
• If the force F is applied at an angle θ ≠ 90˚, then it will be more
difficult to turn the bolt since the moment arm d’ = d Sin θ will
be smaller than d

• If F is applied along the wrench, its moment arm will be zero

since the line of action of F will intersect point O (the z axis)
As a result, the moment of F about O is also zero and no
turning can occur.
 MOMENT OF A FORCE – SCALAR FORMULATION
• Consider the force F and point O which lie in the shaded plane
• The moment MO about point O, or about an axis passing through O
and perpendicular to the plane, is a vector quantity since it has a
specified magnitude and direction

• Magnitude:
– The magnitude of MO is:
MO = Fd
where d is the moment arm or perpendicular distance from the
axis at point O to the line of action of the force

– Units of moment magnitude consist of force times distance, e.g.

N.m or lb.ft
 MOMENT OF A FORCE – SCALAR FORMULATION
• Direction:
– The direction of MO is defined by its moment axis, which is
perpendicular to the plane that contains the force F and its moment
arm d
– The right-hand rule is used to establish the sense of direction of MO
• The natural curl of the fingers of the right hand, as they are
drawn towards the palm, represent the tendency for rotation
caused by the moment
• As this action is performed, the thumb of the right hand will
give the directional sense of MO
• Notice that the moment vector is represented three-
dimensionally by a curl around an arrow
• In two dimensions this vector is represented only by the curl
• Since in this case the moment will tend to cause a
counterclockwise rotation, the moment vector is actually
directed out of the page
 MOMENT OF A FORCE – SCALAR FORMULATION
• Resultant Moment:
– For two-dimensional problems, where all the forces lie within the
x–y plane, the resultant moment (MR)O about point O (the z axis)
can be determined by finding the algebraic sum of the moments
caused by all the forces in the system
– As a convention, counter-clockwise are considered as positive
moments as they are directed along the positive z axis (out of the
page)
– Clockwise moments will be negative
– Doing this, the directional sense of each moment can be
represented by a plus or minus sign
– Using this sign convention, the resultant moment is therefore:

– If the numerical result of this sum is a Positive Scalar, (MR)O will

be a counterclockwise moment (Out of the Page) and if the result is
Negative, (MR)O will be a clockwise moment (Into the Page)
EXAMPLE 4-2
Determine the resultant moment of the four forces acting on the rod about point O.
 CROSS PRODUCT
• The cross product of two vectors A and B yields the vector C, which is
written as:
C=AxB and is read “C equals A cross B”
• Magnitude
– The magnitude of C is defined as the product of the magnitudes of A
and B and the sine of the angle θ between their tails, i.e. C = AB Sin θ
• Direction
– Vector C has a direction that is perpendicular to the plane containing
A and B such that C is specified by the right-hand rule; i.e., curling
the fingers of the right hand from vector A (cross) to vector B, the
thumb points in the direction of C
– Knowing both the magnitude and direction of C, we can write:
C = A x B = (AB Sin θ) uC
where the scalar (AB Sin θ) defines the magnitude of C and the unit
vector uC defines the direction of C
 CROSS PRODUCT
• Laws of Operation
– Commutative Law is not valid: A x B ≠ B x A
– Rather: A x B = -B x A

– Associative Law is valid:

a (A x B) = (aA) x B = A x (aB) = (A x B) a

– Distributive Law is valid:

A x (B + D) = (A x B) + (A x D)
 CROSS PRODUCT
• Cartesian Vector Formulation
– Cross Product of any pair of Cartesian Unit Vectors can be
determined
– e.g. to find i x j, the magnitude of the resultant vector is (i)(j)
Sin 90 = (1)(1)(1) = 1 and its direction is determined using the
right-hand rule
– The resultant vector points in the +k direction. Thus i x j = k
– In a similar manner:

