Eleventh Edition

CHAPTER VECTOR MECHANICS FOR ENGINEERS:

11 DYNAMICS
Ferdinand P. Beer
E. Russell Johnston, Jr.
Phillip J. Cornwell Kinematics of Particles
Brian P. Self
(Relative Motion,
Motion of Several
Particles)

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Vector Mechanics for Engineers: Dynamics
Learning Outcomes
This topic is designed to assess student ability’s on:

• Able to determine the rectilinear motion of a particle. (CO1-PO1)

• Able to determine the motion of more than one particle at the same time. (CO1-
PO1)

• Able to relate positions, velocities, and accelerations of particles undergoing

dependent motion. (CO1-PO1)

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Eleventh
Vector Mechanics for Engineers: Dynamics
Contents
Uniform Rectilinear-Motion
Uniformly Accelerated Rectilinear-Motion
Motion of Several Particles: Relative Motion
Sample Problem 11.4
Motion of Several Particles: Dependent Motion
Sample Problem 11.5
Group Problem Solving

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Vector Mechanics for Engineers: Dynamics
APPLICATIONS

A sports car travels along a straight road.

Can we treat the car as a particle?
If the car accelerates at a constant rate, how can we
determine its position and velocity at some instant?

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Vector Mechanics for Engineers: Dynamics
Uniform Rectilinear Motion
During free-fall, a parachutist
For a particle in uniform
reaches terminal velocity when
rectilinear motion, the
her weight equals the drag
acceleration is zero and
force. If motion is in a straight
the velocity is constant.
line, this is uniform rectilinear
motion. dx
 v  constant
dt
x t
 dx  v  dt
x0 0
x  x0  vt
x  x0  vt

Careful – these only apply to

uniform rectilinear motion!
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Vector Mechanics for Engineers: Dynamics
Uniformly Accelerated Rectilinear Motion

If forces applied to a body

are constant (and in a
constant direction), then
you have uniformly
accelerated rectilinear
motion.

Another example is free-

fall when drag is negligible

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Vector Mechanics for Engineers: Dynamics
Uniformly Accelerated Rectilinear Motion
For a particle in uniformly accelerated rectilinear motion, the
acceleration of the particle is constant. You may recognize these
constant acceleration equations from your physics courses.
v t
dv
dt
 a  constant  dv  a  dt
v0 0
v  v0  at

x t
dx
dt
 v0  at  dx    v0  at  dt
x0 0
x  x0  v0t  12 at 2

v x
dv
v  a  constant  v dv  a  dx v 2  v02  2a  x  x0 
dx v0 x0

Careful – these only apply to uniformly

accelerated rectilinear motion!
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Vector Mechanics for Engineers: Dynamics
Motion of Several Particles
We may be interested in the motion of several different particles,
whose motion may be independent or linked together.

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Vector Mechanics for Engineers: Dynamics
Motion of Several Particles: Relative Motion
• For particles moving along the same line, time
should be recorded from the same starting
instant and displacements should be measured
from the same origin in the same direction.

xB  x B  x A  relative position of B
A
with respect to A
xB  x A  xB A

vB  v B  v A  relative velocity of B
A
with respect to A
vB  v A  vB A

aB  a B  a A  relative acceleration of B
A
with respect to A
aB  a A  aB A
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Vector Mechanics for Engineers: Dynamics
Sample Problem 11.4
Ball thrown vertically from 12 m level
in elevator shaft with initial velocity of
18 m/s. At same instant, open-platform
elevator passes 5 m level moving
upward at 2 m/s.
Determine (a) when and where ball hits
elevator and (b) relative velocity of ball
and elevator at contact.
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SOLUTION:
• Substitute initial position and velocity
and constant acceleration of ball into
general equations for uniformly
accelerated rectilinear motion.
• Substitute initial position and constant
velocity of elevator into equation for
uniform rectilinear motion.
• Write equation for relative position of
ball with respect to elevator and solve
for zero relative position, i.e., impact.
• Substitute impact time into equation
for position of elevator and relative
velocity of ball with respect to
elevator.
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Vector Mechanics for Engineers: Dynamics
Sample Problem 11.4
SOLUTION:
• Substitute initial position and velocity and constant
acceleration of ball into general equations for
uniformly accelerated rectilinear motion.
m  m
v B  v0  at  18   9.81 2 t
s  s 
 m  m
y B  y0  v0t  12 at 2  12 m  18 t   4.905 2 t 2
 s  s 

