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Engineering Mechanics

Statics
Branch of Engineering Mechanics, which deals with the forces & their effects, while the
bodies are at rest.
Dynamics
Branch of Engineering Mechanics, which deals with the forces & their effects, while the
bodies are in motion.
Kinetics
Branch of Dynamics, which deals with the bodies in motion due to the application of forces.
Kinematics
Branch of Dynamics, which deals with the bodies is motion without considering the forces
causing the motion.
Scalars & Vectors
Scalars: Quantities which have only magnitude like length, mass, distance, speed etc.
Vectors: Quantities which have both magnitude & direction like force, displacement,
velocity acceleration etc.
Addition of vectors:

AB & BC vectors
Addition of AB & BC vectors

Subtraction of vectors

Subtraction of AB & BC vectors

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Force
A force is a push or pull upon an object resulting from the objects interaction with another
object.

Contact forces
Those types of forces that result when the two interacting objects are perceived to be
physically contacting each other
Example; Frictional forces, tension forces, normal forces, air resistance forces and applied
forces.

Non contact forces

Those types of forces which do not involve physical contact between the two objects but
act through the space between the two.
Example; Gravitational force, Electric force, magnetic force, Nuclear force.

Gravitational Force
Newton’s law of gravitation

F α m1m2
F α 1/r2
m1m2
F
r2
G m1m2
or F =
r2
Where G : Gravitational constant
6.67 × 10–11 N m2/kg2

If one body is earth

Gm1 me
m1g =
Re2
Gme
g= 2
= 9.81 m / s2
Re
Re = 6378 km = 6.378 × 106 m

Variation of ‘g’ with height and depth

GMe
g at surface of earth; g =
R2
g at height ‘h’ above the earth’s surface
GMe
gh =
(R + h)2
gh 2h
=1−
g R
GM
g = 2e
R

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Mass = volume × density

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Mass =  R 3  
3
G 4 3 4
g = 2 .  R  =  GR 
R 3 3
At depth ‘d’ below earth’s surface
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gd =  G(R − d) 
3
gd R − d  d 
= = 1 − 
g R  R
At centre of earth, d = R
Gcentre = o

Relation between gh & gd

 2h   d
gh = g  1 −  gd = g  1 − 
 R   R
When gn = gd, d = 2h

NOTE:
g at ‘h’ from the surface is same as the g at the depth ‘d = 2h’ below the surface of earth.

Variation of g with latitudes

g at poles is higher than g at equator due to equatorial bulge and the effects of surface
centrifugal force.

Electric force
Coulomb’s law
q1q2
FE = k
r2
Where q1, q2 are charges
r is distance between q1 & q2
9 N / m2
k is coulomb’s law constant = 9  10
C2
like charges repeat each other

unlike charges attract each other

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Nuclear force
Strong force that binds neutrons & protons within the nucleus of an atom.

System of forces

Coplanar forces
Forces whose lines of action lies on the same plane
Non-coplanar forces
Forces whose lines of action do not lie on the same plane.
Collinear forces
Forces whose lines of action lie on the same line.

Concurrent forces
Forces, whose lines of action meet at one point They may or may not be collinear &
coplanar

Parallel forces
Forces, whose lines of action are parallel to each other. They may or may not be coplanar.
Non-concurrent & Non-parallel forces
Forces, whose lines of action do not meet or tend to meet at same point. They are also
not parallel to each other.
They may or may not be coplanar.
Resolution of forces
The splitting up the given force into number of components, without changing its effect on
the body is called resolution of a force.

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Σ H = F1 cos θ1 + F2 cos θ2
Σ V = F1 sin θ1 + F2 sin θ2

Resultant force = (  H )2 + (  V )2
V
tan  =
H

LAWS OF RESULTANT FORCE

1. Triangle law of forces
If two forces acting simultaneously on a particle, be represented in magnitude and
direction by the two sides of a triangle, taken in order; their resultant may be represented
in magnitude and direction by the third side of the triangle, taken in opposite order.

R is the resultant of A & B

2. Parallelogram law of forces
If two forces, acting simultaneously on a particle, are represented in magnitude & direction
by the two adjacent sides of a parallelogram; their resultant may be represented in
magnitude & direction by the diagonal of the parallelogram, passing through their point of
intersection.

Resultant R is given by R = P12 + P22 + 2P1P2 cos 

The angle (α) which the resultant makes with
P1 sin 
P2 = tan  =
P2 + P1 cos 
Special cases:
(i) When θ = 0°, R = P1 + P2
(ii) When θ = 90°, R = P12 + P22
(iii) When θ = 180°, R = P1 – P2
 
(iv) When P1 = P2, R = 2 P cos  
2
3. Polygon law of forces
If number of forces acting simultaneously on a particle, be represented in magnitude &
direction, by the sides of the polygon taken in order, then the resultant of all these forces
is represented, in magnitude & direction by the closing side of the polygon, taken in
opposite order.

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R is the resultant of vectors.

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