– “Crossing” two unit vectors in a Counterclockwise Fashion

around the circle yields the Positive Third Unit Vector
– “Crossing” two unit vectors in a Clockwise Fashion around the
circle yields the Negative Third Unit Vector
 CROSS PRODUCT
• Cross product of two general vectors A and B is:

• Carrying out the cross-product operations and combining terms yields:

• This equation may also be written in a more compact determinant form as:

To find the Cross Product of any two Cartesian

vectors A and B, expand a determinant whose
first row of elements consists of the unit vectors
⇒ i, j, and k and whose second and third rows
represent the x, y, z components of the two
vectors A and B, respectively
 MOMENT OF A FORCE – VECTOR FORMULATION
• The moment of a force F about point O, or actually about the
moment axis passing through O and perpendicular to the plane
containing O and F can be expressed using the vector cross
product as:
MO = r x F
• Here r represents a position vector directed from O to any
point on the line of action of F
• Magnitude:
– The magnitude of the cross product is defined as MO = rF
Sin θ, where the angle θ is measured between the tails of r
and F
– To establish this angle, r must be treated as a sliding vector
so that θ can be constructed properly
– Since the moment arm d = r Sin θ, then:
MO = rF Sin θ = F (r Sin θ) = Fd
 MOMENT OF A FORCE – VECTOR FORMULATION
• Direction:
– Curling the Right-hand Fingers from r toward F (“r
cross F”), the Thumb is directed upward or
perpendicular to the plane containing r and F and this
is in the same direction as Mo
– Since the cross product does not obey the commutative
law, the order of r x F must be maintained to produce
the correct sense of direction for Mo
 MOMENT OF A FORCE – VECTOR FORMULATION
• Principle of Transmissibility:
– The cross product operation is often used in three
dimensions since the perpendicular distance or
moment arm from point O to the line of action of the
force is not needed
– i.e. we can use any position vector r measured from
point O to any point on the line of action of the force
F
– Thus:

– Since F can be applied at any point along its line of

action and still create this same moment about point
O, then F can be considered a sliding vector
– This property is called the principle of
transmissibility of a force
 MOMENT OF A FORCE – VECTOR FORMULATION
• Cartesian Vector Formulation:
– If we establish x, y, z coordinate axes, then the position
vector r and force F can be expressed as Cartesian vectors:

where

– If the determinant is expanded, then:

– Mo will always be perpendicular to the shaded plane

containing vectors r and F
 MOMENT OF A FORCE – VECTOR FORMULATION
• Resultant Moment of a System of Forces:
– If a body is acted upon by a system of forces, the resultant
moment of the forces about point O can be determined by
vector addition of the moment of each force
– This resultant can be written symbolically as:
EXAMPLE 4-3
Determine the moment produced by the force F about point O. Express the result as a
Cartesian vector.
EXAMPLE 4-4
Two forces act on the rod shown. Determine the resultant moment they create about the
flange at O. Express the result as a Cartesian vector.
 PRINCIPLE OF MOMENTS
• Principle of moments is also known as Varignon’s
Theorem since it was originally developed by the French
mathematician Varignon.
• It states that the moment of a force about a point is equal to
the sum of the moments of the components of the force
about the point.
• For example, consider the moments of the force F and two
of its components about point. Since F = F1 + F2, we have:

