Book On Force Systems - From Nptel Link

INDEX
S.No. Topic Page No.

WEEK- 1
1 Introduction to Engineering Mechanics - I 1

2 Introduction to Engineering Mechanics 8
3 Force Systems - I 15
4 Force Systems - II 18
5 Equilibrium of Rigid Bodies - I 20
6 22
Equilibrium of Rigid Bodies - II
WEEK- 2
7 26
Trusses - I
8 Trusses – II 37
9 Trusses - III 45
10 Beams – I 48
11 Beams - II 49
12 Beams – III 54
WEEK- 3
13 Beams – IV 59
14 Virtual Work – I 64
15 Virtual Work- II 69
16 Energy Relations 74
17 Review Before Quiz I 79
18 Friction - I 82
WEEK- 4
19 Friction - II 87
20 Friction – III 92
21 Particle Dynamics 99
22 Circular Motion 103
23 Absolute Motion 110
24 Relative Motion - I 118
WEEK-5
25 Relative Motion –II 124
26 Relative Motion - III and Instantaneous Center 130
27 Rotating Frame of Reference- I – Velocity 135
28 Rotating Frame of Reference- II- Acceleration 141
29 Rotating frame of reference III - Choice of rotating 148
frame of reference
30 Rotating Frame of Reference IV - Crank and Slotted 153
Bar
WEEK- 6
31 Rotating Frame of Reference V – Understanding 161

Coriolis Acceleration
32 Kinetics I 166
33 Kinetics II 173
34 Kinetics III 178
35 3D Kinematics I 182
36 3D Kinematics II 191
WEEK- 7
37 3D Kinematics III 196

Video Lecture on Engineering Mechanics, Prof. K. Ramesh, IIT Madras 1
Engineering Mechanics
Prof. K. Ramesh
Department of Applied Mechanics
Indian Institute of Technology, Madras
Module - 01
Statics
Lecture - 01
Introduction to Engineering Mechanics - I
(Refer Slide Time: 00:33)
So, welcome to the course

on Engineering Mechanics.
It is desirable that when
you learned a new course
that you get to know the
history and the human
struggle to arrive at that
body of knowledge. In
these set of slides, you see
a variety of structures
dating from 2500 B. C. This is the Parthenon in 438 B.C and this is the famous Eiffel
tower in 1889, and this is the bridge under construction at Dubai.
And what you see in these slides is complexity of the design has phenomenally increased
from just stones standing in one place to a beautiful construction of depicting a human
smile on the bridge. And another aspect is you also find a change in the materials that
they have used. You find steel is used in the Eiffel tower and the modern construction
they have used concrete and also steel and variety of other aspects. And you know it is
desirable when you have a course it is like a roller coaster; you have ups and downs and
also you have sense of joy in the mind of these people.
1
And I would like you to

have this sense of joy as
we learn the course.
Because I believe learning
is a pleasure. And what
you see in the roller coaster
you can easily explain by
the law of conservation of
energy.
And many of you know

this in your earlier training
and from an engineering
perspective you should
view this simplified model
of the roller coaster. Can
you see something very
interesting and striking in
this? If you look at the
peaks they are cleverly put
at different levels and it is mainly because you start with the maximum potential energy
at the beginning of the ride. And you select the height in such a way that the car is able to
loop the loop and all this you can comfortably explain by initially neglecting friction.
That is the way we do the modeling and make our life simple.
2
And you should also know

that there have been
spectacular failures. Look
at the concrete bridge. This
concrete bridge is going
through an oscillation and
if you can watch carefully
there is a person who is
coming along the central
line of this that is the nodal point of this. The story goes that there was a car, there was a
car here and there was a dog inside the car he was trying to rescue that car and he is a
professor of vibration. So, he knew how to navigate this vibrating structure and look at
the concrete bridge. Can you ever imagine it can twist like this?
And all of this happen

without a warning; see the
human civilization learnt
many things from failures
than success. And this was
the bridge constructed in
1940s and the wind speed
at that time was 42 miles
per hour and the period of
oscillation was about 5
seconds. It was started in 1938, opened to traffic in 1940 in the month of July and it
collapsed in the month of November just 4 months of operation.
It really sent shock waves to the designers what is it that they have not noticed while
designing this bridge. And the interesting story is it started vibrated at 10 o’ clock in the
morning continued for about 40 minutes. There was a video store at the end of the bridge
3
and he saw something happening and he started recording it, you might think that the
video quality is not good. But you should also associate with time in 1940 that is the
quality that they had and that is a real learning experience for many to see and this failed
by torsional mode of vibration. And the bridge completely collapsed into the water body.
And if you look at history;

Egyptians had empirical
rules for determining safe
dimensions and they built
huge pyramids. This was
dating back to 2500 B. C.
Then what you find Greeks

further advanced the art of
building. They had built an
arch bridge this is still
surviving what you will
have to look at is, this
looks very trivial at this
point in time. But this
bridge is in use for 3300
years. And now we know
what is the mechanics
behind the arch bridge you have a keystone piece. This is held by friction locks all other
stones in place; all these understanding now we have at that point in what kind of
understanding they had we have no clue.
4
And what you find is

Romans were great
builders and we also had
arches in ancient
civilization. Starting from
2nd millennium BC,
Mesopotamian brick work
is like this, and this is the
one you saw in many of
the structures that Romans
have built extensively used arches in their buildings.
And you should know

nowadays much lighter
structures are built. You
have to conserve material
and people have looked at
engineering as advanced.
Nevertheless, you should
compliment people when
they had problem; they had
a solution that solution may not be optimal that is a different issue. But they had a
solution when they were forced to get certain things done. And most of the knowledge
that the Greeks and Romans accumulated was lost during the Middle Ages; that is the
saddest part of it.
5
And you can see here the

use of arches and this for
the transporting water
these are called aqueducts.
And it was a sense of pride

and this is a hilly terrain,
so you have a ravine here
and they have built similar
arches multiple layers. So,
they were able to solve the
problem of water
requirement by having
these kinds of structures.
And it is also surprising to

see the Romans were also
the ones to use concrete in
their bridges. And it
appears they have built not
one bridge; 931 bridges
about 2000 years ago. So,
6
that is something creditable. See normally when we learn anything, we have learnt so
much about western civilization how it has come about. We have never looked at as
Indians what we have been doing it; we saw a bridge in Roman Empire that they have
built it 3300 years old.
We also had parallel

examples and dating back
to Ramayana and you have
a bridge on sea. And I said
that they have cleverly
used a material which will
float on the sea they are
limestone shoals.
And this is not a short

bridge it is a bridge
covering 30 kilometers and
this bridge was in good
shape until there was a
storm in the 15th century
and it broke only in the
cyclone of 1480 until then
people were able to go for
several 1000 years this bridge was existence so that is something very interesting to see
off.
7
And when you look at the

Parthenon you have a nice
building with a roof; this is
consisting of vertical
members which are called
as columns which you will
learn in this course. And
the horizontal member
which support transverse
loading are called beams.
So, they had an idea that you want to build a structure you can have beams and columns.
The one striking difference is you look at the distance between the columns it is very
narrow. Whereas the room in which you are sitting you are having a beam; in this room
the beam is like this, the span is very large we have understood the mechanics. So, we
are able to exploit it better. Nevertheless, you should compliment when it was 438 B.C,
they had the idea of building structures like this.
8
And we also had several

temples having 1000
pillared Mantapas. So, the
span is different span is the
one which is different.
So, if you look at the

earlier civilization, they
knew the problems; they
had solved it by some
method. But still the
behavior have they
understood the behavior
completely for them to
extrapolate or teach the
next generation what to do.
And if you go back to

history you know you have
this Archimedes; I would
like you to look at these
historical figures with their
associated time. You
should recognize that this
was in before Christian era
and all of you know the
law of buoyancy that is the
eureka moment. What
precipitated this? He was
given a problem by the
9
king; he got a golden crown and he wanted to know whether it is done properly even at
that point in time people were cheating ok. He wanted to find out whether it is made of
pure gold or not. So, he had to find out a way to find out the density and he solved the
problem.
So, in those eras you had a king, he had a court, he will have a bunch of scholars who
would solve king’s problem. It is not that the general mass had an idea or clue how to
solve the problem if they are faced with. And you also have very nice construction of
hoisting devices this is still
used in Egypt for
irrigation. And Archimedes
is also very well known for
equilibrium of levers. In
this course we would
exploit and analyze levers
to find out many gadgets
that are of use in today ok.
But if you look at what

prompted him to develop
these levers, the story is
different; he had to defend
his country. So, he devised
a lever which will lift the
boat and sink it in one shot
that is what you saw it in
the animation. And on the
other side this animation
shows how the ship is
snapped very fast.
10
So, the idea what I am

trying to convey is
unfortunately many of the
key scientific
developments whether it
was in the olden days or
currently it is all
precipitated by military
considerations. First people
develop it for military to
kill each other. Then they
find a technology it can be used for maybe making your heart valve titanium alloys are
used for heart valve; it percolated from that kind of technology. So, that you will have to
keep in mind it is not that science always focuses on human betterment.
Funding is available only

for military that is another
aspect that you have to
keep in mind. And if you
go back to history
Leonardo daVinci had the
correct idea of the thrust
produced by an arch which
I have already given hint of
what it is. He has studied
strength of materials
experimentally until then
people have not done it. Also considered the strength of beams though not correct fully
and you will be surprised analysis of beams development of a proper theory took 400
years of human effort very bright minds have contributed to it is not a child’s play.
11
We may teach theory of beams in 15 minutes in a class, but if you look at the history it
was a great struggle; daVinci also made some investigations on the strength of columns.
Perhaps the first attempt to apply statics in finding forces in members of structures.
Whatever the important advances made by daVinci buried in his notes.
As in Roman era to fix the

dimensions of structural
elements the engineers
relied only by experience
and judgment that is a very
vague word unless
whatever the
understanding is brought
into mathematical
equations, it cannot
become a science. So, daVinci really realized mechanics is the paradise of mathematical
sciences because here we come to the fruits of mathematics; so, the very important
statement.
And he was also a great

artist and he was acclaimed
for a very nice piece of
bronze statue. And if you
see here it stands on two
hind legs unless you
understand the distribution
of weight and statics
properly you will not be
able to make this statue. And this statue is only above foot in height and when was it
done; it was done in 1516 to 1519 ok the horse was standing on two legs.
12
But in Indian achievement we had statue of Nataraja standing on one leg; don’t you feel
that it is much more creditable? And when was it done? You had excavations revealed
right from 6th century onwards we have Nataraja and whatever the idol I am showing
here is the 10th century Chola statue standing on one leg that is amazing. And you look
at this; this has a depth very complex dynamical structure. It cannot be done unless they
had some understanding of mechanics.
We had this knowledge

1000 years ago before
daVinci could build his
equestrian statue and this is
all embodied in
Silpasasthra and you will
also be surprised the statue
of Nataraja has been given
as a presentation to the
CERN which is the particle
accelerator at Switzerland by the Department of Atomic Energy, Government of India.
Because whatever the
subatomic particle which
they were trying to reveal
they had inspiration from
the dance of Nataraja.
And the questions that

puzzled the generations
they are very important. Is
the earth at the centre of
universe; If you suppose you start thinking you want to find out reason behind
13
everything then you are confronted with these basic questions. What is the frame of
reference? Is it absolute or relative? What is gravitation; because gravitation was a very
puzzling aspect because you have forces being exerted when bodies are not in contact.
People could understand when the bodies are in contact, they exert each other force that
was reasonably understood. So, gravitation as such was a very puzzling in the human
evolution to understand
and does the earth spin?
Does it revolve around the
sun? How do planets
move? In which orbits;
time and space are they
independent or dependent?
You are all very well
taught in your physics
courses in your schools
you would say Kepler’s
laws that say planets travel in elliptical orbits. You will proudly come and say now we
will go back and say what Indians have done earlier fine.
And let us get back to the

very root of scientific
thinking you had
Aristotle’s physics this
started in 350 B. C or so.
So, the Aristotle’s views
on space, time and motion
were very intuitive; that
means, everybody will
agree with what he says.
And these are the
statement that he has made that. They are very abstract in nature. Every sensible body is
14
by its nature somewhere. Time is a numeration of continuous movement; very abstract

ok.
What did he say about

frame of reference? There
exists a prime mover
which is at a state of
absolute rest and with
respect to this state of
absolute rest you have to
measure whatever the
coordinate system that you
have. And the prime
mover also had a clock
you see this old clock that he has; the time is measured based on the prime mover’s
clock; a very convenient to
get started when you get
started.
Can you imagine for how

many years these views
were unchallenged? Can
you make a guess when
somebody makes a
statement to understand
what happens around him
and formulate? Certain
basic ideas you will be surprised this took 2,000 years to change not 1 or 2 years. So,
when you get a doubt after a class; do not be annoyed fine human civilization was like
that if you are getting a doubt you may be getting that original doubt they had asked at
that point in time.
15
And Galileo came into the

picture; he came 1500
years or 2000 years later.
He argued that there is no
such thing as absolute rest.
The mechanical laws of
physics are the same for
every observer moving
with a constant speed
along a straight line; this is
called inertial observer.
And in those days for locomotion what do you had? You had only these boats ok. So, he
said when doing experiments on a boat sailing at constant speed in a straight line that is
very important. On a smooth lake the results are the same as on shore. One cannot tell
whether the ship is moving at all without looking outside, it was a great understanding
ok.
(Refer Slide Time:

20:54)
And if you say that what

Galileo has said if we go
back to our literature you
have a sloka which says
“Anuloma
gathinaustha…” the
sloka reads like this. This
is from Aryabhatiyam
this is in 499 AD. At least 1000 years before Galileo was thinking about relativity; the
meaning of this is; just as a person in boat moving forward sees the stationary objects on
16
the bank as moving backwards, the stationary stars are seen in Lanka as moving towards
the West; very important. Concept of relativity was not simple. Indian scientists had this
vision 1000 years earlier
than this you have such
records ok.
And what was Galileo’s

space and time; he also had
a reference frame like this
and he did not say that it is
absolute ok. So, what he
said was every inertial
observer could declare
themselves as “the Prime Mover” and measure the position of everything with respect to
their own set of coordinates x prime, y prime and z prime. The only restriction is it
should travel in a straight line with a constant velocity, it could be in one direction, it
could be on another direction, or it could be in a very generic direction.
So, he had relaxed what

should be the frame of
reference, but what did he
do about time? He still
measured the time from
the prime mover’s clock;
that was not changed. This
is a story after 2,000 years.
So, where Galileo left;

Newton Started and if you look at Galileo’s life ends in 1642 and in 1642 Isaac Newton
is born. And he says Newton’s laws of mechanics are in agreement with Galileo’s
relativity. And we all know reasonably well what is Newton laws to get an object to
17
change its velocity we need a force. The other statement is a body not acted upon by any
force stays at rest or
remains in uniform motion
whichever it was doing to
begin with; very important
statements in the
development of mechanics.
It took 2,000 years to do

that; we will again and
again see in this lecture
various ways of looking at
Newton laws of mechanics ok so that you get the idea central idea how difficult it was to
comprehend this and you have the famous law
And there was also

Copernicus between 1473
and 1543. We asked the
question whether earth is at
the centre of the universe.
For 2,000 years people
believed the earth is at the
centre of the universe. So,
there was an uproar against
it. One of the scientists
which brought this about was Copernicus. He was convinced about the heliocentric
theory, but very afraid of repercussions of his work.
18
And the story goes that he got a printed copy of his De Revolutionibus on his death bed
in 1543. And he also established that earth spun on it is axis once per day; until then
people did not have that idea ok. Then you had Johannes Kepler 1571 to 1630. He
published Tabulae of Rudolphinae in 1627- the most accurate predictions for the motion
of the planets and all of you know he said Kepler’s laws of motion and you know the
planets travel in elliptical orbits. All these happened when; in 1570, 1630 and so on ok.
And you had Rane Descartes between 1596 and 1650. He attempted to figure out enigma
of gravity because this is a force without contact. So, he devised he was accustomed to
only with contact. So, he proposed the vortex theory of colliding particles. So, that is
required a medium in space which is not possible and he attacked the basics of
Copernican model which
questioned the geocentric
theory.
Because people were for

geocentric theory, they
stuck on to Descartes for
100 years. Even when
Newton showed it was
impossible as a dynamical
system whatever Descartes
was saying about the
vortex theory. Because
people are very difficult to change, they do not want to change their opinions so easily.
Scientists have to struggle to convince that.
And this is a time line and the time scale is not linear; you had Aristotle and you have
Ptolemy they were proponents of geocentric theory; very comfortable for civilization to
think that they are very important in the creation of God. And Leonardo daVinci was
19
between 1452 and 1519. Then you had the Copernicus who talked about the heliocentric
theory, then you had Kepler talked about the planetary motion.
Then you had Galileo established the idea of relativity and Newton followed Galileo’s
relativity and much later you had Albert Einstein who questioned the concept of time.
From Aristotle to Newton they still had the prime mover having a clock from that only
you measured the time that took 2,000 years. From Newton to Einstein it took 200 years
to change those views and he had also come out with special theory of relativity.
And let us look at what was Aristotle’s contribution. In the absence of a force what
happens? A body is at rest; that looks plausible, very nice and so on and so forth. And
what did Newton say in 1660 AD, he also agreed a body is at rest; will remain at rest.
There was no contradiction there. He made one more statement, which looks very simple
now. If it is moving with a constant velocity it will continue to do so; very simple
statement, but it took 2,000 years to get that. It is a very significant development and
achievement.
And look at it from other

perspective; we need a
force for what? We need a
force for an object to
move; that is also people
can comprehend. What
Newton said? For an object
to change its velocity, the
difference is very subtle.
To penetrate this fact, it
took 2,000 years. Now, you follow Newton’s law and then you make mistakes; that is
different, but the laws are said and it is repeatedly proved that the laws are correct. And
this is the time when they were making laws, when it was not available very clearly for
anybody to use it.
20
Newton clarified the

mechanics of motion in the
real world. He also
believed that there existed
an absolute reference frame
and an absolute time. His
laws applied only when
measurements were made
in this reference frame or in
any other reference frame
that was at rest or moving at a constant velocity relative to this absolute frame; they are
called initial frames of reference ok.
And he is also associated

with the famous story of
apples falling and it and
made him to write the book
Principia Mathematica. So,
the apple falling has also
dislodged whatever the
thought process Aristotle
had about the universe,
space, time so on and so
forth ok. Because the gravitation was so difficult to comprehend and that precipitated
these developments. Now let us look back what is there in Sanskrit literature.
21
I will read a simple shloka

like this “Gopi bhagya
madhu vrata…”. The
shloka goes like this; on
the face of it if you read it
extols the activities of
Krishna. Oh, Krishna the
fortune of the Gopis, the
destroyer of the demon
Madhu, the story goes like
this, but what is interesting in Sanskrit literature is it contains layers of information.
See now you are in a different era you have terabyte as your hard disk; you can store any
amount of information you want. They had to transmit knowledge from one generation
to another generation by wrote memory and they also want to have this knowledge
transmitted to right kind of people you have cryptology now. So, they had packed all the
information in Sanskrit and they were also made that cryptic. So, only people who have
trained can unravel this information. Now I am going to show you a very interesting
information this simple shloka says; we will see that.
There is something called

Katapayathi in Sanskrit
literature. When I say Gopi
bhagya I can see that as the
letters Ga Pa Ba Ya. And
these are the numbers
given to that and if you
look at these numbers, I
get 3141. And what is
Madhuvrata; in a similar
22
way you can find out what is Madhuvrata it is 5926. “Shringi shodadhi sandhiga…” that
has a very long digit. Can some of you guess where I am going towards too? Ok; that is
good.
So, “Khalajeevita..” and

you have Ka Tha Va and
you are able to get all these
numbers and this shloka
tells the value of pi
accurately to 32 digits.
Unless somebody comes
and tells us that the shloka
has this that goes to the
credit of Shri
Bharathitheertha of Vedic
mathematics. And the story also goes we saw that this extols the activities of Krishna;
there is another interpretation it also extols Shiva. So, the Sanskrit literature is so
complex unless you have a right interpreter you will miss what it communicates that is
the background that you have to keep in mind.
And now we have said that the gravitation was so difficult to understand ok. Because it is
a force acting at a distance; law of gravitation is in Upanishads. How many of you have
ever heard of this kind of point of view? A mantra in Prasnopanishad says that the
Earth’s Devata is activating the function of apanan. And you will have a shloka like this
and I said shloka alone is not sufficient; you need a right interpreter to do it.
So, “Prithivyam ya devata…” the shloka goes like this. When Adisankara wanted to
explain the meaning he had said while writing Bhashyam for the above mantra
Adisankara writes “like Earth attracts everything that is put on it, apanan pulls down
pranan!” And this was when? This was again in B.C; Before Christ. We all have to be
very proud that our Indian tradition had many of these concepts on mechanics from time
immemorial. When I grew nobody told me, when I have learnt over the years, I thought
23
it is essential for me to communicate, we also had this kind of knowledge much earlier
than what the western scientists have got it.
Nevertheless, you have to give them the credit they have put it in a mathematical form
which everybody can use it. Unless you have great Sanskrit scholars with background in
modern science they can go back and unravel the mysteries of Indian civilization. In fact,
many such works are currently underway; people are working on it; people are having a
relook at it.
So, in this lecture we had a bird’s eye view of what is the history behind strength of
materials some tit-bits we have seen. You have to appreciate the human struggle what
you learned and take it for granted has not come about in a single day. People have to
struggle and people hold on to the views, it is very difficult to change something which is
comfortable.
If you ask all the 1000 questions to one person; he will only collapse. These are very
mind-boggling questions. So, in the next class we will continue the discussion. We
would also see a very surprising information on planetary motion very correctly said as
elliptical motion in our literature. Nobody has told us we have to resurrect and then take
pride in the civilization that we have grown in. Thank you.
24
Prof. K. Ramesh
Module - 01
Statics
Lecture - 02
Introduction to Engineering Mechanics
Let us continue our discussion

on Introduction to Engineering
Mechanics.
In the last class we had looked

at questions that puzzled
generations is earth at the
center of the universe. What is
the frame of reference? Is it
absolute or relative? What is
gravitation? Does the earth
spin? Does it revolve around
the sun? How do planets move
in which orbits? Time and
space, are they independent or
dependent?
You know you might think that

these questions look very
trivial, because in your high
school physics you are taught
25
the modern view of what is our understanding on solar system and so on and so forth. Only
when you start thinking on your own and try to figure out what is around you get stumbled on
these questions. They are not trivial they appear to be trivial.
And if you look at Aristotle, he

was the first person to start a
scientific thinking and then
they all believed that earth is at
the center of the universe. They
were very convenient to think,
we are also so important. So,
we can do anything with any
other species on the world and
people also thought that all
other planets revolved around earth in circular orbits; there was no idea of elliptical orbits.
And as I told you earlier this scale is not linear, I have shown from 400 BC to 1960 and bulk
of the scientific development happened at the period 1400 to 1700. Until then people were
thinking that earth is at the center of the universe.
And people were finding it very difficult to communicate that sun is the center of whatever
that we have talk about and all other planets revolve around the sun you call that as a
heliocentric theory. Even though they determined that heliocentric theory is possibility even
Galileo could not say it openly fine. So, it was very difficult the social climate was totally
different in those times. So, people were thinking generations of generation that the earth is at
the center of the universe and you know we also get enamoured, if somebody gives a very
complex explanation of facts, then you think it is correct.
If something says very simple terms you think what is great about it. And you know whatever
the theories that they proposed they looked at the stars and then verified whether their
observations tally with whatever the predictions. And one of the common observations
people made in those days was when you see a planet at some point in time it will appear
26
from earth that it is going in the opposite direction that is called retrograde motion. It was
very difficult to explain using circular orbits.
And Ptolemy he said the epicyclic type of motion and he provide an explanation it was very
complicated, but people were happy that what you observed; he had given an explanation. So,
geocentric theory is valid. And if you look at elliptical orbits and heliocentric theory
approach, it is very easy to explain why you see a retrograde motion of the planets. So, going
from geocentric to heliocentric was not simple and also if you look at there are also scientific
historians who argue about when there is a concept who has propounded it is first. We all
know elliptical orbits is credited to Kepler, but if you look at the history, they would name
another scientist called Tycho Brahe.
He had made lot of observations and in fact whatever the laws which Kepler has got based on
his observations. So, some credit should also be given to Tycho Brahe, but we will not get
into those historical disputes my idea is to get into what is our mechanics and you find until
1700 when Isaac Newton proposed his Newton’s laws people were not convinced about
heliocentric theory.
Then only people got convinced and I also said it took 2000 years to understand what we
commonly perceive as solar system and then Einstein came in the picture you have a whole
lot of special theory of
relativity, even few days back
people verified some of his
predictions. So, that is what
happens the predictions come
much earlier experimental
verification takes several years
and sophistication in verifying
those concepts ok.
27
And as I said that gravitation was very difficult to comprehend because this is action at a
distance it is not a physical
interaction. So, in a lighter vein
you find that, when I have
Principia of Mathematica
written it dislodged the views
of Aristotle.
And I also mention that in

Sanskrit literature it is packed
with lot of information unless
you have a good interpreter you will not be able to totally understand what that Sanskrit
words means. And in this case,
we had Adisankara who had
written a Bhashya which says
“like Earth attracts everything
that is put on it, apanan pulls
down pranan!” and I could also
get the actual Bhashya this is
the mantra.
I could also get actual Bhashya

“Apakarshena anugraham kurvathi varthatha ithyarthaha…” that is what he says. And in
addition, he has also said that if you do not have gravitation the body would fly into the sky if
left free. So, it is not a casual reference he knows what he is talking about ok.
28
And that credit you will have to give to our ancient Rishis also and if you look at Vedic view
it has always been heliocentric. It has never been geocentric see the struggle whether it is
geocentric or heliocentric was there in the west haunting them for generations and if you look
at “ Mithro dadhara prithivi mutha dyam. Mithrah krishtihi…” and the sun holds the earth
and the celestial region, the sun
is the attracting power of all
heavenly bodies. And you also
have a reference in which part
of the Krishna Yajurveda it is
there. Not just one reference
you also have other references.
See you can also say you pick
out one reference, which is
convenient to you and then say
everything is contained in the
Vedas.
It is not an argument like that, one has to look at it with the dispassionate approach let us look
at what is there and how we can understand it? And if you look at like that you also have
another reference “Dadhartha prithivi mabito maukayihi…” the sun holds the earth from all
sides with his power this is
from different portion of Veda.
And you also have very

surprising approach that they
had complete understanding of
solar system. Earth is not flat,
earth spins and rotates around
the sun. For a very long-time
people were not able to
understand that earth can be a spherical ball and it has to spin and if you look at Aiteraya
Brahmanam which says “Sa va yesha na kadachana asthamethi na udethi”. Very clearly says
29
there is nothing like sunrises and sets, it is a perception because earth is revolving around
itself. And they also had a clear knowledge of what the universe is; it is Brahmanda shape of
universe is oval. Jagat one that does not stay in one position. Modern cosmology says that we
are our entire supernova is traveling at a terrific speed not in one place ok.
Let me ask this question does

the moon spin? Somebody says
yes, I am happy to hear that
how do you say that the moon
spins? What is your data to say
that moon spins actually?
Student: (Refer Time: 10:01).
I have 3 animations here; I have

animation number 1, here I
have the moon is static. So, moon is not spinning around itself and it is moving around and
you know these diagrams are not to scale just illustrations. So, if the moon does not spin how
will you perceive when you are observing the moon from earth, you watch the animation you
would be able to see all sides
of the moon at different points
from earth.
Suppose the moon spins then

also you will see all sides of
the moon. Does the moon spin
like this? You have to know the
fact because your generation is
so glued to smart phones, you
always look down you never
look up. You have to see the
30
sky in all the earlier generations people looked at cosmology and that is where they had all
the inspirations. You have to know a very important fact sitting on earth we always see only
one side of the moon we never see the other side of the moon.
Can this happen moon spins at the same time you see only one side of the moon the answer is
yes. It is possible that is what you see in the last animation what I have is the moon is
spinning, but spinning at a appropriate speed, it is called synchronized motion. And you find
whenever you see from the earth you see only one side of the moon. So, the idea here is
whether the moon spins or not is not that very clear, it is a subtle point. If some generation
some civilization says that
moon spins you have to give
credit to their intelligence.
Let us see what our ancient

wisdom is our scholars know
that earth, moon spins around
their axis. And you have a nice
shloka “Bhumir bramyathi
buddha yeva marutaha…”
means earth spins it is a shloka
of Sivotkarsha Manjari of Neelakanta Dikshita and he says the Brahmanam which is spinning
is not only for the Yajamanan, but also for water, air, Agni, Akasam, sun, moon and earth
very clear and when was this
couplet written.
In the period 1520 to 92 he is

Appayya Dikshita and he is his
grandson Neelakanta Dikshita.
31
And you may say that you are taking out a shloka and then saying what is said in the Veda. It
is very very penetrating and interesting “Aayangav prishnirakrami dasanan mataram punaha.
Pitarancha prayanthsuvaha” which says very clearly the moon being a satellite of the earth
revolves around its mother planet and follows it in its revolution around the self-luminous
father planet. Can there be better explanation than the solar system? Unfortunately, in Indian
education we have never attempted to bring in positivity of what is our tradition. It is so
difficult to understand because
we have lost our capability to
understand Sanskrit. But it is
embedded with wisdom and
this is also used by Aryabhatta
as Laghava Gaurava Nyayam;
Laghava means light and
Gaurava means heavy. So,
earth revolves around the sun.
And there is another message in the Veda which starts like “Trinabhichakra majara
manarvam yathrema vishva bhuvanani tasthuhu…”. Suppose I give a piece of rope to you I
ask you to draw a circle everyone in the class can do it. It is a very simple play you just tie
one end of the rope put a pen or something like on the other end and then put it and you will
get a circle.
Now, I ask you to draw an ellipse. How many of you can do that? I am happy. Because you
have taught property of the ellipse and then you know how to do it with a piece of rope fine
and do not you think you will be genuinely surprised if plotting of an ellipse is mentioned in
the Vedas it is called “Trinabichakram”. So, I have one focus, another focus, another focus
and then I can beautifully plot an elliptical orbit and what does it say it says the elliptical path
through which all the celestial bodies move is imperishable and unslackened. Imagine earth
comes and says I am tired of revolving in the sun in 365 days. I am tired; I am now from now
onwards I am going to travel it in 700 days.
32
What chaos will happen to the world; it does not happen know. It goes without any
disturbance. And we have given credit to Kepler and there is a tie between Tycho Brahe or
Kepler who has determined elliptical planets, elliptical orbits. And you find elliptical orbit is
mentioned from it is fundamental aspect of its construction amazing.
I was very surprised when I came to know of this and I thought it is essential that I should
bring this to your attention and you will be surprised this is used in the final rites of a Nitya
Agnihotri. This demonstrates how the ritualistic prescriptions are littered with secular
knowledge. It is all like germs
you have to retrieve it from our
tradition.
And here again I plot a time

scale which is again non-linear
and you know I am very
conservative in the sense. From
our perception, Vedas are we
do not know when the origin is
that is our tradition. As the earth is, I mean as the cosmos came into existence from that time
onwards, we say. But you have Max Muller and other people western people who have given
some kind of an arbitrary date.
Even if you take that date

whatever the ideas that you find
in the modern science it is
dating back to Before Christ.
We had the idea planets rotate
in elliptical orbits we had the
idea of heliocentric theory; we
had the idea moon is a satellite
to earth. Only when Adisankara
interpreted we understood
33
theory of gravitation is also given in the Upanishads and later we will also see speed of light
amazing it is also mentioned in the Vedas that was brought into focus by Sayanachariyar
between 1315 and 1387.
And we also had great astronomers our first satellite was Aryabhata named after him. He
proposed that the earth rotates about it is own axis and described elliptical orbits around the
sun which is interpreted as heliocentrism. Look at it was somewhere around 300 AD from a 4
76 500 AD or so ok. And you had Varahamihira this is another very difficult concept to
understand.
See as we are going to look at gyroscopic motion you are going to look at what is known as
precision; precision of earth ok. And that causes shifting of equinoxes and he has been able to
give that number and imagine this precision one cycle takes something like 26000 years or
so. It is not a phenomenon that
one can find out in one’s life.
Several generations should
have been looking at the sky
and then finding out how to
explain the data. Then finally,
somebody understand that it is
precession.
And we had that somewhere

around 500 AD that is at least
1000 years before the western
science talked about these concepts. And we also had Brahmagupta he talked about
gravitation. Bodies fall towards earth as it is in the nature of the earth to attract bodies just as
it is in the nature of water to flow.
34
And we also have in Sanskrit literature spinning of earth which I have shown from
Sivotkarsha Manjari. Because if you look at when something percolates down to poets it is a
common knowledge, it is not confined to scientist. That is the way you have to look at it. And
you have Hanuman Chalisa which Tulasidasa has composed it gives precise distance between
earth and the sun and I had already shown you a shloka which showed the value of pi ok.
Now, let us get back to our engineering mechanics. So, when I say engineering mechanics
you know we want to make our lives simple. We start with a very simplified assumption
mechanics of rigid bodies. What do you mean by a rigid body?
Not definite shape. There is a very simple and nice definition for rigid body please tell that.
Student: The distance between any two points in the body remains unaltered.
Very good very good that is the definition of rigid body. Is anything is rigid? When you say
that I see a big granite stone I find that it is very rigid compared to I have a plastic board.
Relatively a plastic board will not be able to with stand that high granite is going to have with
stand a very high value of weight. But at a microscopic scale if an elephant stands on the
granite it will also have deformations to make our lives simple, we idealize fortunately in this
complete course all bodies as rigid ok.
And for aeronautics, mechanical and civil engineers they will also study mechanics of
deformable bodies. Even when you go and look at the deformation, we would like to idealize
a deformation and proceed with it and we will give a very important assumption. Let us
consider first problems which have small deformations; we will not go near a problem which
has large deformation, it is still in the purview of research only researchers will do large
deformation and he will get a PhD thesis and get out of it.
35
Then you also have mechanics of fluids and if you get into mechanics of rigid bodies it can
be classified into statics and dynamics and dynamics can be further classified into kinematics
as well as kinetics. So, kinematics talks about the motions and kinetic talks about the forces
that contribute to this. And if I go to mechanics of deformable bodies, I have strength of
materials theory of elasticity
and theory of plasticity. If you
look at, we will have very
simplifying assumptions. So,
that you get an idea of what is it
all about.
So, in initial stages of your

learning you solve problems
that are solvable you do not
answer questions whatever you
see around. Even simple
questions are very difficult to answer you know about 20, 30 years back when person was
arrested in the country all Vighnesha started drinking milk. And all physicists in the country
they were trying to rationalize it was shown in the TV that is a TV era you take a spoon of
milk take it to the deity it will vanish. And finally, they figured out that is because of surface
tension.
So, what you will have to look at is seemingly what happens around you are not that simple
to explain. We make a mathematical model make our lives simple and solve problems that
are solvable in your initial set of courses from that you graduate and simplify a practical
situation to a situation where you can analyze. And once you can do the mechanics of fluids,
we start with an ideal fluid whereas all fluids have viscosity then you talk about viscous fluid.
And you also give another assumption incompressible fluid that is how you develop the
subjects ok. Have you been able to write this? Ok.
36
And the books that I would recommend are these a book by five of us. G. K. Lal and others
from IIT Kanpur book on
mechanical sciences. The first
four chapters deal with statics
that is what I had contributed to
that that is very simple and
clear. Then you also have a
very nice book I would
recommend all mechanical,
aerospace and civil engineering
students to buy this book an
Introduction to the Mechanics
of Solids, Crandall, Dahl and Lardner.
Then for the dynamics portion I would be following Meriam and Kraige. And there are also
many other books you have a book by Statics and Dynamics by Beer and Johnson, Hibbeler
there are quite a lot of books, but mostly the notes that you take in my class would be
reasonably sufficient for you to follow the course. So, take your time to note down at least the
title of the book rest of it you can find out by Googling, it is not that difficult for you to do.
Can I go to the next slide?
Say you do not learn enjoying

