Lecture 4: Static Equilibrium

PH1011 Physics
Week 2
Lecture 4: Static Equilibrium

Static Equilibrium Material Consideration:

- 2 conditions: Stress, Strain & Young Modulus
Force 5
Translational Equlibrium: zero net force - Stress = Area = 6
! 𝐹⃗$ = 0 - Strain =
change in length
=
<=
original length =>
$ D
Rotational Equilibrium: zero net torque - Young Modulus 𝐸 = strain =
stress E
=
H=>
FG
6
! 𝜏⃗$ = 0 G>

$
with torque 𝜏⃗ = 𝑟⃗×𝐹⃗

Examples
- Giancoli pg 320 example 12-17 on page 3
- Giancoli pg 332 problem 12-39 on page 3

Recollection of Vector Cross Product on page 6

Examples
- Giancoli pg 316 example 12-5 on page 7
- Trusses: Giancoli pg 325 example 12-11 on page 9

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 Lecture 4: Static Equilibrium

Material Consideration >> Elasticity (Stress, Strain & Young Modulus):

Gisncoli pg 318-321:

Giancoli pg319 Fig 12.15:

Force-elongation graph
a) Hooke’s law: 𝐹 = 𝑘𝛥𝑙

b) Proportional Limit:

c) Elastic Region and Elastic Limit:

d) Plastic Region and Breaking Point:

Force 5
e) Stress = =
Area 6

change in length <=

f) Strain = =
original length =>

D
stress H=>
g) Young Modulus 𝐸 = = =
E
strain FG 6
G>

(Note that Young Modulus 𝐸 is only dependent on the

material.)

Giancoli pg321 Fig 12.18

Stretching and compressing

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 Lecture 4: Static Equilibrium

Material Consideration >> Example:

Giancoli pg 320 example 12-17

A 1.60 m long steel piano wire has a diameter of 0.20 cm. How great is the tension in the wire
if it stretches 0.25 cm when tighten? (You are given that 𝐸LMNN= = 2.0×10RR N/m2 )

Hints and Clues:

Material Consideration >> Example:

Giancoli pg 332 problem 12-39

A 15-cm-long tendon was found to stretch 3.7 mm by a force of 13.4 N. The tendon was
approximately round with an average diameter of 8.5 mm. Calculate the Young’s modulus of
this tendon.

Hints and Clues:

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 Lecture 4: Static Equilibrium

Static Equilibrium >> Tragic Example of zero net force:

Elevated walkway collapse in a Kanas City hotel in 1981 – illustration of how a simple Physics
calculation can prevent the loss of 100 lives.

Two walkways, one above the other, are suspended from vertical
rods attached to the ceiling of a high hotel lobby. The original
design called for single rods 14 m long, but when such long rods
proved to be unwieldy to install, it was decided to replace each
long rod with two shorter ones as shown. Determine the net force
exerted by the rods on the supporting pin A (assumed to be the
same size) for each design. Assume each vertical rod supports a
mass m of each bridge.

Giancoli pg 311 Fig 12.1

Collapsed walkway

Giancoli pg 323 Fig 12.23:

Substituting a long rod with
two shorter ones

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 Lecture 4: Static Equilibrium

Static Equilibrium >> Some discussion about zero net torque first:

Example to remind you about moments:

Giancoli pg 314 example 12-3

A board of mass M = 2.0 kg serves as a seesaw for two children. Child A has a mass of 30 kg
and sits 2.5 m from the pivot point, P (his center of gravity is 2.5 m from the pivot). At what
distance x from the pivot must child B, of mass 25 kg, place herself to balance the seesaw?
Assume the board is uniform and centered over the pivot.

Giancoli pg 314 Fig 12.6:

See-saw Physics
Definition of Torque (Giancoli pg 256-257):

Torque is the product of force with the perpendicular distance from the axis of rotation to the
line which the force acts (lever arm / moment arm).

