STAMFORD UNIVERSITY BANGLADESH

Department of Civil Engineering

CEN 101: Analytic Mechanics

Lecture Sheet 1 : Introduction to Analytic Mechanics,
Coplanar & Non-Coplanar Force Systems

Course Teacher : Rafid Shams Huq, Senior Lecturer

Learning Points:
1. Differentiate the branches of Mechanics
2. How to Determine Resultant Force
3. How to Draw Free-Body Force Diagrams
Reference Books:

1. Analytic Mechanics by Virgil Moring Faires & Sherman Daniel Chambers, 3rd Edition
2. Vector Mechanics - Statics, by Beer and Johnston, 11th Edition
3. Engineering Mechanics - Statics,by Hibbeler, 14th Edition
SYLLABUS
 Coplanar and Non-Coplanar Force Systems, Moments
 Analyses of Two Dimensional Frames and Trusses
 Centroid & Moments of Inertia of Areas
 Friction
 Flexible Chords
 Principles of Work and Energy
 Plane Motion
 Impulse and Momentum
MECHANICS
Mechanics is that branch of physical science, which treats of the effect of force upon
material bodies. The general field of mechanics is further subdivided into three
branches:
(1) Rigid-body mechanics,
(2) Deformable-body mechanics
(3) Fluid mechanics

Rigid-body mechanics, also called analytic mechanics, or mechanics of engineering,

or simply mechanics deals with the external forces on bodies, ordinarily rigid bodies or
bodies considered to be rigid, and of the effects of these forces on the motions of
bodies.
Deformable-body mechanics, more often called mechanics of materials, or strength
of materials, or simply mechanics of solids, a subject, which deals with the internal
forces or stresses in bodies.
Mechanics of fluids, deals with the behavior of all fluids subjected to a system of
forces.
MECHANICS
Rigid-body mechanics is divided into
two areas:
(1) Statics, and
(2) Dynamics.
Statics deals with the equilibrium of
bodies, that is, those, which are
either at rest or moving with a
constant velocity; whereas
dynamics is concerned with the
accelerated motion of bodies.
Although statics can be considered
as special case of dynamics, in which
the acceleration is zero, statics
deserves separate treatment in
engineering education, since most
structures are designed with the
intention that they remain in
equilibrium.
FORCE
For the investigation of problems of
mechanics we must introduce the concept of
force. It is an inherent property of a material
body that without any external agency it can
not change its state of rest or of motion.
There are many kinds of force, such as
gravity force with which we are all familiar
and the simple push or pull that we can exert
upon a body with our hands. Other examples
of force are the gravitational attraction
between sun and planets, the force of
magnetic attraction, wind pressure,
atmospheric pressure and frictional
resistance between contiguous surfaces.
For the complete definition of a force we
must know its (1) magnitude, (2) point of
application, that is, the point at which the
force acts, and (3) direction. A force is thus a
vector.
SCALAR & VECTOR
Most of the physical quantities in mechanics can be expressed mathematically by
means of scalars and vectors.

Scalar Quantity:
A quantity possessing only a
magnitude is called a scalar.
Example: Mass, Volume, and
Length, etc.

Vector Quantity:
A quantity that has both magnitude
and direction. Examples: Force,
Moment, Velocity, Acceleration, etc.
SYSTEMS OF MEASUREMENT
Two basic systems of measurement are generally used, namely
(1) Absolute system, and
(2) Gravitational system.
The primary units in the absolute system is the units of mass, length and time, whereas
in the gravitational system the primary units are the units of force, length and time.
Commonly used systems of measurements in Mechanics are given in Table - 1.1.