only from books. You have to
have very good sense of
observing things ok. What do
you see in this screen now you
see a hurricane Katrina which
devastated New Orleans. Can
you guess what is it is
relevance to this course? At
37
least I can say in the shloka Sivotkarsha Manjari it says air can spin around itself you see it is
spinning around itself.
And let me see another slide is another hurricane Yasi which is hitting Australia it devastated
Queensland, it happened in 2011 a very nice animations put in order by my students. I said
that you have to observe these
two carefully; how many of you
have observed this have looked
at a fact which I would like you
to see in these two pictures? Do
you get an idea? Yeah.
Let me go back and show let

me show the first one you only
see the cyclone that is moving.
Please notice what is the way the cyclone is revolving? It is anticlockwise fine also associate
this anticlockwise to the place. What is the place that it shows at the background? America’s
ok. So, it is in the which part of the earth; it is in the northern hemisphere. Now I come to the
southern hemisphere I find a cyclone hitting the Australia all cyclones give us problems; no
power, lot of rain, and you have to wait for candles and other things so on.
Unless you are really interested in nature and you observe you find there is a difference. Who
is making it to revolve like this? And you will find all hurricanes in the northern hemisphere
and southern hemisphere will be different, they will be rotating in a particular way. Here you
find it is very clearly revolving as clockwise rotation and you would see when we take up
dynamics. We would have effect called Coriolis Effect which would explain why it behaves
like this.
38
So, as engineers I would like you to look at structures and ask questions how this is made
why it is so? So, these two questions are very important. You do not learn engineering by
reading your mathematical equations from the books, you have to look at physical structures,
and also natural elements around you. You have to have the capacity to develop keen
observation ok.
Now, this is another interesting

illustration which shows
because once you get into
Newton’s law of motion, we all
talk about inertial frame of
reference and I have two
examples. Kavitha is standing
in the garden and watching
what Mahesh is doing; who is in the frame of inertial reference? I thought that this question
everybody will answer. I have my own surprises see what the Newton’s law says, I cannot
have anything accelerating. When we looked at Galileo’s relativity, I made a very important
point both travelling in a straight line I said straight line is very important, it is a constant
speed.
The same if I have a rotating

platform rotating at a constant
speed is it same as both
travelling in a straight line with
constant speed. These two are
totally different that is why
Newton said you need a force
to change velocity and how do
you perceive velocity, velocity
is a vector; it has a direction
and magnitude. So, in the case of a circular motion the direction keeps changing ok.
39
So, inertial frame of reference is what Kavitha is standing and Mahesh is in a non-inertial
frame of reference. So, only if you refer physical laws from inertial frame of reference, they
are valid. So, you have to apply Newton’s law very very carefully, you cannot apply it the
way you want it. So, you have to have a clear distinction between what is an inertial frame of
reference and what is a non-inertial frame of reference ok.
So, I said that Newton dethroned Aristotle’s views after 2,000 years and it is unfortunate in
science new scientist come, add more knowledge give trouble to us to study more at the same
time they will dislodge earlier facts. So, the Newtonian world view is being questioned. For
more than two centuries after its inception the Newtonian view of the world ruled supreme;
nobody questioned it and people are happy.
Because Niels Bohr when they determined the atom, he convened the physicists and said we
have determined the fundamental block of nature that is in the beginning of 19 century
nothing more needs to be found out ok. So, that is how see civilization when they determine
something, they are so
enthusiastic about it. And it is
very difficult when nobody else
has found out a verification you
pop your head and then say this
is what it is, it is very difficult
to make such statements ok.
Though it may appear folly
determination of atom is a very
great scientific breakthrough
ok.
So, at the end of 19th century problem started to appear. The problematic issue can be
reduced to these questions. What is light? How does it propagate? These two are very
important questions. How did the generations answer these questions?
40
So, you had contribution by Maxwell; Maxwell brought together the knowledge of electricity
and magnetism known in his day in a set of four elegant equations known as Maxwell’s
equations. What do these equations say? These equations say light is an electromagnetic
wave. He introduced the concept of electromagnetic waves and he also found that they travel
at the speed of light his statements are silent just the speed of light. With respect to what you
had to measure that word is silent; people did not know they are clueless.
And you all know see suppose

you have a vacuum suppose
somebody goes and speaks in
vacuum can somebody hear
you cannot hear. Sound is a
wave it definitely requires a
medium for it to travel light is
also a wave ok. So, the
generation when they have not
understood what is light, they
had lot of confusions, they had to conjecture different theories. So, the contribution of
Maxwell was his equations introduced the speed of light c, but they do not say with respect to
what this velocity is to be measured. And I have already said the light is also a wave and
people thought like other waves it must also require a medium to travel. The medium is
conjectured as Aether.
If you were in that generation you would have also thought being bright does not mean that
you would have thought differently. Now you are taught in the schools there is no Aether you
take it for granted as a fact and walk and do your daily routines you do not even have time to
think about it ok. If you ask these fundamental questions, we will all stumble upon these
questions and we will be looking for answers. Next the question is if I conjecture Aether does
it really exist; you can verify it only by an experiment.
41
Suppose Aether exists what would be its properties? Because we see distant stars; they are
several light years away. So, if
it is so then Aether must be a
very tenuous or else the friction
would have stopped the earth
long ago. Like I am said I am
tired of going around the sun in
365 days I will take more time
to do it Aether has not started
doing it ok.
So, Aether would be like a

ghostly wind blowing through the universe. So, these were the conjectures and it was for
Michelson Morley who attempted to detect Aether by measuring the speed of light in two
different directions; upwind and downwind with respect to Aether. The idea was from
Newton’s laws you will add and subtract and the velocity should change that is the idea
behind it.
And they had constructed a

very sophisticated
interferometer you had a light
source which goes through a
beam splitter goes through a
mirror. So, these are two
difference directions, and I
have detector which detects
this. And you know normally
you think when I perform an experiment, I should get the result I want that is not the way
experiments are performed people do it very carefully and it is the most celebrated failed
experiments in physics.
42
What was the original idea behind the experiment? The experiment was to establish the
existence of Aether. They rotated this interferometer at different directions then perform the
experiment. He could not find in the detector any change because of directional dependence.
It was a classical failed experiment to prove the presence of Aether. The message you get
from that is there is no Aether and he also determined the speed of light it is 2,99,796
kilometers in 1924. It is a very sophisticated experiments at that point in time, they did not
have a laser at that point ok.
So, he had constructed a very
sophisticated interferometer
and did it.
Now, let us go back I said

speed of light is mentioned in
the Vedas “Taranir
vishwadarshatho jyothish
kridasi soorya. Vishwa
maabhasi rochanam…”. This is the mantra and I said you need somebody to interpret this
mantra. Otherwise it is not possible for us to understand what it is. Oh, sun you overwhelm
all in speed visible to all source of light. You shine pervading the universe and we had the
Sayanachariyar who has interpreted this “Tatha cha smaryata yojananam sahasram dhve dhve
shate dhve cha yojane…”.
This refers to it traverses 2,202 yojanas. “Ye kena nimishardhena kramamana namostu
the…”. So, nimisha is the time; it is remembered here that sun traverses 2,202 yojanas in half
a nimisha that is what the reference to this mantra when Sayanchariyar who is a great scholar,
and minister in the court of King Bukka of Vijayanagar Empire he had given this
commentary.
43
And now let us go and calculate the value for our own interest ok. What does it reveal?
Yojana is a unit of distance and nimisha is a unit of time. Distance travelled is 2202 yojanas
and 1 yojana is 9 miles and 110
yards. So, which goes to
21,444.705 miles and time
taken is half a nimisha which is
0.114286 seconds, this works
out to speed of light as
185,016.169 miles per seconds.
And the modern value is 186,

282.397 miles. So, it is quite
close and in meters per second
it is given in this form. And you
should know that this was finalized in 1983, with several sophisticated instrumentation fine.
And let us go back to scientific history and find out what was the value of speed of light with
modern science knew at different points in time.
Romer and Huygens measured it in 1675 as 220, 000, 000 meters per second or 220, 000
kilometers per second far away
from this. If you had compared
the Vedic reference to speed of
light you would say it is
nowhere near the modern
science. And the science says
people measured the speed of
light in 1675, 1729, 1849, 1862,
1907, 1924, 1950, 1958, 1972
and 1983.
Speed of light is frozen for

modernity only in 1983. Even if you compare the speed of light measured by Michelson-
Morley it does not compare with the Vedic value, but 1983 value compares with the Vedic
44
value. So, the choice is yours what credit that you should have given to our traditional
wisdom which is buried which we were unaware of all these years.
Now, let us get back to mechanics what do we know so far? Newton’s mechanics based on
Galileo’s relativity all laws of mechanics are the same in different inertial frame reference
frames; frames moving with a
constant speed along a straight
line relative to one another.
Then we had Maxwell’s
electrodynamics, there is a
fundamental constant of nature
the speed of light that is always
the same, but this is
inconsistent with Newton’s
mechanics.
So, what do we do now? So, Einstein was faced with the following choices. Maxwell’s
equations are wrong the right
ones would be consistent with
Galileo’s relativity which is not
a right choice. Because
Maxwell’s theory has been so
well confirmed by numerous
experiments, Galileo’s
relativity was wrong when
applied to electromagnetic
phenomena; there was a special
reference frame for light that
45
could be another possibility. If you look at this was more likely, but it assumed light was like
any other wave and required a medium for propagation; that medium was not found from
Michelson and Morley experiment there was no medium found.
So, what is the third alternative? Einstein was faced with the following choices and the third
alternative was there is a relativity principle for both mechanical and electromagnetic
phenomena, but it is not
Galileo’s relativity. So, it
required the genius and the
courage of Einstein to accept
the third alternative. He
recognized that all
measurements of position and
velocity are relative. There is
no absolute reference frame.
His special theory of relativity

based on two postulates all laws
of nature are the same in all
inertial frames there is no
change, this is really Galileo’s
relativity. The speed of light is
independent of the motion of its
source; the statement is very
simple. This simple statement
requires a truly radical re-
thinking about the nature of
space and time.
46
And let us ponder about this; it is a very comical illustration you have a child travelling in the
airplane, train to put the ball out. And somebody is listening to a cell phone music and
somebody is taking a laser and then putting the light out ok. If the plane is travelling at a
constant speed of Vp as far as the observer on earth he would perceive the velocity of ball as
velocity of ball plus velocity of plane. Same is true for sound; velocity of sound plus velocity
of plane as the net velocity. The moment you come to light there is no change in the velocity;
the speed of light is absolute that is what Einstein’s special theory of relativity says ok. Let us
try to understand it from a different perspective.
So, as per Newton’s laws the velocity of the source just adds to the velocity of the projectile
even for light that is what you can extrapolate from what Newton’s laws can be looked at in
this context. But for Einstein the velocity of the source affects the velocity of the projectile,
but the effect is smaller and smaller as the projectile speed approaches the velocity of light.
Same statement but doctored in a different perspective and this is possible by another concept
call time dilation, I am not going to get into this ok. So, people have accepted special theory
of relativity, the speed of light
is unaffected by the motion of
the source what Newton’s laws
velocity just adds even for light
happens to be wrong and this
happens to be right.
47
And in summary you know what we are going to look is classical mechanics is Newtonian
mechanics. When things get fast apply special theory of relativity, when things get small
apply quantum mechanics,
when things get small and fast
apply quantum field theory.
Fortunately, in this course we
will confine our attention to
Newtonian mechanics and
which can explain many of our
day-to-day activities.
But even for your GPS, unless

you bring in relativity; those
GPS satellites cannot transmit signal properly. And I said in any scientific development it is
only destructing others has got funding. So, if you look at intercontinental missiles you
cannot work with Newton’s mechanics; you have to bring in special theory of relativity and
then calculate its trajectory and then predict its target.
Thank you.
48
Prof. K. Ramesh
Module - 01
Statics
Lecture - 03
Force Systems - I
So, let us get on to the

main body of the course
and let me start with the
first chapter on Force
Systems.
Idealization is a crucial
step in engineering
approach for the purpose
of analysis. Why do we do
that? This is because,
actual behaviour of
systems are generally
complex. Consideration of
all features is difficult or
impossible in many cases.
So, this is very important.
You have to look at what is the phenomena that you want to analyze. Depending on the
context, you have to make an appropriate approximation.
49
So, when I have a physical system, I extract the essence of it by a mathematical model.
And what is a mathematical model? We choose a mathematical model, such that it is
simple to analyze, yet exhibits the phenomena under consideration. So, the challenge lies
in how to arrive at a mathematical model for a given physical system and how are you
sure that whatever the mathematical model I have taken is good enough for the given
application. The only way is, you verify it based on experimentation. So,
experimentation is the ultimate key to verify a given mathematical model.
See, you have to look at all physical systems are generally nonlinear. We try to model it
as linear for the purpose of analysis. Otherwise, the problem becomes too complex to
analyze. See, if you can look at cosmology, they assume that mass is uniformly
distributed. Whereas, you see there is a large distance between earth and the moon and
earth and the sun, there is nothing is available, yet you make an idealization mass is
uniformly distributed. This may be good to start with, when you want to analyze certain
aspects of cosmology.
On the other hand, if you look at an atom, which is at a very small scale you have a
nucleus and an electron cloud that are again separated. There the approximations would
be different. So, depending on a given physical situation and length scales, certain
approximations are acceptable for a given application. You may ask a question why not I
encompass all the physical features. Though, it is desirable from a first look, it may be
extremely difficult to implement.
So, the way to solve a

given problem is idealize it
appropriately. So that you
can solve the problem
based on mathematics, yet
retain the essence of it is
physical behaviour and that
is how we have to attempt
solving any given physical
problem.
50
And one of the basic idealizations used in mechanics is, consider the body as rigid and
we have already seen in the previous class, what is the actual definition of a rigid body.
And the definition says a rigid body is one in which all particles remain at fixed
distances from each other irrespective of the forces that act on the body. In essence, it
does not deform under the action of forces. Is it true? Not strictly true in many instances.
But it is a very powerful idealization to get started and fortunately in this course, you will
only come across rigid bodies. This idealization is used both in the study of statics as
well as dynamics and you cannot use this idealization indiscriminately; you have to be
very careful fine. And what you will have to notice is the idealized physical systems, as
well as physical actions. When you say a body is rigid, you are idealizing the physical
system and we will also represent a force by a simple vector indicating it is a
concentrated force. Concentrated force is again an abstraction. It goes with rigid body
idealization; you cannot think of a concentrated force without assuming the body as
rigid.
Because in reality all bodies deform. You will only have a distributed force whenever
there is a force interaction, if you are bound to accommodate that in your analysis, you
will take years to solve a
problem or for some
instances you may not
even have a first level
solution.
And what is the concept of

a force? You find a person
is pulling something in the
field and another one is
footballer is hitting the ball. So, you have some kind of an interaction takes between the
footballer foot and the ball. Now, you would like to do the analysis.
51
How do I get started with the analysis? It is a very simple way of describing complex
physical interactions between bodies. What happens physically, you model it as a force.
And what is the effect of this force? The force changes or tends to change the motion of
the body acted on. In order to understand it very clearly, I have taken the example of a
footballer because, you could see what happens to the ball and you should be trained in
handling the football, so that you hit a goal ok.
And what is it
characterized by? Force is
characterized by point of
application. I have a
generic body here, I could
have multiple points where
there could be force and
when I say a force it is
characterized by it is
magnitude, as well as a
direction. So, when you have a quantity which has a magnitude and direction, how will
you label that? You can label that as a vector provided it also satisfies the commutative
law. If it does not satisfy the commutative law, it cannot become a vector. We will see
later finite rotation does not come under the purview of a vectorial quantity whereas,
infinitesimal rotation can be shown as a vector quantity.
So, I could represent the force by a line like this, showing the magnitude as well as the
direction. So, it could be concentrated or distributed forces like this. I have already told
you in reality; whenever there is the interaction of one body with the other it will always
be distributed. But, in many instances to make our life simple, we will indicate this by
the resultant and show that as a concentrated force. Concentrated force is also an
abstraction goes hand in hand with rigid body idealization. From Newton’s third law of
motion, force always exists in pairs; I cannot have just one force indicated like this.
52
For which I have to look at

what is the Newton’s third
law. For every action there
is an equal and opposite
reaction. I have just shown
two bodies 1 and 2. So, the
body 1 will exert the force
on 2, body 2 will exert the
force on 1 and I could
show them as vectors like
this, F12 and F21. So, when I say force, it indicates this pair and they are equal and
opposite. Very obvious and you should also remember and understand it very clearly;
action and reaction forces always act on different objects. They do not act on the same
object.
And what kind of force interactions you can come across. Interactions can be between
systems in direct contact or those which are physically separated. So, I have a rail wheel
on rails and there is a
direct physical contact
between the wheel and
the rail and how do I
represent this
interaction? I separate
these two bodies and I
have force F1 acting on
the wheel and F2 acting
on the rails. This is by
direct contact. I would
like you to make a sketch and then put it. These concepts will look very simple and too
obvious but, your notes should be complete fine because, we have to build a strong
foundation.
53
I can also think of an

airplane flying. It does
have an interaction
between the earth. There is
no direct physical contact
and that is why gravitation
was so difficult to
comprehend. So,
whenever you are going to
draw a free body diagram,
you will have to look at
force that happen in direct contact and force interaction that act without a direct contact.
We would see them as surface forces and body forces.
It has become customary to apply the term force indiscriminately to either the pair F1, F2
or to the single vectors F1
or F2 separately. So, both
the usages are seen and we
simply represent F1 as a
force and be done with it
and what is the effect of
these forces. See, I have an
ordinary screen and I draw
a line as a vector. I have
not shown what would
happen to the body.
Suppose, I use the facilities of animation and try to show you, if I put a force on a body
what would happen to it, we would also see that in the next slide ok.
54
I have a force F2 acting on this, what would happen to this? It could translate. Fine, you
are not having a smart screen, which understand mechanics and when you make a
drawing, you put a force and it shows what is the motion. Some of you should develop
that for the Google because; they are making all new developments with the artificial
intelligence. You can also make a smart screen which understands mechanics. Unless
this force is resisted by the supports, which develop reactions R1 and R2, the rails will not
remain in that place.
So, in general the effect of a force on a body is to produce a combination of translation

and rotation motion. Here,
I have cleverly taken an
example, where this force
F2 passes through the
central of gravity of the
object. So, when I apply
the force, it has only linear
translation and you could
feel this force if somebody
pushes you, depending on
where he puts his hand on
your chest, if it is at the centre you will translate. If it is on one of the edges, you would
translate as well as tend to rotate. But you might resist and then stand that is the different
issue but if you allow yourself to be acted by the force, you should feel any force that
acts on a body, in general produces a translation and a rotation. In exceptional cases, you
may have only rotation or you may have only translation but, generic effect is
combination of translation and rotation. And in the case of an air craft what happens.
Unless the air exerts the force, the aircraft would fly off from the earth. Ok. So, it follows
a particular trajectory.
And let us also understand what is the unit of a force? Unit of a force is given the name
in honor of Newton you call it as a Newton. A Newton is defined as the force which
gives an acceleration of 1 meter per second square to a mass of 1 kilogram and is a very
nice portrait of Newton, drawn in 1689. We have already learnt something about
55
Newton, we have some more data. He is an English physicist, mathematician,

astronomer, philosopher and theologian. I also find these dates are different.
See if you go to history, scientific historians you find some dispute on some of these
dates. The earlier slide I had this as 1642, it shows as 1643 and undoubtedly, he was one
of the most influential scientists and people in human history. His work laid the
foundation of most of classical mechanics. Also built the first practical telescope.
Observations are very important. That is what I said. You have a mathematical model.
How do you verify the mathematical model? Only based on experimentation and in those
days, their first choice was to look at stars and find out predict their orbits and then
verify their understanding of mechanics. And he is also credited in developing
differential and integral calculus along with Leibniz.
And another subtle concept

of force is transmissibility
of force, which we will be
repeatedly using in this
course. There is a
justification; Principle of
transmissibility states, that
the external effects of the
force are independent of
the point of application of
the force along its line of action.
What you have to pay attention is external effects. We are not talking about internal
effects. Internal effects would be different but, external effects remain unaltered if I
move the force along the line of action and I have a nice animation to show this, I have
force acting on this. Now, let me have a body with this force now, I make the board as
smart, it understands mechanics. Because of the force, the body will not remain at rest, it
will move and I have taken a snap shot up to this point ok.
56
Now, what I do is, I move this force to the rear of the body which I can do easily and I
look at what will happen to
this body, when I apply the
force what will happen to
this body? This body also
will move forward. So,
what do you find here? I
can move the body by
pulling or I can also move
the body by pushing. It
does not make a difference.
It is a very useful principle
that we will repeatedly use,
when we have a force system to be simplified. And we have already idealized the body
to be rigid. This concept also goes with rigid body idealization.
Now, let us look at, what kind of an internal effect possible. Now, I do not have one
force but, I have another force to balance it and this is like you know pulling the body so
the body is under tension. If I move them along the line of action, what happens; the
body is under compression. And in both instances what happens? Object is at rest. That
is the external effect. We
have taken the body to be
rigid, so the distance
between the particles does
not vary. In one case I
apply tension, in another
case I apply compression,
and the external effect is
same.
57
And suppose I make the body deformable and visualize what could happen to the body, a
rigid body will remain like this. If the body is deformable you will find when I apply
tension it will elongate like this, when I apply compression it would get compressed from
its original dimensions. Even though the internal effect is different, the shape of a rigid
body will not change by definition. Look at the word definition. In physical reality it
does happen, it does change shape may be minutely; if you make a very high
magnification you will see.
If my interest is to find out the external forces this approximation is a convenient way to
carry on with the analysis and we have also seen that force is a sliding vector, that should
be used with care, that is what is emphasized and it slides along the line of action, that is
what you see here. Force is a vector but, we also qualify that force is a sliding vector and
this has to be used judiciously, when you are looking at the external effects of the force.
So, what you learn is force

is a sliding vector and what
are the classifications of
force systems? If you
understand different force
systems, then you can
easily find out the resultant
based on it is properties
and one of the simplest
force systems you can
think of is a concurrent force system. Action lines of all these forces meet at a point and I
also use this is to introduce certain engineering concepts. Soon we are going to learn
what are known as trusses and this is how you will have a joint in a truss. Make a neat
sketch of it.
And this is a classic example, where you have a concurrent force system. What you have
this as a plate is known as a gusset plate, on which the members forming the truss are
connected. They have to be connected in a manner that it forms a concurrent force
system, only then you can analyze the structure as a truss that we will see later. When I
58
have these members, these members may be subjected to compression or tension and if
you find out what is the line of action of these forces they would meet at a point.
Or in other words, when you are constructing a truss and connecting the members
forming that truss to a gusset plate, you must ensure that the line of action of these forces
pass through a point, it should not be offset. If it is offset, it is going to disturb the
idealization, that you would model it for a truss. I would in addition also have a moment,
which we do not want to have.
And is very clear from this diagram, you can also have a system which is concurrent as
well as coplanar. All forces lie in the same plane and which you could see very easily, in
the case of a gusset plate and make an neat sketch on this and you are in the first
semester, you know if you are exposed to engineering drawing, one of the first training
you are given is how to sketch? You may not become an artist but, you should know how
to sketch physical systems from an engineering perspective and this is an isometric view
of the system for you to
get the details. Try your
hand on it to the extent
possible.
Then I can also have a

system which is in general
non-concurrent. Action
lines do not intersect at a
common point. I have a
tall mast and you find a line is connecting this and this is called a guy-wire. See, if you
look at any transmitting tower; For example, radio transmitting tower if you find, it will
be a thin column and they will anchor it in its place by steel wires, they are called guy-
wires to take care of the wind loads and the tension would be adjusted by a turn buckle at
one of the ends.
59
And this is a system, which

has forces acting on the
guy-wire; there is weight
acting on this. They do not
meet at a point; they are
very general and I have
also replaced what is the
kind of interaction by a
system of forces. Soon we
will learn, how to idealize
supports, focus now here is
we have idealized the body as rigid, then we are trying to understand different force
systems.
In the process, I show you certain idealizations indirectly but, we will also have a formal
discussion on how do I idealize a wire connected to a structure or how do I analyze a
fixed end, that we would see sooner. And you can also see, the force system is non-
coplanar, the forces do not lie on the same plane. So, it is very general.
I can have another force

system, where the forces
are collinear. See, you can
make any arbitrary shape
that is convenient to you,
the important point here is,
whatever the force acting
on the body, lies on a
particular line of interest. I
have force F1, F2 and F3
acting at different places.
And I could also have another force system, where action lines of the forces are parallel.
You may ask where this kind of a force system can come into play.
60
I have a simple example and the simple example is like this. I have a member with
rollers on two ends on a floor. I have a pin joint here and I have a wire connected to this
a sort of a rope and I go and pull the rope. That is what I am going to do. When I pull the
rope, I would draw the free body diagram of this member, this roller is lifted from the
floor, this roller interacts with the floor, that interaction is replaced by a concentrated
force.
And the interaction of the rope is put as a force like this and weight of the object is acting
downwards like this. This forms a parallel force system. So, you could have in
applications, systems having parallel forces, collinear forces, concurrent forces and non-
concurrent forces, they can be coplanar or non-coplanar, all these combinations are
possible.
Once we have looked at the force system, we would like to simplify them ok. The
process of reducing a force system to an equivalent and simplest force system, which has
the same external effect. That is what you have to underline. We are only looking at
external effects, on the body as the original force system is called composition.
For us to do this we would use the property of the force. We have seen transmissibility of
a force. Once I move the force to a convenient point, I could find the resultant by using
parallelogram law of
vector addition; vector
addition it is put as edition
here please correct it. The
resultant of two external
forces has the same effect
on the body as the original
force system that is a key
point.
When I have multiple

force interactions, reduce
local interactions by simpler force system is desirable to analyze the body. For me to
reduce that, I use the concept of composition of forces, which you all know indirectly in
61
your earlier learning, we are only revisiting the same old concept. So, that you do not
make a mistake in future.
I can have a body like this, I have forces F1 and F2 acting on it and we have also shown
what is the line of action and these two line of action intersect at point P and if I have to
find out the resultant, it is easier for me to move these forces to the point P.
I use the concept of transmissibility of force and then take a resultant, very simple which
you have done many numbers of times in your earlier learning. But it is better to
recollect that and associate that you have been able to do this because, you are looking at
the external effects number 1 and you are employing the property of transmissibility of
force. You may not have paid attention on transmissibility of force in your earlier
learning. By rote practice you would simply move and then take a resultant.
Now, you have a principle behind that. I have a resultant; this has the same effect as the
individual forces. Both
these systems have the
same external effect on the
body. Once you have
looked at composition, you
should also look at
resolution of forces
because, we need both
tricks, depending on what
is the problem on hand, I
would do resolution or I
will do composition.
Resolution is reverse of composition, so I get the force into the components. So, the
process of finding two components of a force, which will have the same external effect
on a body, as the force itself is known as a resolution of a force. Here I have put two
components because, it is easy to look at two-dimensional analysis first, if I do a three-
62
dimensional analysis, then I should get three components. It is useful in the study of
mechanics.
While dealing with

Cartesian co-ordinates, the
most common two-
dimensional resolution of a
force is the resolution into
rectangular components in
x and y axis. You have
different coordinate system
I have polar coordinate
system; I have n-t
coordinate system. So,
depending on which coordinate system you are looking at, we would like to see the
components and that is known as resolution of forces.
I have taken the Cartesian co-ordinate system, I have a force F, all this is very well
known to you but, for the purpose of completeness let me list out the steps. It is oriented
at angle theta, more of recollection of your early learning. I could write the force in terms
of the x component and y component. I have
where i and j are the unit vectors in these directions.
So, I have this force magnitude Fx and Fy, then I can write many of this. What is Fx and
Fy?
what is angle theta? It is;
63
what is the magnitude of force?
What are the direction cosines of this force? I can put them as l, m and n
and what is the unit vector

representing the force. I
could put that as
All this is taught to you

earlier ok; we are just
having a recapitulation.
And you can also do a simple homework, if you want to do this, I have a hook, which is
having a force two forces at 30o and 60o find out the resultant, I am not going to solve it;
just for you to have some
practice.
I have told you earlier, you

have forces that happen,
when two bodies interact
directly and there are also
forces that act at a distance.
We could classify them as
body and surface forces
and what are body forces
64
and what are surface forces? By definition, body forces act on each volume element of
the body and one of the commonest examples of body force is the force due to
gravitation and you call that as a weight ok. I could also have this interaction from other
sources; it could be from magnetic field, electric field or even centrifugal field.
And one of the very important aspects, when we draw the free body diagram later, you
must consciously account for the body force interaction, there could be mistakes, if you
do not accommodate this because, there is no direct physical contact. And this is what is
explained again here, the force of earth on an object at or near the surface is called the
weight of the object. On the other hand, surface forces act on each surface element of the
body and is exerted by direct mechanical contact.
So, when you draw the free body diagram by definition you cut from the surroundings
and replace the interaction of the surroundings by forces, you draw the free body
diagram, you will normally not miss the surface forces but, body forces you may miss.
But cleverly what we will do is in many engineering applications involving mechanical
and aerospace, the effect of weight is usually neglected to make our life simple.
On the other hand, if I have to analyze a civil structure for example, if I have to analyze
the beam, it is so heavy. I cannot neglect the weight of the beam in analysis of civil
structures. So, what we do is, we do idealizations very cleverly to make our life simple
and mind you the solution
you get is not exact, it is
always approximate, good
enough for a given
application, that is a way
you have to look at it.
And one of the body forces

that you can think of is the
attraction of gravity, you
see the apple falling and you have in this electrical charge. So, the electron beam gets
deflected depending on the charge, that is again a body force and we have already seen a
65
rotating platform, when you sit and enjoy the merry go round, you do a feel the force of
centrifugal effect and they are all body forces.
Particularly when you are analyzing a turbine blade, rotating at a very high speed, you
have to take into account
the effect of centrifugal
effects in your analysis. If
you do not do that, your
results will be far away
from your
experimentation. And
when we go to surface
forces, it is very clear the
direct mechanical contact
is very clear.
And we will also look at,

when I have a distributed
force; I said all bodies are
deformable. In general,
you have any force
interaction as only a
distribution but, there are
also some instances where
we had seen parallel force system. So, we have to find out the composition of it fine.
That is what we will look at it now. A distributed force could be reduced to a single
equivalent force which would have the same overall effect at points away from the
region of application. This is again you have to keep note of which engineers use.
66
When the body deforms at the actual interaction, what happens physically, what happens
in a mathematical model can be different. Leaving those points of application, away from
the point of application, if I have the force system statically equivalent, it will have the
same external effect. That is very important. Representation of distributed forces, by
means of a concentrated force, acting at specific points is actually an abstraction justified
only because, it greatly simplifies the analysis.
And I have an example,

which shows a cantilever
beam, say I am also
blurting out engineering
terminologies. So, the idea
is when we take up beams,
you understand what is a
cantilever? It is better to
get those jargons to start
with and one simple representation is this cantilever is subjected to a concentrated force
at the end. How do I get this concentrated force physically? There could be multiple
ways to exert this force. It is a very nice example which brings into focus, how to
comprehend a physical
system fit enough for
analysis.
One of the ways of

applying this force could
be, I could have a pin
inserted into a hole at this
point. I look at the front
view here I look at the side
view, I have a pin running
through the hole, I have a fork. On the fork I could have a weighing pan and then put
67
some weight there and if I analyze only the fork, I could replace this as a uniformly
distributed force and I would have interaction of a pin with the hole on this member.
Fine.
Let me show this, what I

would do is, I would pass
an imaginary plane that cut
across this member. What
way would I see the
interaction between the pin
and the hole.
I would have a clearance,

which is not visible in a small diagram. I will magnify it. I have a clearance and the pin
would be resting on the hole like this and if you really look at what is the kind of
interaction here, the force would be distributed and if you go for higher studies you will
learn what is known as contact stress that also specifies, what kind of distribution is
there. This distribution is elliptical and you idealize this as a Hertzian contact. I would in
fact have a distribution like this. Imagine if I have a body which has interaction with
surrounding, each one of
this interaction is so
complex, if I want to retain
all of them and try to do
the analysis, it will be too
difficult to handle.
I would in fact replace this

by a simpler force system,
by a concentrated force. I
can find out the resultant, I
simply replace it as a
concentrated force and you have already seen, I have put an imaginary plane passing
68
through the member. I have looked at what happens at that plane. Physically the pin is
occupying a finite distance. So, the same thing would get replicated at each one of the
planes. Let us see how it happens.
So, I have shown it like this. When I replicate that I would have a parallel force system,
that would be existing between the pin and the hole and by composition I can replace the
parallel force by its
resultant.
And by concept of
transmissibility of force, I
can move this force to this
end. So, what you have
seen is, in a simple picture
you put a concentrated
load, it is not actually that
simple.
If you really look at a physical equivalence of it, many interactions are simplified and
you have used the concept
of transmissibility of force,
composition of force and
then replaced it by a single
concentrated force to
represent this complex
interaction.
We have now looked at for

the surface force. We
would also look at the body force. By definition gravity acts on every volume element of
69
the body and that is where you find the mass center and then you replace it by the
weight. And you have to
see with the caution, when
the magnitude of weight is
much smaller than the
applied force it is
neglected, which simplifies
calculation in complex
real-life problems, which
we usually do in many of
the mechanical and
aerospace systems, not in
civil engineering. Ok.
And we will also see one more concept, we have been looking at apple falling, apple
falling and we also show forces, which has a magnitude by length of the vector. How
these forces are applied? It is a very important aspect. You know if the apple is falling
like this, we are not going to analyze it in our course, where what happens?
At time t 0 there was no force, at time t just after that, you have a full magnitude of force,
we are not going to analyze such problems. Whenever we say that there is a force, we
always perceive that force has been applied gradually. So, in this course unless otherwise
stated, the forces are assumed to be applied gradually for mathematical analysis, if I have
a force, which is having an impact the approach has to be different. For convenience, we
show that as a vector, we keep our eyes close.
How these forces are actually applied? I have shown a nice example, when there is a
concentrated force on a cantilever, it is not that simple. Physical appreciation of this
requires multiple elements, multiple force interactions and bodies are also deformable,
we make it as rigid for analysis purpose, reduce the force into a concentrated force and
do the analysis of the problem.
So, in this class, we have looked at in broad perspective, what is the concept of a force
and we have learnt transmissibility of force, we have also looked at force is a sliding
70
vector and we said that we would idealize the physical interactions physical body as rigid
for the purpose of analysis and I also pointed out, a good engineer makes very intelligent
approximations. Without approximations there is no engineering. You are a good
engineer, if you are able to solve a practical problem with the essential features necessary
for the given application.
Thank you.
71
Prof. K. Ramesh
Module - 01
Statics
Lecture - 04
Force Systems - II
Let us continue our discussion

on force systems.
See, in the last class we had

taken up a simple problem,
where in I have shown a load
acting at the tip of a cantilever
beam and I said in order to
apply this load one possibility is
to have a pin joint with a fork;
and when I view it on this side
view, I get this or if I see there I
can also called that a front
view. And if I see the side view,
72
I have the system like this. I have a pin going through the hole and I have a fork. A pan is
attached to the fork and you put a weight on it. So, looking from another perspective force is
a useful and simple way of describing very complex physical interactions between “bodies”.
This is what we have seen in the previous class I will again go through it quickly for you to
appreciate you should look at force as a concept.
I pass an imaginary plane

cutting the pin and the block
assembly.
And I would see the pin sitting

on the hole like this.
73
When I magnify it, I can see

the clearance between the pin
and the block and you have,
contact over this length which
is magnified several times.
And by Hertzian contact

