Chapter 4- Force System Resultants


We know that  F  0 is a requirement for equilibrium. However, we have seen that it is not
the only requirement. If two forces that are equal in magnitude but opposite in direction do not
share the same line of action, then the object rotates.

F
We need to quantify the affect of the force on the amount of rotation it tends to create. We call
this tendency a Moment.

There are two main types of moments:

1. Bending moments – causes normal stresses (curving of the object)
2. Torque moments – cause shear stresses (warping of the object)

In order to quantify a moment we must first introduce a new mathematical operator.

  
Cross Product, P  Q  R

R P
θ

Q
 
 P  Q  the area of the parallelogram
   
P  Q  P Q sin 
  
 R is perpendicular to both P and Q .

 The direction of R follows the right-hand rule.

Let’s see if we can get the cross product in terms of our i, j, and k notation.
       
P  Q  ( Px i  Py j  Pz k )  (Qx i  Q y j  Qz k )
             
P  Q  Px Qx (i  i )  Px Q y (i  j )  Px Qz (i  k )  Py Qx ( j  i )  Py Q y ( j  j )  Py Qz ( j  k ) 
     
 Pz Qx (k  i )  Pz Q y (k  j )  Pz Qz (k  k )

   
What does the term (i  i ) or (i  j ) mean?

y y

j
x x
i i

z z
 
Notice for (i  i ) that is no area formed by the two vectors. Thus, the magnitude of the cross
   
product is zero (i  i  0) . For (i  j ) , the two vectors create a square with an area of 1. The
resulting vector must be perpendicular to both and from right hand rule must be in the positive z
  
direction. Thus, i  j  k .

We can use this same reasoning for all of them to get.

     
P  Q  Px Qx (0)  Px Q y (k )  Px Qz ( j )  Py Qx (k )  Py Q y (0)  Py Qz (i ) 
 
 Pz Qx ( j )  Pz Q y (i )  Pz Qz (0)

    
P  Q  ( Py Qz  Pz Q y )i  ( Pz Qx  Px Qz ) j  ( Px Q y  Py Qx )k

An easier way to remember this is to use determinates

iˆ ˆj kˆ
  
R  P  Q  Px Py Pz
Qx Qy Qz
Moment of a force about a point
Moment - measure of the tendency of the force to make a rigid body rotate about a point or fixed
axis.

y
y’
F
MA x
r
x’
A
z
z’
     
M  M xi  M y j  M z k  r  F
Mx is the moment created by the force about an axis parallel to x going through the point A
My is the moment created by the force about an axis parallel to y going through the point A
Mz is the moment created by the force about an axis parallel to z going through the point A

Notice that if we are just looking at the moment about a particular axis, then many different
position vectors can give that same piece of information. This is because the axis x’ is common
to all of them.

y
F
x
rA rC
rB
x’
z A B C
r  F     
    
A along x
 rB  F along x
 rC  F along x

What is significance of this value about the x’ axis? What is it physically?

y
F
x
d
x’
z
The moment about any axis is the force multiplied by the shortest distance between the line of
action and the axis (moment arm).

In three dimensions, this can often be difficult to visualize and it is better to just use the cross
product. However, in two dimensions it is easier to use the concept of a moment arm to calculate
the moment about the z axis.

2D Moment Calculation using Moment arms

y
F
θ
rA x
MA
A
In two dimensional problems, the force is in the x-y plane and the moment is about an axis in the
z direction going through point A. Notice that a positive moment in 2D is counter clockwise.

Recall from before that the magnitude of the moment would be

   
M  rA  F  rA F sin   rA F sin 

y
F
θ
rA x
MA θ
A
d
Notice that the moment arm, d, (shortest distance between force line of action and point A) is
equal to

d  rA sin 

Thus,
M  Fd

Care must be used when determining the sign of the moment. Thus, it is better to think of the
moment as being
M   Fd

If the force tends to create a counter clockwise rotation, then the moment is positive. If it tends
to create a clockwise rotation, then the moment is negative.
Example 1 (using moment arms)
B
2m 500 N

50°
A
1. Find the moment about point A
2. If the 500 N was replaced with a horizontal force at B, then what is its magnitude such
that it gives the same moment about A
3. What is the minimum force that can replace the 500 N at B and still have the same
moment about A
Example 2 (using vectors)

A force of <25, 10, 0> lb is applied at point B, (4, 2, 0) ft. What is the moment about point A,
(1, 3, 0) ft?

y A F
B
r

x
Varignon’s Theorem
Interestingly, when finding the moment due to multiple forces we can either 1) find the moment
due to each force first and then add the moments together OR 2) add the forces first and then
find the moment of the resultant force. Either way we get the same answer. This is true any time
that forces act through the same point on an object.
y F1
F3
F2
r
x
               
M  M1  M 2  M 3  r  F1  r  F2  r  F3  r  ( F1  F2  F3 )  r  R

Example 3 (Varignon’s theorem)

y 5N

10 N
r = (5,3) m
x
Find: Moment about origin from trigonometry and from vector math.
Example 4 (Varignon’s Theorem)

y F1
F2
A
r
x
z
F1 = <10, 3, 1> N
F2 = <-7, 7, -1> N
A = (4, 3, 0) m

What is the moment about the origin (Mx, My, and Mz)?
Moment of a force about a specific axis
Sometimes we need to know the moment of a force about an axis different than x, y, or z. How
can we use what we have learned to find it?

y
y’
F
MA x
r
A x’
u
z
z’
B
Recall that
     
M  M xi  M y j  M z k  r  F

I want to know how much of vector M lies along that axis running through A and B. Thus, I can
use the dot product.
    
