Engineering Mechanics

Lecture # 4

Systems of Forces and Moments

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 Chapter Outline
 2-Dimensional Description of the Moment
 The Moment Vector
 Moment of a Force About a Line
 Couples
 Equivalent Systems
 Representing Systems by Equivalent Systems

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 4.1 2-D Description of the Moment
 Consider a force of magnitude F & a point P &
view them in a direction perpendicular to the
plane containing the force vector & the point:

 The magnitude of the moment of the force

about P is the product DF, where D is the
perpendicular distance from P to the line of
action of the force
 The force will tend to cause counterclockwise
rotation about point P
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 4.1 2-D Description of the Moment
 Direction
of the moment is counter-clockwise
 Sign Convention:
 Counter-clockwise moments: positive
 Clockwise moments: negative
 Moment of force about P:
Mp = DF (4.1)

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 4.1 2-D Description of the Moment
 If the line of action of F passes through P, the
perpendicular distance D = 0 & the moment of F
about P is zero
 The dimensions of the moment are:
(distance)  (force)
 E.g. moments can be expressed in newton-
meters in SI units

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 4.1 2-D Description of the Moment

 Intuitively, we know that the attachment of the

shelf to the wall is more likely to fail if you place
the television set away from the wall:

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 4.1 2-D Description of the Moment
 The magnitude & direction of the force
exerted on the shelf by the weight of the
television are the same in each case but the
moments exerted on the attachment are
different
 Moment exerted about P by its weight when it
is near the wall, MP = D1W, is smaller in
magnitude than the moment about P when it
is placed away from the wall, MP = D2W

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 4.1 2-D Description of the Moment
 This method can be used to determine the sum
of the moments of a system of forces about a
point if the forces are 2-D (coplanar) & the point
lies in the same plane:

 Sum of the moments exerted about point P by

the load W1 & the counterweight W2:
 Mp = D1W  D2W
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 4.1 2-D Description of the Moment
 This moment tends to cause the top of the
vertical tower to rotate & could cause it to
collapse
 If D2 is adjusted so that D1W = D2W, the
moment about point P due to the load & the
counterweight is zero
 If a force is expressed in terms of components,
the moment of the force about a point P is equal
to the sum of the moments of its components
about P

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 Example 4.1 Determining the Moment of
a Force
What is the moment of the 40-kN force in Fig. 4.4
about point A?

Strategy Fig. 4.4

We can calculate the moment in 2 ways: by

determining the perpendicular distance from point A
to the line of action of the force or by expressing the
force in terms of components & determining the
sum of the moments of the components about A.
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 Example 4.1 Determining the Moment of
a Force
Solution
1st Method:
The perpendicular distance
from A to the line of action of
the force is:
D = (6 m) sin 30° = 3 m
The magnitude of the moment of the force about A
is (3 m)(40 kN) = 120 kN-m & the direction of the
moment about A is counterclockwise.
Therefore, the moment is:
MA = 120 kN-m
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 Example 4.1 Determining the Moment of
a Force
Solution
2nd Method:
Express the force in terms of horizontal & vertical
components:

The perpendicular distance from A to the line of

action of the horizontal component is zero, so the
horizontal component exerts no moment about A.
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 Example 4.1 Determining the Moment of
a Force

Solution
The magnitude of the moment of the vertical
component about A is:
(6 m)(40 sin30° kN) = 120 kN-m
& the direction of the moment about A is
counterclockwise.
The moment is: MA = 120 kN-m

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 Example 4.1 Determining the Moment of
a Force
Critical Thinking
 In the 1st method, we calculated the moment of
the 40-kN force about A by determining the
perpendicular distance to the line of action of the
force & multiplying it by the magnitude of the
force
 In the 2nd method, we 1st expressed the 40-kN
force in terms of components & then calculated
the sum of the moments of the components
about A

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 Example 4.1 Determining the Moment of
a Force
Critical Thinking
 The 2 methods yield the same answer:
 Demonstration of Varignon’s Theorem

Varignon’s Theorem (1654-1722)

French mathematician, “The moment of a
resultant force about a point is equal to the
sum of the moments of its components about
the same point or axis”

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 Example 4.1 Determining the Moment of
a Force
 Itis not always easy to determine the
perpendicular distance to the line of action of
the force
 In some cases, it will be much simpler to
determine the moment of a force by
calculating the sum of the moments of its
components

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 Example 4.2 Moment of a System of
Forces
4 forces act on the machine part in Fig 4.5. What is
the sum of the moments of the forces about the
origin O?