principle you would have an
ellipsoidal force distribution. In
reality all bodies are
deformable as an idealization
we make it as rigid that makes
our life simple. And by the
principle of composition I can
make this force distribution as a
concentrated force.
And when I see this for every

other plane in the pin, I would
have essentially a parallel force
system.
74
I can take a resultant of this

which is simple to do, but the
force is acting only at this point
and we have learnt a very
powerful principle, principle of
transmissibility of a force. So,
by that I move the force to the
top end of the beam.
And I have already told you

whenever I apply a force in
general it produces a translation
and a rotation; only translation
or only rotation are exceptional
cases. And I also said that we
have to quantify these effects
whatever the effect the force is
causing, I should know what is
the rotatory effect. That is what I get it from the concept of moment of a force. Make a neat
sketch of this body and let me apply a force at an arbitrary point on the body. And I would
like to find out what is the moment of this force acting at an arbitrary point P and what is
shown now is I have told you earlier force can be treated as a sliding vector; as long as I am
interested in the external effect of the force by using the principle of transmissibility I can
treat the force as sliding vector.
Now, I take a point P which is arbitrary there is no special location to that, and if I want to
know what is the position vector of this force from the point P I have this vector drawn. And
I label this vector as r and you can easily find out what is the rotatory effect of this force
about point P as
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From a vectorial notation you can easily do that. And when I represent the rotatory effect, I
see very clearly, I am having an anticlockwise motion, in this course I would urge you to
visualize physically how the force tends to turn the object; do not just do the mathematics
using vectorial algebra. You should always physically make an attempt to visualize the
rotatory effect that will help you to appreciate the subject better.
And this is about the axis O-O as force is a sliding vector, moment is also a sliding vector.
So, if I have multiple moments acting on the body; if they all meet at a point, I can use
vectorial addition and get the resultant. And I use the right-hand rule and I find out what is
the direction of the moment. Anticlockwise is taken as positive; clockwise is taken as
negative. This is what is summarized in the next slide.
I can also find out moment of a

force based on distances which
I could calculate if I find out
what is the perpendicular
distance from point P to the line
of action. I can simply write the
moment as the magnitude as
and from the sense of the force acting on it I can perceive that this is acting anticlockwise and
I label it as positive moment.
So, that is what is summarized here. So, I can do a vectorial calculation or I can physically
look at what is the distance and also get the rotatory effect. And what would happen when I
change the point P on the component, the position vector r will keep changing in a sense d
also will keep changing. So, the rotatory effect changes from point to point; it is a very
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important concept. The rotatory effect of the force differs from which point I am trying to
calculate. It again emphasizes that moment is a sliding vector.
And clockwise rotation about

the point is taken as negative.
So, when you specify the
moment not only the
magnitude, but also the sense of
rotation needs to be specified
and also perceived by you
while solving problems. Do not
hang on to only vectorial
algebra and say r x F; I get it I get all this components ijk. Then the subject becomes very dry;
there is no life to the subject. You should always visualize how the force is trying to rotate
the body and this again shows that it is a sliding vector, force is also a sliding vector; the
concept is emphasized again and again so that you remember this as we go by in the course.
Suppose I have an arbitrary

line O prime O prime how do I
find out the component. I have
the line O prime O prime and it
is again simple if you know
vector algebra. I can easily do
that; I have the unit vector as e.
I can simply get that as
It is very simple for you to do that there is no difficulty in getting it, but I can also appreciate
it from the way how the force interacts with the line of interest.
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There are two cases where the

component of moment vanishes
about an axis, when the line of
action of force cuts the axis like
this or when the line of action is
parallel to the line of interest.
Suppose I have a force F2
which is parallel to this
component of moment along
that axis will be 0; it would
help you to simplify complex
problems if you understand this property. It is again a useful property that you can employ
whenever the need arises.
And there is also a very simple

theorem goes by the name
Varignon, I have a body. Make
a neat sketch of it. I have an
arbitrary force F acting on it at
point (x, y) it is acting. And a
force is depicted as
Fx and Fy are the magnitudes and i and j are the unit vectors in the x and y direction.
What is the moment given by this force? I have a position vector r and I can also find out
what is the distance d. I draw a line through the force; from the origin I try to find out what is
the distance which I can calculate let the distance be d; and this force tends to rotate the
object about point o anticlockwise. So, I can easily write the value as d×F use the magnitude
and it will perpendicular to the plane, so I get it on the z axis.
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So, I put the unit vector as k. So, I can find out this. I can also find out the moment about
point o writing vectors r and F like this.
And you have to go back to the product rule i × i is 0, i × j is k, j × i is -k, when you do all
this, I can simplify this as
So, what does this show? Magnitude of moment is given by the algebraic sum of the
magnitudes of the moments of the components about O; a very powerful theorem. So, I can
find out moment by using the components, in many situations it may be easier to do the
calculation that way; let us learn this by a simple example.
If the calculation of d is
cumbersome, then you can go
with the components. It is
definitely simple, but a very
useful concept in physical
visualization of the effect of
forces.
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I take a simple problem; please make a sketch I have a mast. You know, before we even get
into free body diagram, I am
teaching you elements of free
body diagram indirectly. We
will take a formal appreciation
of how to draw a free body
diagram later. I have an object
this is the ground. I have a
point A this is marked on the
ground and I have a force of
700 N acting at this point
oriented at angle 45o. And I
have the distance of the point
of application horizontal distance from point A is given as 1.2 m; and the vertical distance is
given as 3 m. Now this is at the same level if you look at this point and this height depicted as
3 m are at the same level. It is very easy to do and we will solve it by three different ways.
So, in the first method, resolve

the force along x and y
directions and you know it is
F cos 45 and F sin 45 and I can

also get those values I get the
values as 494.97 N. And use
the Varignon’s theorem; we
have already got the distances
horizontal distance x is 1.2
meters, vertical distance is 3 m.
So, I can directly write the moment from this even before you do that can you visualize in
which direction, you will have the moment; is it clockwise or anticlockwise. It is clockwise;
you should visualize this right from the first problem.
80
Even though your mathematics will give you correctly what is the correct vectorial
orientation. Physically you feel that; get that habit. Both forces F2 and F1 as well as the
resultant F will produce only a clockwise bending; moment and clockwise by convention you
have taken it as negative. So, I get this as a number 2078.87 Nm in the clockwise direction.
So, this is by method one straightforward I have used the Varignon’s theorem, used the
components and determined the value of the moment.
Then I can also do it by the

vectorial calculation, I write the
position vector
because I know that this is at

1.2 meters and this is at 3
meters from the point of
interest. The force vector I can
write it like this, because I have taken the origin coinciding with the point of interest; I put
the distances probably and I put this r cross F. So, when I do the r × F; I get the value again
same as minus 2078.87 k. So. It is straightforward. The third method is I can also find out the
distance d and do it all of them should give you the same answer.

And how do I do this? I have
the distance d from point A to
the force and you know I can
split this distance as d1 and d2,
from this triangle I can find out
81
d 1 and from this triangle I can find out d 2.
So, I get the value of d as 2.97 meters this is rounded off here. So, I will also get a rounded
off answer minus 2097 Newton meter, I have just given the magnitude and because I know
this is clockwise, I have associated the sign as negative.
So, a very simple problem you understand Varignon’s theorem in all its totality, you know
these are very simple concepts, but we will be repeatedly using it in the course; do not treat
them as trivial. They appear trivial you have to have a clear concept then it is easier for you to
do.
Now, we will go to a special

system of force which will
create a couple. The force
system consisting of two equal
and parallel, but non-collinear
forces with opposite sense is
called a couple. I have the same
object on that I have a force F
acting like this. I have another
force acting in the opposite
direction and these two are
parallel. Now the question is what would be the net turning effect of this force system? So, let
me take an arbitrary point P and before I do that, I also specify the axis orientation I have x, y
and z like this so that I can write my math correctly.
So, I take an arbitrary point P. We have to find out the rotatory effect of each of these forces.
I need to first find out the position vector. Let us put arbitrary the position vectors as r1 and
r2. So, I have the position vector r 1 for this force and position vector r2 for this force. We
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have already learnt how to find out the moment of these forces about point P. So, when I do
that, I would essentially get a moment about this, we will have to find out the value and I
have also used a different symbolism here. See in vectorial notation I can have a two headed
arrow to depict the moment; either I can have one arrow and then show the sense of direction
or put two heads which shows this in the positive direction or in the negative direction. These
are two symbolisms used in depicting moment. I deliberately chosen a different symbolism
here so that you will learn both of these.
And we have the reference axis as x, y and z, so when I write moment, I put
And I simplify this as
and when I do it vectorially, I get the difference as vector a. So, it is nothing but the effect of
these two forces to produce a net moment is a cross F, this has a very interesting property that
is why we look at this force system. And if I write it in long hand without the vectorial
notation how will I replace a? I will replace a by the perpendicular distance d. Ok. So, when I
have this what is it that strikes you immediately, no matter where I shift the point of interest;
it will always be
I will always have the magnitude as
So, the rotatory effect of this couple force system is independent of a point of interest,
wherever I move the point of interest the value is going to remain same; it is very peculiar
and people always get confused between a moment and a couple. Suppose I shift it to another
point; there again the same value holds good, there again it is anticlockwise the point P has
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no consequence. So, wherever I move the point I have the same value. On the other hand
moment of a force we found it is dependent on the point of interest; moment of a couple force
system; I have a force system, I do not have one force, but I have two forces. So, it is very
peculiar and you have to get the distinction between a moment and a couple very clearly. If
you understand this rest of the chapters are child’s play.
So, the point of application has no dependence on the value. So, couple is classified as a free
vector. See we had looked at
force and moment as sliding
vectors from the principle of
transmissibility; we are looking
at the external effects. So, they
can be translated along the line
of action. The moment I go to
couple I find the point of
interest has no role to play and
couple is a free vector.
And let us look at the different

ways of effecting the same
couple vector. I take a block; I
apply a force system like this;
and suppose I have the distance
between them as d this would
give me the value of Fd. It is
anticlockwise. Now, I apply the
force not on this edge.
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I apply it on these two edges, this force system also will result in the same couple; the
rotatory effect for this system is identical.
Then I take distance as half and

I double the force application. I
increase the force by two times
and I cut this distance then
again, the rotatory effect is
identical.
Whichever way I do it. So, in

summary what you will have is,
when I have a couple system
like this; it is equivalent to
doing it in multiple different
ways. I can do it by doubling
the force and shorten the
distance by d by 2 or I can also
apply it in different planes they
are one and the same.
See you need to understand the distinction between a moment and a couple, while you learn
it, they look simple but when you start solving problems you always get confused between a
moment and a couple.
85
Let us summarize whatever that

we have discussed on couple
force system. The moment is
same about all points in space.
Rotatory effect is the same at
all points in space. Net
translatory effect on the body is
zero; same idea put in different
words ok. The moment vector
M has no specific point of
application. Its emphasized
couple is a free vector, here again the unit is Newton-meter. Moments and couples do follow
laws of vector addition ok. Let us look at a very nice example which illustrates what are the
concepts that you have learned so far.
I have an object like this, I

would like you to make a
sketch, what I have is I have
shaft here and this shaft needs
to be rotated. For me to rotate
this shaft, I have one type of
handle here, I have another type
of handle here. In this handle I
can apply force only on this pin.
So, I would apply a force to
rotate it. On the other hand, this
shaft has a handle which has two pins like what you have learned in the couple force system,
I can apply an equal and opposite forces they are parallel on both these pins.
86
Now what I want you to visualize is in both cases shaft is going to rotate; are they same or
different? What is your first take on it; before we do the analysis do you find that I rotate the
handle with one hand or I put two forces on the pins and then, try to rotate it. Anyway, when
I ask you the question there has to be some difference; fine? So, let us see what it is and we
have you have enough background to do that; fine and what I have done here is, I have
removed this handle, I have cut this; this is what you are going to do it in a free body.
I will look at what are the forces that act at the end of this shaft; and I would do whatever we
have done earlier; fine. Now I move this force to this place horizontally. I am also going to
take this separately in the next slide, but we will see this in the context of couple force
system. So, we will understand it better. I move this force this way horizontally, when I move
this force this way what would happen?
If I have to move this force this way; it will also provide a rotation that will become clear in
the next slide. And I will use principle of transmissibility to translate it like this, then I move
this force to this place; this is what I am going to do. Moving the force from this position to
this position would give me a couple here; value is F × b and, moving this force will give me
a rotation this is what my ultimate aim, but I would have
M y = Fb
Mz as well as force acting on the shaft; right now, it is not clear ok. I will take up the next
slide and then explain you back.
From the context of rotating the shaft whether I rotate it with one handle or two pins a special
handle with two pins where I can apply force at two places and mimic the couple force
system; I will introduce only rotation there. I will not have any other additional forces; you
will understand it more clearly by the next slide where I demonstrate what happens when I
move a force from one line of action to another line of action; we will go there and then again
come back.
87
So, the idea is resolution of a

force into a force and a couple.
You may ask why do we need
to do this. At the start of the
class I had a simple force
system as concurrent; when the
force systems are concurrent by
using the principle of
transmissibility, I could move
them to the point of meeting;
and I can find the vector law for me to add. Suppose the lines of actions of forces are
different; how am I going to find out the resultant. I must have a via media to do that and that
you achieve by resolving a force as a force and a couple.
So, let me take point P1. Let me have a force F acting on point P1. Now my interest is I want
to move the force from point P1 to point P2, while maintaining the same external effect as the
original force F, I do not want to make any modifications on that. I cannot simply take the
force and put it at point P2. My problem is I have a force acting at point P1; now I would like
to see if I have to translate this force to point P2; what would be the effect?
So, what I am going to do is I will introduce two forces at P2, my interest is to see what
happens when I translate this force to point P2; my interest is I do not want to alter the
external effects. If I move the force this to P2; the external effects are changed. In order to
cancel that what is it that I can do? I can put another force here, if I put force equal and
opposite; have I applied a force at point P2? I have not done anything. So, this is equivalent to
what was original, but can I visualize this from a different perspective? We have learned what
is a couple. Now I can quickly see I have a force; they are equal and opposite, they are
parallel, so these two forces form a couple.
So, I can replace this by a couple vector; is the idea clear? So, now what I am going to do is; I
have these two forces depicted as yellow, saying that that is what we are using them to form a
couple force system. So, this will give me a moment about this point and I have a force. So,
88
what you have to follow here is, if I have to translate the force from point P1 to P2; I cannot
simply translate it. My external effects of this force would get modified. We have already
seen when I apply a force; it produces a rotatory effect; it changes from point to point.
Now what I want to do is, at point P2; I introduced two forces which are equal and opposite
as good as no force at point P2; when I put these two forces I get a clarity that if I have to
translate this force to point P2 without altering the external effect I have to consider force F,
as well as a couple. And this is a very useful trick; later we are going to learn in the case of
beams what are known as shear force diagram and bending moment diagram. You will
repeatedly do this step and this also simplifies if I have a non-concurrent force system; how
do I find out the resultant?
With this knowledge can we go back and then see the previous slide? So now I have a force F
acting on this. So, I have to move this force from this line of action to this line of action. So,
you add and subtract forces there, then you can recognize two forces will form a couple ok.
So, when I move this force to horizontally like this, I can recognize I would have a couple
acting on this. It is a free vector and I am putting it as the force acting on it.
Now, I translate this force acting at this, see I could also have the force on the side just for
aesthetics I have put it on the side. I can easily translate it from this to this point. So, when I
translate this to this point what will happen; add a force and subtract a force here; they form a
couple that in turns tries to rotate the shaft; is the idea clear? So, that is what is shown in this
diagram; I have a force, so I have a twisting moment.
So, when I apply a force only on one handle; then net effect on the shaft is like this, I not only
have rotation, but I also have a couple Fb, as well as force F whereas, if I apply an equal and
opposite force properly I would just have a rotatory effect of the shaft; is the idea clear? So, I
would like to emphasize that this is the step that finds repeated applications in the study of
mechanics; it appears very simple, if you understand it will remain simple for you; if you do
not understand it, it will become the bottleneck for this course ok, that is why I wanted to
spend sufficient time on this concept.
89
I can also reverse the above procedure; when I reverse above procedure it is possible to
combine a force and a couple to an equivalent force acting at a different point. So, these are
different tricks; you will choose
these tricks appropriately when
you need them, but you
definitely master these tricks
comprehend it; see you have
automobiles and some of them
you know they try to drive it
with one hand, some of them
will try to drive it with two
hands. In earlier days when
people are not having power
steering; they need two hands
rotate the steering wheel. So, what is the force that exerts on the bearing is different when I
do it with two hands and when I do it with one hand. They are not same from a mechanics
point of view, though physically you have the steering wheel is rotated; from mechanics point
of view the bearing that is available in the car will experience different force system.
So, now, I have a trick, I have a body with forces acting at different directions. They are not
having a common line of action; they do not meet at a point. I have multiple forces. I have F1,
F2, F3, F4 like this. How do I find out the resultant of these forces because both in statics and
dynamics you have to find out what is the resultant force acting on the system? Now you
have the trick; what I have to do? I have to translate this force to point P. I have taken a
simple situation where all the forces are lying in the same plane. So, I have to simply
translate it to that. So, this is equivalent to finding out the perpendicular distance and give me
a moment I will have a moment for this force F1, I will have a moment for the F2, I will have
a moment for F3, I will also have a moment for F4.
I put these distances as d1, d2, d3, d4 and I get the net moment like this because you can find
out that forces F1, F2 and F4 introduce an anticlockwise moment whereas force F3 introduces
as a clockwise moment. So, that is negative. I would like you to visualize sense of rotation
90
physically that would greatly help you to understand when you solve problems. Then with
these moments I can move these forces to this point. I cannot simply take a force and move to
that point; then it is a different problem. If I have to maintain the same external effects of the
original force, I have to recognize when I translate, I should put in the appropriate couple
components fine.
So, I have the moment acting

like this, then I have a force
system whatever we saw as F1,
F2, F3, F4. They are all now
meeting at one point; now it is
child’s play for you to find out
by vector addition what is the
value of the resultant; is the
idea clear? So, I can replace
this by a resultant and this also
shows a general force system
introduces a translation and
rotation of the body; this is
what we started with and that is
what you see here, after
learning the force system after
how to do composition and
resolution and also employ that
trick of translating a force from
one point to another point; you
find any force system can be
finally reduced to a resultant force and a resultant moment.
91
So, in summary what you find here is analysis of forces and determination of resultants of
forces is common to both statics and dynamics. In statics, the body is set to be in equilibrium;
you must have been told probably you had exposure that I am not quite sure; when
you say the body is in equilibrium. On the other hand, in dynamics, you have non-zero
resultants of force systems and their effect is studied on motion of particles, a rigid body or a
system of rigid bodies. In such a case what would be the point P? You look at the mass point
as the important point in dynamics. Whatever we have learned in this class is equally valid
for statics as well as dynamics; there is no difference at all. So, in this class you know we
have looked at what are force systems, we have looked at collinear force system, we have
looked at parallel force system and we have also learned tricks like how to move a force from
one point to another point. We have learned the concept of moment and concept of couple
force system and you should make distinction between a moment and a couple; try to make
an understanding right today, do some reading extra because if you understand a final
distinction between moment and couple you will find the course very simple.
Thank you.
92
Prof. K. Ramesh
Module - 01
Statics
Lecture - 05
Equilibrium of Rigid Bodies - I
Let us move on to the next

chapter on equilibrium of
rigid bodies, and you know
Newton’s first law
provides the basis for
equilibrium equations.
And we have already said

that we are going to deal
with rigid bodies. When
you say a rigid body, it is a
system of infinitely many
particles with fixed
distances between them
that is a key word there;
Fixed distance.
I have a particle and I have

a force R acting on it. And I would like to know can moment act on a particle, on a single
particle. You cannot have a moment. The answer is no, and what would be the condition
93
for equilibrium? When do you say a particle is in a state of equilibrium? The force
resultant acting on it is zero.
So, that is fine; see when you look at any condition you have to go to mathematics, in
mathematics whenever you talk about conditions you talk of two things what is a
necessary condition and what is a sufficient condition. Only when both these aspects are
satisfied, you say the condition is achieved. For a particle when I say , it is
necessary as well as
sufficient. This case it is
obvious, you would say
that it is both necessary
and sufficient; you do not
need any other condition to
verify whether the particle
is in a state of equilibrium.
Now, I move on to a system of particles, I have explicitly stated what are necessary
conditions, and what are sufficient conditions. And I have a system of forces acting on it;
please try to make a neat sketch of it, you will not find some of these concepts given in a
book systematically, because people rush through the conditions of equilibrium.
In a system of particles, I can have both force as well as a moment. And when I have a
system of particles there is no compulsion how they should behave under the action of
forces that distances between them are free to vary not like a rigid body. So, what I have
as is basically a necessary condition. When do you think that these

conditions become sufficient so that you can say for sure that these systems of particle
are in a state of equilibrium?
Then you will realize why we make in our first level of course idealize the bodies to be
rigid. These conditions become sufficient only when they are applicable to every
94
conceivable sub-system which is shown as different circles here. When I have infinite
particles, I could have infinite ways of forming the sub-system.
This is the reason when you go for deformable solids where the distance between the
particle do not remain constant by the definition that you relax small deformations are
possible, the equations of equilibrium appear as differential equations. And fortunately,
in this course we make a very important idealization that we will confine our attention to
rigid bodies.
For a rigid body I have
sum
mation of these forces.
From your earlier
experience of what we
have discussed, what can
you say about necessity
and sufficiency of the
conditions. A rigid body by
definition can have both the resultant force and a moment.
If I am dealing with only

one rigid body, these
conditions are both
necessary and sufficient.
There is no two opinion
about that. Mainly because
the distance between
particles is fixed, but if you
look at only in very few
cases you come across a
single rigid body. (Refer
Slide Time: 06:45)
95
Suppose I take a simple cutting player which everyone would have used it at some point
in time. I need two elements, I have one element like this, I have another element like
this; they need to be connected only then you can make a rigid body. So, what is
practical is I would in general have interconnected rigid bodies.
And I have a very nice tool

this many of you may not
have seen, this is called a
crimping tool. This has
many components you will
see that and even for
playing do not put your
fingers here because it
gives a very high
magnification and you can
injure your fingers. And we would also try to solve this problem as part of maybe the
next class.
So, this is what is shown in

this slide as well to
emphasize the fact that it
has many components for
one arm you bring out
these components. So, I
have a component like this,
I have a component like
this, and I have another
component like this. This is replicated twice.
The conditions become sufficient only when subsystems of these rigid

bodies also satisfy until then it is not. But what happens is in many problems we do not
96
have the patience to verify whether the condition satisfied for the entire system is also
satisfied for subsystem. Because we live in a very fast world, but there could be
occasions if you have not done the idealizations correctly you can have surprises.
In fact, I would recommend you to read one of the example problems given in the first
chapter of Crandall and Dahl. The last problem he has taken the example of a universal
joint, where he has shown if you have not verified for every subsystem.
The body as a whole is not in equilibrium, if you have wrongly idealized some of the
supports. It sets a welcome
relief because your
mathematics also helps you
to verify whether the
solution, I get is acceptable
or not. So, do not consider
checking for sufficiency is
a trivial exercise, it may
become necessary in
certain practical situations.
So, I have this
In component form in three dimensions I could write it as
And why do you apply these conditions? The whole focus in statics analysis is you have
to find out the unknown forces.
97
So, the focus of applying these conditions is to evaluate the unknown forces, and you
would use these forces in your next level of subject and find out what are the internal
reactions. It is not that you do engineering mechanics the problem is completely solved;
it only provides you input for higher level courses.
So, to idealize the body as

rigid gives you enough
room for you to solve it in
a simplistic manner and the
final result is also
acceptable based on
experimentation. If the
final result is not
acceptable then you have
to re-idealize the problem.
And let us ask the question how many forces are required to keep a body in equilibrium?
You have already seen at the start of the slide the body with a force was moving. It acted
like a smart board and said that I will I am not in equilibrium, so I have to go. So, the
minimum what you require is at least two forces to keep it in equilibrium.
Do you agree there are two forces; the two-force assumption is valid under what
conditions. I have said in aerospace and mechanical for a variety of problems you could
get reasonably a good solution by neglecting the weight of the component. If you bring
in the weight, I will always have three forces I cannot have two forces. So, you have to
understand that we have neglected weight for a variety of problems and you could say a
member acted by 2 forces as a two-force member.
There is a very great advantage; if you understand how a two-force member behaves, it
would be easier for you to find out the unknown forces. When you solve a problem you
will see its advantage, and how the forces should be? They should be collinear and equal
and opposite.
98
Now, let us take a situation

suppose they are not
collinear what would
happen? I have taken one
force here and I have put
the second force here. And
I can use the principle of
transmissibility and move
these forces to the point of
meeting. And when these two forces are concurrent what is the value of moment?
Moment is 0. When I have
a concurrent force system
moment is 0, but these two
forces would definitely
will have a resultant force.
And how does this

resultant influence the
body, if the screen
becomes smart; body will
not remain in equilibrium
but it will translate like
this.
Suppose I take another

situation where I have
these forces are not
collinear, they are equal
and opposite what would
99
happen? The body will start revolving.
So, it is very clear for the

body to remain in
equilibrium in a two-force
member the forces have to
be collinear, equal and
opposite. You would use
this property when you
solve a problem, when you
understand this. So, the
natural next step is from a
two-force member graduate to a three-force member.
So, we have discussed that

at least two forces are
required to keep a body in
equilibrium, a member
acted upon by two forces
we call it as a two-force
member. A member acted
upon by three forces you
call it as a three-force
member. And also, in order to make our life simple, we would initially start with
coplanar force system.
If you understand the mathematics behind it, you can graduate to a three-dimensional
analysis you will have one extra component from mathematics point of view. And what
happens? From six conditions of equilibrium, it reduces to three for a co-planner system
100
Please make a neat sketch

of it I have a body; I have
three forces acting on it.
You know the animations
are done slowly, so, that
you have time to copy it
down. Digest the concept
and copy, you do not have
to verbatim copy the shape; shape is representative.
Let us see how these forces act, let me find out the line of actions. And you what do you
find the line of actions meet at a point. What is information it gives you directly? The
moment due to these forces F1, F2 and F3 is 0, because I have concurrent force system.
Now, if I have to find out what is the resultant, I should draw the force polygon. Let me
put these forces I have F1 here, I have F2 here and, I have F3 here it does not close. So, I
have a resultant acting on the body, so, I get the situation in this case .
Now, let me take one more situation, I again take this body I have three different forces
acting on it as before. I have force F1, F2 and F3; they are purely arbitrary, there is no
special consideration in selecting these forces. Our interest is to find out what is the
property of a three-force member, what kind of force system I can have so, that I can
solve a problem intelligently when I identify this as a two force or a three-force member.
I can take advantage of these properties.
Now let me see how these forces are the in magnitude? I have the force F1, F2 and F3
they form a closed triangle, so the net force is 0. Then what we will have to investigate,
what is the moment? In order to do that let us see the line of action of these forces. So, I
find it is not concurrent and I will have to find out that there will be a moment, let us say
moment is not equal to 0 let us also give a direction as clockwise.
101
It could be clockwise or
anticlockwise because we
are not getting into the
numerical values to find
out; just a representative.
So, I have a situation in the
first case, net force is not
zero, in the second case net
moment is not zero. So,
both of these force systems are not going to give me a member under equilibrium. If the
board become smart what would happen to the first case it will translate, in the second
case the body would rotate.
Now, the idea is if I have to

find out an equilibrium
condition, in the first case
the forces have to be
adjusted. So, that the
resultant is 0; what we
would now do is, is there
any way I can make for the
second case how to make
this as in a state of
equilibrium.
Given a choice what would you do? I give you freedom to change the point of
application of these forces, if I give you that freedom to you is there anything that you
could do so that I can make the body in equilibrium; because we have already seen net
force is 0. So, I am not going to modify the magnitude of these forces, I am also not
going to modify the direction of these forces. So, what is the choice I have?
102
So, the idea what I have is the force F3 has to be shifted, so, that it forms a concurrent
system, so, it is a very important clue. So, if you identify a body is a three-force member,
you can right away say the force system has to be concurrent, when I am looking at a
coplanar system ok.
And when I say that they meet at a point what is the extreme of this? I could also have a
parallel force system; they meet at infinity. If I have 3 forces acting that are parallel, then
they have to satisfy the following conditions. The force magnitude should be balancing
themselves and these are all the line of action, so, I can find out the distance between the
forces.
Let me say that they are separated by distances d1 and d2 from moment equilibrium point
of view I should have F2d1 which anticlockwise should be equal to F3d2 which is
clockwise.
I urge you to visualize the sense of moment physically. We would solve problems
vectorially as well as direct competition you should get practice on both these
approaches do not only stick on to vectorial approach. And the magnitude of these forces
has to balance. I have F1 F2 F3 unless these two conditions are satisfied you cannot have
parallel forces giving a state of equilibrium to the body.
And we will confine our

discussion to start with on
coplanar force system. I
have shown a body; in a
coplanar system all forces
are in the same plane no
forces are perpendicular to
the plane. Only moments I
have either a clockwise
103
moment or anticlockwise moment which is perpendicular to it and you have general 6

conditions of equilibrium of this only 3 are required;
And what we would also

do is we would not call it
as , usually we
will not give the subscript
or even if we put the
subscript, we would put the
point about which you take
the moment. That is a
general convention used
when you are solving problems.
Then we go to the most

important aspect what is a
free body diagram, you
must understand the
definition very clearly.
And you know many
students do not pay
attention to free body, they
all worry about answers
from an engineering
perspective you should know how to draw your free body as clearly as possible. If you
develop good habits it will stay with you, make your engineering education meaningful
and enjoyable.
104
A free body diagram is a sketch of the selected system; the system can be a body, a
portion of a body. It is very important; it took a very long time to scientists to come up
with an imaginary cut of the object. People were not comfortable earlier; people were
comfortable segregating the bodies.
And we would soon see in the case of trusses as well as a beam we would pass imaginary
cuts physically it will be a continuous body. But we will cut one section and see what
happens at that section, or it could be a collection of interconnected bodies what is
important is completely isolated, it should not be connected to the surroundings. So,
when I replace the surrounding, I should replace the interaction with the surrounding by
appropriate force system.
One of the most challenging aspect in engineering is how to idealize a given problem
situation, see fortunately or unfortunately in this course many times we coin a problem
explicitly giving you the idealizations on the supports. A practical problem does not
come to you like that; you will have to idealize what kind of support system I can model.
And you would also have lower bound and upper bound solution; if I assume the
conditions like this, I may get the values in this range, I will have an upper bound
solution so that I have the values between lower bound and upper bound for practical
problems. So, idealizing the supports is a challenge in a given practical situation.
Suppose I represent the support by simple connections, which we would discuss how do
they behave it makes your
life lot simpler. So, I
should completely isolate
the body free from all
other bodies, showing the
interaction of all other
bodies by forces on the one
being considered. And I
have a system where I
have 2 discs inside box,
and when I say a system, I
105
could consider yes 1 disc is the system separately. I can consider the 2 discs separately or
I can consider the system as both the discs and I can also consider the box.
So, one of the first steps in solving a problem is for a given problem what is the way you
would identify the system for you to analyze. Here I have only separated the system; I
have not shown the interaction of the system with the surroundings fine.
And what are the essential characteristics of a free body diagram, first of all it is a
diagram sketch of the selected system as engineers, you should be reasonably
comfortable in drawing a neat sketch. It should be reasonably representative of the
distances fine, unless you draw the free body clearly, it would cloud your thinking, if you
draw the free body clearly, then your problem solving is also systematic.
The system is to be shown completely isolated from all other bodies including
foundations, supports etc. Whatever the interaction of the system by each body that are
removed in the isolation process is shown as a force or forces on the diagram.
And let us see some more points on how do we draw the free body diagram; I have
already said that we classify the forces as surface forces and body forces. And surface
forces are easy to identify there is very little chance for you to miss it, because it is
applied by direct physical
contact and body forces are
by remote action. So, you
must take care of both
surface forces as well as
body forces carefully in
your free body diagram.
You should mark both

known and unknown
forces because the idea is to evaluate the unknown forces by applying the conditions of
equilibrium. Then the question comes what are the unknown forces they are usually the
106
constraining forces, what forces that happen at the supports. And you have to indicate
both magnitude and direction of external forces. See the thumb rule is, if you know from
a physics of the problem you indicate it correctly, if you do not know the physics of the
problem you can choose any direction to start with; your mathematics will help you.
So, you can assume any direction for reaction forces, there is, are they constraining
forces. But if you know from a physics what direction the constraining forces you can
put that directly. I would encourage you to physically visualize the problem each time.
Take assistance from mathematics, but visualize the problem physically.
Whatever the direction you choose if my final answer is positive the assumption was
right. If the final answer is negative direction has to be reversed. So, another practical
way of looking at is, if you know the interaction correctly indicate it. Then also if your
assumption is wrong or right your mathematics will help you. Usually if I do not know
anything you take the unknown forces in the positive direction of the coordinate axis,
this is another way of solving the problem systematically.
Suppose I have a problem where there is friction, I have said that why we have confined
our attention to rigid bodies when we saw the necessary and sufficient conditions of
equilibrium for a deformable body it becomes very difficult to handle. Similarly, in many
problem instances even though in physical problem some level of friction exists, we
idealize it to be frictionless.
In problems dealing with friction you have no advantage from your mathematical
analysis to indicate whether your direction was correct or wrong. If you wrongly specify
the fictional direction, you are solving all together a different problem please understand
that. So, any problem dealing with friction you must make an effort to understand the
problem statement clearly, visualize what is the physical interaction and try your level
best to indicate the correct frictional direction. There is no luxury there.
107
And finally, in a problem you may have multiple dimensions include only essential
dimensions. And other
good practice is whenever
you take a problem to draw
the free body; indicate the
coordinate system. You
know we conventionally
use right-handed
coordinate system, please
follow the convention do
not say I have taken a left-
handed coordinate system.
And it is extremely difficult to correct for hundreds of people. So, for the coordinate
system use the right-handed coordinate system.
And now let us understand what way can be idealize a support, I try to give it from an
engineering perspective; see we have looked at a 3-dimensional situation if I have. I
would have 3 forces and 3 moments. So, in general I can have 6 unknowns and if I
translate the forces as the corresponding motion, I will have linear moments rectilinear
motion.
And if I have a moment, I

will have a rotational
effect. So, I would
classify the simplest
constraint as one that
restraints translation in
one direction. We would
see the example and we
will understand ourselves
what they are in such a
situation only one unknown exists. We already know the direction only the magnitude of
108
reaction force needs to be determined. And what are the kind of supports; it is a roller
support, frictionless surfaces, rockers, wall edges etc.
I have a nice diagram please sketch the diagram neatly, I have a roller support. I have
another form of roller with multiple rollers at the bottom, and what it shows is this is the
body that is to be isolated. And this would essentially have a single unknown the
direction is known; the value of this force is not known. If I look at this case, I would
have 3 small forces by the principle of composition you can replace it by one single
force. And essentially the number of unknowns in this case is just one.
And you have this roller in many applications, you have wheeled chairs many
applications you come across this roller. And if you look at bridges, we would soon see
thermal expansion and contraction needs to be accommodated. So, you have bridges
supported on these supports. And I can also have a simple roller supporting it or I can
also have a knife edge; even in these cases the support can be replaced by a single force,
the direction is known, magnitude is not known.
In a similar vein we also assume smooth surfaces in contact, because I said we want to
make our life simple wherein we do not want to have friction. In reality you may have a
very small value of friction which could be neglected for a given application, if it is
appropriate you can do that. And when I have smooth surfaces in contact, I try to put a
tangent, then I find out the normal to this.
So, in this case also the direction is known, only the magnitude is not known. And from a
physical appreciation if we have a constraint like this, this restraints translation in one
direction that is another way of understanding these supports from a physical
perspective; it cannot move down, it can move horizontally fine. So, that moment
perpendicular to this in the downward direction is restricted by these supports.
109
Now, let us move on to