• For two-dimensional problems, we can use the principle of

moments by resolving the force into its rectangular
components and then determine the moment using a scalar
analysis. Thus,
EXAMPLE 4-5
Determine the moment of the force about point O.
EXAMPLE 4-6
Force F acts at the end of the angle bracket. Determine the moment of the force about point
O.
 MOMENT OF A FORCE & PRINCIPLE OF MOMENTS
Examples:
4.1, 4.2, 4.3, 4.4, 4.5, 4.6
Fundamental Problems:
F4-2, 4-5, 4-8, 4-11
Practice Problems:
4-5, 4-9, 4-18, 4-25, 4-30, 4-36, 4-39, 4-42, 4-46
PROBLEM 4-9
In order to pull out the nail at B, the
force F exerted on the handle of the
hammer must produce a clockwise
moment of 500 lb-in about point A.
Determine the required magnitude
of force F.
PROBLEM 4-18
Two boys push on the gate as shown. If the boy at B exerts a force of FB = 30 lb,
determine the magnitude of the force FA the boy at A must exert in order to prevent
thegate from turning. Neglect the thickness of the gate.
PROBLEM 4-36
The wheelbarrow and its
contents have a center of mass
at G. If F = 100 N and the
resultant moment produced by
force F and the weight about
the axle at A is zero, determine
the mass of the wheelbarrow
and its contents.
PROBLEM 4-39
Determine the resultant moment produced by the two forces about point O. Express
the result as a Cartesian vector.
 MOMENT OF A COUPLE
• A couple is defined as two parallel forces that have the same
magnitude, but opposite directions, and are separated by a
perpendicular distance ‘d’

• Since the resultant force is zero, the only effect of a couple

is to produce a rotation or tendency of rotation in a specified
direction e.g. Steering Wheel of a Car

• Moment produced by a couple is called a Couple Moment

 MOMENT OF A COUPLE
• Value of Couple Moment can be determined by finding the
sum of the moments of both couple forces about any
arbitrary point
• Position vectors rA and rB are directed from point O to
points A and B lying on the line of action of –F and F
• The couple moment determined about O is therefore:
M = rB x F + rA x –F = (rB – rA) x F
• But: rB – rA = r, so that:
M = rx F
• Therefore, a couple moment is a free vector, i.e., it can act
at any point since M depends only upon the position vector
r directed between the forces and not the position vectors
rA and rB directed from the arbitrary point O to the forces
• This concept is unlike the moment of a force, which
requires a definite point (or axis) about which moments are
determined
 MOMENT OF A COUPLE
Scalar Formulation
• Moment of a couple, M is defined as having a magnitude of:
M = Fd
where F is the magnitude of one of the forces and ‘d’ is the
perpendicular distance or moment arm between the forces
• The direction and sense of the couple moment are determined by the
right-hand rule, where the thumb indicates this direction when the
fingers are curled with the sense of rotation caused by the couple forces
• In all cases, M will act perpendicular to the plane containing these
forces
 MOMENT OF A COUPLE
Vector Formulation
• Moment of a Couple can also be expressed by the Vector
Cross Product:

M = rx F

• If Moments are taken about point A, Moment of –F is zero

about this point, and the moment of F is defined as M = r F
 MOMENT OF A COUPLE
Equivalent Couples
• If two couples produce a moment with the same magnitude and direction, then these two couples
are Equivalent

• Larger forces are required in the second case to create the same turning effect because the hands
are placed closer together
 MOMENT OF A COUPLE
Resultant Couple Moment
• Moments are vectors, their resultant can be determined by
Vector Addition
• Consider the couple moments M1 and M2 acting on the
pipe
• Since each couple moment is a Free Vector, their tails cab
be joined at any arbitrary point to find the resultant couple
moment as:
MR = M1 + M2
• For more than two couple moments, generalized form of
the vector resultant is:
MR = Ʃ (r x F)
 MOMENT OF A COUPLE
Examples:
4.10, 4.11, 4.12, 4.13
Fundamental Problems:
F4-22, 4-24
Practice Problems:
4-75, 4-82, 4-85, 4-87, 4-93, 4-98, 4-101
EXAMPLE 4-10
Determine the resultant couple moment of the three couples acting on the plate.
EXAMPLE 4-13
Replace the two couples acting on the pipe column by a resultant couple moment.
PROBLEM 4-87
Determine the required magnitude of force F, if the resultant couple moment on the
beam is to be zero.
PROBLEM 4-98
Determine the resultant couple moment of the two couples that act on the pipe
assembly. The distance from A to B is d = 400 mm. Express the result as a Cartesian
vector.