CHAPTER-TWO

FORCE-SYSTEM
Introduction:
Force is an action of one body on another. In dynamics, force is
defined as an action which tends to cause acceleration of a
body. Force is a vector quantity, because its effect depends on
the direction as well as on the magnitude of the action.

Force may be combined according to the parallelogram law of

vector addition. Consider the action of the cable tension on the
bracket shown in the figure. (a).

The action of the cable tension is represented by the force

vector P as shown in the figure. (b).

The effect of this action on the bracket depends on:

Magnitude of P
The angle
The location of the point of application A.

Note: Changing any one of these three specifications will alter

the effect on the bracket. Thus, the complete specification of
the action of a force must include its magnitude, direction, and
point of application. So it must be treated as a fixed vector.

Based on the action of force on a body the effects can be

separated in to two effects:
 External Effects
 Internal Effects
Forces external to a body can be either applied forces or
reactive forces. The effects of P internal to the bracket are
the resulting internal forces and deformations distributed
throughout the material of the bracket. The relation between
internal forces and internal deformation depends on the material
properties of the body and is studied in strength of materials,
elasticity, and plasticity.
Principle of transmissibility
Consider the force P acting on the rigid plate shown in the
figure below may be applied at A or at B or at any other point
on its line of action, and the net external effects of P on
the bracket will not change.

The external effects are the force exerted on the plate by the
bearing support at O and the force exerted on the plate by the
roller support at C.

Generally, the principle of transmissibility, which states

that a force may be applied at any point on its given line of
action without altering the resultant effects of the force
external to the rigid body on which it acts.
Force Classification
Forces are classified as:
Contact Force: is produced by direct physical contact;
an example is the force exerted on a body by a supporting
surface.
Body forces: is generated by virtue of the position of a
body within a force field such as a gravitational,
electric, or magnetic field. An example of a body force is
your weight.
Forces may be further classified as:
Concentrated force
Distributed force
Concurrent Forces
Two or more forces are said to be concurrent at a point if
their lines of action intersect at that point. Consider the two
forces and shown in figure, have a common point of
application and are concurrent at the point A.
 SECTION A: TWO-DIMENSIONAL FORCE SYSTEMS

Consider the vector F in two dimensional planes. The resultant

force F has two component vectors Fx and Fy are vector
components of F in the x- and y-directions. Each of the two
vector components may be written as a scalar times the
appropriate unit vectors.

Therefore in terms of unit vectors,

The scalar components can be positive or negative, depending on

the quadrant into which F points.
Consider two forces and which are originally concurrent at
a point o.

The line of action of shifted from o to the tip of

according to the triangle rule, In adding the force vectors
and ,

Or

from these expression we can conclude that:

 Where: ∑ = the algebric sum of the X-scalar components
∑ = the algebric sum of the Y-sacalr componets

Example-1: The forces , , and , all of which act on point A

of the bracket, are specified in three different ways. Determine
the x- and y-scalar components of each of the three forces

Example-2: Combine the two forces Pand T, which act on the

fixed structure at B, into a single equivalent force R.

Example-3: The two structural members, one of which is in

tension and the other in compression, exert the indicated forces
on joint o. Determine the magnitude of the resultant R of the
two forces and the angle which R makes with the positive x-
axis.

Example-4: At what angle 8 must the 800-N force be applied in

order that the resultant R of the two forces have a magnitude of
2000 N? For this condition, determine the angle between R and
the vertical.
 MOMENT
In addition to the tendency to move a body in the direction of
its application, a force can also tend to rotate a body about an
axis. The axis may be any line which neither intersects nor is
parallel to the line of action of the force. This rotational
tendency is known as the moment M of the force. Moment is also
referred to as torque.

A two-dimensional body acted on by a force F in its plane. The

magnitude of the moment or tendency of the force to rotate the
body about the axis O-O perpendicular to the plane of the body
is proportional both to the magnitude of the force and to the
moment arm d, which is the perpendicular distance from the
axis to the line of action of the force. Therefore, the
magnitude of the moment is defined as:
The moment is a vector M perpendicular to the plane of the body.
The sense of M depends on the direction in which F tends to
rotate the body.

The right-hand rule is used to identify this sense. The moment

of F about 0-0 as a vector pointing in the direction of the
thumb, with the fingers curled in the direction of the
rotational tendency

The moment M obeys all the rules of vector combination and may
be considered a sliding vector with a line of action coinciding
with the moment axis. The basic units of moment in SI units are
newton-meters (N·m), and in the U.S. customary system are pound-
feet (lb-ft).

Moment directions may be accounted for by using a stated sign

convention, such as a plus sign (+) for counterclockwise moments
and a minus sign (-) for clockwise moments, or vice versa. Sign
consistency within a given problem is essential. For the sign
convention, the moment of F about point A (or about the z-axis
passing through point A) is positive. The curved arrow of the
figure is a convenient way to represent moments in two-
dimensional analysis.
Varignon's Theorem
Varignon's theorem: This states that the moment of a force about
any point, is equal to the sum of the moments of the components
of the force about the same point.

Consider the force R acting in the plane of the body, the forces
P and Q represent any two nonrectangular components of R. The
moment of R about point o is

Using the distributive law for cross products,

This says that the moment of R about O equals the sum of the
moments about O of its components P and Q. This proves the
theorem. Varignon's theorem need not be restricted to the case
of two components, but it applies equally well to three or more.

Example-5: Calculate the magnitude of the moment about the base

point O of the 600-N force in five different ways.

Example-6: The 30-N force P is applied perpendicular to the

portion BC of the bent bar. Determine the moment of P about
point B and about point A.
Example-7: The masthead fitting supports the two forces shown.
Determine the magnitude of T which will cause no bending of the
mast (zero moment) at point o.

SECTION B THREE-DIMENSIONAL FORCE SYSTEMS