class II supports, I think
before we move on to that,
I have a nice example of
this. You have a bridge
being constructed which is
supported on this and it
this shows one possible
support condition on this,
mind you this is a very big
business. So, you have many numbers of bridges these supports need maintenance,
replacement.
They are very essential when you consider in Northern India you have easily temperature
changes of 10 to 12 degrees is possible, afternoon it may be 20 degrees, night it may be
just 8 degrees. So, you have to accommodate for the thermal expansion and contraction
of these systems. So, you need to have provision for expansion and contraction.
And you also have another

support I deliberately
brought these slides to give
you a flavor of
engineering. I have always
been saying that you
should see physical
systems around you and
you have a huge truss
bridge here and you could
see a lot of bumps on this they are actually rivets. That is, they are used for joining, they
are very precision, mechanical, manufacturing operation.
110
And most of the structures that have that are very critical people join it by rivets, because
it also has a inbuilt fracture resistance capabilities. If there is a crack developed the crack
will get arrested. And you can see here I have a support which is very similar to what is
the support we had seen in the previous slide there is three rollers, and you have a
support like this for the bridge.
Now, we move on to class II

supports, translation is
restrained, but rotation is
allowed. And in this case, I
have 2 unknowns:
magnitude and direction of
forces at support.
And what I have here is

two links and then I join it
by a pin, I have a pin here
and then I put it here, and I
can freely rotate this. So,
the rotation is allowed can
I translate; I cannot
translate it; translation is
arrested whereas, rotation
is completely allowed this
is seen in hinges also.
111
You know the common

door hinges you have I
have also given this to the
class please circulate. And
you have a look at it I have
these hinges, whatever the
doors that you have that
allow you rotation and you
want rotation. You want
the door to open and close
and you do not want
somebody to take away the door. So, it is restrained from removing.
And this is what is shown

in this as nice picture, so, I
have one representation
like this, you should also
know these
representations. In future
classes when we give a
problem you should be
able to interpret these
representations, see how a
roller support was indicated, how a hinged joint is indicated this is also called a pin joint.
And this is what I have demonstrated to you physically, I have two links and I put a pin.
And in this case, I do not know the direction of the force, so, I represent the unknown
force as a horizontal component and a vertical component.
Force is a vector I neither know the magnitude, nor the direction. So, I have 2 unknowns
in this case. And in many mechanical engineering applications, you have a bearing to
112
support a shaft there could be thick bearings as well as thin bearings. Suppose I consider
the bearing to be thin and frictionless, here again I could replace the support by an
unknown force. So, I have 2 unknowns to be determined the horizontal component
vertical component or what is the orientation theta and the magnitude whichever way
you look at it.
And naturally when I have a rough surface which is very highly exaggerated here, it
would have both a fictional force as well as a normal force and I would have a resultant,
so, I would have 2 unknowns. So, in problem solving if a joint is represented like this,
you should figure it out that, this is a pin joint. And then replace the support by an
appropriate force system by an appropriate force system you should do it yes.
Converstion:
Which one?
It does not matter I can assume it in any way I like it fine.
Which one?
See this is only a representation fine, and when I draw a free body diagram what you say
in a sense, I agree with you fine. Here it is shown correctly when I have a bearing, it will;
the bearing support will push it like this here I cannot say how it is I am putting a very
generic directions ok.
And my mathematics is going to tell me whether my assume direction is correct or not as

long as I am not dealing with friction, I have no issue. But when I am having an
interconnected body, if I assume for one body by Newton’s third law, I should only put
the opposite in the connected body. There I cannot bring in a choice of my own and then
do it when you solve a problem these concepts will become clear fine.
113
And you know I have been

telling that you should see
structures around you and I
should also live by
example. And you find a
big mast I recently visited
the Greenville South
Carolina there is a very
nice hanging bridge. And
you could see here very
clearly a pin joint, and if
you go to an airport all
modern airports in the
country, you have huge pin
joints pin joints is so, well
utilized in several
structures.
You can see that and we

will also see what the
bridge is this is a bridge of
about 300 meters in length.
This is fully supported by
cables and by the big mast
which you had seen, and it
is about 30 feet above the
ground; there is no support
from the bottom.
114
And this shows how the

pin joint is there in one end
supporting the bridge.
And you have the cable

that goes to the cable
coming from the mast.
Here again you have a pin

joint fine. So, thinking of
this course I recorded all of
this in my camera.
And this goes to the mast,

here again you have a pin
joint, so well utilized.
115
And you could see the

main cable is connected to
the structure at the bottom;
a huge pin joint. And
another interesting thing is
you see the barricade, the
barricade is not made of
any thick railings they
have just used strands of
wire.
And you also learn little

more engineering, this is
the close-up view of it;
another view shows very
clearly you have threads
on this. These are actually
sophisticated turn buckles
what they do is they turn
it, and then tighten the
cable.
Cable by definition cannot sustain compression, it can sustain only tension. So, the
structure as a whole becomes very light and they are in a position to support.
116
And you could see play of

pin joints everywhere; pin
joints are very nicely used
in several engineering
structures.
And we will also look at

class III supports in which
translation and rotation are
totally restrained. You
have an example right here in this classroom can you identify where it is restrained.
You have a beam which is right here and beam is supported on both ends completely
fixed. When I have a support like this, the support can be replaced by a force and a
couple in this category you have fixed supports, welded ends; even 2 closely spaced pin
joint can behave like a fixed support, because I already told you in engineering, if you
come across a practical problem reduce that into a problem for solving is a challenge.
Unfortunately, in this course we do not give you separate training on that, when you
solve some problems many problems are specified with supports. Some problem we also
specify only the physical structure and it is for you to figure out what way you would
model the support. Under
such circumstances you
will realize suppose I
have two pin joints you
can idealize; I will also
show it by a simple
practical demonstration
of it.
So, I have a fixed support
117
represented like this also look at the representations, it could be even welded like this or
while making this support, they would have inserted it inside they would might have
made a cut and then provided appropriate glue. And I have said finally, even simple two
pin joints space together closely can behave like a fixed support.
And what did I say? It would arrest both translation and rotation. And this is how you
represent the force interaction. I have a force horizontal force as well as the vertical force
because I do not know the direction of this force. So, I have two unknowns, in addition I
also do not know the moment acting at this point.
See let me take the same problem of the pin joint. I have taken it like this, I have put only
one pin I am able to rotate it freely fine. Now, I said if I have two pin joints it is as good
as a fixed support, you can model. When I say fixed support what I said rotation is
restrained. I am not in a position to rotate ok, so, the rotation is restrained. So, when you
come across physical situations you have to apply your engineering judgment and
ingenuity to idealize the support conditions. It is very important.
So, in this class what we have looked at is what are the conditions for equilibrium of a
particle, system of particles, single rigid body, and interconnected rigid bodies. And I
have emphasized that you should not confine your attention to only necessary condition,
you should also verify for sufficient conditions. Only then you can be confident that your
idealizations have been correct and the body is indeed in a state of equilibrium.
And why do we apply equilibrium conditions; our main focus is to find out unknown
forces by using these conditions I am in a position to estimate the value of the unknown
forces. And in order to apply the equilibrium conditions, we have looked at properties of
a two-force member, properties of a three-force member which you could take you to
advantage in simplifying a practical situation.
Then we moved on to learn how to write a free body diagram, it is not trivial, it is very
important for engineers. So, you start with the coordinate system, depict it in your
picture, learn neat sketching of the body, put the essential dimensions and show the
unknown and known forces properly. Then finally, we discussed about few types of
supports that restrained translation in one direction, that restrained translation both
directions and finally it restrains translation as well as rotation. Thank you.
118
Prof. K. Ramesh
Module - 01
Statics
Lecture - 06
Equilibrium of Rigid Bodies - II
Let us continue our discussion on

Equilibrium of Rigid Bodies.
In the last class we had looked at

supports that restrain both
translation and rotation. We saw
the fixed support in various forms.
You could weld it or you could put
it inside the wall and then do it. In
the simplest case you can even put
two pins and then make it as a
fixed joint. And when I isolate the
body I would in general have a
force whose direction is not known
119
hence, I have put a horizontal component and also a vertical component.
And I am also using this to introduce various terminologies when I have a force tangential to the
surface you call that as a shear force. And we usually use the symbol V. I could also put this as
Rx and Ry; it does not make any difference; my interest is to bring in various terminologies that
we normally use in this course. So, I have an unknown force and an unknown moment. So, I
have three unknowns if I idealize the support to be a fixed support.
And one of the questions that come

in anybody’s mind is what happens
inside the support. So, one possible
way is I could have some such
distribution under the action of an
external force. I would have a
distribution something like this
which when I take the resultant, I
could simplify it as a force in an
arbitrary direction which balances
the external force and you have a
resisting moment.
And we have seen physically in

the previous class when I put 2
pins it also behaves like a fixed
support. I have these two pins and
a pin in general will transmit a
force and the force interaction
could be something like this. And
120
the resultant would again balance the external force. See it is very difficult to build a truly fixed
end. When a problem is posed to you take it as a fixed end you do not have to think.
But as an engineer if you have to go and idealize a physical system there is always a challenge to
see whether it could be idealized as a true fixed support or a pin joint or something in between.
Usually it is in between a pin joint
and a fixed support. So, that is
where I said you analyze the
problem once with a pin joint you
get one solution. You analyze the
problem again with a fixed support
you will have another solution.
They form lower and upper bound
solution. So, there is always a
challenge when you want to
idealize a physical system.
Next we move on to other types of

supports we have already seen
flexible cables. I told you long time
by that it can use as a guy wire. We
saw in the previous class it is also
used as a railing in the case of a
bridge to reduce the weight. Even
though we talk about rigid body
mechanics here, we would like to
bring in springs because many
appliances use springs for their
functionality; right from your cycle
carrier you have a spring used there.
121
And if you take a simple jotter pen you have a spring there it is deformable; macroscopic ok.
And you have seen cranes lifting weights when they lift weight when I have a cable it will
support only a tensile force all along its axis. So, the direction is known only the magnitude is
not known. So, I have only one unknown.
I also have a cable over a frictionless pulley. That is to be underlined. Later on, when we discuss
friction if I have friction on the pulley how does it help us in creating many devices for useful
applications. When I have this as frictionless the cable will support only an axial tension. I will
have only one unknown. Then I have a body supported by a spring and spring is normally
denoted by it is stiffness k and the spring could be a linear spring or a non-linear spring.
I have an elastic loading and elastic unloading in one case it could have an inelastic unloading in
another case. And I have only one
unknown in the direction shown
here and F is given as F=ku. So,
these are other class of supports
which you normally come across.
The whole focus here is to solve a
variety of day to day problems not
all problems that you come across.
You can solve a variety of them no
doubt.
See so far, we have seen two dimensional supports now let us see a three-dimensional support
here. Now this is a simple shower cap what is there in your bathroom. I can turn it like this, it
allows me rotation in this axis, it allows me rotation in this axis. And it also allows me to rotate
along the axis.
122
So, I have rotation permitted in on all three directions. Do you have that kind of a joint in your
physical body? We have a joint
many of you are able to recognize
that you have a nice shoulder god
has given, you have a ball and
socket and all the cricketers use it
so well to bowl and then get the
wickets. And how do I idealize my
elbow; how do I idealize my
elbow? Pin joint. So, now you have
the hang of how do we model a
physical system.
Now, let us move on to solving simple problems just to understand the procedure and the
concept. So, I have two identical
discs of diameter D, each weighing
100 Newtons are placed in a box as
shown in the figure. Their angle of
contact is 45o, you have to
determine the reactions at A, B and
C. Neglecting friction between the
cylinders and the box just to make
your life simple we have removed
friction.
123
My focus here is to get a good habit on how to draw free body diagrams and what is the kind of
solution procedure I would like you to have. First of all, we have to recognize that discs make
contact with box only at A, B and C that is very clear from the problem statement. And I would
like you to say very clearly the first step is; what are the idealizations that we have used to solve
this problem. Some may be given in the problem statement itself, some you might want to
idealize to solve the problem.
So, I definitely want a statement when you solve a problem what are the idealizations that you
have used it is a must. In this case it is given in the problem statement all contacting surfaces are
smooth; that means, there is no friction. And we will have to get the reaction forces, that is the
problem statement and it is very clear from the geometry I have a disc in contact with the flat
surface or a vertical surface.
We have already seen the idealized

supports; you can borrow
knowledge from that or you can
also look afresh what is the kind of
interaction and you can recognize
that it arrests translation in one
direction. The problem statement
also gives what are the weights of
this disc that act like a body force
and where does the body force act;
it acts through the centroid of the
discs.
Now, the next question is what is a system to select? I could have two discs as a system, I could
also take each disc separately and solve the problem. The next step what I want you to do is I
would like you to put the coordinate axis. Then I am putting the body force which is acting on
the centroid of these discs.
124
Then we will have to put the unknown forces at points A, B and C. If I do not know the direction,
I can start with any direction. My mathematics will help me to correct the direction later. But
here since I have the physics of the problem very clear I could put the force at A as acting in this
direction. I could put force FB acting in this direction and I could put force FC acting in this
direction which is very clear from the problem itself.
So, the next step is applying the conditions and determine the 3 unknowns. I
have 3 equations and I can find out 3 unknowns. Let us solve the mathematics. The problem
statement also gives that they are oriented at angle 45o that is also labeled. And the distance
between E and F is also given from
the geometry simply as the
distance D. It is fairly, a simple
problem my interest is to specify
what all things I would like in a
problem solving. You have to have
idealizations, you have to clearly
mark the coordinate axis, you have
to correctly label these forces then
put the equations.
So, the other way is I could also solve by taking individual discs. When I take the individual
disc, I will have to put the interaction of the other disc acting on this. Now what I have done is
from the physics of the problem this disc is going to push this out. So, I have put the direction in
one way, these two discs are in contact. So, when I draw the free body diagram for the other disc,
I have no choice; at least for the force interaction acting at point H. I will have to use Newton’s
third law and put equal and opposite, do not start thinking afresh and then put another direction
then you mess it up. I will have to put the interaction at this point only equal and opposite.
If I choose it differently modify this differently. In simple problems you can directly put the
interaction there is no difficulty. Only in complex problems where you are unable to visualize;
125
you can still take one direction

where mathematics will finally,
help you to do that provided you
took care of this interconnected
bodies carefully. You should not
make a mistake there.
Now, I would solve the problem

by taking this as a system and we
have already learnt certain
concepts earlier. We will exploit all those concepts in problem solving. So, when I put
And they are parallel then I can easily say when I want to do further simplification, I can bring in
my concept of couple force system and make my life simple I can solve the problem quickly. I
do not have to find out what is that moment created by this force separately and this force
separately. I have used sigma FX = 0, then I use sigma FY = 0. I can easily find out what is FB
that turns out to be 200 N. Then I will have to calculate these forces I take moment about B.
So, that I do not have to worry about these two forces they do not cause a moment. I will have a
moment caused by this force this will be a clockwise moment and these two forces form a couple
force system that forms an anticlockwise moment. So, I write my moment equation in a very
simple form
126
This gives me
Have we solved the problem? We

have not solved the problem yet. I
have always been saying you
should verify whether these
conditions are sufficient; we have
not verified whether these
conditions are sufficient. How do I
verify it?
I have to verify it take a sub-

system and then see whether these
conditions are satisfied. I am not
going to solve the problem. I will
only be going to take a subsystem
and take individual discs as well as
the box from the sub-systems. I
could take individual discs or box.
I will do it for individual disc. I am
only going to verify the solution.
So, I am going to find out what is the value of FH from one of this. It is very simple arithmetic. I
get
127
I get the same result by solving these two and I find that these two discs are in equilibrium.
System as a whole is in equilibrium and sub-systems what we have selected are also in
equilibrium and I would leave
verifying the box as in equilibrium
as a homework.
Only when you do all of this you

can confidently say solution is
completely determined; your idea
is you should always look for
necessary and sufficient
conditions. In every case where I
draw the free body diagram you
need to have the axis drawn
clearly.
Now, let us move on to another problem which is fairly simple, but you have to think how do
you solve it? The problem is like this I have a roller; I have a handle attached to it. When I am
pushing this roller, I have come across a step to make our life simple these are given as nice
values, you have this as step of 50 mm.
And the position of the handle at that time was about 30 degrees. You have a circular disc of
weight 200 N. You are asked to find out what is the force required to climb over the step that is
the problem. The key point here is how do you go and idealize the interactions? If I idealize my
interaction and understand the problem statement clearly, I need just one equation to solve this
problem.
128
Let us get on to the free body diagram, I have a problem statement like this. The first step is I
need to idealize and you know you have a handle; the handle can be rotated. It allows rotation in
this plane. So how can I idealize
the joint here? I can idealize the
joint as a pin joint, but before I do
that, I should also label my key
points on the diagram so that it is
easy for us to document whatever
that we want to do.
The handle can be moved like this

I have put an axis of reference. The
disc will have interaction here it
will have interaction at this corner.
So, they are important points let me label them as point A and point B, so I label this as point C.
From the problem statement and the understanding of the physics behind the handle and the
wheel I could idealize this joint as a pin joint. Point C can be idealized as a pin joint.
Then the next question is how to idealize interactions at points A and B? If you idealize them
correctly you would find the answers for the problem statement. What the problem statement is?
I need to find a force so that I roll over the step. If the wheel has to roll over the step what is the
kind of condition you anticipate at that point in time? What would happen at point A and what
would happen at point B? What is it that you should impose?
Conversation: Student: (Refer Time: 22:36).
No contact at A; that is very good then you got the physics of the problem that is very important.
You should not blindly say that I have a roller and support replace it by a vertical force. You
should look at what is the problem statement and then put in that problem statement in your
problem; then only you are solving the problem that is asked for; is the idea clear? Because I
have to push the roller so that it climbs over the step, if it has to climb at that point in time it has
to lift from the floor. So, the first stage is there should be no contact at A; we are not looking at a
129
situation where it is lifted when it is about to lift it has to lose contact at A and that is the key
aspect in this problem.
There should be no force interaction at point A, point B is a corner it just a point fine. You can
recognize solving this problem in many different ways. I have shown you the weight W acting
for the centroid and the man is pushing this roller and this is the force. They meet at this point,
the third force has to pass through this point because it is a three-force member this is one way of
looking at it, I can also find out the direction of force at B from another perspective. I have this
as a corner and this as a smooth surface that is another idealization that we can say that all
surfaces are smooth which is not listed here. I think we should also list that.
So, I can put a tangent to the circle and it has to be perpendicular to that. So, this direction
becomes the direction along the radius of this disc. So, you can find out the direction of force at
B either by taking it as a three-force member or taking it as a smooth contact with a corner. Put
the tangent at the interface and put a force perpendicular to that either way you can look at this.
And I will have to find out what is the angle theta that comes from the simple geometry which
you can easily figure it out and I can write this as I have put a perpendicular line. So, from the
radius I can find out this value and this is the perpendicular distance that I have for me to find out
the moment of this force.
So, from the geometry given I can

write this
because this height

you know as 50 mm as the height
of the step. So, now I know what is
the angle theta;
130
If I have the geometry of the problem, now I told you my focus is to find out F, my focus is not
to find out what is the force happening at point B. My focus is only that and we have seen I have
to use equations , of the three equations which one would you choose to get
the force at F so that I just made one calculation; is the question clear? One can use FX =0, FY=0
and keep doing the problem.
But one can also look at the moment equation and choose an appropriate point about which you
to take the moment, so you make your life simple. So, do not jump on solving a problem think
about it for a minute. What are the ways that you can use the equations effectively; I have given
enough clues can you tell me what is the point about which I had to take a moment?
Student: B.
B; very good, so I write only one equation MB = 0; I get we have already looked at what is this
distance which we can easily do. So,
, it gives me
Because we are given what is the

value of W and this is a two-force
member, I have a force acting on
this like this. So, this member is in
equilibrium, the problem is not
completely solved you should also
see sub-system.
It is a good practice to understand the concepts. Next we move on to solving a practical problem.
131
See we have seen this cutter in one

of the classes when I said that you
have interconnector rigid bodies is
the crimping tool. Please do not put
your finger in this we have this
circulated to the class. And before
we solve the problem, I should
understand what is the way this
gadget is made; only when I know
how it is made, I can do the
idealization. I have good animations on my screen also let us see that. And what is the problem
statement this shows the crimping
tool; I have simplified it I have put
this as straight lines rather than
curves that is given there.
The rest of the dimensions are very

similar to what I have shown as the
actual crimping tool. The idea is
when a force of 140 N is applied at
the ends. Find out the magnitude of
the crimping force at this point this
is what I have to find out.
And let us understand the crimping tool; this is the crimping tool in an enlarged picture.
132
And I would also move this handle

and understand what happens here;
what happens here; what happens
here and what happens here. You
have to appreciate what is the
degree of freedom those joints
provide you. You can recognize
that they allow rotation in the
plane; when it allows rotation in
that plane how do you idealize
those joints. I can idealize them as
pin joints; a pin joint allows rotation; you cannot get this unless you see the actual gadget
verified for yourself whether it behaves like a pin joint.
133
Even if it is tied; you put a drop of oil you will have the situation becomes drastically different. I
am not quite sure how many of
you maintain your cycle. You do
not care about any one of your
belongings; you want somebody
else to do that; that is a luxury you
have in India and you will see
periodically when you put even a
drop of oil in any one of the joints
you will find a dramatic
improvement in the joint
behaviors.
So, the idea is I have joints here and these joints allow rotation in that plane and you are justified
in idealizing these joints as pin joints. You can make a sketch of this diagram it gives the
geometric details what is the distance between these two joints it is given as 25 mm. And I have
the wire put here in the cross section it is seen as a circle, this is need to be pressed by this tool.
This is at a distance of 20 mm from this joint and the distance between these two points is given
as 40 mm. And on the handle, you have one pin joint here, you have another pin joint here and
this is at a distance of 20 mm. And then the length of handle is given as 195 mm and for this
configuration the distance between the handles at this end is given as 210 mm and the force that
is applied is given as 140 N.
So, you have the geometry of the system available. We have also looked at physically what is the
way the crimping tool behaves. We have made ourselves clear and ensured that joints shown
here, shown here, and shown here. All of them allow rotation in that plane. They are reasonably
smooth. So, they could be idealized as pin joints; that recognition will come only when you see a
134
physical system and that is the reason why I keep telling you; you learn engineering by looking
at systems around you. You must ask a question how it is made, why it is made that way; both
these questions are very important. And I also take a conscious effort to show physical systems
either in the form of an animation or a photograph and in this class, we have a luxury of solving
a practical problem.
Let us also label these points so that we could easily identify how to discuss the force interaction
at these points. I have labeled it in one way I put this as the A, B, C, D, E, F like this. So, you
follow an ordered sequence do not put the label randomly, because I can easily recognize this
triangle member as ABD and this member as BC; it is easy for discussion. So, label them
carefully, follow some kind of an ordered sequence.
And this shows what are the

elements in the system. I have one
link like this, I have another link
like this, I have the third link like
this and we have also labeled them.
Let us put those labels here; I have
this as A, B, D this is between B
and C and this is D and E.
And we have discussed enough

that the joints at B, D, C, E behave like pin joints. All surfaces are smooth; it goes without
saying. In many of the problems we would solve without friction it makes our life simple. As I
told you if you have a cycle which has not smooth running just put a drop of oil, it will improve
the frictional conditions.
So, we have looked at the joints B, C, D, E and F behave like pin joints. I have a circular object
here on a flat surface. So, this interaction is nothing but what you have seen as a roller support; I
135
can replace this interaction by a single vertical force. And I put this along the positive direction
of the Y axis, it also satisfies for the physics of the problem.
How do I put the force interaction at point B D and so on? Points B and D behave like pin joints.
So, I will have two unknowns I do not know what direction it is; I have 2 unknowns. So, I will
put this as FBy and FBx. Because the problem is little involved, I just put these unknown forces in
the positive direction of the coordinate system. Now I can also replace the force at point B on
this link.
If I assumed it in this fashion, I have to necessarily write it in the opposite direction here this is
one place students can make a mistake do not close your eyes be alert. When the body is
interconnected you have a freedom to choose for one of the connections to start with. Once you
have assumed what happens in this link you have no choice on how to put these forces this is
very important and I can put the interaction at point D; I have FDy, FDx at point D.
Similarly, I have FCx and FCy at point C. Since the handle is connected at D whatever the forces,
I have put on this link has to be reversed on the handle at point D. And similarly, I have used it
for the other joint. So, what you need to look at is at this stage I seem to have too many
unknowns, there is definitely symmetry in the problem. I end up looking at 1 plus 2; 3 plus 2; 5
plus 2; 7 unknowns.
And how many equations I have? I

can write three equations each for
each of the links. At this stage the
problem looks as if it is not easy to
comprehend, but it is not so. We
have already looked at certain
recipes looking at this as a two-
force member, three force
members so on and so forth. We
136
will go back and see whether this could be simplified.
Now I take a member BC, I have force interaction at point B, force interaction at point C like
this. And let me put the equilibrium conditions. Before I do that, I recognize that this is a two-
force member. In a two-force member the forces have to be collinear equal and opposite; that is
how it can remain in equilibrium. I apply the conditions
I take moment about this point;

moment equilibrium should be
satisfied. So, I get this
. So, this automatically

tells me what should happen
So, I am now left with only the

forces FBy and FCy; it is a two-
force member. The forces are
collinear equal and opposite only
then this link is under equilibrium.
Now I translate this back to the
other member A, B, D.
137
So, I get this as FCy =FBy. When I go to this link ABD, I had a force interaction at A shown like
this. We have understood what happens at joint B by looking at member BC. What is it that we
have learnt? FBx is 0. So, I get this as only this force. I do not know what is happening at point D.
Can you comment by looking at this free body diagram what should be the force interaction at D;
will I have both horizontal and vertical components?
You have to give me a reason; without a reason you cannot justify that. I have to get the key
terminology. See I have neglected the weight of this member I am not considered the weight at
all. It has force interaction at points A, B and D. So, what do you recognize; this as a three-force
member. When it is a three-force member. under what condition can it remain in equilibrium;
two forces are parallel to each other.
Obviously, the third force has to be parallel to that, but it should be at a particular proportion;
that proportion we will do
mathematics and find it out. But
you get a very important clue when
this is a three-force member; the
third force has to be parallel to the
other two forces they meet at
infinity. So, this gives me a very
interesting result FDx = 0, applying
MB = 0 yields
Now, consider the member DEG, here again I have this force is vertical, this force is vertical and
this interaction has to be parallel to that. So, I will have this also as a three-force member, so I
will have FEx = 0, I will have only this. So, I have the free body diagram like this, I know what is
140 N applied here. So, I can find out what is the value of FDy from this. This acts like a lever
138
whatever Archimedes invented the lever system; we exploit it and here it has a multiplying effect
I have two such leavers put in a simple tool it has a very high magnification.
So, I have this moment about E gives me FDy as the value like this.
Once I know FDy , I can go back to

the previous link and find out what
is the force acting at the leaves of
the crimping tool; that was the
question.
So, I have this .
Ratio of output force input force which is known as mechanical advantage. See I am consciously
trying to bring you certain engineering terminologies through these examples. This is a course
that you do in your engineering degree. So, you should learn some of those terminologies by
solving these problems.
And what I have this as magnification is of the order of 16.43. It is very high and if I
appropriately take this dimension, I can have magnification of the order of 100 easily by having
a hand tool. And this is used repeatedly by electrical engineers for clipping their electrical
terminals.
So, in this class we have taken three example problems starting from a very simple problem
which you all would have solved at some point in time earlier. The focus was to emphasize you
139
should write down idealizations as a first step in solving the problem. Draw a neat free body
diagram put all the forces appropriately and definitely put the reference axis. I have shown a
right-handed coordinate system. Please put the appropriate coordinate system when you do the
problem solving.
And I have also emphasized that when I have a problem do not get satisfied that you have taken
a complete system and whatever the results that you have got; go back and verify the solution is
indeed correct by verifying the sub assembly equilibrium only then the conditions become
sufficient. Then we moved on to another problem where you have to determine what is the
condition that you should specify at point A, when you have to push the roller. Finally, we
solved a very practical problem that also gives you a sense of joy in solving a practical problem
so that what you learn in the class is directly applicable.
Thank you.
140
Prof. K. Ramesh
Module - 01
Statics
Lecture - 07
Trusses - I

chapter on trusses. It is
desirable to know first
what is the origin of the
word truss?
Truss originates from

French word trousse,
meaning “Collection of
things bound together”.
When you look at the
chapter, you would really
understand the meaning
better. Trusses are
basically employed to
support transverse loads
and this is what you call it
as a truss, this has many
members.
141
The members forming the

truss are subjected to axial
loads; that is very
important to notice, though
the external loading is in
the transverse direction. I
have the truss; I have the
loads which are transverse
to the truss. But if you look
at the members; the
members may be in
tension, it maybe in compression or it may not even transfer any load, they are called
zero force members. They are very important part and parcel of a functional truss just
because the member is not transmitting any force you cannot take out that member and
keep it away.
So, if you look at a truss it is nothing but collection of essentially two force members
subjected to axial loads; what is the advantage? This aspect leads to economic solutions
for the specific application that is a greatest advantage. You save enormous amount of
material and you utilize the
material to its fullest
extent.
You had trusses made by

carpenters and the truss
looks like this, they also
call the joining of these
members using a gusset
plate.
142
And this is one of the

oldest truss bridges that I
could access to this was
built in 1890. You know
we had seen Eiffel tower it
was built in 1889, it is
before that and what I want
you to notice is what is the
span, and what is the
amount of material that is
being used. Because it was
designed in 1890 people
were very conservative, they wanted to have redundancy in the design.
We also have a nice bridge

in Kolkata this is the
Howrah Bridge and you
can; you could look at here
a very long span. It is over
the Ganges the span may
be of the order of may be
close to 2 kilometres.
And if you walk into the bridge you have a maze of steel structures heavy very heavy.
143
And you look at one of the joints you find the joint is having lot of bumps which I told
you that these are rivets
that is how the joints are
made.
And you go across the

world and see many
structures including sports
stadium they are all made
of trusses. You have a truss
like this which is covered
nicely, I think this was for the football world cup they had this stadium built. This is
another picture of a truss
which is a space truss you
have this occupying in
three dimensions.
And if you look at many of

the practical structures
from an analysis point of
view, you could consider
them as planar trusses. See
engineers would always want to reduce a three-dimensional problem to two dimensions
or if possible, even one dimension. It makes our life lot simpler, even though I have a
stadium which is three-dimensional unit structure.
We would find ways to simplify our analysis by looking at whether I could make it as a
planar truss for the analysis and then carry on with it that is what is shown here, each
truss may be treated as a two dimensional structure and can be considered as a plane
truss for purpose of analysis.
144
This is another interesting truss the structure is very interesting I have this below the
bridge and then in this
segment this is above the
bridge to allow vehicles, I
mean the boats to pass
through. And we would
look at a typical joint in
this truss.
So, this is a joint that we

are going to look at, and if
you look at the details it is made by riveting. And what you see here is you have the
riveted pins that are inserted, they are hammered from the other side to have this head.
And you must be getting
used to what is workshop
practice in your first
semester.
You might have heard that

these holes are normally
drilled, but drilling is not
sufficient in a riveting
operation you need to have
a very fine dimensional
tolerance on the holes. So, they also have to do what is known as a reigning operation.
There is no clearance between the hole and the riveting pin it has to be very closely done.
145
So, it is a very costly manufacturing process, and what you should notice here is that
they are aligned in a particular way and the base plate you call that as a gusset plate. So,
what I have here is if you look at the centroidal axis, they all meet at a point this is very
important it is intentionally
done.
If you do not know the

mechanics of a truss you
would not make it like this,
because I have seen people
have made trusses using
welding a welder may not
know the mechanics of it,
he just takes the members
and welds it. I have seen
some of the trusses which
are used for less critical applications where they do not meet at a point which is not
correct.
If you go and supervise any

of those structures you
must ensure if you want to
make a truss the members
should be aligned properly
and another aspect you
should notice no member is
continuous through a joint.
If a member is continuous;
then it behaves like a
beam, we do not want the
members to behave like a
beam. I have already told you that this is a gusset plate, and the joints can be made by
welding, riveting, bolting etcetera there are many operations.
146
You have seen that these

are l angles in engineering
terminology. The cross
section could be different
for different applications it
can be an I-section, it can
be channels, angles or
circular rods. That is what
you see here I could have a
circular road, I could have
a channel, I could have an I-section. And I could have a l angle like what we have seen
here or it could also be a hollow tube. Depending on the application you will have to
decide the cross-sectional dimensions.
So, in your engineering mechanics you find out the forces in the members in your next
course on strength of materials. Once you determine the forces what should be the
minimum cross section to
withstand. So, engineering
mechanics is only a feeder
for the next level course.
You do not solve
everything completely in
this course, you get first
level of information.
And if you look at a

practical bridge this is the Pamban Bridge in Rameshwaram. The individual members
forming the truss could be so huge and complicated. It is not like a single cross section
and you know very well that this bridge opens up to pass a boat.
147
And you have this as a space truss, this was there in Chandigarh airport.
And if you look at very

closely here again you find
the members are carefully
connected no member is
continuous through a joint.
And you can recognise that
this is more like a ball and
socket joint; that is the
equivalence of a pin joint
in three dimensions.
This is another view of it;

you can see very clearly
that this is joined by pin
joints here very clearly.
For both illustration and

analytical purposes line
diagrams of the trusses are
convenient. I have the luxury to show the trusses like this, but I would recommend you
just draw it as a line sketch with one important modification. I would like you to put
circles on all these joints to indicate no member is continuous through the joint. It is a
very important constructional aspect of the truss which you can over look if you do not
put these circles.
148
For the horizontal member at the bottom particularly you may imagine that it is a
continuous member, it is not built that way. And it is also desirable that you label the
each joint separately in an ordered fashion. If it is not given in the problem statement you
should label it yourself and you should also put the coordinate axis. And all our
discussion we would first
do it for a planar truss get
the mathematics then we
will think about space
truss.
And this shows how a roof

is constructed, I have
basically a truss. And I
have these rafters in the
carpenter terminology they
also call this as purlin,
where essentially beams
which support the wind
loads and also the weight
in foreign countries, they
have a problem of snow
falling on the roofs.
So, whatever the snow

weight all of this weight is
taken by the rafters and
transmitted to the truss below. And this shows the typical bridge truss, here again I have
a truss and a combination of beams they are called floor beams. They go together and we
would again revisit this from a different perspective later. You have loads acting on this
floor beams that is transmitted to the truss below.
149
And you know we had seen

in our introductory lecture,
failure of Tacoma’s narrow
bridge. And I said that was
because they have not
taken into account the
effect of wind forces while
designing the bridge. And
you could see here a
typical design of a bridge
truss with lateral bracing
like this. And you also have sway bracing like this, we would see this is available in
practical structures.
In the bridge that we saw

on the Pamban bridge this
also has these members to
support wind forces. And
you could see that these are
very very light compared
to the basic members they
are very very light which
you could easily recognize.
And how do you idealize a joint in a truss? See I have been telling you in this course we
have physical systems. We idealize them in a particular way for us to solve. The
challenge lies how do you idealize it correctly when you are faced with a physical
system.
150
For a given application depending on the loads and various other considerations your
idealization may be justified. Say when I have a pin joint it can move very freely, a
single member connected
to a pin joint can freely
rotate; it cannot support a
load. However, when I
have an array of members
connected by pin joint, we
would see what happens to
them, how the members are
connected is very
important. So, what you
recognise is, when you
have a pin joint, the translation is arrested rotation is not arrested its free to rotate; How
to construct a truss?
I have four members here

