ENGINEERING MECHANICS.

STATICS
General Principle

Mechanics is a branch of the physical sciences that is concerned with

the state of rest or motion of bodies that are subjected to the action
of forces. In general, this subject can be subdivided into three
branches: rigid-body mechanics, deformable-body mechanics , and
fluid mechanics .
Rigid-body mechanics is a basic requirement for the study of the
mechanics of deformable bodies and the mechanics of fluids.
Furthermore, rigid-body mechanics is essential for the design and
analysis of many types of structural members, mechanical
components, or electrical devices encountered in engineering.
Rigid-body mechanics is divided into two areas: statics and
dynamics. Statics deals with the equilibrium of bodies, that is, those
that are either at rest or move with a constant velocity; whereas
dynamics is concerned with the accelerated motion of bodies.
Fundamental Concept
Basic Quantities.
Length. Length is used to locate the position of a point in space and
thereby describe the size of a physical system. Once a standard unit
of length is defined, one can then use it to define distances and
geometric properties of a body as multiples of this unit.
Time. Time is conceived as a succession of events. Although the
principles of statics are time independent, this quantity plays an
important role in the study of dynamics.
Mass. Mass is a measure of a quantity of matter that is used to compare the
action of one body with that of another. This property manifests itself as a
gravitational attraction between two bodies and provides a measure of the
resistance of matter to a change in velocity.
Force. In general, force is considered as a “push” or “pull” exerted by one
body on another. This interaction can occur when there is direct contact
between the bodies, such as a person pushing on a wall, or it can occur
through a distance when the bodies are physically separated. Examples of
the latter type include gravitational, electrical, and magnetic forces. In any
case, a force is completely characterized by its magnitude, direction, and
point of application.
Idealizations. Models or idealizations are used in mechanics in
order to simplify application of the theory.
Particle. A particle has a mass, but a size that can be neglected. For
example, the size of the earth is insignificant compared to the size of
its orbit, and therefore the earth can be modeled as a particle when
studying its orbital motion. When a body is idealized as a particle,
the principles of mechanics reduce to a rather simplified form since
the geometry of the body will not be involved in the analysis of the
problem.
Rigid Body. A rigid body can be considered as a combination of a
large number of particles in which all the particles remain at a fixed
distance from one another, both before and after applying a load.
This model is important because the body’s shape does not change
when a load is applied, and so we do not have to consider the type
of material from which the body is made. In most cases the actual
deformations occurring in structures, machines, mechanisms, and
the like are relatively small, and the rigid-body assumption is
suitable for analysis.
Concentrated Force. A concentrated force represents the effect of a loading
which is assumed to act at a point on a body. We can represent a load by a
concentrated force, provided the area over which the load is applied is very
small compared to the overall size of the body. An example would be the
contact force between a wheel and the ground.
Newton’s Three Laws of Motion. Engineering mechanics is
formulated on the basis of Newton’s three laws of motion, the
validity of which is based on experimental observation. These laws
apply to the motion of a particle as measured from a
nonaccelerating reference frame.
First Law. A particle originally at rest, or moving in a straight line
with constant velocity, tends to remain in this state provided the
particle is not subjected to an unbalanced force.
Second Law. A particle acted upon by an unbalanced force F
experiences an acceleration a that has the same direction as the
force and a magnitude that is directly proportional to the force. If F
is applied to a particle of mass m , this law may be expressed
mathematically as
Third Law. The mutual forces of action and reaction between two
particles are equal, opposite, and collinear.
Newton’s Law of Gravitational Attraction.
Weight.
Units of Measurement
SI Units. The International System of units, abbreviated SI after the
French “Système International d’Unités,” is a modern version of the
metric system which has received worldwide recognition. The SI
system defines length in meters (m), time in seconds (s), and mass in
kilograms (kg). The unit of force, called a newton (N), is derived from
F = ma . Thus, 1 newton is equal to a force required to give 1
kilogram of mass an acceleration of 1 m/s/s (N = kg. m/s/s) . If the
weight of a body located at the “standard location” is to be
determined in Newtons.
U.S. Customary. In the U.S. Customary system of units (FPS) length is
measured in feet (ft), time in seconds (s), and force in pounds (lb),
Table 1–1 . The unit of mass, called a slug , is derived from F = ma .
Hence, 1 slug is equal to the amount of matter accelerated at 1
ft/s/s when acted upon by a force of 1 lb (slug = lb.ft/s/s) .
Conversion of Units. Table 1–2 provides a set of direct conversion
factors between FPS and SI units for the basic quantities. Also, in the
FPS system, recall that 1 ft = 12 in. (inches), 5280 ft = 1 mi (mile),
1000 lb = 1 kip (kilo-pound), and 2000 lb = 1 ton.
The International System of Units
Prefixes. When a numerical quantity is either very large or very
small, the units used to define its size may be modified by using a
prefix. Some of the prefixes used in the SI system are shown in Table
1–3 . Each represents a multiple or submultiple of a unit which, if
applied successively, moves the decimal point of a numerical
quantity to every third place. * For example, 4 000 000 N = 4 000 kN
(kilo-newton) = 4 MN (mega-newton), or 0.005 m = 5 mm
(milli-meter).
Rules for Use.
Numerical Calculations
Dimensional Homogeneity. The terms of any equation used to
describe a physical process must be dimensionally homogeneous;
that is, each term must be expressed in the same units. Provided this
is the case, all the terms of an equation can then be combined if
numerical values are substituted for the variables
Significant Figures. The number of significant figures contained in
any number determines the accuracy of the number. For instance,
the number 4981 contains four significant figures. However, if zeros
occur at the end of a whole number, it may be unclear as to how
many significant figures the number represents. For example, 23 400
might have three (234), four (2340), or five (23 400) significant
figures
Rounding Off Numbers. Rounding off a number is necessary so that
the accuracy of the result will be the same as that of the problem
data. As a general rule, any numerical figure ending in a number
greater than five is rounded up and a number less than five is not
rounded up. The rules for rounding off numbers are best illustrated
by examples. Suppose the number 3.5587 is to be rounded off to
three significant figures. Because the fourth digit (8) is greater than
5, the third number is rounded up to 3.56
Calculations. When a sequence of calculations is performed, it is
best to store the intermediate results in the calculator. In other
words, do not round off calculations until expressing the final result.
This procedure maintains precision throughout the series of steps to
the final solution.
General Procedure for Analysis
•Read the problem carefully and try to correlate the actual physical
situation with the theory studied.
•Tabulate the problem data and draw to a large scale any
necessary diagrams.
•Apply the relevant principles, generally in mathematical form.
When writing any equations, be sure they are dimensionally
homogeneous.
•Solve the necessary equations, and report the answer with no more
than three significant figures.
•Study the answer with technical judgment and common sense
to determine whether or not it seems reasonable.
Sample Problems
Convert 2 km/h to m/s. How many ft/s is this?
Convert the quantities 300 lb.s and 52 slug/ft^3 to appropriate SI
units.
Evaluate each of the following and express with SI units having an appropriate prefix: (a) (50
mN)(6 GN), (b) (400 mm)(0.6 MN)^ 2 , (c) 45 MN^3/900 Gg .