Fig 4.5
Strategy
We can determine the moments of the forces about
O directly from the given information except for the
4-kN force. We will determine its moment by
expressing it in terms of components & summing
the moments of the components.
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 Example 4.2 Moment of a System of
Forces

Solution
Moment of the 3-kN Force:
The line of action of the 3-kN force passes through
O. It exerts no moment about O.
Moment of the 5-kN Force:
The line of action of the 5-kN force also passes
through O. It too exerts no moment about O.

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 Example 4.2 Moment of a System of
Forces

Solution
Moment of the 2-kN Force:
The perpendicular distance from O to the line of
action of the 2-kN force is 0.3 m & the direction of
the moment about O is clockwise. The moment of
the 2-kN force about O is:
(0.3 m)(2 kN) = 0.600 kN-m
(Notice that we converted the perpendicular
distance from millimeters into meters, obtaining the
result in terms of kilonewton-meters)
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 Example 4.2 Moment of a System of
Forces
Solution
Moment of the 4-kN Force:
Introduce a coordinate
system & express the 4-kN
force in terms of x & y
components:
The perpendicular distance from O to the line of
action of the x component is 0.3 m & the direction of
the moment about O is clockwise. The moment of
the x component about O is:
(0.3 m)(4 cos 30° kN) = 1.039 kN-m
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 Example 4.2 Moment of a System of
Forces
Solution
The perpendicular distance from O to the line of
action of the y component is 0.7 m & the direction of
the moment about O is counterclockwise. The
moment of the y component about O is:
(0.7 m)(4 sin 30° kN) = 1.400 kN-m
The sum of the moments of the 4 forces about
point O is:
 MO = 0.600  1.309 + 1.400 = 0.239 kN-m
The 4 forces exert a 0.239 kN-m clockwise moment
about point O.
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 Example 4.2 Moment of a System of
Forces
Critical Thinking
 If an object is subjected to a system of known
forces, it is useful to determine the sum of the
moments of the forces about a given point:
 Provides a test for equilibrium  an object is in
equilibrium only if the sum of the moments about
any point is zero
(???????????)
 Furthermore, in dynamics the sum of the
moments of the forces acting on objects must be
determined in order to analyze their angular
motions
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 Example 4.3 Summing Moments to
Determine an Unknown Force
The weight W = 300 N (Fig. 4.6). The sum of the
moments about C due to the weight W & the force
exerted on the bar CA by the cable AB is zero.
What is the tension in the cable?

Fig. 4.6
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 Example 4.3 Summing Moments to
Determine an Unknown Force
Strategy
Let T be the tension in the cable AB. Using the
given dimensions, express the horizontal & vertical
components of the force exerted on the bar by the
cable in terms of T. Then by setting the sum of the
moments about C due to the weight of the bar & the
force exerted by the cable equal to zero, we can
obtain an equation for T.

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 Example 4.3 Summing Moments to
Determine an Unknown Force
Strategy
Using similar triangles, express
the force exerted on the bar by the
cable in terms of horizontal &
vertical components.
The sum of the moments about C
due to the weight of the bar & the
force exerted by the cable AB is:

Solving for T: T = 0.357W = 107.1 N

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 Example 4.3 Summing Moments to
Determine an Unknown Force
Critical Thinking
 If the bar is in equilibrium, the sum of moments
about C is zero  this condition allowed us to
determine the tension in the cable
 We do not need to consider the force exerted on
the bar by its support at C since the moment of
that force about C is zero

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 4.2 The Moment Vector
 The moment of a force about a point is a
vector
 Using the description in Section 4.1, we
are specifying the magnitude & direction
of the moment vector
 Consider a force vector F & a point P:
 Moment of F about P is the vector:

MP = r  F (4.2)
where r is a position vector from P to any point
on the line of action of F
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 4.2 The Moment Vector
 Magnitude of the Moment:
 From the definition of the cross product, the
magnitude of MP is:
|MP| = |r||F| sin 
where  is the angle between the vectors r & F when
they are placed tail to tail