as I told you earlier that
when I put a circle you
recognize that you have a
gusset plate which helps in
connecting it, and no
member is continuous
through a joint. Suppose I
apply a transverse load at
C, what would happen to this? It would simply collapse; it would simply collapse like
this. It cannot sustain the load; how to make it stable?
151
The trick is put a diagonal member I put a diagonal member; this structure becomes very
strong. And you could have additional triangles and continue to make a good truss,
looking at from an animation is not that convincing. It is desirable that we go for a
practical experience by
looking at a demonstration.
I need a volunteer from a

class to help me in the
demonstration, say I have
just inserted a pin and you
could see clearly that I can
move this member very
freely. It does not prevent
me from moving it and that
is how we have understood what a pin joint is.
Now, I will make a four-

bar member with pin
joints;
Now, I have the four-bar

member that you saw in
the animation. Now, what
I will do is, I will apply a
small force here; I am just
applying with a finger I
cannot apply any force with finger that is significant. Is it able to withstand? It is not able
to withstand, it just oscillates. And some of you are doing engineering drawing you have
a nice mini drafter which employs this, and you call this as a mechanism.
152
And now what I am going

to do is, I am going to put a
diagonal member; can you
take the diagonal member?
Insert it, insert from there,
insert from there. And now
look at; can you press it
with your might? Press it.
Does anything happen to
this? It is very strong; just
one diagonal member makes all the difference; mind you that this is again a pin joint. It
allows rotation but collection of pin joints in an orderly fashion like this makes the
structure extremely strong.
Now, what we will do is I

will remove this diagonal
member which is very
thick as good as the
members forming the truss.
Now, would replace it by
just a string, see this is for
your cross bracing.
And what I have here is the cross bracing can take tension; a string can take tension, but
will collapse in compression; it can take tension. So, what you have is, you have a you
have two members like this which takes care of wind forces in any direction. So, the
cross bracing is always thinner than the actual member.
Even a simple string can do the job, I can have a metallic wire which will replace the
thick bar which I have used it earlier as long as I am interested in arresting the effect of
153
wind effects. See we have seen that a triangular shape can hold any amount of force, so,
it can resist it is a display
the enormous amount of
power.
And it is very interesting to

note that we have a Sri
Chakra that is being
worshiped by several
thousands of people. It is
nothing but collection of
triangles, it is very amazing we say attribute this to power shakthi. So, it is a very nice to
see that.
We have just now seen a

simple four bar mechanism
and also made it as a
triangle by putting a cross
member we have made it
as a triangle. Let us take a
roof truss and we would
like to see what would
happen when I apply a
transverse load, how does this deform.
Even though from your idealization point of view you say the members are rigid in
reality they are basically elastic members. Under the action of tension and compression,
they can elongate and contract and being a pin joint, it will allow small rotation.
And now, I show an exaggerated picture what would happen under the action of the
loads; make a neat sketch of this. It is an exaggerated fashion what you find here is on
154
one side I have a pin joint; on another side I have a roller support. And I want to you to
observe that there is a provision for this to move horizontally that is why you need to
have a roller support here.
And the members get deformed like this, whatever the original angle that was alpha
between the members in principle can change slightly. Suppose I have these joints are
made by welding where I am able to maintain a truly fixed in condition. The angle alpha
will not change, but in practice even though you have riveted and bolted connections,
you can observe a small variation in the angle alpha. Looking at from another
perspective a small rotation about the joint is allowed it can be idealized as a pin joint.
So, where I am taking you is, when I see a physical system which is constructed all
together differently for the purpose of mathematical analysis. You will have to reduce it
to a simpler model to aid your quick analysis which is reasonably accurate for the given
application.
As I mentioned you earlier

very few trusses in practice
are constructed with pin
joints, the only truss which
I could see in our near
vicinity is what you have in
central station. When you
have the next opportunity
to visit the central station the old part of the station is completely built on pin joints, you
have a rod they have just inserted pin.
And you have that roof standing for many be 100 years, when you have an opportunity
please go and have a look at it. Many are usually constructed using riveted or bolted
connections since the present practice is to resort to welding idealization of the joints as
frictionless pin joints has to be verified. Absence of moments at the joints and allowance
of small rotation can qualify them to be idealized as a pin joint, so, that is what we are
going to look at.
155
If you compare between

the bolted and welded
connections to an extent
bolted and riveted
connections allows small
amount of rotation, while
the welded connections are
more rigid. So, you will
have a preference like this,
welded connections are
used in less critical
structures due to ease of manufacturing and great reduction in production cost.
So, you have to weigh in between the application and the cost that you are ready to
spend. These days welding has phenomenally improved in initial stages they had several
issues on the strength of the welds and their fatigue characteristic so on and so forth.
Now, welding is a very matured process, people can control the parameters so
effectively. We would also see some bridges apparently developed with welded
connections; you would see those examples also. In general, riveted connections are to
be used in critical structures, like bridges due to improved safety by in-built crack arrest
mechanism.
The advantage is when I have a riveted hole if there is a crack that has developed in the
structure, it would propagate and come to a halt at the hole. So, there is an inbuilt crack
arrest mechanism available in riveted construction. And when you go home for your mid
semester recess, you would see in the many railways bridges they are all riveted
connections. Keep your eyes open, peep your head out and then see what those are.
156
So, I have riveted connection like this, this is the Brooklyn bridge in New York. And you
could also see some
segments they have a
bolted connection. In
another section they have a
completely connected with
bolts.
So, you have both bolts

and riveted connections are
in use, but from analysis
point of view you would do
it as a pin joint and make
your life simple, why you do it? The results are reasonably close to actual reality. Now,
you have a sophisticated finite element software have come where they could model it as
a frame and do a better
analysis.
And you have a pedestrian

bridge, this could be a
welded construction. This
is indeed a welded
construction, so, it is a less
critical structure.
And you also have another roof which is again a not a significant structure. So, you have
all these joints are welded, and I was amazed to see when I visited Niagara recently.
157
I was travelling in a bus, this complete bridge is welded; and it is also in a nice colour,
blue colour. This is the window in which I am taking the photograph so I get this
message. And it is a just 2 to 3 kilometres away from Niagara, this is just crossing that
bridge.
And here again you could

see the cross bracings to
prevent damage due to
wind loading, the
resonance was precipitated
mainly because of wind
loading. So, people have
learnt from experience, and
they have accommodated
this in wherever the future
designs that they have
employed.
When truss idealization is

acceptable? No member is
continuous through a joint,
we should satisfy that. The
members are to be properly
aligned on the gusset plate so that their centroidal axis meet at a common point that is
what I have shown it here, they meet at common point.
I have seen some of the welded structures; they do not meet at a common point when you
put then in practice they will not behave like a truss. You cannot take that kind of a risk
in critical structures; critical structures have to be manufactured correctly. You cannot
have one manufacturing and then do another analysis. And another important aspect is
158
external loads are applied only at the joints to avoid moment reactions at the joints; this
we would see. So, I am going to revisit how a roof is loaded and how a bridge is loaded.
I have this as a roof truss

and what I have is I have
these rafters and these
rafters are cleverly
supported only at the
joints. They are also called
purlins, and they take the
wind load and the load due
to snow. So, these rafters
bend whatever is the
reaction is transferred at the joints to the truss.
So, if I have to idealize this

as a truss, I should apply
loads only at the joints;
that is cleverly done by a
combination of beams and
trusses. Here you have a
road and you call that as a
floor beam, and floor beam
is having a transverse load.
And this floor beams are
supported at the joints of
the truss. So, you have to ensure not only construct it, but while loading also you must
ensure that loads are applied only at the joints. They go together until then you cannot
analyse the structure as a truss.
159
And you should notice that plane trusses are generally supported at the two ends. And I
have a support like this, it
is a symbol; you should be
able to interpret this
symbol correctly; what is
the symbol? This is a pin
joint. And how is it
supported on the other end;
this is on a roller support.
It is very important,
provision for expansion
and contraction due to
temperature changes and defamation resulted from applied loads is usually made at one
of the supports, like a roller supports very important in all of these constructions. And the
trusses are also named after
several people Pratt, Howe,
Warren, K, Baltimore. You
will see them; very small
change you know the
western society always
wants to have copyright.
Let us see the two trusses, I

have a Pratt truss, like this;
and I have only one modification the central member is instead of put at down; it is put
up it is called Howe truss. And I have a combination of these two; I call it as a Warren
truss. So, it is all basically array of triangles arranged in different ways for different
applications. Also, from the point of view of appearance symmetry beauty all these
aspects also go into this.
160
So, we have seen in one of

the classes earlier, how a
huge truss bridge is
supported on rollers. And
from analysis point of view
we need to know what are
the unknowns that we have
how do we model these
supports. We have already
seen; the roller support can
be replaced by a normal force acting on the member.
On the other hand, when I

have a pin joint, I can have
two forces, because I do
not know which direction
the force is. So, I have a
force component Rx and
Ry at the joint. And later
on, we would also see
trusses which have pin
joints at both ends, they are
difficult to analyse. But we
would postpone it for the moment, but usually you will come across the truss always
with a pin joint at one end, roller support at the other end.
161
And you should know how to interpret the symbols correctly, and this shows two bridges
I told you that accounting for thermal effects is very important. You have the Pamban
bridge which is a rail bridge, adjacent to that you have a road bridge; I could get
photographs of what have
they done for the thermal
behaviour. And you see on
the bridge, on the road you
have this kind of steel
mechanism which interlock
each other.
So, they can allow

expansion and contraction,
so, temperature variation
accommodation is not
trivial. People have to provide engineering solution, without engineering solution the
structure will not have its life, lot of money is spent on this.
And how do we classify the trusses, I can count the number of members as m, I have
number of joints as j, I have number of reactions as r. I could have a relationship between
them; what are the unknowns? I need to find out the forces in the members, and I need to
find out the reactions.
These are the unknowns in the problem, if I have unknowns, I should have equal number
of equations to solve for them. At every joint when I idealize this as a pin joint I am
talking of a planar truss, how many equations can you write from the principle of statics.
You have three equations
of these three how many you can write per joint. I can write only 2, because I have a
concurrent force system.
162
We have already said the members have to be aligned properly at the joint and apply
load only at the joints, so, I make the system as concurrent. So, writing moment equation
is not going to give me anything extra. So, I can write per joint only two equations. The
total number of unknowns or the forces in the members and the number of reactions, and
if I have ; I call that truss as statically determinate.
It is as simple as from whatever the knowledge that you know right now, you can attempt
to solve the problem. Because I have the number of unknowns and number of equations
are identical, I can also get a unique solution no problem. Suppose I have ,I
cannot solve the problem only based on the knowledge of statics.
I have to bring in additional information from the deformation picture where I go and
accept that these are not rigid and deformable. But in this course, we would basically
confine our attention to rigid body mechanics. So, I need to have additional equations
based on deformation. So, they cannot be solved using the principle of statics, so, we call
the match statically indeterminate.
We have seen and , what is the natural third equation? It is

and you have
already seen how the truss
was behaving. It was
behaving like a
mechanism; do we need
mechanism? Yes,
definitely I need
mechanism. If I have to
draw parallel lines in my
drawing, I need a mini
drafter; mechanism is also
useful truss is also useful. And whenever I say a condition, I have already told you that
you should look for whether they are necessary and sufficient.
163
Suppose let me take a truss like this, I have number of members as 11; I have (1 2 3 4 5 6
7 8 9 10 11) 11 members, how many joints I have? I have (1 2 3 4 5 6 7) 7 joints. And I
have one side supported by a pin joint, other side supported by a roller, so, I have 7
joints.
So, is satisfied,
can this truss be stable? It
cannot be stable. Unless I
have the members arranged
in this way; the truss will
not be stay stable. So, what
you will have to look at
is satisfied for
every conceivable sub-
system.
So, it is very important. How do we go and do the analysis of statically determinate

trusses? The design of truss involves the determination of the forces in the various
members and the selection of appropriate sizes, structural shapes and material to
withstand the forces. This we would take it up in the next class.
So, in this class we have looked at what is a truss and how the joints are made, what are
the manufacturing processes available for us to construct a truss. Physically they are very
complex, but from analysis point of view we reduced that as a pin jointed truss. We have
seen enough justifications of it and I also emphasized that they have to be supported
properly; thermal expansion and contraction is not a trivial issue. You need to take into
account for that, and when you are having a bridge truss; wind forces are very important.
We also saw the cross bracings used in several practical structures, and the cross
bracings are of much smaller cross section than the actual members forming the truss.
We have also seen a demonstration where I had used just a string to show how the cross
bracing helps in arresting the effect of wind forces. Wind forces keep change the
direction that is why you have bracing on both the diagonals. Thank you.
164
Prof. K. Ramesh
Module – 01
Statics
Lecture – 08
Trusses – II
Let us continue our discussion on Trusses. In the last class you have seen a variety of
practical structures that use trusses for supporting the loads. And we have also seen what
is the origin of the word truss. We saw that it has a French connection and the meaning
was collection of things put together, now you can change it as collection of essentially
two force members. And we have seen that no member is continuous through a joint
whether it is a two-dimensional planar truss or a three-dimensional truss.
In a three dimensional
truss you have a ball and
socket joint and another
aspect what we noticed
was, if we have roof truss
or if we have a bridge truss
in all of this you have set
of beams which are
cleverly put and transfer
the load only at the joints
of the truss. So, what is
important is in a truss no member is continuous through a joint and loads are applied
only at the joints only then you can model the structure as a truss for analysis. What is
the next stage?
165
To find out the internal forces. Why do we want to find out that? To select appropriate
size structural shape and material to withstand the forces. So, your analysis in
engineering mechanics is only a first step in truss analysis, this information of forces will
be used in the next level of course, to find out the deformation and also to decide on the
structural shape.
In order to calculate forces in individual members, it may be desirable to determine the

reactions at the supports, I have deliberately put it this way. In some problems even
without finding the reactions you can go hide and solving the problem, it depends on the
problem situation; in several situations it may be desirable to start from the supports.
And how do we obtain the

forces in the members?
There are many approaches
you have two of them
method of joints and
method of sections. The
idea is to solve a problem,
you need to have more
than one method
depending on the context
select that is appropriate.
I give a bird’s eye view of what is method of joints in this slide, later on we will
definitely spend time in learning the integrity details. Method of joints is useful in
finding forces in all the members of the truss, that may be very rare, but if you want to do
that, I can use method of joints. And you have method of sections where I separate a
section of the truss and then try to find out the forces on selected members. The
challenge would be what is the ideal section that I have to use? And if you look at the
force system in the method of sections it is non concurrent.
166
So, I can essentially use

three equations of
equilibrium to find out the
unknowns. On the other
hand, when I have an
isolation of a joint, I
definitely have a
concurrent force system.
So, I can use only
and
then we confine
our attention to two-
dimensional analysis.
In method of joints you

have to be very clear only
an idealized truss analysed
we have seen the
elaborately a joint has a
gusset plate several
members join, you may
have riveted connection,
you may have bolted connection or you may have welded connection. But we idealize
the joint to behave like a pin joint and what you do? Equilibrium of each joint is
considered separately and consecutively to satisfy the conditions of equilibrium.
So, the idea is where to start and how do you navigate through the trusses? And you pass
an imaginary section to isolate a single joint of truss and I have already mentioned a
force system acting on the joint is concurrent and co planar. And we have already seen I
167
can write only two independent equation from statics. So, you have to select a joint
where you have at a time
only two unknowns, if the
more unknown sources
there are also tricks that
you can employee that we
will postpone it for the
time being.
You make a neat sketch of

this truss the simplest truss
at the same time you have
very interesting results for these members, you can draw a line sketch I have the luxury
of showing that as members. And you should identify the support conditions on one hand
it is supported by a pin joint or a hinged joint and you have on the other side to allow for
temperature variations
supported on rollers.
And you have these

members are at equi
distance; a is the span
length for each of the
segments and this is also
symmetrically loaded. I
have 2 kN acting at the
joint, I have another 2 kilo
Newton acting at this joint
and you would try to find out the forces in all these members by the method of joints.
168
And first step is to draw the free body diagram show the unknown forces and known
forces, I can put the known forces first 2 kN and 2 kN; I should replace the support at A
and D as appropriate force interaction. And A is a pinned joint. So, I have two
components because I do not know what is the direction of the force.
So, I have unknown as RAx and RAy at D it is a roller support I know the direction of
interaction and this is RDy. And see that I have the reference coordinate system for the
problem though I have
luxury to draw like this;
you can simply draw as a
line diagram putting these
known by definitely put
these circles indicating that
no member is continuous
through the joints, you
know you have to keep in
mind.
Truss is constructed in such

a manner no member is continuous through the joints, if a member is continuous through
the joint the member will behave like a beam and it will bend, we do not want that to
happen. So, you have to recognize that this is collection of two force members bound
together that is a very nice definition.
And the next step is to find out the unknown forces, but before that we will also check
whether the problem is solvable by using the equations of statics. So, you check for
determinacy or indeterminacy you will say how many joints are there? I have 1 2 3 4 5 6
joints and members are 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 members. I have unknown reaction is three. And
does it satisfy m + r = 2 j?
It does satisfy m + r = 2 j. Since m + r = 2 j, I can say that this is a statically determinate

problem. It’s more of a training for you to get the jargon in the subject you have to
identify whether the problem is statically determinate or indeterminate. See usually a
169
truss has only triangle members; and one support is hinged, other support is on roller
invariably it will be a statically determinate problem.
If the supports are both the

supports are hinged, then
you have a difficulty in it
because I have 4 unknowns
and if I have cross brace
members then the number
of members and number of
equations will not be
sufficient for you to solve
number of unknowns will
be more then it becomes
statically indeterminate.
So, it’s better for every truss when you solve them initially check for determinacy and
indeterminacy. And I can easily find out these forces you know if you are clever by
inspection you can write the results you have to graduate to that level because I have
symmetry, I have given you the clue I have loads only acting on the vertical direction.
So, even without getting into solving this Fx = 0 or Fy = 0, you can clearly say what
should be the force interaction at A and what should be the force interaction at B. Let us
take the advantages of mathematics. So, when as Fx = 0 I obviously, get the x component
of force RAx is 0. And when I say Fy = 0. I will have RAy + RDy = 4 kN. And you can also
find out the moment about any point here we are finding out the moment about A. So,
when I find out the moment about A, I get this as
that gives me
170
And I told you earlier the problem is symmetric very simple, even by inspection after
you solve several problems you can afford to write the reactions mentally doing all these
calculations.
So, I would get RAy is also

2 kN. So, I have the
complete free body
diagram now, the
unknowns are determined
and I have these as the
force interaction at A and
D. Now we will have to
find out the member forces by the method of joints, I can start from either joint A or D
both are equally applicable. Let me start from joint A because I know for sure that I have
2 members, I have 2 unknowns. So, I isolate the joint by an imaginary cut and I have
already told you the scientific community took quite a bit of time to understand this
imaginary cut it is was not obvious and simple.
Now, I have the luxury of all these animations; I can show this member cut and put it
like this and what I would do is, I would assume the forces on these members in a
particular manner. I have this as acting in this direction FAB away from the joint and I
have also assumed one member AF force acting away from the joint. And I have told you
do not have to worry about this if you do the mathematics properly, the mathematics will
guide you whether your assumed direction is correct or not. So, I get this as
from the geometry of truss, you can find out this angle is 45 and I have
171
So, when I solve this, I get this
So, that indicates my assumed direction that I started is not correct the answer is
negative. So, I have to reverse the direction of force FAF and FAB if I look at, that turns
out to be 2kN. So, whatever the assumption in FAB is correct. So, this is about how do
you handle the free body of an isolated joint; ultimately what we want is we want to find
out whether the member is in tension or compression.
So, we have to learn how to interpret these results as tension or compression on the
members that require some training and imagination fine. And let me first put the correct
direction of force FAF. See if I see this as a member that is cut then it is easy to
comprehend. Then when I have force acting away from the member this could create a
tension and when I have the force interaction like this could create a compression its very
clear and simple fine. But many books what they do is they do not isolate the joint like
this they isolate the pin. The moment you take it as a pin the results will be still similar,
but you have to be careful and follow a discipline so that you interpret what is tension
and compression.
Because ultimate interest is to find out whether the truss member is in tension or
compression that is also required for you to visualize what will be the deformed shape.
So, they just put this as a pin; pin is put as a circle and I have two kilo Newton’s like this
and I have the final force system like this. This would require further discussion we will
do that discussion on the other hand if I isolated like assigning tension or compression is
fairly simple. But you know many of these engineering practices, as come from the field
there are ways in which technicians who work in the field, they have not gone through
engineering mechanics course, but they will understand certain things and some
notations have been used.
So, its better as engineers you also learn those notations and symbolism. So, we have
already seen that FAB is in tension its value 2 kN and it is a convention in truss analysis
172
to put these arrows on the members. Let me put the members forces I have first put the
force in FAF member AF, I have put the force in member AB. I have just translated the
forces away from the joint, I have put a similar one at B away from the joint. And we
have looked at from the logic of analysing the free body that the remember AB was in
tension, but if I look at the arrows like this what is impression you get? It appears as if it
is in compression this you have to live with it; you have to understand. Finally, when
they represent the results of truss in a diagram, civil engineers do it like this. And if I
look at here the member is in compression I could see very clearly in this sketch and I
have just translated identifying that this force is towards the join. The same thing is put
here and we have also seen when I have to analyse it by method of joints, I should go
from one joint to the other in a consecutive fashion. Once you have determine the force I
have already said when the interconnected rigid bodies, once you have determine the
force in one body you have no choice in the other body, you have to put it from
Newton’s third law equal and opposite you cannot assume for both separately, if you
have assumed for one, the other one is automatically fixed so when I have to solve this, I
have to go from one joint to another joint systematically and the reference point is I look
at the joint whether the force is towards the joint or away from the joint. That is a way
they will look at it and you can easily see away from the joint it introduces a tension,
towards the joint it introduces a compression. Please clarify your understanding on this
you can go wrong in your sitting in a squeeze and then, trying to answer then will start
thinking when you put the arrows on the diagram it looks compression, but sir said it is
tension. You should not start thinking there you should right now digest the concept.
Now, what we will do is we will look at what happens in a pin we have already seen no
truss has a pin jointed construction, except the Chennai central station has a truss I think
it should be there for the last 100 years. And you have that completely on pin joint, all
other trusses are its only idealization. But let us go back and see what was the interaction
between a pin and the bar in which you have a hole where you insert the pin ok, let us go
back and see.
173
We have seen this earlier we have put an imaginary section to cut this and when you see
the cross section at that
stage you will have a
clearance between the pin
and hole. This is
exaggerated, but you will
always have a clearance
however small it is.
And in this case, we have

seen from the previous
experience there was
weight which was pulling
this pin down. So, you have force interaction taking place on the bottom surface, suppose
the force is acting opposite then the pin will move up and touch this place and you will
have clearance at the bottom. Just because you say body is rigid, body does not behave in
a rigid manner all bodies are deformable which is the concept that I wanted to drive in
your head ok, because it’s very important. Practical structures have only distributed
forces.
So, at the joints you will have an elliptical distribution, which I would replace it by
composition as a concentrated force for convenience in analysis. In reality the boy body
is deformable you idealize it as a rigid member for you to calculate the forces, it helps
you are not making a serious error in the process.
And the next level course you consider the body as deformable and find out its resistance
and decide what is the material I should use? What should be the cross-section minimum
I should have? So, that it instant with the force and so on and so forth. So, I actually have
an elliptical distribution and this is replaced by composition as a concentrated force. And
I have already alerted you this interaction is dictated by how the pin is moved in the hole
ok? So, let me take up two members like this and then I have inserted the pin fine
suppose I hold it like this and I actually push the bottom member left then the pin will
touch the bottom.
174
Suppose I put the bottom member at the right side, the pin will touch the right side of the
hole you should understand
this. So, when the member
is in tension or
compression the contact
what happens at the pin
and the hole is different it
is not one and the same.
So, this is what we had

seen that I had a distributed
force on the length of the
pin which is replaced by a
concentrated force.
Now we would look at just

take one member and I
have two pins and let me
take out the pins and let me
first take the member is in
compression fine. So, I
could have a force
interaction acting at this
stage at this place and by Newton’s third law what would be the force interaction on the
pin? It would be equal and opposite. I will have the force like this and if I look at what
happens in this pin, I would have equal and opposite there. And you could see very
clearly if I have forces like this; the member is under compression and the interaction
between the pin and the hole takes place at this end of the hole.
Suppose I cut this member what happens? I cut this member I separate them and I put the
interaction then again, I see that the member is in compression. In fact, I had isolated the
175
joint by cutting the member and when I cut the member, I have a place where I will put
the force interaction and what we find is, the direction of the force is towards the joint.
So, when I use the pin for my reference in this case there is no confusion, you see where
the interaction takes place
you have the force when it
is towards the joint it
ultimately produces
compression in the
member, same is the case
when I cut the member.
Let us look at the other

case suppose the member
is under tension because the other members have to pull this member. So, when it pulls
where would be the force interaction, the force interaction has to happen here at the
bottom of the hole when I say the member is under tension, so I would have the force
interaction. And ideally where would be the force interaction be on the pin, it has to
happen only in on this surface because that is what is in actual contact with this. So, that
is where you will have. No, we have a nice advantage I have principle of transmissibility,
I can always move the force conveniently to the other side and I can say that this is what
are the interactions takes place.
Why I do this? I have to do this if I do it for a pin because if I put the force on the other
side, the force is towards the joint my interpretation will collapse. Only if I say it is away
from the joint it is tension and the convention is indicating the force at the pin on the
same side of the member that is what you have to notice. All that confusion does not
come effect at the member, but somehow many books simply put the joint as a circle and
put the force as without providing a satisfactory explanation.
You need to have a satisfactory explanation for you to comprehend what I am doing?
An engineering is one profession where you have several conventions, we follow
conventions if you take out conventions from engineering, engineering will collapse;
because my interpretational will be faulty. If I put the force all though force interaction
176
takes place only here physically, I do this because we want to make our life simple in
drawing the sketch simply want to put a circle.
On the other hand, I isolate a joint I have no difficulty in interpreting the force direction,
in my teaching I would isolate the joint. As I told you earlier when you learn the subject
you should not be afraid of solving problem from any book. If some books follow this
you should also know what they do it how to do it yourself. Let me continue this and
then look at what happens in this pin? And I can argue very easily that the member is
under tension you have force interaction here.
Now, I cut the member, separate it, when I put the force interaction that will also indicate
that the member is in the tension. So, cutting the member is very easy to associate the
direction of the force to tension or compression; do not confuse it while drawing the free
body diagram. Free body diagram if you get positive negative that does not indicate
tension or compression that only says the force direction you have taken originally is
correct if it is positive; originally what you have taken is wrong if it is negative.
Those positive and negative are not indicators of tension or compression in the member
you have to associate, the force is tension when it is away from the pin a force is
compression when it is towards the pin. This you have to be very clear because, when
you solve a problem in truss you are expected to finally, summarize your results
indicating which are the members under tension? Which are the members under
compression? And which are 0 force members?
Do not neglect 0, when you want to get a job you want to get many 0s after 1 or even 5;
because the values are salaries are sky rocketing in these days 0 has no value
independently, but in its association, it has lot of value. Similarly, you cannot remove a
0-force member from a truss the truss would collapse, 0 is very important you do not like
your 0 from your salary to be removed.
177
So, now I have indicated these forces and I have also brought your attention, when I
show the force away from the joint and towards the joint, I interpret this as tension I
interpret this as
compression. And even
before you do that you
must also physically see
when I take the member
and push, I mean pull it
down I would; obviously,
expect a member like AB
to have tension. I would
like you to associate
whatever the numbers you
get to the physical reality. Do not say I have done the mathematics has given this it is
tension compression do not learn the subject like that. You also feel like the truss get
yourself stressed ok.
Associate tension compression for this member is difficult, but of course, creating
tension for this member is rather easy to do. Now which member which joint can I go
and do next if I go to B, I have 1 2 and 3 unknowns, if I go to f I have only 2 unknowns.
So, I would go to joint F, but when I go to joint F mind you that I have already indicated
a force in member AF following our convention this is under compression towards the
joint is compression. You have no choice of changing this you have to start with this fact
and solve the other member forces do not bring in your arbitrary assumptions here.
So, I take an isolation of joint F which I can do it nicely here and indicate the forces,
when I put the forces FAF, I would put it like this; mind you I am not putting any sign
here. I have already indicated the sign in my direction I just put the value, this is how
you have to handle the free body diagram of the joint. I do not know the forces on
members FFB and member FFE. I put the force away from the joint usually you take the
tension and if the result is negative you also can say that it is compression, but that is
only a chance fine.
178
Your tension and compression have to be associated with reference to the joint how the
forces you can also make the algebra equalant to that, but if you miss that algebra finally,
look at the direction of the forces. So, I get
So, this direction is correct and you can say that the member FFB is in tension which also
coincides with when I pull the truss down the member is pulled it is under tension. It
goes with your physical appreciation of the problem and I have
I get this as negative. So, my assumption is wrong so I have to reverse this direction and
this is how the joint is in equilibrium. And now we can summarise the forces like this F
FB is 2 kN, T denotes tension and FFE 2 kN indicates compression. From this how do we
proceed next I can go to joint B because I know what is the force here I have only two
unknowns. I can also start from joint D. I would start from joint D before that you know
we have also indicated what is the force in the member FE like this, I put these arrows
with reference to the joint.
I have 2 kN acting on this and I have 2 kN acting on this member this member is in
tension, but if you look at the arrows. It gives me an impression that this is another
compression do not get confused have a clarity on interpreting the symbolism you are
practicing symbolism here.
179
I will go and consider the equilibrium of joint D again I isolate this, see in fact, whatever
you study in trusses it is
nothing, but equilibrium or
rigid bodies much simpler
in complexity. And this
chapter is one everybody
can score full marks very
simple and that should be
your learning goals, we
should not have any
problem solving a problem
on truss I isolate this joint.
So, when I do not know the
force, I put it away from the joint.
So, if I use this kind of symbolism in drawing the free body, I can also associate my
positive and negative value of the answer to tension and compression choice is yours
whichever is convenient to you practice that. But final and full proof interpretation is you
should refer with respect to the joints, rather is away from the joint is tension towards the
joint it is compression. So, I write the equations
So, this gives me FDE is -2.83 so; that means, the member is under compression and FCD
is under tension so which I would indicate on the truss also.
180
So, I have reversed the direction of force I have to reverse the direction of force I have
reverse the direction of force and I will change this as FDE = 2.83 noting well it is
towards the joint. I will
also indicate that truss
these forces I have this as 2
kN away from the joint this
is towards the joint.
Now what I will do is I can

move to several other
joints let me go to joint E,
isolate the joint and put the
member forces here I already know two forces. So, I have no choice other than putting
the directions correctly, so these two directions are known I am putting these two
directions. For the unknown directions I put the values away from the joint for
convenience.
So, when I write this equilibrium equation
see this is slightly incline imagine that this is along the length of the member ok. Sketch
is not absolutely clear on this and I get a surprising answer, I get the force in member BE
as 0. This is the reason why I chose this truss I have a small truss which can be analysed
comfortably, it has members which are under tension, which are under compression. And
there are also members which carry no force they are part and parcel of the truss they
cannot be removed.
In fact, you will also see towards the end of the lecture on trusses how to identify 0-
force members, that takes your life sample in calculation you cannot remove the 0-force
181
member for stability of the truss 0 force member should exist. Just because it does not
transfer any force, I cannot remove the member that is what I meant when I say 0 force
members, you may say I have designed the truss to support loads this is not carrying any
load it is waste I will optimize.
You should not do extreme optimisation see god is very claver god has given you two
kidneys, he has not optimized that you have only one kidney. And we see very often
people have kidney problem and they donate one kidney and then they get that kidney
from others and they survive, but he has given you only one heart he has done
optimization judiciously.
So, do not get into the bandwagon that I want to optimise everything and removes zero
force members foolishly don’t do that. So, I have this force FCE as 2 kN that is under
tension and I have also
marked as force and I have
force on member BE as 0.
Now I have to go to joint B

and solve the member
force BC I have taken the
joint C both are equally
possible for my slide I
have taken joint C indicate
the forces that you do not
know in an arbitrary direction we take it away from the joint. I know the force FCE I have
already determined what is FCD I do not know what force FCD is it is very easy to
calculate FCD minus FCB equal to 0. So, I get this as 2 kN and you know very well that is
away from the joint so this is under tension. And I have also indicated it on the truss and
FCD is 2 kN tension.
182
And this is how the final result is normally summarised in a truss analysis. So, I have
members AB, AF and so on and so forth and you have the values. And you also have the
nature of the forces whether it is tension or compression and you also have which
member is under 0 force is
mark separately? I have
drawn this sketch like this I
expect you to draw the
sketch like this because it
is easier for you to draw a
line sketch rather than
putting a bar in place of a
line and keep it in your
mind because I put all the
forces with respect to the
joint if I see this as
physically compression on the member it is actually tension.
If I see what is physically tension on the member is actually compression this is a

symbolism. And you know
this truss my student has
solved it by a final element
analysis.
Because the idea is, I

would like you to see what
would be the deformed
picture how the truss has
deformed under the action
of these forces.
183
And you watch the animation and the load is increased and you would observe very
interesting things on the animation. First observation is you have provision of roller is
essential because this edge
because of the members
being elongated or
contracted, it is re located
at distance away.
So, your roller support

should allow it to move it
that way and if you have a
clear visualisation you
look at this member which
is a 0-force member; it
remains in length same it has not all till. And you would see this member has elongated
and this member as contracted and you find the need for one support to be hinged other
support to be roller is very clearly brought out in this animation. And this is a real-life
animation, no approximations are involved other than what we have done as a pin joint.
So, it understands the members as deformable which you normally do in a next level
course, it is better to know how the deformed picture of the truss can be.
I think in this class we have seen systematically what is a method of joints, we have
determined the member forces. I personally feel you isolate a joint by an imaginary cut
you do not have to worry about how the joint has been made it can be a riveted joint, it
can be a bolted joint, it can even be welded. And you will naturally put the force
interaction on the member only on the member there is no need that you have to put the
forces on the pin when I isolate separately in the direction, in the on the side of the
member all that confusion will not come, when you have a force away from the joint it is
tension, when you have a force towards the joint it is compression. Interpretation also
becomes simple. And you isolate a joint where you have two unknowns, you also have
truss in special cases if I have more number of unknowns a limited number can be
handled not all generic situations. And you have to go consecutively from one joint to
another, once you are determining the forces of a number forming the other joint you
have to put the corrected force and then carry on with it. Thank you.
184
Prof. K. Ramesh
Module – 01
Statics
Lecture - 09
Trusses - III
Let us, continue our discussion on Trusses.
And in the last class, we

had discussed method of
joints and I have said that,
I would prefer cutting and
isolating a joint like this;
this becomes easier when,
you want to associate the
final answer of these forces
as tension or compression
in the members. It becomes very clear. When, I look the member like this, if I have a
force acting away from the joint, it indicates tension and the mathematics tells me, if I
have assumed it in a particular way, the algebra tells me whether, I should retain that or
change its orientation. If I have a force towards the joint, it is also very clear the member
is under compression.
Or I said, many books simply isolate a joint as a circle and then, indicate the forces.
Algebraically, you will get the same numbers, you will not make any mistakes there, but
when you evaluate the forces and try to associate whether, it is a tension or compression,
you have to follow a convention. Because, when, I take a joint like this; suppose, you
start thinking, how the pin joint behaves then, you would put tension like this, but if I
have to associate the direction, I will have to put these forces at the joint only in the
direction of the members, all that restriction is not there when, I simply isolate a joint
and put the forces acting away from the member. It is very clear that, this is tension even
when you perceive it.
185
So, if I start my forces like this, my mathematics when, I get the answer as negative, you
can also associate that as compression. So, it has a slight advantage from physical
visualization and secondly you do not worry about, how the joint has been made. So, the
choice is yours, which is
the way that you would
like to solve the problem in
trusses.
Next, we analyze the same

