Date:

Title: Rigid Body Equilibrium

Aim/Objective: To measure the end of a simply- supported horizontal bean and compare them with the
calculated values.

Theory:

According to Nagwa (2018), A rigid body equilibrium is described as ‘a body is in equilibrium

when the sum of the forces and the sum of the moments on the body are zero’. There are two
conditions that are necessary for rigid body equilibrium. These include: the total or net force that
is the vector sum of all the forces, on rigid body is zero and the total torque which is the sum of
the torques on the rigid body is zero (Anupam, 2021). Osgood (2020) posits that ‘there no
moment equilibrium for a body modelled as a particle because individual forces acting on the
object, represented by force vectors, may not have zero magnitude but the sum of all the force
vectors will always be equal to zero for objects in equilibrium’. Therefore, since it is a particle,
there are no moments involved like there is when it comes to rigid bodies. Leubkeman (2019)
states that a couple consists of two parallel forces that are equal in magnitude, opposite in sense
and do not share a line of action. It does not produce any translation, only rotation. A couple
moment or moment of a couple is the product of the magnitude of one of the forces and the
perpendicular distance between their lines of action. ……………
Apparatus: two stand- mounted brackets, metal beam with weight carriers and graduations, weights,
ruler, two spring balances (0-10 lbf)

Diagram:

DIAGRAM SHOWING APPARATUD SETUP OF LOADED BEAM SUPPORTED AT ENDS BY SPRING BALANCES
 Procedure

1. The beam was weighed and the center of gravity was found
2. The apparatus was assembled as illustrated and initial spring balance readings were taken.
3. Two weights W1 and W2 were placed anywhere between the two supports. The spring balance
readings R1 and R2 were noted and the values for x1, x2, L and d measurements were recorded.
4. Step three was repeated for six more tests. The values for W 1, W2, x1 and x2 were varied and
recorded.

Results

Distance between supports, L = 100 cm

Position of center of gravity, d = 50 cm

Weight of beam, WB = 2.72 kg

Least count for spring balances = 0.05kg

TABLE SHOWING RESULTS OBTAINED FOR EXPERIMENTAL AND THERECTICAL (CALCULATED) BEAMS
REACTION

X1 X2 W1 W2 Spring Balance Calculated Values Error (%) Uncertainty

(cm) (cm) Readings (kg)

R1 R2 R1 R2 R1 R2

25 28.5 0.1 0.1 1.35 1.40 1.42 1.32 5.18 5 ± 0.036

21.8 75.8 0.05 0.1 1.40 1.45 1.38 1.36 1.42 6.2 ±0.035
4.25 61.3 0.55 0.3 2.00 1.55 1.26 1.48 37 4.5 ± 0.028
24.7 72.8 0.7 0.5 2.00 1.95 0.93 1.81 53.5 7.1 ± 0.025
47 89.4 0.625 0.63 1.70 2.30 0.63 2.13 62.9 7.3 ± 0.025
35.9 49.7 0.56 0.4 1.90 1.80 1.07 1.67 43.6 7.2 ±0.027
194. 28.75 0.8 0.2 2.10 1.55 1.42 1.48 40.9 4.5 ± 0.027
Calculations

To determine R1

w 2 x 2+wbd +w 1 x 1
R1 = (w1+w2+wb) – )
L

To determine R2

w 2 x 2+wBd + w 1 x 1
R2 =
L

Therefore