STATICS OF RIGID BODIES:

FORCES IN SPACE
EE 202: ENGINEERING MECHANICS

This material is for use and distribution only within the

EE 202: ENGINEERING MECHANICS
FORCES IN SPACE
✓THE RESULTANT OF CONCURRENT
FORCES ACTING ON A PARTICLE IN
SPACE WILL ALSO ACT AT THE SAME
PARTICLE. 𝛼 𝛽

𝜃 y
✓ONLY THE MAGNITUDE AND x

DIRECTION ARE TO BE DETERMINED.

FORCES IN SPACE
✓THE RESULTANT OF FORCES IN 3-D
SPACE CAN BE DETERMINED USING
PARALLELOGRAM LAW/ TRIANGLE
LAW. 𝛼 𝛽

y
✓RECTANGULAR COMPONENTS CAN x

ALSO BE USED TO GET RESULTANT.

FORCES IN SPACE 𝛼

✓ FROM THE FORCE POLYGON, THE

RESULTANT CAN BE DRAWN FROM
THE TAIL OF THE FIRST FORCE TO 𝑹
THE HEAD OF THE LAST FORCE. 𝛽

y
✓ THE MAGNITUDE AND DIRECTION x
OF THE RESULTANT CAN BE
COMPUTED USING SUCCESSIVE USE
OF THE TRIANGLE LAW.
RECTANGULAR COMPONENTS
THE RECTANGULAR COMPONENTS OF
A FORCE CAN BE DETERMINED 𝑭𝒛

EASILY DEPENDING ON THE GIVEN 𝜽𝒛 𝑭

CHARACTERISTICS OF THE FORCE. 𝑭𝒚
y
𝑭𝒙 𝜽𝒙𝒚

CASE I: GIVEN THE MAGNITUDE AND 𝑭𝒙𝒚

TWO ANGLES x
 RECTANGULAR COMPONENTS
z

𝑭𝒛
𝑭 𝜽𝒛 𝑭
𝑭𝒛 𝑭𝒚
𝐹𝑧 = 𝐹𝑐𝑜𝑠(𝜃𝑧 ) 𝜽𝒛 y
𝑭𝒙 𝜽𝒙𝒚

𝑭𝒙𝒚
xy
𝑭𝒙𝒚
x
𝐹𝑥𝑦 = 𝐹𝑠𝑖𝑛(𝜃𝑧 )
 RECTANGULAR COMPONENTS
x

𝑭𝒛
𝑭𝒙𝒚 𝜽𝒛 𝑭
𝑭𝒙 𝑭𝒚
𝐹𝑥 = 𝐹𝑥𝑦 𝑠𝑖𝑛(𝜃𝑥𝑦 ) y
𝑭𝒙 𝜽𝒙𝒚
𝜽𝒙𝒚
𝑭𝒙𝒚
y
𝑭𝒚
x
𝐹𝑦 = 𝐹𝑥𝑦 𝑐𝑜𝑠(𝜃𝑥𝑦 )
RECTANGULAR COMPONENTS
FROM PLANE z-xy:
𝐹𝑧 = 𝐹𝑐𝑜𝑠 𝜃𝑧
𝐹𝑥𝑦 = 𝐹𝑠𝑖𝑛 𝜃𝑧 𝑭𝒛
𝐹𝑧 = 𝐹𝑐𝑜𝑠(𝜃𝑧 ) 𝐹𝑦 = 𝐹𝑠𝑖𝑛(𝜃𝑧 )𝑐𝑜𝑠(𝜃𝑥𝑦 )
𝜽𝒛 𝑭
FROM PLANE x-y:
𝐹𝑥 = 𝐹𝑥𝑦 𝑠𝑖𝑛 𝜃𝑥𝑦 𝑭𝒚
y
𝐹𝑦 = 𝐹𝑥𝑦 𝑐𝑜𝑠(𝜃𝑥𝑦 ) 𝑭𝒙 𝜽𝒙𝒚
𝐹𝑥 = 𝐹𝑠𝑖𝑛 𝜃𝑧 𝑠𝑖𝑛(𝜃𝑥𝑦 ) 𝑭𝒙𝒚
RESULTANT IN VECTOR FORM:
𝑭 = 𝑭 𝒙 𝒊 + 𝑭 𝒚 𝒋 + 𝑭𝒛 𝒌 x
𝟐
𝑭= 𝑭𝒙 𝟐 + 𝑭𝒚 + 𝑭𝒛 𝟐
UNIT VECTOR
A UNIT VECTOR IS A DIMENSIONLESS VECTOR
WITH A MAGNITUDE OF EXACTLY 1 AND POINTS IN
A PARTICULAR DIRECTION.
෡
𝒌
𝒋Ƹ
UNIT VECTORS LACK UNITS AND ARE USED TO y
SPECIFY A DIRECTION AND HAVE NO OTHER 𝒊Ƹ
PHYSICAL SIGNIFICANCE. THE UNIT VECTORS
ALONG THE X, Y AND Z AXES ARE LABELED
𝑖,Ƹ 𝑗,Ƹ 𝑎𝑛𝑑 𝑘෠ RESPECTIVELY. x
UNIT VECTOR
෡ REPRESENT
THE SYMBOLS 𝒊,Ƹ 𝒋,Ƹ 𝑎𝑛𝑑 𝒌̂
UNIT VECTORS. THEY FORM A SET OF
MUTUALLY PERPENDICULAR VECTORS IN A ෡
𝒌
RIGHT-HANDED COORDINATE SYSTEM. THE 𝒋Ƹ
MAGNITUDE OF EACH UNIT VECTOR IS 1. y
𝒊Ƹ
𝑖Ƹ = 𝑗Ƹ = 𝑘෠ = 1
x
RECTANGULAR COMPONENTS
CASE II: GIVEN THE MAGNITUDE AND
THREE ABSOLUTE ANGLES 𝑭𝒛
𝑭
FOR THE COMPONENT OF FORCE F: 𝜽𝒛
𝑭𝒚
𝑭𝒙 = 𝑭𝒄𝒐𝒔 𝜽𝒙 𝜽𝒚 y
RESULTANT IN VECTOR FORM: 𝑭 𝒙 𝜽𝒙
𝑭𝒚 = 𝑭𝒄𝒐𝒔 𝜽𝒚
𝑭 = 𝑭 𝒙 𝒊 + 𝑭𝒚 𝒋 + 𝑭 𝒛 𝒌
𝑭𝒛 = 𝑭𝒄𝒐𝒔 𝜽𝒛