• Substitute initial position and constant velocity of

elevator into equation for uniform rectilinear motion.
m
vE  2
s
 m
y E  y0  v E t  5 m   2 t
 s

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Vector Mechanics for Engineers: Dynamics
Sample Problem 11.4
• Write equation for relative position of ball with respect to
elevator and solve for zero relative position, i.e., impact.

yB E  
 12  18t  4.905t 2  5  2t   0
t  0.39 s meaningles s 
t  3.65 s

• Substitute impact time into equations for position of elevator

and relative velocity of ball with respect to elevator.
y E  5  23.65
y E  12.3 m

vB E  18  9.81t   2
 16  9.813.65
m
vB E  19.81
s
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Vector Mechanics for Engineers: Dynamics
Motion of Several Particles: Dependent Motion
• Position of a particle may depend on position of one
or more other particles.
• Position of block B depends on position of block A.
Since rope is of constant length, it follows that sum of
lengths of segments must be constant.
x A  2 x B  constant (one degree of freedom)
• Positions of three blocks are dependent.
2 x A  2 x B  xC  constant (two degrees of freedom)

• For linearly related positions, similar relations hold

between velocities and accelerations.
dx A dx dx
2  2 B  C  0 or 2v A  2v B  vC  0
dt dt dt
dv dv dv
2 A  2 B  C  0 or 2a A  2a B  aC  0
dt dt dt
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Vector Mechanics for Engineers: Dynamics
DEPENDENT MOTION EXAMPLE

Consider a more complicated

example. Position coordinates (sA
and sB) are defined from fixed
datum lines, measured along the
direction of motion of each block.

Note that sB is only defined to the

center of the pulley above block
B, since this block moves with the
pulley. Also, h is a constant.

The red-colored segments of the cord remain constant in length

during motion of the blocks.

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Vector Mechanics for Engineers: Dynamics
DEPENDENT MOTION EXAMPLE (continued)
The position coordinates are related by
the equation
2sB + h + sA = lT
Where lT is the total cord length minus
the lengths of the red segments.

Since lT and h remain constant

during the motion, the velocities and
accelerations can be related by two
successive time derivatives:
2vB = -vA and 2aB = -aA

When block B moves downward (+sB), block A moves to the left

(-sA). Remember to be consistent with your sign convention!

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Vector Mechanics for Engineers: Dynamics
DEPENDENT MOTION EXAMPLE (continued)
This example can also be worked
by defining the position coordinate
for B (sB) from the bottom pulley
instead of the top pulley.

The position, velocity, and

acceleration relations then become
2(h – sB) + h + sA = lT
and 2vB = vA 2aB = aA

Prove to yourself that the results are the same, even if the sign
conventions are different than the previous formulation.

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Vector Mechanics for Engineers: Dynamics
DEPENDENT MOTION: PROCEDURES
These procedures can be used to relate the dependent motion of
particles moving along rectilinear paths (only the magnitudes of
velocity and acceleration change, not their line of direction).
1. Define position coordinates from fixed datum lines,
along the path of each particle. Different datum lines can
be used for each particle.
2. Relate the position coordinates to the cord length.
Segments of cord that do not change in length during the
motion may be left out.
3. If a system contains more than one cord, relate the
position of a point on one cord to a point on another
cord. Separate equations are written for each cord.
4. Differentiate the position coordinate equation(s) to relate
velocities and accelerations. Keep track of signs!
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Vector Mechanics for Engineers: Dynamics
EXAMPLE 1

Given: In the figure on the left, the cord

at A is pulled down with a speed
of 3 m/s.
Find: The speed of block D.

Plan: There is only one cord involved in

the motion, so only one
position/length equation is required.
Define position coordinates for block
D and cable lengths that change,
write the position relation and then
differentiate it to find the relationship
between the two velocities.

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Vector Mechanics for Engineers: Dynamics
EXAMPLE 1 (continued)
Solution:
1) A datum line can be drawn through the upper, fixed pulleys.
Two coordinates must be defined: one for block D (sD) and
one for the changing cable length (sA).
Datum • sA can be defined to the point A.
• sD can be defined to the center of the
sA pulley above D.
sD
• All coordinates are defined as positive
down and along the direction of
motion of each point/object.