truss by another method
called method of sections,
the focus is to learn the
methodology. So, I have
taken the same truss and the question is you have to find out the internal force only in
one member FE. I do not have to find out forces in all members and the member is
specified and the question also says use just one equation by the method of sections. We
have already looked at this truss, we have done the free body diagram, we have also
checked for determinacy
and in determinacy all that
I am not going to repeat.
One of the key aspects

here is, I have to pass an
imaginary section and cut
the truss into two. How do
I take the section? When, I
take a section it should
completely cut the truss. I
cannot cut one member or I trim the member when, you say method of section simply go
on trim one member, that is not acceptable. If I put a cut, that cut should pass only once
in a member. And usually books will give a straight line cut like this and when I isolate
186
this, I should put the force interaction of these members indicated as forces acting away
from the member, which would also say that, I am assuming it as tension, if my algebra
gives this as negative, I would understand that, this is giving a compressive force of the
member.
Now the question is you have to come out of the mental block, how do I make a cut. It
need not be a vertical line; it can be an inclined line. Here again, I indicate the force as
FFE, FBE, FBC and so on. Wherever, I cut the member, the internal force remains same
because, I have considered this as a 2-force member. No matter, where I cut the internal
force remains same and I can also take a generic cut because, soon we are going to see
one ore problem where, the challenge is how to take an appropriate section. In fact, that
would require a curved line. So, you have to visualize when, I take a section the only
restriction is, I should completely cut that truss and isolate, I cannot go and cut the
member FE and B E alone and say that, I have done a method of section no, you have to
separate it into two.
So, when I take the section like this, I would have force interaction represented like this
and I could also, have another line like this, this is also going to give me a similar free
body diagram. So, I could use any one of these free body diagrams for me to apply the
method of sections. They
are one and the same. The
focus of this is to indicate,
I could have even a curve
like this to cut a truss. So, I
am prompting you, when
you have a problem later,
if you can have a vary cut,
if it going to simplify the
problem; go ahead and
choose it. Method of
section does not say you
have to put a straight line. Now, let us solve the problem, for solving I will simply take a
vertical cut and then separate this into two.
187
So, I could write the free body of the left portion or I could also write the free body of
the right portion, whichever is convenient to you, you can do that, there is no hard and
fast rule, which one you should use in a given problem, which would simplify your
mathematical calculation, that you choose it. And we have also seen in the question, I
should find out the force FFE by using just one equation. What is the difference between
method of joints and method of sections? When I isolate a joint, I get a concurrent force
system, I can write only two equations of equilibrium because, the moment equation is
automatically satisfied. On the other hand, when I use method of sections the force
system is not concurrent.
So, I can use
I can use all the three equations and do not jump to use all the three equations, without
pondering about, how to
handle the problem
because, in the
examinations you know I
would give a problem and
we also indicate, what is
the maximum mark you
can get for that problem,
the mark is indicative of
the time that you should try
to spend on a problem.
If you think that, you are spending more time on it, then you have missed the crux of the
problem in solving. Here the problem is very straightforward and I am sure everyone
would be able to see, what is the equation I should use? Simply take the moment about,
188
the point B, the force as FBE and FBC do not contribute anything. I can directly write one
equation and get the value of force FFE and this gives me as -2 kN.
And when you say minus, we have already taken a clever way of representing the forces,
even without visualization you could conclude, that the force is compressive on the
member. But I would urge you to visualize because, the whole course is you have to be
prompt at to visualize what
happens in actual situation,
when the loads are applied.
Take mathematics as a
support as a verification
tool, which, should go
hand in hand with your
visualization. So, we have
-2 kN and the direction is
also changed and I finally
put the value as 2 kN
compressive.
Then we move on to another important aspect, which we have ignored, how to model
weight of members? Just modelling the weight of member may not be a real issue. See, if
we go to western countries where, you have very cold temperatures and you have usually
snow falls on all the roofs, snow could be very heavy and depending on the intensity,
you may have to design the roof truss. So, that you take into account effect of snow in
some way. And as I said the self weight of the members are small compared to the
external load and why we have carefree avoided self-weight? Actually, self-weight can
introduce a small bending of the members which, we have never considered it for
simplicity in the analysis.
And if you look at, how the joints are made, if I put rivets one after the other, they can
also suppose support a moment and such effects are generally neglected in the analysis.
You get a result which, is reasonably acceptable, that is why that approximation is valid,
if it is not acceptable, you cannot make an approximation, the approximation should be
189
acceptable for a given application. As I said when, there is a snowfall on rooftops one
may need to account for the weight of snow. And here again, we are going to make an
approximation.
Suppose, I look at that, this

is the weight, you could
visualize the body force
acting on each volume
element of the body or you
could also consider a
distributed force due to
snow, either of the two you
can handle it in a similar
fashion. And what would;
we normally do; we replace the weight through the centroid and indicate by the weight;
this weight could accommodate only the member weight or it could be member weight
plus snow or it could be just snow. How do we take it in our analysis? We have already
seen, I can analyze a truss, only if the loads are applied at the joints; no member is
continuous through the joint.
Suppose, I have this load to be considered in totality, you will have a force like this and
this would introduce a bending. Instead, what is accepted in engineering analysis is, you
lump half of this weight on this joint and lump half of this weight on this joint; this kind
of an approach is acceptable in engineering analysis because, it simplifies your
mathematical calculations; yet it gives an improved estimate of member forces. So, I
caution that, this is only an approximation. Suppose, I want to accommodate the weight
of this member, I could put forces like this; suppose, I want to accommodate the weight
of this member, I should put the forces like this; suppose, I want to accommodate the
weight of this member, I have to put the forces like this. On the other hand, if I have the
snow, you have to be careful, which of the members are loaded, and this you can carry
on and complete for all other joints. So, this is called lumping of the weight of the
members and it does improve the estimation of average axial forces.
190
So, it is acceptable. You still maintain your simplicity of your analysis and slightly
improve your estimates.
And now, we will move on

to solving another
problem; you have already
looked at the method of
joints as well as method of
sections; you have a truss
like this, make a neat
sketch of it; you have this
supported on a hinges or
pin joint at one end and a
roller support at the other end.
And the question is, I have to find out the member forces of only 3 members. I have the
member BC; I have the member BJ and I have the member BK. The choice is yours,
whether, you want to use method of joints or method of sections; you should use them
judiciously either one of it or combination of this and ultimately get this member forces
as efficiently as possible. Even before, we solve the problem, let us set a target that we
would use for each unknown one equation to solve. Can we set that as a target for us to
aid our thinking?
So, I am going to greatly reduce my mathematical calculation effort and I will look for,
which way, I should have the strategy to solve the problem. So, my recommendation is,
when you look at a problem in your exams ponder about, how to go about using your
mathematics. Do not jump on immediately, you start from one corner and then take
consume half an hour of the examination completely on your solving only one problem,
do not do that mistake. You have to decide on a strategy. So, now I have set the goal, I
have 3 member forces to be determined, we will try to find out whether, we could solve
them, by just three equations.
191
And I would like you, to get the habit of looking at, whether the problem is solvable
from equations of statics
or not. So, we will check
for determinacy or
indeterminacy.
So, you have to get the

number of joints, you
could count them as 11
and I have groups of 6. So,
3 into 6, 18 plus 1 19
members I have. And
since, I have a pinned joint
at one end and roller support at one end; you have just three reactions and if I check, m +
r = 2j. It is very obvious in this case, see, if I have a truss, which has essentially
triangular shape in every section of it, no cross braced members and the two supports;
one of them is a pinned joint and other one is a roller support, invariably it will be a
statically determinate
problem, but it is better,
when you are learning the
subject check this for each
of the problems you solve,
you will get the training to
do that.
Now, the next job is,

should we find out the
reactions or should we directly go and find out the member forces. I said that, I have set
the goal as, I need to have only three equations to solve for three unknowns. So, that
indirectly implies, can we avoid finding out the reactions. See, when I discuss the first
problem, I said it is desirable to find out the reactions, it is a context based; if I have to
192
find out all the member forces find out the reactions and go from one joint to another
joint and then, estimate all the forces. In this case, it is desirable that I look at the method
of sections and the first aspect that you have to pay attention is, what is the kind of
section that is appropriate for this problem?
Make an attempt on it; make an attempt on it, the whole problem depends on a nice
section that you will have to select. See, normally, in method of sections I have said that,
I can have three equations, when I separate it. So, cut a section, that will have only three
unknowns; I can give a hint, I relax that condition. You can have more number of
unknowns also. So, that is a clue for you to arrive at a section and I have already trained
you, that a section can be a curved line. So, the second clue is it is not a straight line. It is
a curved line. You have to choose the type of section appropriately. The moment you
take the right section, the problem is solved. The crux in this problem is, how to identify
a suitable section, which would help me to determine the unknowns. So, you have to
bring in one side cut the section; how do I take the moments; can I find out some nice
locations, which would minimize the calculation because, when I say a body is in
equilibrium, I can take moment about any point, I can take the moment on any of the
points on the body or even outside the body and then satisfy. So, you would use all these
principles in trying to do that.
Let me ask a question, we have to find out the forces on member BC, BJ and BK. Can I
take a section and cut these three numbers? Do not do that, because by cutting only these
3 members, I am not going to separate the truss into 2, whatever section I take, I should
be able to analyse, that as one free body, I should able to analyse the other cut as another
free body, which should be completely separated. Has anyone of you figured out, what is
the section that you can think of? I said that, you do not have to have a straight line, it
has to be a wavy and I have also relaxed another condition, it can also cut more members
more than 3, to be specific, you can cut 4 members. Let me, give the other clue also.
Because in a problem like this; we can have multiple ways of solving it. There is no one
standard way to solve a problem. You have to apply your mind and then find out, what it
is and I say that, I can cut 4 members; that means, 4 unknowns; how do I solve 4
unknowns with only three possible equations? It is still possible, if you take the point
about, which you take the moment cleverly. So, the focus in taking this problem is to pay
193
attention on strategies to solve a problem. You know, how to in general apply a method
of joints or method of section, you also know the equilibrium equations. So, you have to
weigh between what would
you select and which
equation you would
ultimately use for solving.
We have spent sufficient
time on this.
Let me show the section. I

will take a section like this
and what I am going to do
is, I will separate this. So, when I look at this free body first thing is, I do not have to find
out the reactions to solve this free body. I could solve the problem by solving the upper
part or the lower part. I cleverly take the upper part because, I do not want to determine
the reactions, because if the question is only to find out forces in 3 members, but here, I
have the force FCB, FCJ, FGJ, FGH; they are 4 in number. From the principle of statics, I
can write only three equations, but if I take a point about which, I take a moment, I can
straight away knock off 3 forces; can you see that?
So, the focus is, you think

and solve the problem. Do
not simply take a section
and do it in a hurry. So, in
my questions the mark is
an indicator, how much
time, I except you to
spend; it is an indirect
guidance for you to solve a
problem. If you are taking
more time, then you have
missed the cuts of the problem. So, revisit it and then, see how you can do this. So, I will
194
complete the free body here; I have also put the known forces and it is very clear, if I
take moment about G; I have my problem is set and I can directly find out what is the
force in member BC. Is the idea clear?
It is a very nice problem, that is what I said, to learn a subject, select few key problems,
understand the methodology thoroughly, learn the concepts, you can solve any problem
in that chapter. So, if I do this, I get
You have to do this carefully; you have to do this carefully, when I take moment about
the point G; these three and this one, they do not contribute to the bending moment. So, I
have these two forces, only contribute to this and this unknown force and this force also
does not contribute to bending moment.
So, if I take this, you should be very careful in applying this condition, looking at all the
known and unknown forces. Do not miss out any one of them. So, we have been able to
find out the force FDC and I get this as, -2.5 kN. So, I indicate it on the diagram and we
will also reverse it and then, put the sign and this indicates that the member BC is under
compression. Then, we have to find out the member forces BJ and BK. How do we go
about? I have taken one section, see, these sections are imaginary. So, the do not have a
mental block, I have taken the problem, I put one section, solved it, I should not use
method of sections again, there is nothing like that. I can take another imaginary cut and
determine the member force
And here, I say, you can also cut 4 members and the clue is, it can be a straight cut. Can
you guess, which cut will you select? Because in method of sections you have to
identify, what is the section I should take, because you also want to solve a problem in a
reasonable length of time.
195
I would simply put a horizontal cut, here again, I have 1 2 3 4; even though I cut 4
members, I have
determined the member
force here. Tell me about
which point should I take
the moment? Let me,
complete the free body
diagram, I should show the
known and unknown
forces clearly. And please
note, that I have indicated
the force correctly on the
member BC, because, I
have already determined its magnitude as well as direction and that is, indicated
correctly.
I can easily find out for the member force FBJ and you have to tell me, which should be
the point of taking the moment; because, it is a nice training, it is nothing but,
equilibrium rigid bodies and you will learn many of important concepts, even while
solving a problem on truss. I can take moment about any point, in the previous case, we
took point lying on the truss; the clue now, is it is lying outside the section at an
appropriate place. If you look at the truss, it will still lie on the truss, but from my section
is concerned, it is still outside the section; have you figured out what is that we will take.
Yeah, very good. So, I will take H because, I have these 2 unknown forces do not
contribute moment about this point and from geometry you have to find out this angle;
see you are given this height as 1.5 meters and this is symmetric. So, it is 1 meter. So, I
can find out what is this angle. Some computation you may have to do and I would urge
that, some next class onwards please bring your calculators and you could verify,
whether my arithmetic is alright and if I put I get the equation like this; I get
this as
196
So, while writing this equation, accommodate both unknown and known forces carefully.
It is like solving any other isolated section; here the section is, cut on the member and
you are accommodating for all the forces and this has to remain in equilibrium. So, with
this, I am in a position to evaluate FBJ by another equation and that turns out to be 18.02
kN. Please verify that, this
arithmetic is alright.
Now, what is left, I have to

find out force in member
BK; is in a restriction that,
I start with method of
sections, I should not touch
method of joints; there is
nothing like that; you
utilize both these methods
judiciously to solve a given
problem; your goal is you
are learnt methodologies, apply the methods to solve a given problem. So, the next clue
is, I would isolate a joint and find out the force in member BK and in this case, it also
becomes very obvious, which joint should I isolate.
I put the free body diagram of this; see the methodology, I have adopted in isolating a
joint is so convenient physically, you can appreciate what it is and there is no great
difference between, what I do for method of section and for what I do for method of
joints.
So, it is much more convenient to handle that way. And this is fairly straightforward and
would be in a position to find out, what is the value of the force FBK and you get this, as
-25 kN and you put this, towards the joint and we have determined the forces on three
197
members, using just three equations and judiciously, using a combination of; method of
sections and method of joints. I would urge you, to take this kind of an approach in
minimizing your
mathematics. I can also
solve the problem, I
method of joints, going
from one joint to another
joint, take half an hour to
45 minutes, still I will get
the same answer. And this
just summarises what you
have done in method of
sections.
So, we take a suitable imaginary section, which need not be a straight line and force
system acting on this is non-concurrent. So, I can use three independent equations. So,
generally you choose a section, where three members whose forces are unknown are cut,
but we have seen a special
case, where we had more
unknowns, but we utilize
the equilibrium equations
appropriately; particularly
the moment equilibrium.
So, we could still get the

answer, even with 4
members that means, one
of the members will be able to cal calculate, still you have the difficultly; if I have to find
out for all the unknowns, then it may not be sufficient. So, you should look at in that
context and we have also discussed on what should be the sign convention I should use.
198
So that, I am able to associate the member force as tension or compression on the actual
truss member.
Then we move on to
another important aspect,
how do I identify zero
force members? I have a
situation like this, at joint
A, I do not have a force
acting at joint A; external
force, I have only members
connected here. Can you
tell me, which is the zero-force member? It is obvious; I have no vertical component of
force, acting on the joint externally, so; obviously, if I put I get FAD should go
to 0. So, even by inspection you can identify, what is the zero-force member. And people
ask me, what do I do with this, zero force members? I said, from the stability point of
view, you cannot remove the zero force member and you should also recognize for the
given loading; this member is not carrying any load, but you know very well, I always
have these structures available in the open because you see trusses are used for stadium
and bridges and so on.
In many of these application, you also have forces due to wind, that keep changing the
direction; for the given loading this member transmits zero force, for another loading this
member may carry a way force, from that point of view also, you should not remove zero
force members, but particularly from stability point of view, you cannot remove even for
a given loading, when the member is transmitting zero force, they should be retained.
Suppose, I have a joint like this, I have FAB and FAD forces acting like this and there is no
external force acting at joint A, which are zero force members; both of them are, this is
to remove your mental block; we took one example of a truss in that, so happened one
member was zero force; in a truss, you can have several members carrying, no load ok;
199
several members may be zero force members. Then, we move on to another aspect how
do we handle statically indeterminate trusses? see the idea is.
If I have to analyse,
beyond the purview of
statics, I have to bring in
deformation in my analysis
and we said that we are
going to analyse bodies as
rigid; nevertheless, certain
class of problems, you can
still handle. One class is; if
I have external
redundancy, if I have more external supports, than are necessary to ensure a stable
equilibrium configuration; I cannot solve using the principle of statics. Suppose the
loading is very simple, I have taken a same truss, which we have analysed it earlier. We
had pin joint here, originally, we had a roller support; now, I have replaced by a pin joint,
but I still retain the same vertical force; I can still solve this problem, even though it has
external redundancy.
If the loading is simple, if there is no horizontal component, I can make a reasonable

assumption that, there are
no horizontal interaction of
forces at these two
supports; I can still solve
the problem. So, this is one
class of problems you can
handle. Other important
class of problem is when I
have internal redundancy.
200
I have more members than, what is actually necessary. You know we have seen the
failure of Tacoma Narrows bridge and I said, one of the problems that precipitated was
forces due to wind. Then people learnt that, they have to do something for the wind
forces and we saw cross bracing in many of the practical bridges; you had seen in the
first class, when we discussed, how trusses are constructed.
So, I have a cross braced structures and what I have here is, you should see clearly that,
there is no circle put here. So, the member is continuous; they are not joined here and
what I bring in is, the wind changes direction. So, depending on the wind force, it will
deflect in a particular manner and we have already seen that, these cross braced members
are much lighter than the actual numbers of the truss and I said, we have put a string in
one of the classes and shown that, it simply buckles; if it is subjected to compression. So,
it can take only tensile forces. So, I can use this, if I consider that the diagonal members
of flexible cables; it they could be flexible or behave in a sense flexible from the overall
truss point of view, I have thin members doing this.
So, even though, I have this member, I would ignore the presence of this member and
determine the force as if this member is not present, but you have to verify later by
taking that this member is present, the other member is absent and find out whether, the
force is indeed tension or compression. If it is compression, your original assumption is
correct. We have also taken up a problem and then, understand this and I have already
said that, these are
necessary to bare wind
loads because, they keep
changing direction, you do
not know, which way the
wind will blow.
So, I should have cross

braced members. So, with
when, the wind force
direction changes, one
other member will come
into play, structure will be safe, the bridge will not collapse two days back, there was a
201
storm and one other bridge connecting France and Italy has collapsed. So, do not think
that, failures happen in the past, they can happen even now.
So, you have to design it properly. So, I have another truss, which has cross brace
members; in this illustration I have shown it thick, but we have seen in all the earlier
actual structure of a truss, there were shown deliberately as thin. So, imagine that, these
are flexible, but I am
making an assumption that
they are flexible in doing it
both are equally good. And
I also have modelling of
the wind load for this
application; on that day
wind was blowing from
right to left.
So, what I can do is, I will have the free body diagram, where I will have the support
forces; now, I have four unknowns at the supports; I have the wind forces like this and I
will have to do whether,
the problem is statically
determinate or
indeterminate; I should
find out the number of
joints and number of
members and number of
unknowns.
So, when I do that, I will

find that, this is a statically indeterminate problem and I will have, you can do that,
202
calculation; you I will have the number of unknowns are 4, which I will not be in a
position to find out, but I can still solve for this problem, by making an assumption under
the given action of these wind forces that, deflection could be like this.
So, what I would do is, I

would make this member
absent in my free body and
estimate the member
forces; what I assume is,
only this member is
present and it is taking
tension and the
deformation of the truss
element is like this, that
comes from physics of the problems. So, I bring in additional information from the
deformed picture; you have to visualise, what way the deformation could be. I assume it
like this and this is reasonably because of the wind loads are very clearly specified, if
they are not specified, then you may have to verify by the other way of deformation and
find out, which is under
tension and which is under
compression.
So, I do this equilibrium of

this joint. So, that, I do not
have this member present
in my analysis. So, I can
directly find out, what is
the force in the member
FDE and you could get this,
these are the compression.
203
And I find out the equilibrium of joint D. The focus here is, I would essentially get the
value of the force acting on
the member DF as
positive, if my result is
positive, what I have
started is ok, but still it is
not completely verified;
for the given loading it is
so simple, I am able to
visualise the deformation.
Suppose, I also have some
loads acting from right to
left, but I have major load
acting from this direction.
You may not be able to visualize clearly. So, you may have to verify both the cases and
find out, which is the actual deformation for the given loading; that, I will leave it as an
exercise to you.
You may wonder with the

advent of computers; how
do we go on do the
analysis? We have seen
bridges having hundreds of
members; you can’t solve
them manually, it will take
a lot of time and we have
also made consciously
several simplified
assumptions, to solve a problem and what is done in computer based analysis is the force
displacement relations for each member is expressed in a matrix form.
204
Then you form a global matrix, there is a methodology called finite element methods and
you have matrix theory of
structural analysis; it was
started base civil
engineers, then now, it is
popular as a finite element
method.
And you can solve the

global matrix and get the
evaluation of displacement
at the joints, from the displacements find out the member forces and also find out the
stresses and you can also improve the idealizations because, we have said that this is a
pin joint and I have always been saying in reality the joints are very complex.
So, you can improve the

idealization of these joints
better in computer analysis
and you should also keep
in mind this, I have
emphasized it several
times, in real life every pin
connection in the actual
structure, can take some
moment due to friction. So, you can’t idealize something as a true pin joint. If you look
at fixed joint, are they really fixed? They can also allow some small rotary motion. So, it
is always debatable; whether, a physical structure a joint or a support, does it actually
behave like a pin joint or a fixed support. So, this is where I said, you have lower bound
solution and upper bound solution. So, you have to do the analysis in either way and
estimates the load carrying capacity and by making this as a pin joint we have removed
one unknown; I have only two unknowns per joint, so that also simplifies the analysis.
205
And you have to do the

idealization with care and
computers allow
advantage to be taken of
the additional stiffness,
that comes from riveted
bolted or welded
connections and you
should also keep in mind
analysis of pin-jointed
trusses are now limited to engineering education. So, do not think that, actual trusses
people ignore the stiffness introduced because of joints; these are efficiently modelled.
So, you do not have to
worry about it.
And this, shows a nice

animation of the trusses,
because the whole idea is, I
said, whatever you learn in
engineering mechanics is a
initial data; that you get for
your next level course, the
next level course you have to find out, what is the torque section I should use? And here
you have two trusses; one is having a cross section of 10 millimetre squared, another is
double the cross section.
And you see the maximum deflection is 0.0308 mm. So, this is highly exaggerated. In
another case, the deflection is only 0.0154 and if you look at this, Young’s modulus, this
is made of steel; it is 210 GPa and you could see very clearly, the deformation is more
here and deformation is less here. Suppose, I change the material, I retain the cross
section, but I change the material, what happens?
206
I have now selected

aluminium, which is 70
GPa and retain the 10 mm2
as the cross-sectional area
and you would see a large
difference, which is seen in
the deformed picture; I
have a maximum
deflection of 0.093. So,
you get an idea, you
evaluate the member forces ultimately you have to select, what should be the cross
section of the member and what should be the material, it should be made of fine; that is
the ultimate purpose of it, the first step is to find out the member forces, that you learnt
in this course and we have
also made a statement the
trusses are efficient. Don’t
you think that before we
close our discussion on
trusses, why they are
efficient?
See, truss is subjected to

axial forces, it is subjected
to either tension or compression. On the other hand, when the member behaves like a
beam, it is bent; the way member resists the loads are different in tension as well as
bending. And suppose, I take a generic section, imagine that, this is a long member, I
have taken a section and if I look at, what is the resistance; it would appear like this for a
truss member; from this you cannot conclude anything.
Suppose, we want to look at what happens if this behaved like a beam; the resistance at
this cross section internal resistance, that is developed varies in a triangular fashion and
207
what happens in this, cross section is fully utilized in load transfer; the central core does
not take any load, when the member is bent. So, that is the reason, why trusses are more
efficient and you cannot conclude that I do not have load carrying in the beam; so, I
should not have any beams.
It is also having a purpose. Even, if you look at God’s creation, all your bones are
hollow; when you walk up the stair and come down, you are tie bones are subjected to
bending and torsion and you know very well, your haemoglobin is created only in bone
marrow, bone marrow is very soft, bone is very hard. So, you should not have any load
in the inner core that is why, god clearly cleverly made your body, where God has
understood bending and torsion, much before as mechanics people we are trying to
unravel.
So, in this chapter, we have looked at trusses, we have seen, how they are constructed;
the key point is no member is continuous through a joint and loads are applied only at the
joints. For analysis and to determine the forces we have learnt two methods; method of
joints and method of sections. In a given problem, you could freely choose either one of
the methods or a judicious combination to solve the problem as quickly as possible and
we have also discussed at length, how to associate your member forces as tension or
compression.
Thank you.
208
Prof. K. Ramesh
Module – 01
Statics
Lecture – 10
Beams – I
Let us move on to our next

chapter on Beams.
You know we have already

seen this animation we will
we have seen it in the
context of trusses, now we
will refocus our attention
on the beams. First striking
feature what you get he is
the cross-sectional dimensions are much smaller than the length of the member, and they
are also called as rafters and you should notice that they are supported only at the joints
supported at the ends.
They are the simplest beams that you can analyze and what is the kind of load that, this
experiences essentially transverse load. You have the beams used in a roof truss; they are
also used in a bridge truss. I have water known as floor beams, they are again supported
only at the ends, they are very simple to analyze there are also beams that are supported
in between we will see a classification of them in little by later.
Here again the loading is transverse to the member. What you have to notices a beam
supports transverse load; the cross-sectional dimensions are much smaller compare to the
length.
209
And you have a various classification of the beams right now we should be able to
identity, what is the support that I have shown on this. You can identify that this as a fix
support and I have a
slender member like this, I
have an end load and this
has a particular name this
is called a cantilever.
You have many examples

of cantilever that you come
across in your
surroundings. One simple
example is you a sun
shade. Many of the sun shades in the building are essentially cantilever, and look at the
branch of a tree; branch of a tree is again a cantilever and there is also something very
interesting in the cases of a branch. How does the cross section of the branch vary along
its length; very intelligent. God has understood engineer mechanics much better than you
and I learn.
You have that paper so, that where you need higher cross section to withstand the
bending moment you have a higher cross section, it is not like a constant cross section
that I have shown here. So, nature is very intelligent and you call this beam as simply
supported. You should be able to identify what is the kind of end support I have used,
please note that this is only a symbolism you should know how to interpret the symbols
what is the striking difference between this support and the support shown here. The
difference is in the rollers; there are many ways books represent these supports.
So, I have tried to show different forms of them so, that you can interpret the symbolism
whenever you come across a problem for any book. Such a beam is very simple to
analyze and you also call that as simply supported and I have a slight difference between
the beam shown here and the beam shown below. What is done here is the support on the
right is moved inside and you have the beam precluding out of the support. Have you
come cross the any such practical example in your life, in your surroundings? Because I
210
have always been emphasizing that you are trying to analyze systems around you. That is
the purpose of this course.
How many of your swim swimmers? No, we are all very studious people, we never go
near sports, that is very unfortunate and you know if you have gone their swimming
pool, if you find the person is stepping on to these spring board to die. The support may
not be this far away this may be closer to this. So, you have a practical example where
diverse when they jump into a swimming pool you have a over hung beam either a over
hung beam or it could be a cantilever depending on the construction that they have made
in that place and this is called an overhung beam.
So, there are different names given to these beams based on the way supports are located
and how the supports are made. I have a fix support here, I have a hinged support here or
a pinned connection, I have a roller support here, I have in this beam I have a pinned
connection here, I have roller support shown in the rest of the beam. And you have to
give a name to this, what is the kind of name the people have coined; I have many
supports and people call this as a continuous beam. See for every type of beam we come
cross you can always find the practical structure around you. Only then you lean
engineering.
Can you identify a practical structure which everybody has to use that convenience when
you go home, when you travel by a train please also note the rails how the rails are
supported and you have this support at periodic intervals; you have not three you have
thousands of supports, and not only that people also go and qualify those supports as
beam on a elastic foundation. So, people can go very close to reality when you go for
higher level courses.
In this level of the course we say everything is rigid. We say the supports are the again
rigid in the sense they do not sink whereas, in a practical rail, the floor is not rigid you
also accommodate the elastic behaviour of the soil beneath you. I have another example
here what is the difference between a cantilever and what I see here? The end is not free,
but the end is supported. Can you tell me a practical example that you normally come
across; you have a big bungalow and you have a big portico. Many of the big porticos
they will have a support at the end.
211
And I have another type of beam, I have shown this as a fixed support I also have
another fix support you call this as a fixed beam. See I have the luxury of putting the
beam as the nice rectangular piece you can simply write it as a line. If you can closely
look at the way I have listed the beams, do you think that you can learn something more
from the way they are classified from whatever you have leant earlier.
See in this course we assume everything as rigid and I use equilibrium equations, and
this is a planar situation I can have only three equations written; so, I can determine only
three unknowns. So, one of the basic exercises that you will do for all problems is
whether the problem is solvable from equations of statics and you call it by the name
statically determinate. I have given you the clue. Can you apply your mind and find out
how the beams are listed in this how they can be classified? What do you have in this
segment and what do you have in this segment? Even if you take one example on the
left, one example on the right you can find out the classification.
When I have a; let us take a simply supported beam how many unknowns I have here? I
have two and I have one, I can write three equations I can solve for all of them. On the
other hand, when I go here
how many unknowns I
have; I will not be able to
solve it from equations of
statics, I have to bring in
the deformation behaviour.
So, that I can write one
more equation I need as
many numbers of
unknowns, I should have
as many numbers of
equations; so, the way the
beams are listed here. This set can be classified as statically determinate and this side can
be classified as statically indeterminate.
212
And I have shown a variety of members here and you have to tell me which of these are
beams. In the previous slide we saw everything as horizontal members, I have a
horizontal member like this, but I have a vertical member here, can you call this as a
beam? Yeah, 50 percent of you say you can call it as a beam and 50 percent of you say
you cannot call it as a beam.
Because we have seen in the previous slide all beams are horizontal. But I asked you to
notice one important fact when we looked at the roof truss and the bridge truss which
also had rafters and floor beams, the loading was transverse to the beam. See in English,
if you go say what is a beam, I can consider that as a light beam or I can also say
somebody with a beaming smile; the word has multiple meanings.
So, in the context of engineering mechanics a member that supports transverse load is
called the beam. The member can be vertical like this, but still the load is applied
transverse to this. The member could be inclined like this, but the load is transverse to
this. One of the common confusion students have is whenever they look at a member
which is horizontal, they do not think, they jump on to an immediate conclusion that it is
a beam.
I have clearly shown that this is supporting only an axial load; you do not call that from
engineer mechanics point of view as a beam. And you know recently Kerala is in state
and all dams are overflowing they are sending out water; can you extend your knowledge
of whatever you have discussed as a beam to what you see in a dam. I can see the dam
cross section like this and I would have a water column applying a force here and this
you know very well the pressure increases as you go down, you have a basically a
triangular loading acting on the dam.
213
So, this is one practical example where you have a distributed loading acting. And I said
when I do an analysis of any civil engineering construction the self weight is so
important cannot be
ignored. How do I model
that? That is what is shown
here, I have a beam, I have
a uniformly distributed
load; this is nothing but
accommodating the weight
of the beam as a load
acting on the beam. See the
books in order to train you
to handle distributed load
gives different types of
distributed loading to get a mathematical practice.
But if you look at from a practical stand point, you will come across either uniformly
distributed. In many cases representing self weight of the beam or you will have a
loading which is triangular indicating the load that could come from a liquid column. So,
we should be comfortable in handling uniformly distributed load and triangle loading,
you cannot escape out of it they are very very common and you should be comfortable in
handling this.
And you have many other

examples; you have a
crane this is acting like a
beam. And you should also
this surprise to learn that
there are springs which are
used in automobiles; if you
see a huge truck, if you
look at the real wheel, it is supported on a structure like this. See, normally you have
214
seen a spring which has coiled like this that is a normal string that you come across, this
also behaves like a spring, but you have to analyze the members subjected to bending
they are called leave springs they are practical examples.
Then we move on to some

fun facts we have seen that
Romans where good in
building aqueduct and we
recently visited this place it
is called a Mathoor
hanging trough. This is the
longest trough bridge in
Asia at the height of 115
feet and I have this side
view of the bridge, you
could see very tall columns supporting the bridge and essentially an aqueduct. See this is
taken at a time and there are no floods in Kerala; so, there is no water in the bridge that
we had seen where that gives you an idea where you are at about 115 feet from the floor
and this is the beam of 115 feet long.
And there is also another interesting bridge, this bridge is made of a root. Roots of trees
around 500 years old are grown for the purpose of making a bridge in Cherrapunji,
Meghalaya; which is known for the heaviest rain fall in India. And the locals were very
clever they had made this and you can understand some solid mechanics point of view,
engineering mechanics point of view whenever I have a transverse loading their structure
behaves like a beam.
215
And what is the tree is, is

actually an Indian rubber
tree Ficus Elastica grows
secondary roots to climb
boulders in this
mountainous region. This
property was exploited by
the locals to make bridges
to cross steams which
receive heavy rainfall. It is
a local answer to a human need and mind you these bridges stay for 200 years whereas
man made bridges life span is 75 to 100 years.
The difference is here only humans can walk that is how the bridge is constructed and I
was also very surprised
they had multilayer
bridges. So, this is the
bridge in Umshiang and it
is a double decker root
bridge. So, when there is
heavy flow of water, they
will use the top bridge and
the other one in the bottom
bridge.
216
And there is also another very interesting bridge here, this is at Dwarka. This is the
Dwarka temple you have
this Gomti river. This is a
suspension bridge; what is
interesting is, very similar
to the roots that you have
seen, you have array of
cables they are needed to
support this hanging
bridge.
We read beam separately,

we have seen the roof as
well as the bridge a combination of truss and floor beams. And here you have a
combination of a beam and cables and we will also see a combination of trusses, floor
beams and cables all of these are needed to support transverse loading. See this bridge
are short bridge may be about the 500 meters on Gomti river, supported by strings as
well as your bridge you have the pier.
And one of the very

famous bridge which
people would like to go
and see when they want to
tour the world, this is a
golden gate bridge at San
Francisco. And what is
interesting to note here is,
this is a very long bridge
of 3 kilometers across 3
kilometers and from a distance can you perceive this as a slender member, this also gives
you some ideas about idealizations. If I want to find out the natural frequency of this the
bridge, I could consider this as the slender beam and get first level my results will be far
217
away from the final result, but may be acceptable as a starting figure for you to aid your
thinking.
Suppose I take a closer picture of it, I do see that what I see as the slender member is
actually a truss; I have this truss which you have seen and this is suspended by cables.
And, one of the records show they have used 1 lakh 30000 kilometers of wire to support
this bridge main boggling number fine, and it is a massive structure you will feel it only
when you travel on this.
So, you have the feeling of travelling on the bridge you can see these cables supporting
this thus a massive peer which is supporting this suspension, and what I want you to
notice is when we see here the board. The board would say there is a maximum speed
limit of 45 miles per hour. See the idea here is when you design bridges you will also
have to load them
carefully.
See after the bridge was

