ENGG 409: Engineering Mechanics

Module 1: Fundamental Concepts in Mechanics

References:
Beer, F. P., Johnston , E., & Mazurek, D. F. (2016). Vector Mechanics for Engineers: Statics 11th Edition. McGraw-Hill
Education.
Singer, F. L. (n.d.). Engineering Mechanics 2nd Ed. Harper & Row, New York, Evanston & London.
Hibbeler, H. I. (2013). Engineering Mechanics: Statics 13th Edition Pearson Prentice Hall, New Jersey.

Introduction:
It is not an understatement to say that forces affect everything around us. It is therefore
important for engineering students, to understand what a force is, as well as its various effects
especially on structures. This will enable them to effectively deal with forces for the various
applications in the field of engineering.

Intended Learning Outcomes:

Upon completion of this course, the students should be able to:
ILO 1: differentiate the attributes of forces and force derivatives
ILO 2: calculate the various effects and uses of forces

Topic Outcomes:
This module aims that the students will be able to:
• Learn the nature of a force
• Distinguish the action of forces and their effects. and represent them in diagrams

Science of Mechanics
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: mechanics of rigid bodies, mechanics of deformable bodies and fluid
mechanics.
Mechanics of rigid bodies is divided into two areas: statics and dynamics. Statics deals with
bodies that are either at rest or move with a constant velocity; whereas dynamics is concerned
with the accelerated motion of bodies. This course focuses on Statics.
• Mechanics is defined as the science that describes and predicts the conditions of rest or
motion of bodies under the action of forces.
• Mechanics is an applied physical science since it aims to explain and predict physical
phenomena and thus to lay the foundations for engineering applications.

Fundamental Concepts and Principles

The basic concepts used in mechanics are space, time, mass, and force. These concepts
cannot be truly defined; they should be accepted on the basis of our intuition and experience
and used as a mental frame of reference for our study of mechanics.

• The concept of space is associated with the position of a point P. We can define the
position of P by providing three lengths measured from a certain reference point, or
origin, in three given directions. These lengths are known as the coordinates of P.
• To define an event, it is not sufficient to indicate its position in space. We also need to
specify the time of the event.
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• The concept of mass is used to characterize and compare bodies on the basis of certain
fundamental mechanical experiments. Two bodies of the same mass, for example, are
attracted by the earth in the same manner; they also offer the same resistance to a change
in translational motion.
• A force represents the action of one body on another. A force can be exerted by actual
contact, like a push or a pull, or at a distance, as in the case of gravitational or magnetic
forces. A force is characterized by its point of application, its magnitude and its
direction; a force is represented by a vector.
In Newtonian mechanics, space, time and mass are absolute concepts that are independent
of each other. On the other hand, the concept of force is not independent of the other three. The
resultant force acting on a body is related to the mass of the body and to the manner in which
its velocity varies with time.

Models or idealizations are used in mechanics in order to simplify application of the theory.
Three important idealizations in Mechanics are used in this course:
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; we can assume that it occupies a single point in
space.
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.

The study of elementary mechanics rests on six fundamental principles, based on

experimental evidence:
• The Parallelogram Law for the Addition of Forces. Two forces acting on a particle
may be replaced by a single force, called their resultant, obtained by drawing the
diagonal of the parallelogram with sides equal to the given forces.
• The Principle of Transmissibility. The conditions of equilibrium or of motion of a
rigid body remain unchanged if a force acting at a given point of the rigid body is
replaced by a force of the same magnitude and same direction, but acting at a different
point, provided that the two forces have the same line of action.
• Newton’s Three Laws of Motion. Formulated by Sir Isaac Newton in the late
seventeenth century, these laws can be stated as follows:

First law. If the resultant force acting on a particle is zero, the particle remains at rest
(if originally at rest) or moves with constant speed in a straight line (if originally in
motion).
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Second law. If the resultant force acting on a particle is not zero, the particle has
acceleration proportional to the magnitude of the resultant and in the direction of this
resultant force. This law can be stated as
F = ma
Where F, m, and a represent, respectively, the resultant force acting on the particle, the
mass of the particle, and the acceleration of the particle expressed in a consistent system
of units.

Third law. The forces of action and reaction between bodies on contact have the same
magnitude, same line of action, and opposite sense.

• Newton’s Law of Gravitation. Two particles of mass M and

m are mutually attracted with equal and opposite forces F and
–F of magnitude F, given by the formula
F = GMm / r2
Where r = the distance between the two particles and G = a
universal constant called the constant of gravitation.

Newton’s law of gravitation introduces the idea of an action exerted at a distance and
extends the range of application of Newton’s third law: the action F and the reaction –F in the
figure is equal and opposite, they have the same line of action.