WHERE: cos θx, cos θy AND cos θz x

ARE DIRECTION COSINES
PROBLEM 08
REFERRING TO FIGURE, IF FORCE A IS
EQUALS TO 500kN, DETERMINE
(1) THE RECTANGULAR
REPRESENTATION OF THE
POSITION VECTOR A; AND
(2) THE ANGLES BETWEEN A AND
EACH OF THE POSITIVE
COORDINATE AXES.
 z x FOR THE RESULTANT VECTOR:
𝐹Ԧ = 191.5111𝑖 + 160.6969𝑗 + 433.0127𝑘
𝟓𝟎𝟎𝒌𝑵 𝑭𝒙𝒚 = 250𝑘𝑁
2
𝐹= 𝐹𝑥 2 + 𝐹𝑦 + 𝐹𝑧 2
𝑭𝒛 𝑭𝒙
𝟑𝟎° 𝟒𝟎°
191.5111𝑘𝑁 2 + 160.6969𝑘𝑁 2
𝐹=
+ 433.0127𝑘𝑁 2
𝑭𝒙𝒚 xy 𝑭𝒚 y
𝐹 = 499.9999𝑘𝑁 ≈ 500𝑘𝑁
FOR Fz: FOR Fx:
𝑭𝒛
𝐹𝑧 𝐹𝑥
cos 30 = cos 40 =
500𝑘𝑁 250𝑘𝑁 𝟑𝟎°
𝟓𝟎𝟎𝒌𝑵
𝐹𝑧 = 433.0127𝑘𝑁 𝐹𝑥 = 191.5111𝑘𝑁 𝑭𝒚
y
FOR Fxy: FOR Fy: 𝑭𝒙
𝐹𝑥𝑦 𝐹𝑦 𝟒𝟎°
sin 30 = sin 40 = 𝑭𝒙𝒚
500𝑘𝑁 250𝑘𝑁
𝐹𝑥𝑦 = 250𝑘𝑁 𝐹𝑦 = 160.6969𝑘𝑁
x
 z x
FOR THE RESULTANT VECTOR:
𝑭𝒙𝒚 = 250𝑘𝑁 𝐹Ԧ = 191.5111𝑖 + 160.6969𝑗 + 433.0127𝑘
𝟓𝟎𝟎𝒌𝑵
𝑭𝒛 𝑭𝒙
𝟒𝟎° 𝐹𝑥 = 191.5111𝑘𝑁
𝟑𝟎°
𝐹𝑦 = 160.6969𝑘𝑁
𝑭𝒙𝒚 xy 𝑭𝒚 y
𝐹𝑧 = 433.0127𝑘𝑁