 The perpendicular distance from P to the line

of action of F is D = |r| sin 

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 4.2 The Moment Vector
 Magnitude of the moment MP equals the
product of the perpendicular distance from P
to the line of action of F & the magnitude of F:
|MP| = D|F| (4.3)
 Notice that if we know the vectors MP & F, this
equation can be solved for the perpendicular
distance D

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 4.2 The Moment Vector
 Direction of the Moment:
 From the definition of the cross product, MP is
perpendicular to both r & F :
 M is perpendicular to the plane containing
P
P&F
 Denoted by a circular arrow around the

vector:

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 4.2 The Moment Vector

 The direction of MP also indicates the direction

of the moment:
 Pointing the thumb of the right hand in the

direction of MP, the “arc” of the fingers

indicates the direction of the rotation that F
tends to cause about P

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 4.2 The Moment Vector
 The result obtained from Eq. (4.2) doesn’t
depend on where the vector r intersects the
line of action of F:

r = r’ + u
r  F = (r’ + u)  F = r’  F
Because the cross product of the parallel
vectors u & F is zero
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 4.2 The Moment Vector
 In summary, the moment of a force F about a point
P has 3 properties:
1. The magnitude of MP = the product of the
magnitude of F & the perpendicular distance
from P to the line of action of F. If the line of
action passes through P, MP = 0.
2. MP is perpendicular to the plane containing P & F.
3. The direction of MP indicates the direction of
the moment through a right-hand rule. Since
the cross product is not commutative, it is
essential to maintain the correct sequence of
the vectors in the equation MP = r  F
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 4.2 The Moment Vector
 To determine the moment of the force F
about the point P:

 The vector from P to the point of application of

F:
r = (12  3)i + (6  4)j + (5  1)k
= 9i + 2j 6k (m)
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 4.2 The Moment Vector
 The moment is:
i j k
M P r F  9 2  6 38i  87 j  28k (N - m)
4 4 7
 The magnitude of MP:
M P  382   87 2  282 99.0 N - m

equals the product of the magnitude of F & the

perpendicular distance D from point P to the
line of action of F

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 4.2 The Moment Vector
 Therefore,
M P 99.0 N - m
D  11 .0 m
F 9N
 The direction of MP tells us both the orientation
of the plane containing P & F & the direction of
the moment

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 4.2 The Moment Vector
 Relation to the 2-D Description:
 If our view is perpendicular to the plane
containing the point P & the force F, the 2-D
description of the moment in Section 4.1
specifies both the magnitude & direction of
the vector MP
 In this situation, MP is perpendicular to the
page & the right-hand rule indicates whether it
points out or into the page

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 4.2 The Moment Vector
 E.g. the view is perpendicular to the x-y plane &
the 10-N force is contained in the x-y plane:
 The perpendicular distance from O to the line of

action of the force is 4 m

 The 2-D description of the moment of the force

about O: its magnitude is (4 m)(10 N) = 40 N-m &

its direction is counterclockwise or MO = 40 N-m

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 4.2 The Moment Vector
 Therefore, the magnitude of the vector MO is
40 N-m & the right-hand rule indicates that it
points out of the page:
MO = 40k (N-m)
 We can confirm this result by using Eq. (4.2).

Let r be the vector from O to the point of

application of the force:
MO = r  F = (4i +2j)  10j = 40k (N-m)
 As this example illustrates, the 2-D description
of the moment determines the moment vector
 The converse is also true
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 4.2 The Moment Vector
 Varignon’s Theorem:
 Let F1, F2, …, FN be a
concurrent system of forces
whose lines of action
intersect at a point Q:
 The moment of the system
about a point P is:
(rPQ  F1) + (rPQ  F2) +  + (rPQ  FN)
= rPQ  (F1 + F2 +  + FN)
where rPQ is the vector from P to Q
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 4.2 The Moment Vector

 This result, known as the Varignon’s Theorem,

follows from the distributive property of the cross
product, Eq. (2.31)
 It confirms that the moment of the force about a
point P equal to the sum of the moments of it
components about P

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 Example 4.4 2-D Description & the
Moment Vector

Determine the moment of the 400-N force in

Fig. 4.13 about O.