Newton’s first and third laws, the parallelogram law of addition, and the principle of
transmissibility will provide us with the necessary and sufficient foundation for the entire study
of the statics of particles, rigid bodies, and systems of rigid bodies.

For more than two centuries, engineers have solved a tremendous number of problems
dealing with the conditions of rest and motion of rigid bodies, deformable bodies, and fluids
by applying these fundamental principles.

Systems of Units
• Associated with the four fundamental concepts discussed above are the so-called kinetic
units, i.e., the units of length, time, mass, and force.
• Basic Units: units of length, time and mass (may be defined arbitrarily)
• Derived Unit: unit of force.

International System of Units (SI Units)

• The base units are the units of length, mass, and time and they are called, respectively,
the meter (m), the kilogram (kg), and the second (s).
• The second was originally chosen to represent 1/86 400 of the mean solar day, but it is
now defined as the duration of 9 192 631 770 cycles of the radiation corresponding to
the transition between two levels of the fundamental state of the cesium-133 atom.
• The meter, originally defined as one ten-millionth of the distance from the equator to
either pole, is now defined as 1 650 763.73 wavelengths of the orange-red light
corresponding to a certain transition in an atom of krypton-86.
• The kilogram which is approximately equal to the mass of 0.001 m3 of water, is defined
as the mass of a platinum-iridium standard kept at the International Bureau of Weights
and Measures at Sevres, near Paris, France.
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• The unit of force is a derived unit. It is called the newton (N) and is defined as the force
that gives acceleration of 1 m/s2 to a body of mass 1 kg.
• The SI units are said to form an absolute system of units. This means that the three base
units chosen are independent of the location where measurements are made. The meter,
the kilogram, and the second may be used anywhere on the earth; they may even be
used on another planet and still have the same significance.

SI Prefixes

Multiplication Factor Prefix Symbol Multiplication Factor Prefix Symbol

1012 Tera T 10-2 centi c
109 Giga G 10-3 milli m
106 Mega M 10-6 micro µ
103 Kilo k 10-9 nano n
102 hecto h 10-12 pico p
101 deka da 10-15 femto f
10-1 deci d 10-18 atto a

Principal SI Units Used in Mechanics

Quantity Unit Symbol Formula

Acceleration Meter per second squared … m/s 2

Angle Radian rad (1 revolution = 2 rad = 360°)

Angular acceleration Radian per second squared … rad/s 2

Angular velocity Radian per second … rad/s

Area Square meter … m 2

Density Kilogram per cubic meter … kg/m 3

Energy Joule J N.m

Force Newton N kg.m/s 2

Frequency Hertz Hz s-1

Impulse Newton-second … kg.m/s

Length Meter m Base unit
Mass Kilogram kg Base unit
Moment of a force Newton-meter … N.m
Power Watt W J/s
Pressure Pascal Pa N/m 2

Stress Pascal Pa N/m 2

Time Second s Base unit

Velocity Meter per second … m/s
Volume
Solids Cubic meter … m3
Liquids Liter L 10-3 m3
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Work Joule J N.m

U.S. Customary Units and Their SI Equivalents

Quantity U.S. Customary Unit SI Equivalent
ft/s 2
0.3048 m/s 2

Acceleration
in./s 2
0.0254 m/s 2

ft 2
0.0929 m 2

Area
in 2
645.2 mm 2

Energy ft.lb 1.356 J

kip 4.448 kN
Force lb 4.448 N
oz 0.2780 N
Impulse lb.s 4.448 N.s
ft 0.3048 m
Length in. 25.40 mm
mi 1.609 km
oz mass 28.35 g
lb mass 0.4536 kg
Mass
slug 14.59 kg
ton 907.2 kg
lb.ft 1.356 N.m
Moment of a Force
lb.in 0.1130 N.m
Quantity U.S. Customary Unit SI Equivalent
Moment of Inertia
Of an area in 4
0.4162 x 10 mm
6 4

Of a mass lb.ft.s 2
1.356 kg.m 2

Momentum lb.s 4.448 kg.m/s

ft.lb/s 1.356 W
Power
hp 745.7 W
lb/ft 2
47.88 Pa
Pressure or stress
lb/in (psi)
2
6.895 kPa
ft/s 0.3048 m/s
in./s 0.0254 m/s
Velocity
mi/h (mph) 0.4470 m/s
mi/h (mph) 1.609 km/h
ft 3
0.02832 m 3

Volume
in 3
16.39 cm 3
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gal 3.785 L
Liquids
qt 0.9464 L
Work ft.lb 1.356 J

Vector vs Scalar Quantities

• Scalars: physical quantities that have magnitude but not direction such as volume,
mass, or energy, are represented by plain numbers to distinguish from vectors.
• Vectors: mathematical expressions possessing magnitude and direction, which add
according to the parallelogram law.
• Vectors are represented by arrows in diagram. The magnitude of a vector defines the
length of the arrow used to represent it.
• A vector used to represent force acting on a given particle has well-defined point of
application – namely, the particle itself.
• Fixed or bound vector: cannot be moved without modifying the conditions of the
problem.
• Free vector: may be freely moved in space (e.g. couples).
• Sliding vector: can be moved along their lines of action.
• Two vectors that have the same magnitude and the same direction are said to be equal,
whether or not they also have the same point of application; equal vectors may be
denoted by the same letter.
• The negative vector of a given vector P is defined as a vector having the same
magnitude as P and a direction opposite to that of P. The negative of the vector P is
denoted by –P. The vectors P and –P are commonly referred to as equal and opposite
vectors. Clearly, we have P + (-P) = 0.

