ADAMA SCIENCE AND

TECHNOLOGY UNIVERSITY

SCHOOL OF Civil Engineering and Architecture

DEPARTMENT OF Civil ENGINEERING

ENGINEERING MECHANICS (CEN-2201)

By kumar shantveerayya (MSc in structural Engineering)

Office Block/Room: B516/R113
Mob No +251960970914
February 19, 2024
 Physical science which
deals with the state of
rest or motion of rigid
bodies under the action
of forces.

Mechanics

Deformable
Rigid bodies Fluids
bodies
 is the geometric region occupied by bodies whose
positions are described by linear and angular
measurements relative to a coordinate system

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 Fundamental Principles

It states that the time rate of change of the momentum of a

body is equal in both magnitude and direction to the force
imposed on it

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 Scalars and Vectors
SCALAR QUANTITIES VECTOR QUANTITIES

Are physical quantities described (measured) by described by a magnitude and a direction, and
their magnitude alone. sometimes point of application for their
complete description.
They only need the magnitude and the unit of
measurement to fully describe them. Vectors are represented by short arrows on top
E.g. of the letters designating them.
Time[s],
Mass [Kg], E.g.
Area [m2], Force [N, Kg.m/s2], Velocity [m/s],
Density [Kg/ m3], Distance
[m], Acceleration [m/s2], Momentum [N.s, kg.m/s]

speed [m/s] Displacement (mm)

Temperature [degrees]
Volume [m3]
SCHOOL OF CIVIL ENGINEERING AND
02/19/2024 ARCHITECTURE, ASTU
 Representation of Vectors
A, Graphical representation
Graphically, a vector is represented by a directed line segment headed by an arrow. The length of the
line segment is equal to the magnitude of the vector to some predetermined scale and the arrow
indicates the direction of the vector.

NB: The direction of the vector may be measured by an angle θ from some known reference direction.

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Vector is represented by a letter with an arrow over it such as or A
Magnitude is designated as
Angle between the reference axis and arrow’s line of action =Direction of Vector
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11. Sliding vector

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SCHOOL OF CIVIL ENGINEERING AND ARCHITECTURE, ASTU
Representation of Vectors Rectangular components
 Decomposition of vectors:
Vector decomposition is the general process of breaking one vector into two
or more vectors that add up to the original vector.

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Operations with Vectors
Vector Addition or Composition of Vectors
A) Graphical Method
I. The parallelogram law

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SCHOOL OF CIVIL ENGINEERING AND ARCHITECTURE, ASTU
 Operations with Vectors Cont…
II. The Triangle rule

NB: From the triangle rule it can easily be seen that if a system
of vectors when joined head to tail form a closed polygon, their
resultant will be a null vector,

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Parallelogram Law of Vector Addition
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 Subtraction of Vectors

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SCHOOL OF CIVIL ENGINEERING AND ARCHITECTURE, ASTU
 Dot vector
The dot product of two vectors A and B is defined as the scalar value AB cosθ,
where θ is the angle between them such that 0≤θ≤π.
It is denoted by A.B, by placing a dot sign between the vectors.
So we have the equation,
A.B = AB cosθ
Another name of dot product is scalar product.
The cross product of two vectors A and B is defined as AB sinθ with a direction perpendicular
to A and B in right hand system,
where θ is the angle between them such that 0≤θ≤π.
Is used to express the angular relationship between two vectors.
If A and B are two vectors of form, A = A1i + A2j +A3k; B = B1i + B2j + B3k Then the dot
product of A and B is,
A.B = A1B1 + A2B2 + A3B3
The angular relationship of two vectors A and B as per dot product is:
A.B = IAI IBI cosθ
= AB cosθ
The dot relationship of unit vectors along three axes :
i . j = j . k = k . i = 0 and
i.i=j.j=k.k=1

Properties of dot vector

 What is cross product
It is denoted by A x B by placing a cross sign between the
vectors.
So we have the equation, A x B = AB sinθ Properties of cross vect
Another name of cross product is vector product.
For accumulation of interactions between different
dimensions.
If A and B are two vectors of form
A = A1i + A2j +A3k
B = B1i + B2j + B3k
Then the cross Product of A and B is, A x B =