Giancoli pg 257 Fig 10.14:

Two perspectives of the definition of torque

These 2 perspectives shall be summarized and generalized

by the vector cross product. For a particle, the torque is
defined around a point 𝑂 as:
𝜏 = 𝑟×𝐹
Here, 𝑟 is the position vector from the particle relative to 𝑂.
Suppose the vector 𝑟 is in the 𝑥𝑧 plane, and is given by 𝑟 =
1.2 m 𝚤 + 1.2 m 𝑘, calculate the torque vector 𝜏 if 𝐹 =
150 N 𝚤.
Giancoli pg 290 Fig 11.11:

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 Lecture 4: Static Equilibrium

Quick Reminder about Vector Cross Product:

The vector cross product between two vectors 𝐴 and 𝐵 is defined as:
𝐶 = 𝐴×𝐵
whose magnitude is
𝐶 = 𝐴×𝐵 = 𝐴 𝐵 sin 𝜃 = 𝐴𝐵 sin 𝜃
The direction of the cross product is defined by a right-hand rule. See figure below.

In a given coordinate system where

𝐴 = 𝐴` 𝚤 + 𝐴a 𝚥 + 𝐴c 𝑘
𝐵 = 𝐵` 𝚤 + 𝐵a 𝚥 + 𝐵c 𝑘

The components of the cross product can be written as Giancoli pg 289 Fig 11.7

𝚤 𝚥 𝑘
𝐴
𝐴×𝐵 = ` 𝐴a 𝐴c = 𝐴a 𝐵c − 𝐴c 𝐵a 𝚤 + 𝐴c 𝐵` − 𝐴` 𝐵c 𝚥 + 𝐴` 𝐵a − 𝐴a 𝐵` 𝑘
𝐵` 𝐵a 𝐵c

We note some properties of the cross product:

𝐴×𝐴 = 0
𝐴×𝐵 = −𝐵×𝐴
𝐴× 𝐵 + 𝐶 = 𝐴×𝐵 + (𝐴×𝐶)
𝑑 𝑑𝐴 𝑑𝐵
𝐴×𝐵 = ×𝐵 + 𝐴×
𝑑𝑡 𝑑𝑡 𝑑𝑡
Giancoli pg 290 Fig 11.8

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 Lecture 4: Static Equilibrium

Static Equilibrium >> Example:

Giancoli pg 316 example 12-5

A uniform beam, 2.20 m long with mass 𝑚 = 25.0

kg, is mounted by a small hinge on a wall. The beam
is held in a horizontal position by a cable that nakes
an angle 𝜃 = 30.0k . The beam supports a sign of
mass 𝑀 = 28.0 kg suspended from its end.
Determine the components of the force 𝐹n that the
(smooth) hinge exerts on the beam, and the tension
𝐹o in the supporting cable.

Hints and Clues:

Giancoli pg316 Fig 12.9

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 Lecture 4: Static Equilibrium

Static Equilibrium >> Engineering Example (Trusses):

Giancoli pg 324-5

Background knowledge:
a) A beam sags, either under its own weight or when loaded

Giancoli pg 322 Fig 12.21:

Bending a beam
b) Truss Structure:
A truss is a framework of rods or struts joined together (usually in triangles) at their ends by
pins or rivets. The place where the struts are joined by a pin is known as the joint. This is
one of the ways to span wide spaces.

Giancoli pg 324 Fig 12.25: Giancoli pg 324 Fig 12.26:

A truss bridge A roof truss
c) Simplifying Assumption: assume the struts are massless and therefore static equilibrium of
the struts means diagram (a) below.

Giancoli pg 324 Fig 12.27

Forces acting on a strut

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 Lecture 4: Static Equilibrium

Static Equilibrium >> Engineering Example (Trusses):

Giancoli pg 325 example 12-11

Determine the tension or compression in each of

the struts of the truss bridge shown. The bridge is
64 m long and supports a uniform level concrete
roadway whose total mass is 1.40 x 106 kg.

Use the method of joints, which involves (1)

drawing a free-body diagram of the truss as a
whole, and (2) drawing a free-body diagram for
each of the pins (joints), one by one, and setting
𝐹 = 0 for each pin. Ignore the mass of the struts.
Assume all triangles are equilateral.

Hints and Clues:

Giancoli pg 325 Fig 12.28