FOR THE ABSOLUTE ANGLE: 𝑭𝒛

𝐹𝑥 = 𝐹𝑐𝑜𝑠 𝜃𝑥 191.5111𝑘𝑁 = (500𝑘𝑁)𝑐𝑜𝑠 𝜃𝑥
𝟑𝟎°
𝜃𝑥 = 67.479° 𝟓𝟎𝟎𝒌𝑵
𝑭𝒚
𝐹𝑦 = 𝐹𝑐𝑜𝑠 𝜃𝑦 160.6969𝑘𝑁 = (500𝑘𝑁)𝑐𝑜𝑠 𝜃𝑦 y
𝑭𝒙
𝜃𝑦 = 71.2528° 𝟒𝟎°
𝑭𝒙𝒚
𝐹𝑧 = 𝐹𝑐𝑜𝑠 𝜃𝑧 433.0127𝑘𝑁 = (500𝑘𝑁)𝑐𝑜𝑠 𝜃𝑧

𝜃𝑧 = 30°
PROBLEM 09

DETERMINE THE RESULTANT OF

THE FORCES ACTING ON THE
HOOK.
 z

𝑭𝟏 = 𝟓𝟎𝟎𝒍𝒃
𝑭𝟏𝒛
5
3
4
𝑭𝟏𝒚 y
z

𝑭𝟐𝒙𝒚
xy
𝟒𝟓°
y
x

𝑭𝟐𝒛
𝑭𝟐 = 𝟖𝟎𝟎𝒍𝒃
y

𝑭𝟐𝒙𝒚
𝑭𝟐𝒚

𝟑𝟎°

𝑭𝟐𝒙 x
 z z
FOR THE COMPONENT OF F1=500lb
𝑭𝟏 = 𝟓𝟎𝟎𝒍𝒃 𝑭𝟏 = 𝟓𝟎𝟎𝒍𝒃
𝐹1𝑥 = 0 𝑭𝟏𝒛
𝑭𝟏𝒛 5
5 3
3
BY SIMILAR TRIANGLE: y
4
4 𝑭𝟏𝒚 𝑭𝟏𝒚 y

4 𝐹1𝑦
=
5 500𝑙𝑏
𝐹1𝑦 = 400𝑙𝑏

3 𝐹1𝑧
=
5 500𝑙𝑏 x y

𝐹1𝑧 = 300𝑙𝑏
FOR THE COMPONENT OF F2=800lb: FOR THE COMPONENT F2=800lb:
𝐹2𝑧 𝐹2𝑥
sin 45 = cos 30 =
800𝑙𝑏 565.6854𝑙𝑏

𝐹2𝑧 = −565.6854𝑙𝑏 𝐹2𝑥 = 489.8979𝑙𝑏

𝐹2𝑥𝑦 𝐹2𝑦
cos 45 = sin 30 =
800𝑙𝑏 565.6854𝑙𝑏

𝐹2𝑥𝑦 = 565.6854𝑙𝑏 𝐹2𝑦 = 282.8427𝑙𝑏

z y

𝑭𝟐𝒙𝒚 𝑭𝟐𝒙𝒚
xy 𝑭𝟐𝒚
𝟒𝟓°
x y
𝟑𝟎°
𝑭𝟐𝒛
𝑭𝟐 = 𝟖𝟎𝟎𝒍𝒃 𝑭𝟐𝒙 x
FOR THE COMPONENT F1=500lb: FOR THE COMPONENT F2=800lb: FOR THE RESULTANT FORCE:
𝐹1𝑥 = 0 𝐹2𝑥 = +489.8979𝑙𝑏 𝑅 = 489.8979𝑖 + 682.8427𝑗 − 265.6854𝑘

𝐹1𝑦 = +400𝑙𝑏 𝐹2𝑦 = +282.8427𝑙𝑏

489.8979𝑙𝑏 2 + 682.8427𝑙𝑏 2
𝑅=
𝐹1𝑧 = +300𝑙𝑏 𝐹2𝑧 = −565.6854𝑙𝑏 + −265.6854𝑙𝑏 2

𝑅 = 881.3982𝑙𝑏
FOR THE COMPONENT OF THE RESULTANT FORCE:
𝑅𝑥 = 0 + 489.8979𝑙𝑏
𝑅𝑥 = ෍ 𝐹𝑥
𝑅𝑥 = 489.8979𝑙𝑏