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Vector Mechanics for Engineers: Dynamics
EXAMPLE 1 (continued)

Datum 2) Write position/length equations for

the cord. Define lT as the length of
sA the cord, minus any segments of
sD constant length.
sA + 3sD = lT

3) Differentiate to find the velocity

relationship:
vA + 3vD = 0

Since the cord at A is pulled down with a speed of 3 m/s,

3 + 3vD = 0  vD = -1 m/s = 1 m/s 

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Vector Mechanics for Engineers: Dynamics
GROUP PROBLEM SOLVING 1
Given: In the figure on the left,
the cord at A is pulled
down with a speed of 2
m/s.
Find: The speed of block B.

Plan: There are two cords involved

in the motion in this example.
There will be two position
equations (one for each cord).
Write these two equations,
combine them, and then
differentiate them.

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Vector Mechanics for Engineers: Dynamics
GROUP PROBLEM SOLVING 1 (continued)
Solution:
1) Define the position coordinates from a fixed datum line. Three
coordinates must be defined: one for point A (sA), one for block B
(sB), and one for block C (sC).

• Define the datum line through the top

pulley (which has a fixed position).
• sA can be defined to the point A.
• sB can be defined to the center of the
pulley above B.
• sC is defined to the center of pulley C.
• All coordinates are defined as
positive down and along the direction
of motion of each point/object.

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Vector Mechanics for Engineers: Dynamics
GROUP PROBLEM SOLVING 1 (continued)
2) Write position/length equations for
each cord. Define l1 as the length of
the first cord, minus any segments of
constant length. Define l2 in a similar
manner for the second cord:
Cord 1: sA + 2sC = l1
Cord 2: sB + (sB – sC) = l2
3) Eliminating sC between the two
equations, we get
sA + 4sB = l1 + 2l2
4) Relate velocities by differentiating this expression. Note that l1 and l2
are constant lengths.
vA + 4vB = 0  vB = – 0.25vA = – 0.25(2) = – 0.5 m/s
The velocity of block B is 0.5 m/s up (negative sB direction).
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Vector Mechanics for Engineers: Dynamics
GROUP PROBLEM SOLVING 2

Given:In this pulley system, block A is

moving downward with a speed
of 6 m/s while block C is
moving down at 18 m/s.
Find: The speed of block B.

Plan:

All blocks are connected to a single cable, so only one

position/length equation will be required. Define
position coordinates for each block, write out the
position relation, and then differentiate it to relate the
velocities.

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Vector Mechanics for Engineers: Dynamics
GROUP PROBLEM SOLVING 2 (continued)
Solution:
1) A datum line can be drawn through the upper, fixed, pulleys
and position coordinates defined from this line to each block
(or the pulley above the block).
2) Defining sA, sB, and sC as shown,
Datum the position relation can be written:
sA
sA + 2sB + 2 sC = lT
sC
sB
3) Differentiate to relate velocities:
vA + 2vB + 2 vC = 0
6 + 2vB + 2(18) =0
vB = - 21 m/s = 21 m/s 
The velocity of block B is 21 m/s up.

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Vector Mechanics for Engineers: Dynamics
Group Problem Solving 3
Slider block A moves to the left with a
constant velocity of 6 m/s. Determine the
velocity of block B.

Solution steps

• Sketch your system and choose

coordinate system
• Write out constraint equation
• Differentiate the constraint equation to
get velocity

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Vector Mechanics for Engineers: Dynamics
Group Problem Solving 3 (continued)
Given: vA= 6 m/s left Find: vB
xA This length is constant no
matter how the blocks move

Sketch your system and choose coordinates

yB
Define your constraint equation(s)
xA  3 yB  constants  L

Differentiate the constraint equation to

get velocity

6 m/s + 3vB  0
v B  2 m/s 
Note that as xA gets bigger, yB gets smaller.
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Vector Mechanics for Engineers: Dynamics
Exercise

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Vector Mechanics for Engineers: Dynamics
Exercise

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Vector Mechanics for Engineers: Dynamics
ATTENTION QUIZ
1. Determine the speed of block B when
block A is moving down at 6 m/s while
block C is moving down at 18 m/s .

A) 24 m/s B) 3 m/s
C) 12 m/s D) 9 m/s vA=6 m/s vC=18 m/s

2. Determine the velocity vector of

block A when block B is moving
downward with a speed of 10 m/s.
j
A) (8i + 6j) m/s B) (4i + 3j) m/s
vB=10 m/s
C) (-8i - 6j) m/s D) (3i + 4j) m/s
i
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