Name Length Time Mass Force

British foot second pound pound-weight
(absolute) (ft) (s) (Ib) (Ib-wt)
British foot second slug pound
(gravitational) (ft) (s) (Ib.s2/ft) (Ib)
Metric meter second kilogram newton
(absolute) (m) (s) (kg) (N)
kilogram-
Metric meter second kilogram
weight
(gravitational) (m) (m) (kg)
(kg-wt)
meter second kilogram newton
SI
(m) (s) (kg) (N)
SYSTEMS OF MEASUREMENT
The International System of units, abbreviated SI is a modern version of the
metric system which has received worldwide recognition. As shown in
Table-1.1, the SI system specifies length in meters (m), time in second (s),
and mass in kilograms (kg). The unit of force, called a newton (N), is derived
from Eq. 1.1. Thus 1 newton is equal to a force required to give 1 kilogram
of mass an acceleration of 1 m/s2 (N = kg . m/s2).
Certain rules and conventions are to be followed in using SI units; these
include the following:
1. Names of units, even when they are named after persons, are not
written with first letter capital, e.g. newton, joule, kelvin, etc.
2. The symbol for the unit, named after the persons, has a capital initial
letter, i.e. N for newton, W for watt, J for joule, etc.
3. Other symbols are written in lower case, e.g. m, s, kg, etc.
4. Symbols for units do not take plural form, e.g. 100 m and not 100 ms.
5. A space is left between the symbols for compound units, e.g. N m, kW h.
SYSTEMS OF MEASUREMENT
6. Numerals with more than three digits should be written in groups of three
with narrow space in between consecutive groups. However, a sequence of
four figures is not usually broken, e.g.
40000 should be written as 40 000
81235.876 should be written as 81 235.876
0.12468 should be written as 0.12 468
7. Prefixes indicating multiplying factors can be used, such as:

tera T 1012 centi c 10-2

giga G 109 milli m 10-3
mega M 106 micro  10-6
kilo k 103 nano n 10-9
deci d 10-1 pico p 10-12
Coplanar and Non-Coplanar Force System
Coplanar Force System
Coplanar force system refers to the number of forces which remain in same
plane. This force system can be concurrent, parallel and non-concurrent and
non-parallel.

• Concurrent Coplanar Force System

A concurrent coplanar force system is a system of
two or more forces whose lines of action ALL
intersect at a common point. However, all of the
individual vectors might not actually be in
contact with the common point.

• Parallel coplanar force system

The concurrent coplanar force system refers to
the number of forces which are parallel to each
other with their lines of action.
Coplanar and Non-Coplanar Force System
• Non-concurrent and non-parallel coplanar force
systems
Non-concurrent and non-parallel coplanar force
systems refer to the number of forces which are not
parallel and do not lie at the common point with
their lines of action.

Non-Coplanar Force System

Non-coplanar force system refers to the
number of forces which do not remain in same
plane.
EXAMPLE 1:
Determine the magnitude of
the resultant force and its
direction measured from the
positive x-axis.

Figure for Example 1

EXAMPLE 2:
At what angle must be applied in order
that the resultant R of and be equal to
100 Ib? For this condition what will be
the angle between R and the
horizontal?

Figure for Example 2

EXAMPLE 3:
EXAMPLE 3:
EXAMPLE 4:
Varignon’s Theorem
The Principle of Moments, also known as Varignon's Theorem, states that the
moment of any force is equal to the algebraic sum of the moments of the
components of that force.
EXAMPLE 5:
EXAMPLE 6:
EXAMPLE 7:
EXAMPLE 8:
The components of F1 and F2 are shown in the figure. Determine the magnitudes
and coordinate direction angles of F1 and F2. Also find the magnitude, direction and
components of the resultant force.
EXAMPLE 8:
FREE-BODY DIAGRAM
In analyzing the action of forces on a
given body it is absolutely necessary to
isolate the body in question by
removing all contacting and attached
bodies and replacing them by vectors
representing the forces which they exert
on the body isolated. Such a
representation is called a free-body
diagram.
(b)

(a)
(c)
FREE-BODY DIAGRAM
Procedure For Drawing A Free-Body Diagram. The following three steps are necessary
to construct a free-body diagram.
Step 1. Imagine the particle to be isolated from its surroundings by drawing
(sketching) an outlined shape of the particle.
Step 2. Indicate on this sketch all the forces that act on the particle. These forces will
either be active forces, which tend to set the particle in motion, e.g., weight, or
magnetic and electrostatic interactions; or reactive forces, such as those caused by the
constraints or supports that tend to prevent motion.
Step 3. The forces that are known should be labeled with their proper magnitudes and
directions. Letters are used to represent the magnitudes and direction angles of forces
that are unknown. In particular, if a force has a known line of action but unknown
magnitude, the arrowhead, which defines the directional sense of the force, can be
assumed. The correctness of the directional sense will become apparent after solving
the equilibrium equations for the unknown magnitude. By definition, the magnitude
of a force is always positive so that, if the solution yields a negative magnitude, the
minus sign indicates that the arrowhead or directional sense of the force is opposite to
that which was originally assumed.
FREE-BODY DIAGRAM

When drawing a free-body diagram it is most important to show only the

forces acting on the object being considered.