established in the 1960s
they had a 50th year
celebration and they had
invited people around to
come and visit the bridge
without their anticipation
about a lack of people
lender on the bridge, bridge
was not designed for the
rate it is a suspension bridge. So, you develop some structural problem of the mid span
of the bridge. So, they have now decided for the 75th year they are not going to invite
public because loading is very important, fine and this is on the Pacific Ocean that is
separating the San Francisco bay and this and they have designed the bridge to withstand
wind speeds of 160 kilometers per hour.
See the scientific community learnt a lesson from Tacoma Narrows Bridge that collapsed
because of wind forces and it appears it can accommodate a swing of about 8 meters.
218
Imagine, if there is going to be a swing like this you should not get on to the bridge and
then walk. See, now Kerala is in spate all the bridges where you have; they all have over
flying water beneath on tendency for human beings to go and watch and it is having a
heavy current of water beneath. And imagine thousands of people stand on the bridge
you will also have to go with the water. So, do not try out all of this is the stunts.
And I would also like to show you another interesting application where the technology
is going you all feel that glass is brittle and this is a 70-foot cantilever bridge at Grand
Canyon. Say a scientific development is so good that we have mastered how to make
bridges out of glass, they are very strong; you can temper them and you use some kind of
a coating and fibers and so on and so forth you have this.
And what you will have to

look at is you see the
canyon beneath you very
clearly and they have also
said that it has a good
section. So, then you can
easily walk, you can also
see people working on top
of it. Of course, this is not
meant for your car to travel
on this; human being can
walk over it, to that extent you know this is the achieved and you find that glass is sued.
Glass is also attractive because there is a green material. If glass is broken, I can melt it,
use it for some other purpose.
So, that is how all civil engineering constructions are now heading towards too. You go
to any mall you will find railings are replaced by glass unless you understand glass from
mechanics point of view you cannot employee them there.
219
Let us now get onto our understanding of a slender member. You know I have shown
small portion of the member imagine that this member is very long, the cross-sectional
dimensions are much smaller compared to its lengths and I am also taken a member
which has a plane of symmetry.
I have also shown the axis, I have the x axis along the access of the member y and z axis.
Suppose I pass an imaginary plane through this slender member, what are the forces that
their slender member can transmit? We have to understand that and there is also a
symbolism that is used in higher level studies they use the symbolism like this. I could
have a force acting on the surface of the member.
This is denoted by two subscripts; first subscripts denote the plane on which it is acting.
So, you can very well see that the surface is actually the x-plane, plane is indicated by
the outward normal and the force is in the direction of y. So, that is why this put as Fxy,
this is the notation that you will come across in your second level of course, but in this
course, this is simply represented as capital V with a subscript y indicating in the y
direction there are multiple symbols used in text books.
My interest is to expose you to these symbolisms, you have to know that for you to
interpret when you come across, I would like you to make a need sketch and put these
forces. I could also have a moment like this when I have a moment like this, the member
can bend in this plane I have a slender member this moment will bend it. See only in this
course you make a distinction between what is the moment that causes bending of the
member, what is the moment that causes twisting.
I think in your earlier learning you have always associated moment as a twisting
moment, you have never even bothered about whether a moment can produce bending, if
I have the moment acting on the axis the member will twist. So, I could have a moment
like this, this is denoted as Mxz. So, z is the direction this is the positive direction that I
have here, this will cause bending in xy plane. I have this member; I have bending in this
plane or bending in this plane ok, when I apply the bending moment anticlockwise it will
bend like this, when I apply the bending moment clockwise it will bend like this.
220
I could also have a bending moment denoted as Mxy. So, when I have this member it was
initially bending in this plane, now I can also bend like this or like this in the horizontal
plane. Then finally, I can also have a force in the x-direction and the twisting moment.
The moment Mxx is also a moment has the same units as Newton meters, because it does
the action of twisting the member you qualify that as a twisting moment; you also call
this as a torque. I think in your study of a physics, you have worried about torque and
you have always associated moment to a torque; you are never associated the moment to
bending like this or bending like this.
In higher studies you will have two subscripts one of the first subscript denotes the plane
and the second subscript denotes the direction. So, a slender member; in fact, can support
three forces; it can transmit three forces as was three moments. If I have to design a
slender member, I need to know what are the forces acting on it and I would like to find
out the critical location so, that I can design the cross section appropriately. So, I
essentially need to know
the variation of these
forces not at one section
how does it vary along the
length of the member.
That is what you get from

diagrams like axial force
diagram we had seen Fxx is
acting along the axis of the
member. You may want to
see how does it change from section to section along the length of the beam, we call that
as axial force diagram. I could also have a diagram which indicates the variation of shear
force, it could be Fxy or Fxz either of the two. Then I would also be interested in knowing
the variation of the bending moment along the length of the member, I call such a
diagram as bending moment diagram. And, I may also be interested how does the
twisting moment varies from cross section to cross section.
221
So, the idea of this chapter is to learn how to plot of the four two of the diagrams; shear
force diagram and bending moment diagram. And in this what is important I have a
beam like this. Suppose the beam is subjected to a bending moment like this, you could
see I am applying a clockwise bending moment fine. And, how do you find what
happens the top fiber this is obviously, not rejected, it is a very flexible member; I am not
a superman, but still I can show the deflection so easily here with small forces this is
bending like this.
Can you see something happening to the top five or physically and something happen in
to the bottom fiber physically, what happens to the top fiber; it is stretched and the
bottom fiber is compressed. This is what I had shown in your earlier discussion when we
are comparing a truss and the beam; in the case of a beam their forces, the stresses
developed vary in a triangular fashion. One half of it experiences tension another half of
it experiences compression.
I have shown the bending moment like this clockwise suppose I have the bending
moment anticlockwise reverse of this would happened. So, from your design point of
view more than the sign of
the bending moment you
are worried about the
magnitude of the bending
moment that is very
important. The magnitude
is very important for your
design purpose that is what
you are really looking at.
Nevertheless, when I want
to draw the diagram along
the length of the beam, I
should have both the magnitude and direction of that beam bending moment properly
denoted that requires a systematic training; we will see the nitty gritty details now.
222
Let me take a simple beam I have a beam supported on a pin joint and a roller support.
Here also given the dimensions, you could replace this bar as a simple line for your
nodes. And, one of the first steps in analyzing this problem is to determine the reactions,
it is also given the distances a and b are such a plus b equal to the total length L of the
beam. Let us write the free body diagram of the simply supported beam, you should put
the coordinate axis and replace the supports by the forces which we have already learnt;
how do I replace a pin joint, I do not know the direction of the resistance. So, I denote
this by a horizontal component and a vertical component.
See earlier we have put this as a reaction and put it as RAx, RAy and so on, it will be two
cumbersome to write like this I have labeled this as A so, you can also simply write it as
Ax and Ay. And how do I replace the support at the; it is a roller support so; I have only
one reaction By.
So, I can use the equations

of statics
and I can take moment

about any point I take it
about point A. When I take
it about point A I have the
force P and I have the reaction By. And what is the way force P gives the bending
moment, it is clockwise; I would like you to visualize that it gives the clockwise bending
moment and the reaction By gives the anticlockwise bending moment when I look from
point A. So, I get this as minus P a plus B y into L equal to 0, I get this reaction at B as
223
In fact, once you are

experienced you should be
able to determine this
reaction just by inspection.
When you are learning it in
the initial stages, you will
write ∑Fx = 0, ∑Fy = 0,
∑M = 0; after solving 10 problems, you should be able to write them by inspection
because this is very simple ok.
I have to find out what is the bending moment. So, I taken arbitrary section through
beam between 0 and a, I have taken the origin here. So, between 0 and a I will take a
section; so, that will tell me what happens in this section. If I take another cut between a
and a + b, I would be able to find out what is the general variation in the section.
Now, let me make an imaginary cut at a distance x from the point A. I call this as section
1 and section 2 and I draw the free body diagram. When I say the free body diagram, I
should put what force the slender member is transmitting. We have already seen in
general it can transmit three forces and three moments. Here the problem is simple; so, it
will be essentially transmitting a shear force and a bending moment.
And in your earlier discussion we have said this is a unknown I have the reference axis
like this, I could represent the unknowns as positive quantities to start with I can put the
shear force V like this and we have followed a convention anticlockwise moment is
positive and clockwise moment is negative. I do not know what is the magnitude of this,
what are the directions. To start with I put this as in the positive direction. My
mathematics will tell me whether the assumption is right or wrong when I analyze the
free body, but I just follow the principle fine.
224
So, when I do this, I get
Is there any difficulty at the

stage? There is no
difficulty at all. Now, let
me solve the problem not
by taking the section 1, let
me solve the problem by
taking section 2.
I have the section 2, I can start afresh when I start afresh if I do not know that the
direction assumes it in the positive direction and then proceed with it. So, let me put the
shear force acting in the vertical direction like this and your bending moment is
anticlockwise. Let me solve this free body diagram,
individual free body diagrams are systemically analyzed absolutely no problem. Have we
missed anything in a free body diagram, if you do not know anything you assume it in
any direction your mathematics will give me the final direction ok? You will not say that
whenever I solve the problem, I solve from left to right. We would solve a problem by
taking a section out of the two sections which is simpler to solve we will take it and then
determine the unknowns.
225
Ultimately, I want to find out what happens at section xx that is my interest. If my

interest is only that it is simpler to handle the section 1 and get the answers, section 2 is
not good for finding out for this section at a distance x. On the other hand, if I have to
find out what is the variation in this segment of the beam, I can make a cut here, then,
this one will be simpler to analyze then what you have it here.
So, I want to set a stage we may have to solve a given problem starting from left to right
or right to left which one is simpler in handling mathematics. We had one convention if
you do not know the unknown forces put them as positive and then find out the values is
not sufficient; do you see the need for developing a sign convention. If you look at the
answers that you have got in this and the answers that you have got earlier.
I have got the answer for this. When I summarize I get this as
when I analyze the

segment 2 I get
When I finally, go and

translate this on this, when
I change them both the
results will give me the same answer, but the question is when I want to plot a bending
moment diagram or a shear force diagram how will I write this as positive or negative.
Individually what I have solved in this free body diagram is correct; individually what I
have solved this free body diagram is correct, but collectively we have missed a very
important point.
226
You know I would like to spend sufficient time on the sign convention; the idea is each
book follows a different sign convention. See after learning beams underneath you
should be able solve problem from any book and verify your answer is correct or not
with his sign convention because people rush through the sign convention. You should
not rush through a sign convention you should get your fundamentals clear.
I want you to go back and ponder today: what are the ways that we could rationalize our
steps. So, in this class we have looked at what is a beam, what are the different
classifications of the beams, we have looked at cantilever simply supported, overhung,
continuous beam, propped cantilever and also a fixed-fixed beam and we have also
classified them as statically determinate and statically indeterminate.
Then we looked at several examples of what is a beam in things around you and I said of
the distributed loading you should be comfortable in handling, uniformly distributed load
and triangular loading. Because, this type of loadings you come across in many of the
practical applications, you cannot miss them.
Then we have also looked at beam is essentially a slender member and a slender member
can transmit in general three forces and three moments and in this chapter, we are
confining our attention to the slender member behaving like a beam. So, we take a
simpler beam for analysis the loads are in the same plane as the beam is drawn, you
essentially have only a shear force and a bending moment.
And we have looked at then difficulty in an associating the sign for a given bending
moment or shear force when we solve the problem from left to right or right to left, you
need to have a sign convention. We have not done any mistake individually, but
collectively when I want to solve a complicated problem with several loadings, I may
have multiple sections, I should have a convention for me to analyze from left to right or
from right to left. So that, I could identify a strategy how to solve the problem in the
easiest manner possible with less mathematical computation yet, I get a result that can be
interpreted without any doubt.
Thank you.
227
Prof. K. Ramesh
Module-01
Statics
Lecture -11
Beams - II
Let us continue our

discussion on Beams.
See, in the last class I had

mentioned that we are
essentially analyzing a
slender member. It is a
very long member; a
portion of it is shown. The
cross-sectional dimensions
are much smaller than the
length. In general, it can
transmit three forces and
three moments and what
you see here is a shear
force. This is a symbolism
is used in higher studies,
but in this course, we
would simply indicate it by
the symbol V.
You can also have a bending moment transmitted. So, it would bend in the plane xy like
this. It can also have a bending moment Mxy. So, it would bend in the plane xz like this
228
and you can also have a shear in the z direction no sketch is separately shown for this.
You also have an axial force and you have a twisting moment. See, in the case of a truss,
the members are also slender members.
It was essentially transmitting in axial force. In general, a slender member can transmit
three forces and three moments. In the contest of bending, we would be interested if my
loading is in the plane xy I would have the shear force Fxy or Vy or simply V and the
bending moment Mxz.
And the idea is I have to decide on the cross-sectional dimensions. See, I said you are not
going to get all answers for the problem related to bending in this course; whatever the
information you get is the starting point for your next course to calculate the resistance
offered by the member. There you will consider the beam as deformable. Whatever the
forces you determine; it helps you to calculate the resistance on that basis you go and
decide the cross-sectional
dimensions.
So, one of the requirements

is, how these forces vary
along the length of the
beam? That would help
you to determine the
critical load and design the
structure or the cross-
sectional dimension based
on the critical load.
And we had also taken as simple beam like this; a simply supported beam. We have
already learnt how to isolate a body. And if I have forces interacting here, when you
draw the free body you can start with any direction. If our ultimate objective is to know
whether it is tension or compression in the case of trusses, we have dealt it, how to put
the forces? We had an elaborate discussion on this.
229
A similar exercise we should also do for the beams. Let me put the forces like this;
individually this is quite all right. I do not know the value of V, I do not know the value
of M, I put it on the positive direction to start with. And if I do this, I get the value of V
as -Pb/L and if I put M = 0, I get M as Pbx/L; no issues about it.
This only indicates my original direction of V is not correct, it should be reversed

because I said the mathematics will help you whether your direction is correct or wrong.
On the other hand, I could also analyze this beam by taking this cross section. I am not
going from this cross section to this cross section; I independently analyze this. The
recommendation when you analyze it independently is put the unknown forces in the
positive direction.
So, one would naturally start with putting them in the positive direction. When you do
this, I would see the magnitudes are all right, but the sign, there is a difference. I get V as
Pb/L, M as -Pbx/L. Suppose, I go and correct this free body diagram based on this and I
correct this free body diagram based on this. The resulting free body will be only one;
there will not be any change, we will see that also. Now, the idea is I have to plot the
variation of V, plot the variation of M along the length of the beam. So, I should get one
unique sign; whichever,
way I cut the beam and do
the analysis.
You cut the beam and

analyze the left portion or
the right portion whichever
is having minimum
number of mathematical
steps. So, you would like
to have a luxury to analyze
a left segment or the right
segment depending on the problem context. Ultimately, when I plot shear force or the
bending moment; I should not have confusion on the sign.
230
Suppose, we look back the problem again and when we studied inter connected rigid
bodies. We had a recommendation; if I have assumed on this, how would I assume the
forces here? If I, have assumed it I have to necessarily use Newton’s third law and put it
in the opposite direction. Only then, it is consistent. See, in an inter connected body you
go from one body to another body.
Here the body is continuous; in this example because we have time, we analyze the left
portion and right portion and see, what kind of contradictions that can come up. When
you really solve a problem, you will do only the left portion or you will do the right
portion and go ahead with solving the problem. So, when I reverse the sign like this
based on Newton’s third law, I do get the values of V and values of M including the sign
as identical, there is no change fine.
So, you have to know a priori; when I have a surface like this, how do I assume the
unknown forces to start
with? On the other hand, if
I use the right section, how
do I assume the forces to
start with? So, that
whichever way I cut the
beam and evaluate I have
one unique sign of V as
well as M. For that you
need a sign convention.
Can you see, what is the
way that you can
mathematically represent this surface and mathematically represent this surface? Surface
is denoted by the outward normal fine. So, I would level them as positive and negative
surfaces.
231
So, you need a sign convention; for you to analyze the left portion of the beam or the
right portion of the beam and I said that you have to put the normal and this normal is in
the positive direction of the coordinate axis. So, I call this as a positive surface. Please
take a note listening will be like a story, these are all very subtle things and none of the
books explain it in detail; they all rush through this subtilities. We spend more time on
this subtilities so that you can solve problem from any book, any sign convention you
should be comfortable with. And if I look at this portion of the beam and when I put the
outward normal, I could recognize that this is on the negative direction of the co-ordinate
axis. So, I will call this as a negative surface.
So, while solving a real-life problem you may choose a section of your choice to analyze
either the left portion or the right portion. When you analyze a left portion, you are
essentially doing the positive surface; when you are analyzing the right portion, you are
essentially handling a negative surface. So, I must follow a convention to put the forces
on this free body to start with.
On a positive surface, positive direction is positive to start with. So, I would indicate the
unknown force as V, coinciding with the positive direction of the y axis and we have
always been saying anticlockwise moment is positive. So, I put an anticlockwise
moment, as the moment at this section. After putting this, you know when I want to
analyze the free body I will go with the standard approach. I have the co-ordinate axis; I
verify with this. No confusion comes, when you are handling this.
On the other hand, when I want to analyze the negative surface you have to follow the
convention negative direction is positive, two negatives make it as positive. So, I would
put unknown force as in the negative direction, unknown moment as clockwise. So, you
have to follow a convention. See, you can have keep left or keep right. You cannot mix
up this in the road in between then, you will end up in accidents. So, you need to follow
a convention.
So, I should identify a positive surface, I should identify a negative surface to start with I
put this. Suppose, I analyze this free body in my summation of sigma Fy = 0. How would
I put V? V is in the negative direction; I will put it as -V; please understand that ok. When
you start writing the free body because I; this is the continues member I need to follow a
232
convention no matter whether I analyze the left portion or the right portion. I should get
one unique fine answer including the sign on the shear force and bending moment that is
a focus. I have shown you
one sign convention and
you should recognize other
sign conventions do exists.
Let me revisit this again

and you have to know that
Meriam is the book that we
have adopted for this
course IIT Madras and this
follows a different sign convention. We would also see that sign convention and when I
cut the left portion; no problem in the moment convention, moment anticlockwise is
taken as positive; clockwise is taken as negative. On a negative surface, negative
direction is positive, this is
how you indicate.
But for the shear force, you

take exactly the opposite.
You take this as positive to
start with. This is the
convention you have in the
book by Meriam. We
would also evaluate the
forces based on this
convention and find out
what is the difference? There is no change in the moment convention for shear it is just
the opposite.
Suppose, I solve the forces and it is also interesting to note it is difficult to remember
because, you have the contradiction; one is positive, one is negative and higher level of
233
studies people follow what I have shown, but since we have adopted Meriam, I should
solve problems using the Meriam sign convention.
And we would also calculate the forces; we have already determined, what is Ay? Ay is I
think it is Pb/L and I have M as Pbx/L and I have this; since, we have to verify whether I
analyze the left portion or the right portion; I get the same answer there is no difference.
You choose which portion

to do that has minimum
number of mathematical
steps and also visualize,
what is the moment? This
force gives and what is the
moment this force gives.
You should indicate it
correctly in your equation
and I get this as Pbx / L
because I have taken the
sign convention properly. I do get V and M, no matter I analyze the left one or the right
one I get the same identical answer. Now, let me compare these two sign conventions for
clarity.
First, let me take the sign convention by Crandall and Dahl and I have V as minus P b by
L and M as P b by L into x and if I apply this to this and indicate the final free body, how
would I put the forces? Originally, I assume this is in this direction my mathematics has
given the answer as negative. So, I would put it down. This is what I would put it in the
final free body; Pb / L and this as Pbx/L.
234
Now, let us look at the sign convention by Meriam to start with in the free body we have
assumed this as the
direction V and what is the
answer that we have got; V
= P b / L. So, if I want to
write the final free body, I
do not have to change this
direction and I have M = P
b x / L. So, this will not
change. So, the idea is no
matter which sign
convention you use the
final free body when you correct the forces as indicated by your mathematical sign; it is
identical. Free body should not change that is the idea of it. The moment you take the
free body sign convention is only a via media, for you to have communication properly.
Though, the free body does

not change, sign
conventions do affect the
plotting of shear force
diagram and bending
moment diagram. There
would definitely be a
difference, if I follow
Crandall and Dahl sign
convention, I would get
one SFD. I will get another
SFD, when I do the Meriam sign convention. But the beam experiences a same force,
which you have identified that there is no two opinion about it.
235
For me to draw the SFD and BMD; I have not determine the variation for the entire
length I have to get it for the other section also, but before I do that we will again
understand the sign convention because I want to caution you, there could be a possible
confusion when you draw the free body, how do you start writing the equations. And
here, I have taken the Crandall and Dahl sign convention. I put the force like this and
when I write the equation, I would put it as +V because this coincides with the positive
direction of the coordinate axis.
And when I write the moment this is already in the positive direction. So, I am going to
write this as M = Pbx / L. Now, let me take the Meriam sign convention; I would have
the force acting downwards, when I write sigma Fy = 0, should I put V as positive or
negative? This confusion can come. See, whatever you write here is for you to
extrapolate it for your final sign convention. The moment you have indicated forces like
this; when I want to solve this free body my reference point is the coordinate axis
whichever is in the positive direction of the coordinate axis, put it as positive whichever
is the negative direction, put it as negative.
So, you should understand this distinction clearly. So, when I write this ∑Fy = 0; I will
have to write this as Pb / L - V. This would give me V = Pb / L. It might appear trivial,
but you will get confused when you start thinking at the examination hall. It will be very
crystal clear now because, you understand the subject better when, you prepare for the
examination. Then you suddenly start thinking and get thoroughly confused and write the
bending moment shear force topsy-turvy ok. Please, have a clarity on how we are doing
it. When I isolate a body, when I want to put the forces, I follow a convention to put the
forces.
Moment I put the forces, when I solve for this forces my reference point is coordinate
axis. You should understand this distinction clearly.
236
So, I said that we have not completely got the variation over the length of the beam. So,
we should also find out
what happens in this
segment and I can separate
it as two segments,
segment one and segment
two. Can you tell me, what
is the sign convention I
have put? You have to be;
you have to be very clear;
you have to be very clear,
what is the sign convention
I have put. I have put it as
Meriam because on a negative surface, I think I have put it wrong did I this should be
Crandall only, I should put, I think I have put this differently ok.
No, this is Meriam only. Because, Meriam on the negative surface, he will have his
positive negative; these are
different. So, this is a
convention followed by
Meriam fine. It is a
convention followed by
Meriam and obviously,
when I have to find out the
forces, if you have these
two choices you would
definitely choose this. The
idea is depending on the
problem context, I must have a flexibility to analyze a left portion or the right portion at
will; that is where the sign convention helps.
237
But since, we are learning it for the first time to make our self-convinced. We will get the
results from analyzing segment one as well as segment two. So, that we make sure that
you take the free body whether you do it by the long winding route or the shortest route
the results are same.
So, when I put
I get the moment as
Now let me analyze this; I would like you to put the equations. Please, write the
equations and visualize whether the moment is giving you clockwise rotation or
anticlockwise rotation, you associate the sign; if it is anticlockwise positive, if it is
clockwise negative visualize that. You have the luxury to visualize only in the class
because we develop the subject slowly you also develop the practice of visualization and
write down these expressions.
I put F y equal to 0. So, I get V equal to minus P a by L Newtons and
I write this moment I have this
and if I compare this whether I use this free body or this free body I get identical answer,
no problem ok.
238
So, it is always better when you are writing the shear force diagram and bending moment
diagram first indicate the
sign convention; without
the sign convention
interpreting the shear force
diagram and bending
moment diagram will be
difficult; if you are not
trained.
What is this sign

convention? When I have a
box like this, I would say
that this is the positive surface and this is the negative surface. I have indicated what I
would put on the positive surface, what I put in the negative surface. Similarly, I put the
moment on the positive surface, I put anticlockwise as positive and clockwise as
negative. So, this is the convention followed by Meriam and I also draw the shear force
diagram in a particular fashion from left to right; you would see the reason a little while
later.
It remains constant in this segment and it remain constant in this segment and it switches
from positive to negative it crosses 0 here and you should label the key points you should
label the values. And let me draw the bending moment diagram, I am drawing it from
right to left. And what are the striking features you get in the bending moment diagram?
If I compare the shear force diagram and the bending moment diagram. The first striking
feature is when I have this as constant, I have this as a linear variation.
That is first observation; second observation is, when it crosses 0, I have the peak value
here; you would see that as an extremum value. There is some kind of interrelationship
between the shear force diagram and bending moment diagram, which we would
formalize it as part of series of lectures on beams.
And this is one of the reasons I would always recommend you to draw the loading
diagram, shear force diagram and bending moment diagram one below the other. And I
239
have also instructed my TAs, when they correct your tutorials and also when I correct
your exams, you would get 0 because that is the language you understand, when you
want to learn; if you do not follow this practice. The idea is if you have made some
calculations, mistakes it will be visible to you if these are not calculated properly because
you can use the property of shear force diagram and bending moment diagram to verify.
See, as engineers you should be confident of what is the answer that you are reporting.
Even if there is a mistake that you have done; you do not have time to identify the
mistake; if you declare something has gone wrong somewhere that shows that you are
thinking. I would give credits for your answer, but you will get 0, if you do not plan your
answer sheet, where you do not put the loading diagram, shear force diagram and
bending moment diagram
one below the other; that is
one aspect you should do.
Another very important

aspect is you should
always associate the shear
force diagram with its sign
convention and bending
moment diagram with its
sign convention. Do not
put shear force diagram
and bending moment diagram without any sign convention, it is meaningless.
So, we go back and draw the shear force and bending moment diagram, based on
Crandall, Dahl and Lardner, which could easily identify here. This is the sign convention
used in Crandall and that is how it is used in higher studies very simple to remember and
I could draw the shear force diagram I would deliberately draw it from right to left.
So, here you what you find is that shear force diagram is different than what you had
seen in the Meriam sign convention, the sign changes. But I have already told you earlier
whether in bending moment or shear force from the point of view of finding out the
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resistance with the cross-section sign does not really play a role, that apart when you
draw the shear force variation along the length of the beam. I should get one unique
answer whether I analyze left portion of the beam or right portion of the beam.
That is where your sign convention helps you to do that and your bending moment
diagram will be precisely the same. See, you are learning the course for the first time,
where you are learning the drawing of shear force and bending moment diagram. You
should always cut an imaginary section, isolate the free body, calculate the bending
moment and shear force
using the free body. That is
what I would recommend
and you would also be
given credit for it in your
final answer scripts.
But nevertheless, you

must also develop certain
quick methods to verify at
least that selected points
whether your answer is
correct. If you go back and see what you have done earlier in your force systems. You
can extend that idea and quickly get the value of shear force and bending moment at any
point of interest without drawing a free body just by inspection.
We will learn the trick now. To learn the trick, you should go back to your resolution of
a force into a force and a couple. Let me revisit it again, I have a force acting at point P1.
When we developed the concept of force, I said force is a sliding vector. Sliding vector
means I can slide it along its line of action. That is what I meant it as a sliding vector.
You cannot simply put this force at point P2 and said that you said it is a sliding vector;
instead of sliding it along the line of action, I slide the vector on the left side or the right
side. That is totally wrong and this is where we learn if I want to know, what is the effect
of the force F acting at point P1 to point P2 I put a force parallel to this and cancel this
241
force at point P2; so that I have the same external effect. So, when I put the force like
this, the external effect is not altered.
Now, I would visualize this from a fresh perspective and you have the perpendicular
distance as d and I have shown this as forces in yellow. So that I could visualize these
two forces forming a couple. This force system is same as this force system. So, when I
reduce this force system here, I would visualize what is written is red is the final one.
These are like intermediate steps.
I have a force as well as a

couple. What you write is
shear force and bending
moment? It is nothing, but
effect of the force acting at
some distance as force and
momentum. That is what
you are writing it. Let me
explain it. So, this is very
useful to plot SFD and
BMD by inspection and
this is where the sign convention of Crandall is very useful.
And we have already seen the shear force diagram and bending moment diagram. And I
have also mentioned that I am drawing it from right to left. For example, I want to find
out what is the value of shear force and bending moment at this point? Just for
illustration I am analyzing the right side of the beam.
So, if I have to find out what is the shear force? It is nothing, but effect of these two
forces at this point; that means, I have to translate these forces to the point of interest.
When I translate these forces to the point of interest, I will have a force as well as a
couple. The couple will be the bending moment at that point the force summation would
give you the shear force.
242
You do not have to worry about the sign convention and all that. Crandall and Dahl sign
convention will work without cutting the beam I can draw the shear force and bending
moment. In fact, many teachers would do like that. They would just see the problem and
start writing the shear force and bending moment diagram. How do they do it? You have
to know the trick behind it ok.
Now, let me translate this force. So, I am translating this force, I cannot simply translate
this force. I should also have a couple that is Pa / 3. We mind you that these are all
acting at this point for clarity I have put them on this. Do not take that this is acting at a
distance. These are all acting, at the selected section. So, this force has given me the
couple Pa / 3 and this force has given me the couple Pa /L × (b + a/3). So, now I take
the summation of it. I get shear force as P b / L that is what you get it here and then I get
moment as (2/3) P (ab / L) which you could visualize from this.
So, I have no difficulty in

finding out this, just by
translating the force. So, if
I move from right to left, I
can keep plotting the shear
force and bending moment
diagram conveniently. Use
this as a verification to
verify your final drawing
of shear force and bending
moment. As far as you find
out these expressions, isolate the free body, draw the forces and then, draw the shear
force and bending moment diagram.
Now, we revisit the sign convention by Meriam and Meriam also has another partner.
The book by Popov is a civil engineer, they share the same sign convention. And if I
follow the same trick you know, you have to note down that on the bending moment the
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sign convention is similar to what is used by Crandall and I have drawn this from right to
left and this is from left to right and from this is from right to left.
So, it is like I have Pb by

L, I go up remain constant,
come down and then
remain constant and go up.
This is how teachers draw
the SFD and BMD quickly.
We will not cut the section,
draw the free body and get
all this. You can also get
that fast writings SFD and
BMD, if you understand
the concepts clearly and if
I do the bending moment, I will do from right to left for this and you should always put
the sign convention. That is very important.
And in civil engineering,

they also associate and
anticlockwise moment to
produce what is called
sagging of the beam this is
cup shaped. They call it as
positive and if I have a
hump, they call it as
hogging. This is nothing,
but this is anticlockwise
bending moment, this is clockwise bending moment. Can I have one more sign
convention possible? We have seen two sign conventions. The sign convention by
Meriam and Popov was intermediate, I could have another sign convention, which is
totally opposite to what is Crandall and Dahl.
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So, the third sign convention, what you can think of is I can have shear force like, what is
there in Meriam? And I also change the bending moment; clockwise is positive and
anticlockwise is negative and when I draw the shear force and bending moment diagram,
how do they appear? They will appear differently.
See, you have to check this. These are all drawn at different points in time. Just go by
this Pb by L and Pa by L. The heights are you know not strictly followed that is what I
find in the diagrams, but you get this as positive and negative and you get the bending
moment totally reverse. So, do not get confused if you see for the same problem different
shear force and bending moment diagram. This depends on the sign convention used in a
book.
After having learnt beams

under me you should be
able to solve any problem,
from any book and
interpret the sign
convention appropriately.
You should not have fear
in handling any of those
problems and what is the
key? Whenever you solve
a problem always put the
sign convention.
You cannot come back and say you have declared in the class we are following Meriam
sign convention. Because we follow Meriam sign convention, I have not indicated; no.
You have to indicate a Meriam sign convention in your answers. If you do not indicate
that answer you will never get that practice. That is one important aspect for you to learn
and always put the bending moment and shear force diagram, below the loading diagram.
So, that if you have made any mistake there is a chance for you to reflect and go back
and redo the calculation or at least mention something has gone wrong somewhere. You
245
should be alert both doctors and engineers have to be definite in their answers they
should not be ambiguous.
Let us take one more, simple example problem. I said it in all civil engineering
constructions, you have the beam is so heavy and if I have to incorporate the way. One
best way of incorporating in my analysis, used to consider that as uniformly distributed
weight. And it is enough that I take one section and find out the expressions for this
problem and it should again recognize that this is the pin joint and this is the roller
support and in order to draw the shear force and bending moment diagram I have to first
calculate the reactions. Let me not bypass any of the steps.
So, the FBD of the given loaded beam; see, I follow your discipline. I put the reference
axis, I expect you to put the reference axis in your free bodies and when I put the body, I
completely remove it from the supports and you have here the hinged joint. That is
replaced by two forces, Ax and Ay, on the other side, you have a roller support, which is
replaced by a single vertical force By.
Let us find out the support

reactions. For calculating
the reactions, the
distributed load can be
replaced by its resultant.
So, I replace the force; it is
easy for you to find out the
centroid. That is at the
center of the rectangle and
you have the resultant force as wL. From equations of equilibrium, you get
246
In fact, the problem is symmetric and if you have solved many problems some of these
results you could even write it by inspection.
You should develop that kind of flexibility in solving a problem and suppose, I want to
find out, what happens at a section of distance x from one of the ends. I take out this
section and for this section, again if I have to find out the forces, I could replace this
distributed force by its resultant and that is what I have done it here. And I put the
unknown forces as per the sign convention of Meriam and what you will have to note
down is while finding out the support reactions, we have replaced the original distributed
force as a resultant force, that we have used it for finding out the support reactions.
But I cannot cut that beam, where you had one concentrated force for me to find out the
variation of what is the bending moment and shear force when I cut a section at x. I have
cut the section at x with distributed load and once I have drawn the free body within that
free body, I replace that distributed force by its resultant wx. This is a settle point which
will have to note and use it
properly and when I do this
equilibrium condition,
So, you could see here,

shear force is a linear
variation and bending
moment I get the second-
degree curve. So, there is
some kind of inter dependence between shear force and bending moment.
247
Let me go on and plot the shear force and bending moment diagram. And as I told you
earlier you will have to
plan your answer script in
such a manner, below the
loading diagram draw the
shear force and below the
shear force draw the
bending moment diagram.
And shear is varying
linearly, so, I have a linear
variation like this and it
crosses 0 at this point.
And a sign convention is also indicated for the shear force. Then I have the bending
moment. It is a second-degree curve. So, when I plot it, the variation is like this and I get
the peak value as wL2 / 8. This is the sign convention for bending moment and when I
draw the line through the shear force at 0, I find that I have the maximum value of the
bending moment. So, even before we develop an inter relationship between shear force
and bending moment, you could gather some basic idea when shear force is varying
linearly bending moment varies in a parabolic fashion and when shear crosses 0, in this
case I have a maximum bending moment in general I would have extremum value.
So, in this lecture we have looked at a great length, what is a sign convention? How does
the sign convention influence the free body of the isolated section of the beam? We have
seen very clearly the final free body remains the same, when the forces are indicated
after the mathematical calculation correctly. However, plotting of shear force diagram
and bending moment diagram depends on the sign convention available. There are
multiple sign conventions available and it is always a good practice, when you draw the
shear force and bending moment diagram, put the sign convention side by side for the
shear force diagram as well as bending moment diagram and it is also recommended that,
you draw the loading diagram, shear force diagram and bending moment diagram one
below the other. I said that we have adopted the book by Meriam and you cannot come
248
back and say I have followed the Meriam sign convention. I expect you to specify the
sign convention that you have adopted, for each one of your problems on bending
moment and shear force.
Thank you.
249
Prof. K. Ramesh
Module – 01
Statics
Lecture – 12
Beams – III
Let us continue our

discussion on Beams. See
in the last class towards
again students came to me
and then said, they have
some difficulty in
understanding the sign
convention. And I thought
that I would revisit sign
convention from a different
perspective, because you
understand the concept
better with a same concept
is discussed from different
perspectives.
First let us look at what