Fig. 4.13

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 Example 4.4 2-D Description & the
Moment Vector
Strategy
We will determine the moment in 2 ways:
(a) Use the 2-D description of the moment. Express
the force in terms of its components & determine
the moment of each component about O by
multiplying the magnitude of the component &
the perpendicular distance from O to its line of
action.
(b) Obtain the vector description of the moment by
using Eq. (4.2).

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 Example 4.4 2-D Description & the
Moment Vector
Solution
(a) Expressing the force in terms of horizontal &
vertical components, the 2-D description of the
moment is:
MO = (2 m)(400 cos 30° N)  (5 m)(400 sin 30° N)
= 1.69 kN-m

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 Example 4.4 2-D Description & the
Moment Vector
Solution
(b) To apply Eq. (4.2), introduce the coordinate
system shown:

Choose the Vector r:

Let r be the vector from O to the point of
application of the force:
r = 5i + 2j (m)
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 Example 4.4 2-D Description & the
Moment Vector

Solution
(b) Evaluate r  F:
The moment is:
MO = r  F
= (5i + 2j)  (400 cos 30°i  400 sin 30°j)
= 1.69k (kN-m)

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 Example 4.4 2-D Description & the
Moment Vector
Critical Thinking
 In most 2-D situations, it is easier to use the 2-D
description of the moment than the vector
description
 However, studying the relationship between the
2-D & vector descriptions of the moment
provides insight into the vector description
 Demonstrates, for this special case, that the
magnitude & direction of the vector specify the
magnitude & direction of the moment
 In 3-D situations, the vector description of the
moment is nearly always used
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 Example 4.5 Determining the Moment & the
Perpendicular Distance to the Line of Action
The line of action of the 90-N force F in Fig. 4.14
passes through points B & C.

(a) What is the moment of F about point A?

(b) What is the perpendicular distance from point A
to the line of action of F?

Fig. 4.14
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 Example 4.6 Applying the Moment Vector
The cables AB & AC in Fig. 4.15 exerted from an
attachment point A on the floor to attachment points
B & C in the walls. The tension in cable AB is 10 kN
& the tension in cable AC is 20 kN. What is the sum
of the moments about O due to the forces exerted
on the attachment
point A by the 2 cables?

Fig. 4.15
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 Example 4.6 Applying the Moment Vector

Strategy
We must express the forces exerted on the
attachment point A by the 2 cables in terms of their
components.
Then we can use Eq. (4.2) to determine the
moments the forces exert about O.

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 Example 4.6 Applying the Moment Vector

Solution
Let FAB & FAC be the forces exerted on the
attachment point A by the 2 cables.
To express FAB in terms of its components, we
determine the position vector from A to B:
(0  4)i + (4  0)j + (8  6)k
=  4i + 4j + 2k (m)
Divide it by its magnitude 
unit vector eAB with the same
direction as FAB
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 Example 4.6 Applying the Moment Vector

Solution
 4i  4 j  2k (m) 2 2 1
e AB   i  j k
 4 m 2  4 m 2  2 m 2 3 3 3
FAB 10e AB  6.67i  6.67 j  3.33k (kN)

Express the force FAC in terms of its components

in the same way:
FAC 5.71i  8.57 j  17.14k (kN)

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 Example 4.6 Applying the Moment Vector
Solution
Choose the Vector r:
Since the lines of action of both forces passes
through point A, we can use the vector from O to
A to determine the moments of both forces about
point O: r = 4i + 6k (m)
Evaluate r  F:
The sum of moments is:
i j k i j k
 M O r FAB   r FAC   4 0 6  4 0 6
 6.67 6.67 3.33 5.71 8.57  17.14
 91.4i  49.5 j  61.0k (kN - m)
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 Example 4.6 Applying the Moment Vector

Critical Thinking
 The lines of action of the forces FAB & FAC
intersect at A
 Notice that, according to Varignon’s theorem, we
could summed the forces 1st, obtaining:
FAB + FAC = 0.952i + 15.24j  13.81k (kN)

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 Example 4.6 Applying the Moment Vector

Critical Thinking
 And then determined the sum of the moments of
the 2 forces about O by calculating the moment
of the sum of the 2 forces about O:
 M O r FAB  FAC 
i j k
 4 0 6
 0.952 15.24  13.81
 91.4i  49.5 j  61.0k (kN - m)
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