𝑅𝑦 = 400𝑙𝑏 + 282.8427𝑙𝑏
𝑅𝑦 = ෍ 𝐹𝑦
𝑅𝑦 = 682.8427𝑙𝑏
x y
𝑅𝑧 = 300𝑙𝑏 + (−565.6854𝑙𝑏)
𝑅𝑧 = ෍ 𝐹𝑧
𝑅𝑧 = −265.6854𝑙𝑏
RECTANGULAR COMPONENTS
CASE III: GIVEN THE MAGNITUDE AND 𝑭𝒛
TWO POINTS WHERE FORCE PASSES 𝐸(𝑥𝑒 , 𝑦𝑒 , 𝑧𝑒 )
𝑭
FOR THE FACTORS OF COMPONENT: FOR THE COMPONENT OF FORCE: 𝑭𝒚
y
𝑑𝑥 = 𝑥𝑒 − 𝑥𝑜 𝑑𝑥 𝑂(𝑥𝑜 , 𝑦𝑜 , 𝑧𝑜 )
𝐹𝑥 = (𝐹)
𝑑
𝑑𝑦 = 𝑦𝑒 − 𝑦𝑜
𝑑𝑦 𝑭𝒙
𝐹𝑦 = (𝐹)
𝑑𝑧 = 𝑧𝑒 − 𝑧𝑜 𝑑
x
𝑑𝑧 RESULTANT IN VECTOR FORM:
𝒅= 𝒅𝒙𝟐 + 𝒅𝒚𝟐 + 𝒅𝒛𝟐 𝐹𝑧 = (𝐹)
𝑑
𝑭 = 𝑭𝒙 𝒊 + 𝑭𝒚 𝒋 + 𝑭 𝒛 𝒌
RECTANGULAR COMPONENTS
FOR THE COMPONENT OF FORCE F: FOR THE COMPONENT OF FORCE:
𝑑𝑥 𝑭𝒛
𝑭𝒙 = 𝑭𝒄𝒐𝒔 𝜽𝒙 𝐹𝑥 = (𝐹)
𝑑
𝐸(𝑥𝑒 , 𝑦𝑒 , 𝑧𝑒 )
𝜽𝒛 𝑭
𝑑𝑦 𝑂(𝑥𝑜 , 𝑦𝑜 , 𝑧𝑜 ) 𝑭𝒚
𝑭𝒚 = 𝑭𝒄𝒐𝒔 𝜽𝒚 𝐹𝑦 =
𝑑
(𝐹) 𝜽𝒚 y
𝜽𝒙
𝑑𝑧 𝑭𝒙
𝐹𝑧 = (𝐹)
𝑭𝒛 = 𝑭𝒄𝒐𝒔 𝜽𝒛 𝑑
x
RESULTANT IN VECTOR FORM: 𝑭 = 𝑭𝒙 𝒊 + 𝑭𝒚 𝒋 + 𝑭𝒛 𝒌
PROBLEM 10

REPLACE THE THREE FORCES ACTING ON THE

GUY WIRES BY A SINGLE, EQUIVALENT FORCE
ACTING ON THE flAGPOLE.
Use T1 = 200 lb, T2 = 400 lb, and T3 = 350 lb.
FOR THE COMPONENT OF T1=200lb:
𝑑𝑥 = 𝑥𝑒 − 𝑥𝑜 = 3 − 0 𝑑𝑥 = 3
𝑑𝑦 = 𝑦𝑒 − 𝑦𝑜 = −2 − 0 𝑑𝑥 = −2 𝑂(0,0,0)

𝑑𝑧 = 𝑧𝑒 − 𝑧𝑜 = −6 − 0 𝑑𝑥 = −6

x y
𝑑= 𝑑𝑥2 + 𝑑𝑦2 + 𝑑𝑧2 = 3 2 + −2 2 + −6 2

𝑑=7
𝐶(−4,0, −6)

𝑑𝑥 3
𝑇1𝑥 = (𝐹) = (200𝑙𝑏) 𝑇1𝑥 = 85.7143𝑙𝑏
𝑑 7 𝐸(3, −2, −6)
𝑻𝟑 = 𝟑𝟓𝟎𝒍𝒃
𝐵(0,3, −6)
𝑑𝑦 −2
𝑇1𝑦 = (𝐹) = (200𝑙𝑏) 𝑇1𝑦 = −57.1429𝑙𝑏
𝑑 7 𝑻𝟏 = 𝟐𝟎𝟎𝒍𝒃
𝑻𝟐 = 𝟒𝟎𝟎𝒍𝒃
𝑑𝑧 −6
𝑇1𝑧 = (𝐹) = (200𝑙𝑏) 𝑇1𝑧 = −171.4286𝑙𝑏
𝑑 7
FOR THE COMPONENT OF T2=400lb:
𝑑𝑥 = 0 − 0 𝑑𝑥 = 0
𝑑𝑦 = 3 − 0 𝑑𝑦 = 3 𝑂(0,0,0)