The angular relationship of two vectors A and B is A x B =AB

Sin θ
 Laws of Operation for Cross Product

Commutative law is not valid

A B  B  A
In fact
A  B  B  A
Scalar Multiplication
  A  B    A   B  A   B    A  B 

Distributive Law
A  B  D  A  B  A  D

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 Cross Product of Two Vectors

Le A  Axi  Ay j  Az k i j k
t
B  Bxi  By j  Bz k A  B  Ax Ay Az
Bx By Bz
 i( Ay Bz - Az By )
- j ( Ax Bz - Az Bx )
 k ( Ax By - Ay Bx )

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SCHOOL OF CIVIL ENGINEERING AND ARCHITECTURE, ASTU
 Operations with Vectors Cont…

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SCHOOL OF CIVIL ENGINEERING AND ARCHITECTURE, ASTU
PROBLEM-1

Method -1
Method -2
PROBLEM-2 USING TRIANGLE METHOD

USING RESOLUTION METHOD

USING Scalar and vector METHOD

PROBLEM-3

A barrage is pulled by two tugboats. If the resultant of the forces exerted by the tugboats
is a 25KN directed along the axis of the barge, determine
a) The tension in each of the ropes for α= 450
b) The value of α for which the tension in rope 2 is minimum
PROBLEM-4: Knowing that the tension in cable BC is 725 N, determine the
resultant of the three forces exerted at point B of beam AB
Method -2
Method -1
PROBLEM -5
The ring is subjected to two forces F1 and F2. If it is required that there resultant force have a
magnitude of 1kN and be directed vertically downward, determine (a) magnitude ofnF1 and
F2 provided θ = 30°,and (b) the magnitudes of F1 and F2, if F2 is to be a minimum.
PROBLEM 6
The screw eye is subjected to two forces F1 and F2. Determine the magnitude and direction of
the resultant force.
PROBLEM 7
Resolve the 1000 N ( ≈ 100kg) force acting on the pipe into the components in the
(a) x and y directions,
(b) x’ and y directions.
PROBLEM 8
The force F acting on the frame has a magnitude of 500N and is to be resolved into two
components acting along the members AB and AC. Determine the angle Θ , measured below
the horizontal, so that components F AC is directed from A towards C and has a magnitude of
400N.
Problem 9. If the magnitude of the resultant force is to be 500 N, directed along the
positive Y axis, determine the magnitude of force F and its direction
Method -
Method - 2
1

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SCHOOL OF CIVIL ENGINEERING AND ARCHITECTURE, ASTU
Problem 10. If the magnitude of the resultant force acting on the eyeball is 600 N and
its direction measured clockwise from the positive x axis is θ = 300, determine the
magnitude of F1, and the angle φ

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Problem 11. Resolve the forces F1 into components acting along u and v axes and
determine the magnitudes of the components

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SCHOOL OF CIVIL ENGINEERING AND ARCHITECTURE, ASTU
Problem 12.The tension in the guy wire is 2500 N. Determine:

Step -1. Determine the unit vector pointing from A towards B

Noting that the components of the unit vector are the
direction cosines for the vector, calculate the corresponding
angles.
Problem 13. The bracket is subjected to the two forces shown. Express each force in
cartesian vector form and then determine the resultant force FR. Find the magnitude and
coordinate direction angles of the resultant force.

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SCHOOL OF CIVIL ENGINEERING AND ARCHITECTURE, ASTU
Problems to practice

1) A disable automobile is pulled by means of two ropes

shown in fig 1. determine the magnitude and direction of
resultant by (a) parallelogram law (b) triangle law (c)
analytical method.

2) The end of the boom O is subjected to three

concurrent and coplanar forces. Determine the
magnitude and orientation of the resultant force.
3) The link is subjected to two forces
F1 and F2. Determine the magnitude
and orientation of the resultant force

4) Determine x and y components of F1

and F2 acting on the boom. Express each
force as a Cartesian vector