Chapter Two Force System

b) Resultant of Concurrent, Noncoplanar Forces:

The resultant of concurrent, noncoplanar forces is force only, while as we will
be seeing later, the resultant of noncocurrent forces is force or moment or both.
Rectangular component in space (in three dimensions):
Frequently it is convenient to resolve a force in space in
three mutually perpendicular component parallel to three
e
coordinate axes. The resultant force F could first be
resolved into two components along ad and ae by means
of parallelogram law, and the component ad could then Tz orJ b

be further resolved into components along ac and af. Ty or E

a
From the figure it is apparent that Tx or D
c f
x Fx= FcosTx = FcosD …(2-6a)
c
x Fy= FcosT y= FcosE …(2-6b) d
x Fz = FcosTz = FcosJ …(2-6c)
where
F Fx2  Fy2  Fz2 …(2-7)

The angles Tx (or D), Ty, (or E), and Tz (or J), are the angles between the resultant
force F and the positive coordinate axes. The cosine of these angles are called
direction cosine.
The components can be also determined by setting the edges of a box represent
component forces to the same scale as the diagonal representing the resultant
force. The resultant force divided by the length of the diagonal gives a scale
which, when multiplied by the length of an edge, gives the magnitude of the
component along that edge.

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 Chapter Two Force System

angle D

z 1 cosJ
Show that indeed the magnitude of F =
Example 9:

Solution: F2 =150 lb
3
F1 =100 lb

components. To do this calculate the 5

4

of each force, 2.5

5

r 'x 2  'y 2  'z 2

r1 0 2  32  4 2 5

r2 2.5 2  (5) 2  52

0 2.5
FRx ¦F ix
5
(100) 
7.5
(
3 5
FRy ¦F iy
5
(100) 
7.5
(150
4 5
FRz ¦F iz
5
(100) 
7.5
(150

Al-Furat Al-Awsat Tech. Uni / Al-Najaf Tech. College (26) \Mechanic Static\1st Class
 FR =191 lb

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 Chapter Two Force System

FRy  35.4
cos E 0.354 E 111o
FR 100

Example 11: The man shown in Figure (a) pulls on the cord with a force of 70
lb. Represent this force action on the support A

determine its direction.

Solution: Find the Cartesian projections of the r:

'x x 2  x1 12  0 12 ft

'y y 2  y1 08 8 ft

'z z 2  z1 30  6 24 ft

r (12) 2  (8) 2  (24) 2 28 ft

and the Cartesian components equal:

'x 12
Fx F * 70 30 lb
r 28
'y 8
Fy F * 70 20 lb
r 28
'z  24
Fz F * 70 60 lb
r 28
The coordinate direction angles are measured between
F) and the positive axes

with origin placed at A, Figure (b).

§ 12 ·
D cos 1 ¨ ¸ 64.6o
© 28 ¹
§ 8·
E cos 1 ¨ ¸ 107
o

© 28 ¹
§  24 ·
J cos 1 ¨ ¸ 149
o

© 28 ¹

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 Example 12
components.

Solution: As Shown in Figure (b), the coordinate for

points A and B are

A(2 m, 0, 2m)

and

ª §4
B « ¨
¬ ©5

or

'x x

'y y

'z z2

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 Chapter Two Force System

Example 13: Two forces act on the hook shown in Figure (a). Specify the
magnitude of F2 and its coordinate direction angles of F2 that the resultant force
FR acts along the positive y-axis and has a magnitude of

Solution: To solve this problem, the resultant of force

and its two components F1 and F2

necessary that

FR = F1 + F2.

The Cartesian components of F1,

F1x=F1cosD cos45 = 212.1N

F1y=F1cosE cos60 1

F1z=F1cosJ cos120 1

Since FR has a magnitude of 800 N and acts in positive

cosines D and J are equal 90o while E = 0

6Fx = 6 Fz = 0 and6Fy= 800.

So the components of F2,

0 = 212.1 + F2x F2x= -212.1 N

800 = 150 + F2y F2y= 650 N

0 = -150 + F2z F2z= 150 N

The magnitude of F2 is thus,

F2 (212.1) 2  650 2  150 2 = 700 N

and its coordinate direction angles,

 212.1
cos D 2 D 108o
700
650
cos E 2 E 21.8o
700

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 Chapter Two Force System

150
cos J 2 J 77.6 o
700
Example 14: The roof is supported by cables as shown in the photo. If the
cables exert forces FAB= 100 N and FAC= 120 N on the wall hook at A as shown in
Figure (a), determine the resultant force acting at A. Express the result as
Cartesian components.

Solution: Find the Cartesian projections of the r:

For FAB:

'x1 x 2  x1 40 4m

'y 1 y 2  y1 00 0m

'z 1 z 2  z1 04 4 m

rAB 'x 2  'y 2  'z 2 4 2  0 2  (4) 2 5.65 m

For FAC:

'x 2 x 2  x1 40 4m

'y 2 y 2  y1 20 2m

'z 2 z 2  z1 04 4 m

rAC ('x2 ) 2  ('y2 ) 2  ('z2 ) 2 4 2  2 2  (4) 2 6.0 m

The components of resultant force:

'x1 'x 4 4
Fx ¦F ix
rAB
FAB  2 FAC
rAC 5.66
*100  *120 151 N
6
'y1 'y 0 2
Fy ¦F iy
rAB
FAB  2 FAC
rAB 5.66
*100  *120
6
40 N

'z1 'z (4) (4)

Fz ¦F ix
rAB
FAB  2 FAC
rAC 5.66
*100 
6
*120 151 N

And the resultant

F Fx2  Fy2  Fz2 1512  40 2  (151) 2 216 N

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 Chapter Two Force System

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