M u  M  u  (r  F )  u

This is known as the scalar triple product.

This moment measures the tendency of the force to create rotation about axis AB.
Moment of a couple
-F

Couple – 2 forces that are equal in magnitude but opposite in direction and have parallel lines of
action.

 F  0 , so it will not translate. However, since the lines of action are not the same the object
will rotate.

Let’s see if we can determine the moment due to this couple.

B
dB
-F
dA
A
d
F

Let’s determine the moment about point A and B.

  
M A  M A,1  M A, 2   Fd A  F (d  d A )  Fd
  
M B  M B,1  M B, 2   Fd B  F (d  d B )  Fd

Notice that the moment about A is the same as the moment about B. In fact, the moment about
every point is the same for a couple M = Fd, where d is the shortest distance between the two
lines of action.
Equivalent Force Couple Systems
 
We have learned that the  F is related to the translation of the object and that the  M is

related to the rotation. In fact, we will learn in dynamics that the  F  macenter of mass and that

the  M center  I center center . So we realize that we will often take a situation with forces applied
throughout the object and we want to replace it with an equivalent system that has forces and
moments at one location.

F2 F3
F
M
F1

It should be noted that these system are equivalent for rigid body motion and equilibrium.
However, they will undergo different internal forces and deformations.
Example 5 (Equivalent Systems)

200 lb F M

A B = A B

6 ft 4 ft 6 ft 4 ft
Find: M and F such that the two systems are equivalent.
Example 6 (Equivalent Systems)

100 lb 200 lb-ft F2 F1

A B = A B

5 ft 5 ft 5 ft 5 ft
Find: F1 and F2 such that the two systems are equivalent.
Example 7 (Equivalent Systems)

50 N
3m M F
5m A A
4m
25 N 40 N

Find: M, Fx, and Fy such that the two systems are equivalent.
Distributed Loads
Forces can be applied over an area or a length in addition to being concentrated at one spot.

Concentrated Loads Distributed Load

The distributed load, w, can be spread out over a length or over an area. The units are then given
as a force per unit length or force per unit area. From the units, we can tell which type of
distribution is being described.
w [lb/in2]

w [lb/ft]

The load does not have to be uniform across the entire length or area, but can be a function of
position, w(x).

x w(x) [lb/in]

When dealing with distributed loads, the best way to start is to determine the force acting on a
small element with length, dx.
x w(x) [lb/in] w(x)

dx
dx

Over the small element, dx, the distributed load is almost uniform and the resultant force acting
on the element is
Felement  w( x) dx

If I want to know the force acting on the object due to the entire distributed load, then I just add
up all the forces along the length.
Fentireload   Felement   w( x) dx
If I want to know the moment created by the distributed load about a certain point, then I first
find the moment due to the force acting on the small element, dx.
x w(x) [lb/in] w(x)

dx
L dx

Remember that a moment is determined by multiplying the force and its moment arm and then
deciding if it will rotate clockwise or counterclockwise about that point. Additionally, the
variable x describes the distance from a spot on the beam to the left hand side. Thus, if we were
taking the moment about the left hand side of the beam (x = 0), then the moment arm would be x.
If we wanted the moment about the right side of the beam (x = L), then the moment arm would
be L–x. Thus, the force on the element creates a moment about the left hand side equal to
M aboutx 0, dueto forceonelement  w( x) dx x

The negative is for being a clockwise moment. The magnitude of the force is w(x) dx. The
moment arm was x.

If we want the moment due to the entire load, then we just add up the moments due to each force
along the beam.
M aboutx 0,total   M aboutx 0, dueto forceonelement   w( x) x dx
Example 8 (Distributed load)
32
x 8 w(x) = 48 - 4x
[lb/in]

4 in 6 in 2 in
Find:
 The resultant force acting on the beam due to the distributed load.
 The moment of the distributed load about x = 0 in.
 The moment of the distributed load about x = 2 in.
Example 9 (Distributed load / Equivalent Systems)
x w(x) = 8 [lb/in] F
d

4 in 6 in 2 in = 4 in 6 in 2 in
Find: F and d such that the two are equivalent.
Example 10 (Distributed load / Equivalent Systems)
w(x) = 4x [lb/in]
x 36 F
d

9 in =
Find: F and d such that the two are equivalent.
9 in
Example 11 (Distributed load / Equivalent Systems)
Retry example 8 using an equivalent system
32
x 8 w(x) = 48 - 4x
[lb/in]

4 in 6 in 2 in
Find:
 The resultant force acting on the beam due to the distributed load.
 The moment of the distributed load about x = 0 in.
 The moment of the distributed load about x = 2 in.