Addition of Vectors
• The sum of the two vectors P and Q is obtained by attaching the two vectors to the same
point A and constructing a parallelogram, using P and Q as two adjacent sides.
• The diagonal that passes through A represents the sum of the vectors P and Q, denoted
by P + Q.
• Note that the magnitude of the vector P + Q is NOT, in general, equal to the sum P +
Q of the magnitudes of the vectors P and Q.
• Since the parallelogram constructed on the vectors P and Q does not depend upon the
order in which P and Q are selected, we conclude that the addition of two vectors is
commutative, and we write P + Q = Q + P
• Triangle Rule: an alternative method for determining the sum of two vectors, derived
from the parallelogram law. The sum of the two vectors thus can be found by arranging
P and Q in tip-to-tail fashion and then connecting the tail of P with the tip of Q.
• Subtraction of a vector is defined as the addition of the
corresponding negative vector. Thus, we determine the
vector P – Q, representing the difference between the
vectors P and Q, by adding to P the negative vector –Q.
We write P – Q = P + (-Q).
• The sum of three vectors (or more vectors) P, Q, and S is
obtained by first adding the vectors P and Q and then
adding the vector S to the vector P + Q. We write P + Q + S = (P + Q) + S
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• If the given vectors are coplanar, i.e., if they are contained in the same plane, their sum
can be obtained graphically. For this case repeated application of the triangle rule is
simpler than applying parallelogram law.
• The repeated applications of triangle rule could be
eliminated and obtain the sum of the three vectors
directly.
• The result would be unchanged if the vectors Q and S is
replaced by their sum Q + S. We may thus write P + Q +
S = (P + Q) + S = P + (Q + S) which expresses the fact
that vector addition is associative.
• In the case of two vectors, the addition of vectors has
been shown to be commutative. So, for the three vectors, we can write P + Q + S = (P
+ Q) + S = S + (P + Q) = S + (Q + P) = S + Q + P. This expression shows that the order
in which several vectors are added together is immaterial.

Force on a Particle

• A force represents the action of one body on another. It is characterized by its point of
application, its magnitude, and its direction.
• Forces acting on a given particle have the same point of application.
• The magnitude of a force is characterized by a certain number of units.
• The direction of a force is defined by its line of action and the sense of the force. The
line of action is the infinite straight line along which the force acts; it is characterized
by the angle it forms with some fixed axis.

• The force itself is represented by a segment of that line; through the use of an
appropriate scale, the length of this segment may be chosen to represent the magnitude
of the force.
• The sense of the force should be indicated by an arrowhead.
• It is important in defining a force to indicate its sense. Two forces having the same
magnitude and the same line of action but different sense, such as the forces shown
above, will have directly opposite effects on a particle.

Awareness for Learning

Owning your definition of the concept being discussed is important for your retention of
knowledge, or learning. For this purpose, simplicity and conciseness matters. This is greatly
facilitated by extracting the keywords that describe or define the concept and matching these
keywords as the definition of the concept. Is it correct to define a force as a push or a pull?
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A very effective way to remember what is being learned is to arrange the concepts in a coherent
form such as a tabulation. Sort out what you learned about a force by filling up the table below:

Concept Definition Diagram(s) Properties/ Effects Formula

Force

Free-Body Diagram
• In practice, a problem in engineering mechanics is derived from an actual physical
situation. A sketch showing the physical conditions of the problem is known as a space
diagram.
• Large number of problems involving actual structures can be reduced to problems
concerning the equilibrium of a particle. The method is to choose a significant particle
and draw a separate diagram showing this particle and all the forces acting on it. Such
a diagram is called a free-body diagram. (The name derives from the fact that when
drawing the chosen body, or particle, it is “free” from all other bodies in the actual
situation.)

Real life application

Draw the free
body diagram of the
boy riding a swing
and trying to ride a
jeep as shown.

Exercises:

Illustrate the forces present in the following members/bodies by drawing their free body
diagrams following their lines of actions. Think also of at least 12 common everyday situations
that involve one or more forces. Illustrate them and then represent the forces in them by
superimposing the free body diagrams over the illustrations.
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