ENGG1802 2010

Assignment 2
Due by 5:00pm Friday 22 October 2010
(15%)
 You MUST complete these assignment questions independently.
 When you submit your assignment, a statement page with your signature must be
attached to show that “This is my own work which I was independently
completing”.
 Your assignment MUST be in a manila folder or it will not be marked.
 Do not forget writing your student name and SID clearly.
 You must write the tutorial group you belong to on the cover of your assignment.

 You should hand in your assignment to your tutor

OR
 If you are in Stream 1, the assignment is to be put in the assignment box, level 3 of the
Mechanical Eng. Building.
 If you are in Stream 2, the assignment is to be submitted to assignment box, level 2 of
the Civil Eng. Building.

 NOTE: Late submissions will be penalised 10% of full mark for every day or part
thereof that the assignment is late.
This assignment should take an average student no more than 12 hours to complete.

Question 1:
Figure 1(b) demonstrates the schematic drawing of a part of the construction crane shown in
Figure 1(a). The crane is cut by a plane as shown in Figure 1(b). Figure 1(c) shows the free
body diagram of the left portion of the crane. The coordinates (in meters) of the joints A, B
and C are (2.0, 2.0, 0), (0, 0, 1.5), and (0, 0, -1.5), respectively. The axial forces P 1 , P 2 and
P 3 are parallel to the x-axis. The axial forces P 4 , P 5 and P 6 point in the direction of e 4 =
0.625i - 0.625j - 0.469k, e 5 =0.625i - 0.625j + 0.469k and e 6 =0.8i - 0.6k, respectively. The
total force exerted on the left portion of the crane by the weight of the crane and the load it
carries is F= - 50j (kN) acting at the point (-22, 0, 0) m. Determine the axial forces P 1 , P 2 ,
P 3 , P 4 , P 5 and P 6 , and state whether these forces are tension or compression.

(a)
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(b)

(c)
Figure 1
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Question 2:

As part of a magician trick a 50 cent Australian coin attached with two forks are in
equilibrium as they are balanced at the corner of a desk as shown from the top view in
figure 2a. The schematic diagram in figure 2b shows the orientation of the balanced
forks-coin assembly and relevant dimensions.
The dodecahedral (12 sided, 8.25 mm each side) 50 cent coin weighs 15.52 grams and
has a 31.51 mm diameter.

The identical forks are made from stainless steel and each has a total volume of 4.4742
ml and a uniform density of =7561 kg/m3. The front (Y-Z) and top (X-Y) views of the
fork#1 are shown in figure 2c. The orientation of the fork#1 with respect to X-Y
coordinate system in the top view is exactly as shown in figures 2a and 2b. The thickness
of the fork varies and for regions A and B shown in figure 2c respectively are 1.6 and 1.8
mm. The fork shown in Figure 2c is the actual size, and the rulers in figure 2c can be
used to read the dimensions of various parts in cm or mm.

a) Calculate the X-Y coordinates of the centre of mass for the fork#1 as shown in
figure 2c. (Hint: divide the fork into sections and then use the composite method to find
the overall centre of mass. These divisions should be clearly shown in the figure 2C and
returned with your solution. ).
b) Validate your findings showing the combined centre of mass for the two forks and the
coin falls in the contact area between the coin and the desk, roughly within 3 mm of the
desk corner which has the coordinates of C (X=11.1, Y=17.9) cm. Assume the two forks
are level, so that the z coordinate of their mass centre is equal.

Fork #2
Figure 2a

Fork #1

X
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Y Figure 2b
31.9 cm

C
19.6 cm
17.8 cm

17.9 cm

18.7 cm

X
11.1 cm

12.7 cm 1.2
cm
13.7 cm
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Figure 2c
Top View Profile Front View
Y (X-Y) (Y-Z)

X
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Question 3:

A fall arrest safety device (an actual device is shown in the Figure 3a) is usually used
when climbing fixed ladders for protecting the user from accidental falls. The safety
device slips into the rail of the fixed ladder and then is attached via a short cable to a
harness worn by the person using the ladder. The simplified schematic diagram in
Figure3b shows the device which consists of a circular cam, a thick plate and several
roller bearings which are attached to the plate. During an accidental fall, under the
downward force of the person’s weight on the cam, the device locks in the position on the
ladder and limits the distance the person falls. A small upward force on the cam would
allow the device to unlock and slide to a new position on the ladder. All materials are
steel, and the pins at E and D are frictionless roller bearings. The circular cam contacts
the flange of the ladder at C and is hinged to the plate by a pin joint at A.

All dimensions are given in mm, dimension L=80+ (last digit of your SID) mm. All
deformations are negligible.

a) For d=15 mm, determine the minimum static friction coefficient between the cam
and railing so that the device will not slip.
b) Calculate the forces at pins A, E, D and contact C for these values of d and μ
when the device is used by a 130 kg person.

Figure 3a Figure 3b
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Question 4:

The homogeneous bar shown in Figure 4 has length L and mass km (k>0). Ignore the weight
of the rope and the friction between the rope and the pulley, (a) Using the principle of virtual
work, determine the value of α in the range 0 ≤ α ≤ 180° for which the bar is in equilibrium.
(b) Is the equilibrium position found in (a) stable, unstable or neutral?

Figure 4