Tos 1: Unit 1 Forces: Equilibrium of Concurrent and Non-Concurrent Forces
Tos 1: Unit 1 Forces: Equilibrium of Concurrent and Non-Concurrent Forces
Arthur Cutinho
In the Real world no solid body is PERFECTLY RIGID as everybody changes its size and shape under
the effects of forces but many a times the deformation is negligible enough for the body to be
considered Rigid. Good Knowledge of Materials is essential in the study of Mechanics of Deformable
Bodies.
B. Non Coplanar Force Systems: When forces in a system do not lie in one plane.
B.1. Concurrent force system: Forces in this system intersect at one point.
B.1. Non Concurrent force system: Forces in this system do not intersect at one point.
1.3.7 Composition of Forces: A Resultant force is a single force which can replace two or more
forces and produce the same effect on the body as the forces. Many forces can be composed
into one single Resultant Force and this is known as Composition of forces.
When a single force acts on a body which is free to move, the body moves in the direction of the
force and the distance travelled by the body in unit time is directly proportional to the magnitude of
the force. So when many forces are acting on the body, the body moves in a direction of the
Resultant and the distance travelled is proportional to the magnitude of the Resultant.
1.3.8 Resolution of a Force: As many forces can be composed into one single Resultant, so can a
single Force be replaced by two forces acting in directions which will produce the same effect as
the single force. The breaking of a single force into two forces whose combined effect is the
same as that of the single force is called the Resolution of a Force
A Force can be resolved into
1. Two mutually perpendicular components.
2. Two non-perpendicular components.
When the force is resolved into two mutually perpendicular components, generally the two
components are horizontal and vertical. The Horizontal component is denoted by FH and Vertical
component is denoted by FV.
FH (Horizontal Component) =F Cos θ = F x
and
FV (Vertical Component) =F Sin θ = F x
And other way round, Given FV and FH Composition of Vertical and Horizontal Component:
Problem 1 Resolve the following forces into their vertical and horizontal components.
Note: Please measure the angle with the horizontal (Value between 0 and 90°)
2. 1 Equilibrium of Forces: When a large number of forces acting on a body are such that they
do not cause the body to move then the forces are said to be in Equilibrium.
If an object subjected to a number of concurrent forces is in Equilibrium then it means that there is
nil force acting on it. This also means that the sum of Horizontal Components of all forces and sum of
Vertical components is equal to Zero. Under this condition it will move in neither direction
1. First modify the sketch to show angles of each force with the Horizontal. Show Vertical and
Horizontal Component of each force with the appropriate sign
• A Resultant of a system of Concurrent force system is a single force which can replace all
the forces of the system and produce the same effect. Obviously the Resultant of a system of
concurrent forces passes through the point of concurrence.
• An Equilibrant of a system of concurrent forces is a force which will bring the system into
equilibrium. Obviously it is a Force equal in magnitude but opposite in direction to the Resultant.
Problem 4 Find the resultant and equilibrant of the above system of forces
1. First modify the sketch to show angles of each force with the Horizontal. Show Vertical and
Horizontal Component of each force with the appropriate sign
Problem 5 If the Following system of forces is in equilibrium calculate Force P1 and Force P2
1. First modify the sketch to show angles of each force with the Horizontal. Show Vertical and
Horizontal Component of each force with the appropriate sign
Problem 6 If the Following system of forces is in equilibrium calculate Force P1 and Force P4
1. First modify the sketch to show angles of each force with the Horizontal. Show Vertical and
Horizontal Component of each force with the appropriate sign
3. Polygonal law of forces: : If many forces can be represented by the sides of a polygon in
magnitude and taken in order for direction, then the closing side represents the resultant in
magnitude and opposite in direction.
4. Lami’s Theorem: If three concurrent forces are in equilibrium then each force is proportionate
to the sine of the angle between the other two forces
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= =
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Problem 7 Two forces 40kN and 60kN are acting at an angle 42°. Find the resultant
1. We shall use Parallelogram law of forces P = 40kN Q = 60kN θ = 42°
2. R²= P²+Q²+2PQCOSθ
= 40² + 60² + 2 x 40 x 60 x Cos42 = 1600 +3600 + 3657.1
= 8767.1
R = 93.63kN
3. Tan α = QSinθ/P+QCosθ
Tan α = 60 x Sin 42/40 + (60 x Cos42)
Tan α = 0.47 and α = 25.39° (α = angle between R and P)
Problem 8 A wire ABC supports a load of 60kN from point B. The Point A is fixed to the ceiling and
makes an angle of 45 degrees while the point C is fixed to the wall and makes an angle of
65 degrees with the wall. Find the tension in the strings AB and String BC.