𝑑𝑧 = −6 − 0 𝑑𝑧 = −6

2 2 2 x y
𝑑= 0 + 3 + −6
𝑑=3 5
𝐶(−4,0, −6)

𝑑𝑥 0
𝑇2𝑥 = (𝐹) = (400𝑙𝑏) 𝑇2𝑥 = 0
𝑑 3 5 𝐸(3, −2, −6)
𝑻𝟑 = 𝟑𝟓𝟎𝒍𝒃
𝐵(0,3, −6)
𝑑𝑦 3 𝑇2𝑦 = 178.8854𝑙𝑏
𝑇2𝑦 = (𝐹) = (400𝑙𝑏)
𝑑 3 5 𝑻𝟏 = 𝟐𝟎𝟎𝒍𝒃
𝑻𝟐 = 𝟒𝟎𝟎𝒍𝒃
𝑑𝑧 −6
𝑇2𝑧 = (𝐹) = (400𝑙𝑏) 𝑇2𝑧 = −357.7709𝑙𝑏
𝑑 3 5
FOR THE COMPONENT OF T3=350lb:
𝑑𝑥 = −4 − 0 𝑑𝑥 = −4
𝑑𝑦 = 0 − 0 𝑑𝑦 = 0 𝑂(0,0,0)

𝑑𝑧 = −6 − 0 𝑑𝑧 = −6

2 2 2 x y
𝑑= −4 + 0 + −6
𝑑 = 2 13
𝐶(−4,0, −6)

𝑑𝑥 −4
𝑇3𝑥 = (𝐹) = (350𝑙𝑏) 𝑇3𝑥 = −194.1451𝑙𝑏
𝑑 2 13 𝐸(3, −2, −6)
𝑻𝟑 = 𝟑𝟓𝟎𝒍𝒃
𝐵(0,3, −6)
𝑑𝑦 0 𝑇3𝑦 = 0
𝑇3𝑦 = (𝐹) = (350𝑙𝑏)
𝑑 2 13 𝑻𝟏 = 𝟐𝟎𝟎𝒍𝒃
𝑻𝟐 = 𝟒𝟎𝟎𝒍𝒃
𝑑𝑧 −6
𝑇3𝑧 = (𝐹) = (350𝑙𝑏) 𝑇3𝑧 = −291.2176𝑙𝑏
𝑑 2 13
𝑇1𝑥 = 85.7143𝑙𝑏 𝑇2𝑥 = 0 𝑇3𝑥 = −194.1451𝑙𝑏
𝑇1𝑦 = −57.1429𝑙𝑏 𝑇2𝑦 = 178.8854𝑙𝑏 𝑇3𝑦 = 0
𝑇1𝑧 = −171.4286𝑙𝑏 𝑇2𝑧 = −357.7709𝑙𝑏 𝑇3𝑧 = −291.2176𝑙𝑏
𝑂(0,0,0)
FOR THE COMPONENT OF THE RESULTANT FORCE:
𝑅𝑥 = 85.7143 + 0 + (−194.1451)
𝑅𝑥 = ෍ 𝐹𝑥 x y
𝑅𝑥 = −108.4308𝑙𝑏
𝑅𝑦 = −57.1429 + 178.8854 − 0
𝑅𝑦 = ෍ 𝐹𝑦 𝐶(−4,0, −6)
𝑅𝑦 = 121.7425𝑙𝑏

𝑅𝑧 = −171.4286 + −357.7709 + (−291.2176) 𝐸(3, −2, −6)

𝑅𝑧 = ෍ 𝐹𝑧 𝑻𝟑 = 𝟑𝟓𝟎𝒍𝒃
𝑅𝑧 = 820.4171𝑙𝑏 𝐵(0,3, −6)

𝑻𝟏 = 𝟐𝟎𝟎𝒍𝒃
𝑅 = −108.4308𝑖 + 121.7425𝑗 − 820.4171𝑘
𝑻𝟐 = 𝟒𝟎𝟎𝒍𝒃
𝑅= −108.4308 2 + 121.7425 2 + −820.4171 2

𝑅 = 836.4584𝑙𝑏
STATICS OF RIGID BODIES:
FORCES IN SPACE
EE 202: ENGINEERING MECHANICS

This material is for use and distribution only within the

EE 202: ENGINEERING MECHANICS