'( (+ -.
= = Hence AB = 57.86kN and BC = 45.14kN
! ))* ! ),* ! )).
(Note from the above sketch only the l.h.s sketch may be given)
Problem 9 Two loads 1200 kN and W are supported by a cable ABCD from points B and C as shown
below. Find W and the tension in the cable AB, BC and CD
At Joint C
/+ (+ )0.
= = Hence DC = 163.90kN and BC = 147kN
! ).* ! )0. ! ),*
At Joint B
'( )21 3
= = Hence AB = 200.83kN and W = 104kN
! 1* ! ),* ! )*.
Parallel Forces: Forces that are non-concurrent, their lines of action are not the same and they are
parallel to each other are called Parallel Forces.
E.G. 1. Children sitting on a See-Saw. Their weights acting in the downward direction are parallel
forces.
E.G. 2. Many People standing on a floor are also examples of Parallel Forces
Couple: Two Forces equal in magnitude, non-collinear and opposite in direction and parallel to each
other form a Couple. The perpendicular distance between the two forces is called Arm of the
Couple.
E.G. 1. The Two Forces applied when opening the cap of a bottle
E.G. 2. Operating a Steering Wheel When driving a Car
3.4 Varignon’s Principle of Moments: The theorem states that for a given system of forces
the Algebraic sum of the Moments of all forces about any point is equal to the Moment of the
Resultant about the same point
OR 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.
R is the resultant of Forces F1, F2, F3 and F4. I have split F4 and R into its component Forces
Note that if we were to take Moments about point A, forces F1, F4H and RH will pass through A
And hence their perpendicular distance from A is Zero
(F1 x 0) + (F2 x a) + (F3 x b) +(F4V x c) + (F4H x 0) = (RV x y) + (RH x 0)
Unit 1 Forces Compiled by Ar. Arthur Cutinho
17
Problem 10 Find the Resultant of the following System of forces in Magnitude, Direction and Point of
application of Resultant from point A
1. Redraw the force diagram showing components, signs, and distances from A
Vertical Component of Force 8kN = 8Sin45 = 5.65kN
Horizontal Component of Force 8kN = 8Cos45 = 5.65kN
Problem 11 Find the Resultant of the following System of forces in Magnitude, Direction and Point of
application of Resultant from point A
1. Redraw the force diagram showing components, signs, and distances from A
Vertical Component of Force 12kN = 8Sin60 = 10.39kN
Horizontal Component of Force 8kN = 8cos45 = 6kN
22.39 x y = 25.78
y = 1.15m
Resultant is a Force of 23.17kN acting at an angle of 74.90⁰ at a distance of 1.15m from A
4. Dead Loads: As explained in 1.2 there are various forces acting upon a building. These are
also better known as loads. We shall get acquainted with two of these loads which act on a
building
4.1 Dead Loads: These loads are due to the weight of the structure, i.e. weight of the walls, floors,
beams, columns, partition walls, doors, windows etc.
4.2 Live Loads: These loads are due to the humans occupying the building and the furniture
associated with this occupancy, e.g. Humans living in a house, wardrobes, sofa-sets, beds etc.
Before we try to quantify the dead loads that is expected from us in this unit let us understand two
more terms
4.3 Point Load: Load acting at one point is called Point Load, e.g. The weight of a Human Being
Let us assume a Human of weight 80kg approximately 800N or 0.8kN. The Live load due to this
human would be in the form of a point load of 0.8kN when the human is standing.
4.4 Uniformly Distributed load (U.D.L): Imagine the same human being of let us say of height 2m
(for simplicity sake) lying down, his weight of 800N is spread over an length on 2m. This is an
U.D.L of 0.4kN/m (0.8kN/2m).
4.5 Calculating Dead Loads: To calculate dead loads we need to know the densities of materials.
Volume x Density = Weight
Material Density in kN/m³
Wood 7 to 12
Water 10
Cement 14.4
Earth 16
Brick 19
Cement Concrete Plain 23
Cement Concrete Reinforced 25
Steel 78.5
Problem 12 Find the total dead load and also load per running meter
Alternative Calculations
Brick work = 0.23m x 2.6m x 19kN/m3 = 11.36kN/m
Conc. w.t = 0.23m x 0.4m x 25kN/m3 = 2.30kN/m
Total Weight per running meter = 13.66kN/m
Total weight = 13.66kN/m x 7m = 95.63kN