way we discuss the sign
convention. Sign
convention is required no
matter when I analyze the
beam on the left portion or the right portion. I should get one unique answer including
the sign for the shear force and bending moment. More of a discipline; see in this
250
specific case I have taken a section and analyzed the left portion and right portion. In an
actual problem depending on the complexity you may solve for certain portions of the
beam from the left, certain portions of the beam from the right; unless you follow a
discipline, your answers will be different in the form of signs. So, it is more of a
discipline.
So, the idea is once you assume in one section by Newton’s third law automatically what
you have to assume for the other section is fixed. Here you are looking the left portion
and right portion of the same section. Suppose I take the right portion of this you would
have put what are the unknown forces. And if you do not follow a discipline, you will
not get one unique answer. And what we have learnt when we draw the free body
diagram? I can start assuming unknown forces in any direction, if my direction assumed
is wrong my mathematics will come back and tell me what is the correct direction?
So, here I have assumed V as positive in this manner my answer gives V = -P / L. So,
when I write the actual free body with the correct direction, I would have the shear force
like this and the bending moment you have taken anticlockwise as positive my
mathematics also has given me the bending moment as possible. So, I do not need to
change anything on the direction.
So, that is what you get when you interpret your answers after getting started with some
directions. Now the question is, is these assumptions are unique, different books follow
different conventions. And we have looked at that this was suggested by Crandall Dahl
and Lardner and this is the symbol that you use in Meriam.
So, the difference is we assume the direction of shear force differently. But once I have
assumed on one portion of the beam what way I should take the forces in the other
section of the beam is fixed from Newton’s third law that is very simple. When I solve
the free body when I get the answers, I get shear force as P b /L there is no change in the
sign. So, when I go back and write the free body diagram, I will put the same force like
this and moment is the same convention like random so there is no change.
So, the idea is when I isolate a section of a beam finally, what are the forces acting on
that section is unique and there is only one answer. I can have multiple sign conventions
to determine these quantities and also plot them and you should remember that, shear
251
force diagram and bending moment diagram is only an intermediate step. This
intermediate step appears
differently because of
different sign conventions.
We will also look at it

from another perspective
and you should recognize
when I write the sign
convention like this; this is
not a block. What it says is
what is the sign convention
I should use on the positive surface and what is the sign convention I should use on a
negative surface? You have to imagine that this is collapsed as one plane, I look at the
positive side, I look at the negative side for convenience we put it as a block it is a block
of 0 length you can take it.
So, what I would write on the positive face and what I would write it on the negative
face? Now let us look at what is the shear force diagram, when I get using this sign
convention. I have this as positive and this as negative when I use this sign convention, I
get this as positive and this as negative. You essentially have this as the base axis and
write the quantities like this. Ultimate objective is what? I have to design a beam; I have
to know at a given cross section what is the shear force and bending moment it transmits.
So, my idea is to draw the free body diagram from the SFD from different sign
conventions. So, let me take the free body and let me interpret how do I understand what
is the quantity mentioned in this free body diagram how do I write it here? I have taken a
section in this portion here it is negative, and we have assumed what is the positive
direction please have a note of it I will also draw the other beam.
So, I have one sign convention here another sign convention here and if I go and look at
what I have to do? I have got this as negative; positive is like this so I should put the
shear force transmitted in this direction. And in this case, it is in the positive direction
252
and what is positive here? Pointing downwards so I would also get shear force acting
downwards.
So, please understand an isolated portion of the beam is identical, no matter what sign
convention I used, but definitely the appearance of shear force diagram is totally
different. You must recognize this fact we would again repeat it for the convention for
the bending moment.
I have taken two opposite

sign conventions; here we
have taken anticlockwise
moment is positive here we
have taken clockwise
moment as negative. So,
when I solve the problem
and draw the bending
moment diagrams, they
appear like this. So, one is positive and one is negative.
Again, I will take the section in the first portion of the beam. So, what I find here is I
have to read the bending moment diagram I know the value is positive and this tells me
how I should put the direction of the moment and we have interpreted what is positive?
So, I would put the moment as anticlockwise.
If I interpret this bending moment diagram here, I read this value as negative. And we
have said what is positive? Positive is clockwise when it is negative, I should interpret
that this is anticlockwise. So, different sign conventions provide the same answer. But
within a problem you cannot use different sign convention for the left portion and right
portion that is completely dictated by Newton’s third law.
So, sign convention once you adopt you should follow it systematically. It helps you to
get consistent results whether you solve left portion of the beam or right portion of the
beam whichever is simpler from computational point of view.
253
Now, let us go on solve a

series of problems with the
level of difficulty slowly
getting involved; let us
take one of the simplest
problems we have a
cantilever with a tip load.
So, I have the cantilever represented here and I have put the reference axis x and y. And I
have to get the variation of
moment along the length
of a beam I have a
complete choice; I could
take the portion 1 and
solve the problem or I can
take the portion 2 and
solve the problem. In this
problem if I have to take
portion 2, I will have to
remove the support determine the support reactions, only then I have to find out the shear
Instead if I analyze section 1, I can avoid finding out these reactions to start with so, my
mathematics is simpler. So, I take it like this and then, I follow the sign convention I
have already said we have adopted Meriam at IIT Madras. From now onwards, I would
consistent to use Meriam sign convention, I would put the unknown forces anticlockwise
moment is possible and on a negative surface positive direction of V is positive.
254
So, I have determined the I have written down the unknown forces, now I can apply the
equation of equilibrium and find out this. So, when I put ∑Fy = 0, I would put this as
positive V - P = 0; I am not writing that step I am directly writing the final answer. I
write V = P N. And similarly I can put ∑M = 0, I have drawn the shear force diagram see
this remain constant I have taken a generic section, because it is constant I can easily
write this; draw this shear force diagram as a rectangle like this and I have this shear
force as value as P.
Now let me apply the other condition ∑M = 0. So, I get M = -P x; see I am missing out
one intermediate step, you could write that, I would write this as anticlockwise;
anticlockwise is positive moment this is clockwise here on the negative surface. So, it is
clockwise moment I will put as -M and then this also is -Px; -M - P x = 0. So, finally, I
get M = -P x. please write the intermediate steps and also note down, as soon as I draw
the shear force diagram I indicate the convention used or you could first put the
convention then write the free body diagram and draw the shear force diagram.
So, that you do not make a

mistake, the message here
is I have planned my
screen in such a manner I
have put the loading
diagram, I have space for
doing the computations. I
put the shear force below
the loading diagram and I
also put bending moment
below the shear force
diagram one below the other. It is a good discipline it would help you to find out if you
have done any glaring calculation mistakes either in terms of magnitude or in terms of
sign.
I would recommend you to plan your answer scripts and also while you take down the
notes find out a different space for doing the computations, reserve the space below the
loading diagram for drawing SFD and BMD.
255
See, this is a very nice problem that you come across and this is like I have a you can
consider this as a fixed end I apply a load here. So, when I apply a load what happens
you could visibly see that there is maxima deflection at the free end, this is called a free
end this is the fixed end you have the maxima deflection. But what we usually find is
usually students study bending moment diagram and shear force diagram in the first
semester or the second semester or so, by the time they come for the 4th year when they
apply for MS or PhD.
When we ask the question where we have the maximum bending moment? We will
always confuse between deflection and bending moment because always remind a
puzzle, if they learn it correctly there is no way they can make a mistake. Invariably
students will say in an interview they will say maximum bending moment occurs here
where the bending moment is zero from your bending moment diagram and maximum
bending moment occurs at the fixed end; maybe they have not really got the concepts
clearly.
If you get the concepts clearly there is no way you can make a mistake in a simple
problem like this. So, get your fundamentals clearly if you have difficulty please ask me,
I can explain it again. So, in every case what I want to insist is I should have the sign
convention for bending moment as well as shear I have also told you that this is not a
square block it is a block of zero length.
It indicates what happens on the positive surface and what happens on the negative
surface. See soon we will take out a block from the beam when there is distributed
loading and identify what happens in the negative surface and positive surface, there the
block will have a finite length of delta x when I write the quantities, I have to write the
quantities carefully.
Since you are not seen that you do not get a confusion once you see this, then you will
get confused on this and this is the symbolism used in higher studies also when you want
to learn stress tensor and so on.
256

problem. I have a same
cantilever beam and I have
a load slightly inside.
And one of the first

question that you need to
ask yourself is when I have
a problem like this.
How many sections I need for me to get the shear force and bending moment diagram
along the length of the beam? See I have a portion like this. So, I should have an
imaginary cut here and
unless, I have another
portion here is I have to
put an imaginary section
and cut. The behavior will
change after every load, for
a thumb rule is for every
load you need to have
when there is a transition
you need to have a cut.
When I have a distributed
load in between you put one imaginary section and find out what happens will be a
variation of the load in that section fine.
So, I will have to have two sections one section in this portion, another section in this
portion and we have already seen taking the problem from the right is much simpler and
I have this here I put the unknown forces based on the sign convention. And this is the
clockwise bending moment and shear force is possible. And even before solving, what
would I get for the shear force and bending moment? There is no force existing. So, I
257
would get 0; 0 is also a valid answer ∑Fy = 0 gives me V = 0 and ∑M = 0 also gives M as
0 in this section of the beam between 0 and a. In this section of the beam I get shear force
is 0 as well as bending moment is 0. You have to recognize 0 is also an answer we have
seen zero force members in the case of a truss.
Now, I will take a section between B and a; here again I can analyze the right portion
comfortably and put the unknown forces. Then you can write ∑Fy = 0 and ∑M = 0; I
would appreciate that you fill in the intermediate steps which I miss in my slides. ∑Fy =
0 gives me V = P and ∑M = 0 gives me M = - Px - a.
Please fill in the intermediate step you should not make a mistake while you solve the
problem in a quiz or an exam, please fill in the intermediate step. And also notice here I
have used this slide completely for my calculations, I have not attempted to draw the
shear force and bending moment diagram. So, this is what I mean that you should plan
your notes as well as answer book.
Now, I will draw a fresh I

have a loading diagram, I
have the expressions that
we have found out for
these portions what I have
for the portion 0 to a, and
from a to a+L. So, my
shear force diagram is 0 in
this section and it is a
constant value in the
section between A and B; and I put the sign convention used and we have the bending
moment for the section 0 to a is 0 for the section a to a + L, M =- Px - a.
So, it varies linearly and it is 0 here, I also put the sign convention used for bending
moment. So, now, it will be very clear why I need to put a sign convention? Because I
can interpret what is the free body if I isolate a section how to read from here SFD and
BMD, then only I can put the force interaction. So, I need to know the sign convention
258
so it is always a good practice draw the loading diagram, shear force diagram and
bending moment diagram one below the other and always put the sign convention even if
some books do not follow this habit. What we discuss in the class is what I anticipate in
your exam and this is the
good practice.
Now, let us take another

loading I have only a
bending moment appear;
we will go and try to solve
the how do I get the shear
diagram. You know when
you solve problems of a
problem, you would be able to visualize things clearer and one of the aspects is I would
like to visualize, how can I apply a bending moment at the end? Because we have seen, if
I have to apply a concentrated force, we have to put a pin and put a fork and then put a
apply a weight we have looked at elaborately; how a simple concentrated force is
applied.
And another aspect what I

have always been saying is
when I put the bending
moment, we always
understand that this
bending moment is applied
gradually from 0, it is not
that at time t0 there was
nothing, infinitesimal time
after that you have the full
bending moment applied. And we analyze the problem, after the bending moment is
completely applied, we analyze only after that.
259
So, these ideas you should keep in mind while solving. How many sections do I required
to find out the variation of shear force and bending moment along the length of the
beam? That is one section is away. So, I take a section from right I put this as 1, I take
this out like this, the next step is to put the unknown forces following the adopted sign
convention. So, we have adopted this sign convention and this is the unknown moment
and unknown shear force. And I can put ∑Fy = 0, I will have the first answer is there is
no shear force; shear force is 0 and I have only bending moment, M = Mb. So, can I go on
plot this?
In the earlier problem we

found only 1 section of the
beam at 0 shear force. So,
in this problem the entire
beam is not transmitting
any shear force, because
the loading is different.
And what we find for the
bending moment diagram?
Bending moment diagram
is constant fine and this is
we labeled as positive.
Then we move on to the next problem make a neat sketch of it. These problems are of
graded complexity. If they solved a variety of problems you get the idea behind how to
draw a shear force and bending moment diagram. And here I would like you to visualize
what way should I analyze the beam? See I have a protrusion and this is firmly
connected to the beam by welding I apply a load on this member.
So, the first step is to find out how to understand this force what way it influences the
loading of the beam, that is the first step. We have already seen how to translate a force
from one line of action to another line of action. Resolution of a force into a force and a
260
couple you have to apply that concept here. While we discuss that we say the external
effect produced by the original force need to be present. So, now, the first step what I
have to do is I have to translate this force to the point B. So, when I translate this force to
point B what will be the force interaction at point B?
You have to put a force and then cancel that force; recognize the other two forces
forming a couple. So, I would have a force as well as a couple; is the idea clear, this you
have to recognize when I have any protrusion where I apply the load, the loading is little
involved you have to interpret the load first. So, I have this as a load P acting on the
beam as well as the couple Pb do not make a mistake on the direction.
You should recognize what direction; we are only looking at what are the action on the
beam? It is producing a clockwise moment people can make mistakes in all this, we are
only looking at in a shear force diagram and bending moment diagram what is the action
at every section? This is what we plot. And you should correctly interpret a force applied
on a member which is firmly connected; and this is the member which behaves like a
beam and on this member, you are asked to find out what is the variation of the shear
force and bending moment.
You could also draw it for
this section that we are not
really worried about fine.
So, first you should

interpret this and once I
have this you have
independently solved for
an end load and
independently solved for a
moment. So, it is nothing but combination of these two we will have a look at. So, here
how many sections would I require to plot the bending moment and shear force diagram?
I need one section here; I need another section here. Even without calculation by
inspection you can say the answer, because now you are told that you are sensitized that
261
you can have 0 as correct answer ok. So, in this section of the beam there is no load
acting nevertheless we draw the free body show the unknown forces and write the
equilibrium equations then establish that V = 0 and M = 0.
You know you have to do this in your exams because you are learning the subject for
the first time, do not miss out any steps. You have to draw the free body of each section,
apply the equilibrium condition and systematically establish the values. You may use at
the other tricks that I have told you to verify your answer; you cannot afford to write
without steps in solving problems in the examination.
You have to write the steps at this level of the course, that is what is expected out of you.
And I also find out what are these variations for this section from a to a + L, I take an
imaginary cut and I take out this portion label the values as x-a is the distance; and I put
the unknown forces and I have the reference axis. See for all my analysis of this free
body you have to go by the reference axis. So, when I recognize the sign for V, I will put
that as positive.
And I am missing that step I am not writing systematically the complete steps I am
directly solving it and give the values of Fy, but I would urge you to write the
intermediate step yourself and verify your answer with my final answer ok. If you do not
do that you may make mistakes later, so when I use this equation, I get the shear force as
simply P in this section.
A similar exercise I would like you to do for the moment equation ∑M = 0, please write
for all the forces shown in this and when I solve that I get the moment as
If I solve for this completely, I get it like this please verify whether my final answer is
alright. Now we go and draw the shear force in bending moment diagram. See I am
consistently showing a place where you do the computation and reserve a portion of your
answer script or your notes to draw the shear force and bending moment diagram one
below the other.
262
So, I have this I have the values from B computation over here if I get this like this and I
draw the sign convention
for the shear force; I also
draw the bending moment
diagram. So, I have a step
change we saw when I
have only a bending
moment for the entire
beam the bending moment
remain constant and if I
had only a shear force it
was giving me linear
variation of the bending moment. So, what I see here is this is nothing but addition of
these two. See I said earlier we also make in our idealization systems behave in a linear
fashion, when a system is linear, I can also analyze the problem with one load separately,
analyze the problem with another load separately and add these two answers and this is
labeled as a principle called principle of superposition ok.
And which is repeatedly used even in your higher-level courses as long as you assume
the system behavior as linear. This is one of the reasons why even though a system may
behave slightly non-linear model it as linear make sure computation extremely simple.
And it is a very nice example to see here I could have analyze this as two problems take
a beam with only load P, you draw the shear force and bending moment diagram take the
beam with load only Pb as a bending moment analyze the problem and add these answers
you would get the same answer.
So, this is repeatedly used in higher studies with a labeling principle of superposition is a
very useful concept. So, I can also get this shear force and bending moment diagram by
individually solving for only the shear force or only for the bending moment and then
add those two answers. I have also labeled the key points -Pb and -P (b + L), let us move
on to another problem.
263
So, in this case I have a

load which is at an angle.
See we have already seen a
slender member can
transmit in general
moments in three
directions, forces in three
directions, so it can
transmit any of the six
quantities. In this chapter
we are more concerned about drawing the shear force and bending moment diagram,
when I have a force like this, I should recognize how do I handle this force.
I can always split this force in its components one acting vertical and one acting
horizontal. So, I would replace this by two forces using its components; which one of
these forces will provide you bending of the beam? It is only P sin 30 and what way P
cos 30 will affect the beam? It will apply a compression. So, if you draw an axial force
diagram of the member the slender member, I can write what way the axial force
changes along the length of the member.
Because this member supports an axial force as well as bends. So, whenever any external
loading is happening you should interpret what are the forces that cause shear force and
bending moment in which plane, say I have discussed with you the principle of
superposition, we have applied the forces only on one plane. I could also apply the forces
on another plane and cause the beam to bend like this, there again you can use the
principle of superposition.
I can analyze the problem independently and get the shear force and bending moment
diagram in one plane, shear force and bending moment diagram in another plane. So, it is
versatile; principle of superposition is versatile to handle different situations.
264
So, now I have this and you already have answers for all of it, earlier we have had this
force as simply P and now
I have only a small
difference in terms of its
magnitude. So, your
appearance of shear force
and bending moment
diagram will be similar.
See my idea is to bring in a
variety of concepts so
simple examples. See in all
the cases I have taken a
cantilever beam you could
also solve problems for a simply supported beam. We have done it for a uniformly
distributed load a simply supported beam we have taken and then we have determined
what is the shear force and bending moment diagram.
So, the idea is how do I interpret the loading of external forces on the beam? If I have a
protrusion how do I handle it, if I have an incline load how do I handle it and I would
also urge you to visualize how can I apply these loads physically? Say I have shown the
beam is subjected to a moment only what way you can visualize; I can add a bar at the
end of the beam have two handles fine in one handle you pull it another handle you push
it so you apply a couple.
It provides only rotation see we have not worried about how the loading is actually
applied, but if we visualize it makes you a better engineer. As engineers I would like you
to visualize some of these actions. So, I get V = 0 and M = 0 and I get this shear force
and bending moment diagram. It is very simple I do not think, I need to spend more time
on it, I will just show this and you can verify these final answers. I get V = P sin 30 and
M = -P sin 30 (x - a ) and I draw the shear force and bending moment diagram one below
the other.
265
So, I have this; and I have

repeatedly shown draw the
loading, shear force,
bending moment one
below the other always
along with the sign
convention. So, you can
summarize your final
results in a portion and
then do it.
Now, let us move on to a

very important aspect,
suppose I have a variable
loading I have already
pointed this out to you
there is some sort of an
interrelationship between
the appearance of a shear
force diagram and bending
moment diagram.
Now, we will formalize that interrelationship; and what I am going to do is I will take a
beam which is very long, I take a section of a beam. And I have also shown whatever the
loading is a function of x, which is varying in an arbitrary fashion like this. We do not
have to mimic this exactly something arbitrary, we have a continuous loading acting on
the beam fine.
266
And what we would do is? We would identify a section at a distance x from the reference
axis and isolate a small
element of width Δx. So, it
is fundamentally different
then we have shown this
sign convention I do that as
a block, I put something on
the positive phase
something on the negative
phase; and I cautioned you
that this is the block of
length 0. But here I cut a
section at x, I cut another section at x + Δx from the appearance of the diagrams they
look of similar dimensions, but here I deliberately label it as distance delta x.
So, now, following the sign convention you should put the shear force and bending
moment acting on this surface, shear force and bending moment acting on this surface.
You have already looked at shear force and bending moment diagram do they remain
constant depending on the application of the load, they can remain constant, but in
general they all vary from point to point; and I have deliberately shown a variable
loading.
So, when I have a variable loading you can anticipate shear varies in general from point
to point, bending moment varies in general from point to point. So, if I put what are the
shear force acting on this surface, when I go to the surface here I have to put an
incremental change on the shear force is the idea clear; you have to catch this idea,
because I have taken a section at x and cut another section at x + Δx. I am removing this
block and I want to find out the free body diagram of this block, it is not then I pass only
1 section, I pass 2 sections at a distance delta x and want to find out under what forces
this block is in equilibrium.
267
So, I will have to put this as V + ΔV I am looking at the positive direction. So, I put this
as +ΔV by mathematics will tell me whether it is plus or minus. And when I put bending
moment like this, you could also various M +ΔM this idea you have to catch. I have
taken a block of length Δx the height is equivalent to the height of the beam.
So, there is a variation of the shear force as well as bending moment, when I look at the
negative surface as well as the positive surface of this rest is then straightforward. I have
to write the equilibrium of this block and establish a relationship between variation of
shear force and bending moment and this variation with respect to the applied load. This
is the key aspect in current
discussion see you have
understood this rest of it is
near application of your
equilibrium conditions.
And as Δx suppose to zero

in the limit, the loading on
the element can be taken as
WΔx that is what I am
going to do and I take this
diagram. So, I replace this by a concentrated force which we have always learnt, I can
replace a distribution by the principle of composition and then put that as a resultant
passing through the centroid.
Then write the sigma ∑F = 0, ∑M = 0 for this block rarely straightforward. ∑Fy = 0
gives me ΔV = -w x Δx. And dividing by Δx and taking the limit Δx = 0 gives me a very
important relationship dV/dx = - wx. So, similarly I sum the moments please verify these
calculations yourself independently and finally, writing the expressions. And we have
already said delta x is very small and what way would I keep Δx2 I would make it as 0
ok.
So, dividing by Δx and taking the limit Δx tends to 0, I get this dM / dx = V. So, in this
class we have revisited the sign convention, I said sign convention is a discipline that
268
you need to follow because depending on the problem you may want to solve the left
portion or the right portion whichever the mathematical steps are less, but you should get
one unique answer on the value of bending moment as well as its sign value of shear
force as well as its sign.
But you could have different sign conventions there is no one said sign convention like
we have keep left in India and keep right in United States where you have the road rules.
So, whatever the rule that you adopt consistently follow that. Then we have solved the
variety of problems with graded degree of complexity; the idea is to recognize what way
we interpret the loading on the actual beam.
The loading could be applied by attaching a member to the beam you apply the load or
you apply the load which produces axial compression or bending your interest is to plot
the shear force and bending moment diagram recognize the appropriate force and then do
it. Then we also discuss a very important concept of principle of superposition. And
finally, we also determine the interrelationship between shear force and bending
moment, shear force and the load applied; and I have always recommended you must
plan your answer script as well as your notes.
So, that you always write the loading diagram, shear force diagram and bending moment
diagram one below the other. Its utility you will find for difficult problems, where you
may miss the plotting of the bending moment diagram, it may be difficult where you can
take advantage of this interrelationship.
Thank you.
269
Prof. K. Ramesh
Module – 01
Statics
Lecture – 13
Beams – IV
Let us continue our

discussion on Beams.
See in the last class we had

looked at when there is a
variable loading on the
beam. We cut two sections;
one at a distance x from
the origin, other one at a distance delta x from it. So, we have looked at two sections cut
on the beam and we have
isolated this and have
drawn the free body
diagram for this. So, far
you have seen that in
general both shear force
and bending moment
varies from point to point
along the length of the
beam.
They do not remain

constant, when they remain constant, they are exceptional situations we had seen when
shear force is constant, we had also seen situation where bending moment is constant,
270
they are special situations. In general, both shear force and bending moment varies along
the length of the beam. So, when I have taken sections at x and x + Δx, I will have to
write the shear force and bending moment on the negative surface and positive surface
with an incremental change. You have to recognize when we wrote the sign convention
for convenience, we had shown a finite length.
I said it is showing what is happening on the positive surface and what is happening on
the negative surface for convenience you have provided a distance between them, it is
not a block taken out from the beam. Whereas, here we cut at section x and section x +
Δx and you have to write the incremental change in the shear force as well as the
incremental change in the bending moment and it is easy to get the equations of
equilibrium written.
And what we have learnt

was a very important
interrelationship dV/dx = -
wx. Please note we have
got this expression when
loading is acting
downwards, we have got
the expressions for that
situation. And we have
also been able to look at the moment equilibrium and finally got the interrelationship dM
/dx = V. See I have all along been saying it is a good habit to plot loading diagram, shear
force diagram and bending moment diagram one below the other. In fact, you would see
the advantage in the problem that we are going to solve next.
271
You know I have a bookshelf impromptu bookshelf you have a plank and you have two
supports and books are
stacked on top of it. You
know I also thought that I
should give some simple
exercises on how engineers
do idealization. And you
know very well that books
have different weights and
they are stacked on top of
it.
Suppose you want to find

out what is the bending moment acting on the plank, what can be an idealization to start
with? Can I take the weight of all these books to act at the central of the beam and start
proceeding or can I do slightly better, yet simple to analyze? Can I have an idealization,
what are the idealizations you have seen in terms of loading? When I said that you have
to accommodate the weight of the beam in civil engineering constructions, how do they
model the weight as a uniformly distributed load.
So, as a first approximation you can also replace this by a uniformly distributed load on
the beam, can we do that? Reasonable approximation, you are not putting the entire
weight on the center of the beam you have taken one step ahead. If you want to analyze it
as such you may have to bring in the weight of each one of the books what is the length
it occupies and put the variation. But finally, it can be averaged out to a uniform loading
like this, this is a good approximation to start with.
See the question here is determine the optimal position of the supports. So, you have to
understand how do I impose the condition of optimality. When do you say the supports
are located at optimal positions? You know very well that bending moment is going to
vary along the length of the beam and do you realize by adjusting the supports you can
modify their variation of bending moment on the length of the beam. Can I put the
supports at the ends of the plank will that be an optimal position; obviously, that is not an
optimal position.
272
Intuitively can you say what should be the length a? Because we all say why do not you
solve by intuition, what is the ball mark figure, what do you feel intuitively what you feel
L/2. Now let us go and look at the mathematics and find out whether our intuition is
correct, for the idealized loading, the moment I idealize the problem I do not worry about
the actual problem. The answers will closely match with reality within small amount of
error which is tolerable for a given design situation. Intuitively you feel that a should be
equal to 0.5 L. We will see
what way the mathematics
is going to give us the
answers.
We have just taken some

blocks and then put it
below the plank. Suppose
you want to keep your
table clean and you have
stacks of book, you have
found out a plank and then put a plank and then put some support and what way can I
idealize this support? I can simply say that arrays translation in a vertical direction, you
can freely move the plank
on top of it.
So, I can simply say that

this is replace by a normal
force. You get the idea
how engineers start
looking at problem,
capture the essence of the
problem, but simplify from
mathematical analysis point of view. And we have also seen earlier for the purpose of
273
finding out the reaction I can replace the distributed load by its resultant and this is the
problem involving symmetry you should recognize that. Once I find out Ay, By is
automatically fixed.
Even before solving you can guess what is the answer what is Ay and By, they support the
load wL. So, it should be one half of wL. So, I have ∑Fy = 0 this gives me Ay + By = wL.
And I have also told you when we solve problems when we write moment when I put the
subscript the subscript denotes about which point, I take the moment.
So, I take the moment about point A. So, that gives me this gives the clockwise moment
and this gives an anticlockwise moment about A. So, I have (-wLa /2) + Bya = 0 and this
gives me Ay = By = wL /2. In fact, when you solve problems after problems even by
inspection you should be able to identify what should be the values for Ay and By.
Nevertheless, you should write down the mathematical expressions you convince the
teacher that you have really
determined them not
copied it from anybody
else.
Now, you have a problem

like this and I have to find
out the variation of shear
along the length of a beam.
You should know how many imaginary sections that I have to cut so, that I get the
variation for the entire length that is also the decision that you have to take. See if you
look at here when I move along this length, I have a load coming across here. Suppose I
have this support at the end and this support at the end just one cut was sufficient, we
have solved a problem which is simply supported uniformly varying load we just had
one imaginary section that determine the variation along the beam.
So, one aspect which you have to keep in mind is whenever you have external loads you
have one section like this and between these two supports I can I need to have one
274
section and after this I need to have another section for this. Or you can also argue from
symmetry if I determine for a section here and section here you can also write without
calculation what should happen for the other section, but I would do for all the three
sections. So, one of the decisions that you have to take when you have to draw the shear
force and bending moment along the length of the beam, you should have a clear idea
how many imaginary sections you need to take it. So, that you get the expression for the
entire length of the beam.
So, I put a section at x and identify this as a section 1 and this is easy for me to analyze.
So, I take out this and we are following the convention by medium so, I put it on the
positive surface a negative direction V is positive and anti clockwise moment is possible.
But the moment I put these forces as per the sign convention I will have to put all my
quantities with respect to the reference axis when we employ the equation of statics do
not make a mistake there. So, I get V =-wx you know I am not solving it step by step I am
missing steps I expect you to fill in the blanks. So, when I use M = 0 that gives me M = -
wx2/ 2.
So, then I move on to a section in between the supports A and B. So, I have a section like
this, I take out this draw the free body diagram make a neat sketch of the free body, label
all these values. See if you had numbers for a w and L you know the arithmetic will look
simpler, but now this is written in a generic fashion. So, it looks clumsy in that sense and
I have to complete the free body. So, I put the unknown forces shear force and bending
moment like this. And when I apply the equations of statics, I get the shear force as wL/2
-wx and I get my moment equation as
Please verify this mathematics, check in your notes in your notebooks verify the
calculation. So, I have determine for this portion, the portion 1 what is the expression for
shear force and bending moment and in between the supports I had made a cut and I
determine the shear force as well as bending moment and I would also make a cut at this
portion of the beam and write down the equations.
275
So, I would take a section

like this and this is what I
said you know you have a
freedom to choose which
portion of the imaginary
cut you will take it for
finding out the forces. In
the earlier two cases we
had taken the segment 1
for analysis in this the
mathematics is lot simpler if I analyze the segment 2.
So, this is where your sign convention is important to get consistent results including
sign for plotting shear force and bending moment. And I would put the shear force and
bending moment I am looking at the negative surface. On the negative surface we have
said the positive V is considered as positive, and we have taken the bending moment as
clockwise. And this is again very easy to analyze I get the shear force as V= w(L – x) and
I get the moment variation as M = -w / 2 (L – x)2. See what I need to do is I need to plot
the variation of shear force and bending moment along the length of the beam.
So, I need to get the values at key points, which form the key points definitely the
starting point of the beam is important. Whenever I have a load change I would like to
know what is the value here; I would also like to know what is the value here; I would
also like to know what is the value at the end; in addition I would also like to know what
is the value at the mid span of the beam. See for shear force the expressions are simple
and you can easily write down these values from the general expression. In order for me
to easily plot the variation of bending moment let me get these values of bending
moment from the earlier expressions.
We have already determined for the section ending at A, a generic expression for
moment as M = -wx2/2. So, if I need to find out what happens at point A; point A is
276
located as x = (L-a)/2, when I substitute for x in this expression this simplifies to; please
do the simplification yourself I will give you minute for you to do the simplification and
you can verify your simplified expression with what I have in my slide. So, you have to
go back to your notes and see what was the original expression we had for the segment
ending at A, for the segment between A and B, for the segment after B.
And you have symmetry in this problem. So, what I would get for segment 0 to A would
be similar for B to the end of the beam, we would see that black and white in our slide
fine. So, when I substitute for x this expression turns out to be M = (- w /8) (L – a)2. Can
you find out what is the value of the bending moment at mid span of the beam? You
have the expression; you have the generic expression at mid span x= L/ 2. So, substitute
x = L/2 and calculate at the mid span what is the value of the bending moment?
You know before even I do that I find out what is the moment at B, where x is defined as
x = (L + a) / 2 and because of symmetry I get an identical answer; I get an identical
answer at A and B that is what you anticipate. This is what I say you should have
physical appreciation of the problem when there is symmetry the results what you get
also show that symmetry that is one kind of check while you solve the problem whether
you on the right track or not. And if I have to find out the bending moment at x= L/ 2, I
will have to substitute x= L/ 2 in this expression.
The generic expression is
When I substitute x= L/ 2, I am going to give the final simplified expression please

verify whether you have also got
some of you seems to have got identical answer.
277
Now we are all set to plot

the variation of shear force
and bending moment along
the length of a beam. And
what is shown here is I am
also giving you ideas how
you should plan your notes
and answer scripts. We
have done all the
calculations earlier and the
final expressions are written down here to facilitate easy plotting of the shear force and
bending moment diagram. So, if you follow that discipline it will help you.
Now I will plot the shear force and mind you this animation is plotted from left to right.
We will revisit this again why I plot from left to right because I have also told you have
to isolate the free body determine the forces acting at various sections of the beam fine.
But you should also have another methodology to verify whether your final answers are
correct for that if I move from left to right it is easy for me to plot the shear force when I
use the convention of Merriam.
So, I have this expression this is V =-wx and it varies linearly. And once I have an
external support, this shear force increases at that point and the total value is equal to w
L/2 and then it drops down touches 0 at mid span and goes like this and plotted like this.
Please mind you this is only illustrative it is a highly an exaggerated picture of the shear
force variation. You do not get confused that I plot shear force very clearly, I also plot
the bending moment they are of different units also shear force is a force.
So, I write it in terms of Newton’s, when I go to moment, I write it in terms of Newton

meters, you should not conclude in my picture I have a very large shear force and it is
going to introduce me large stress. In fact, in our practical problem usually the maximum
stress developed by a shear stress would be at least 15 to 20 times less than the bending
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moment. The stresses introduced by bending moments are very significant and that truly
dictates the design of a beam, shear is only an additional effect that you have to consider.
So, when I have to find out optimal support, I was look for what is the variation in
bending moment to take a decision shear force is only an intermediate step. And since
you are learning how to draw shear force diagram and bending moment diagram, we are
also drawing the shear force diagram for this problem as well as bending moment
diagram for this problem.
So, you have to keep in mind from stress analysis point of view the effect of bending
moment is very significant on the beam, the stresses introduced are much higher than the
stresses that is caused by shear force. So, do not get carried away by an illustrative
sketch. Now let me plot the bending moment variation, I have expressions here see
which shows that this is the quadratic expression, this is also a quadratic expression and
this is also a quadratic expression.
And let me plot we have already determined the values at key positions. What would be
the bending moment at the starting point at the free end? It is 0. So, you have that what is
happening at support A, what is happening at mid span, what is happening at support B
and what is the other free end all these quantities you have. And let me plot this, I have
the bending moment diagram drawn like this.
The bending moment diagram is very colorful and this is again illustrative. See do not
compare the peak magnitude of bending moment with peak magnitude of shear force
they are shown very clearly to identify what are the variation we are not plotted to a
scale. Now the question is you are drawn the diagram so nicely you should also
investigate have you drawn it correctly? Is it a correct bending moment diagram? We
have definitely followed this is the quadratic curve, this is the quadratic curve, this is also
a quadratic curve.
You have learnt few slides back what is the interrelationship between the bending
moment and shear force. Can you use that knowledge and verify whether this bending
moment diagram is correct? It should be if you want to accept as a final answer, it should
verify the test, it should pass the test and you investigate whether the interrelationship
what we have evaluated is valid here, shall we go and investigate now. I have drawn
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consistently in all my slides the sign convention for shear force and sign convention for
bending moment. See I deliberately put it at different places, if you see always on the
right side then you do not get the idea of what is a positive surface and negative surface
clearly.
So, when I write this as a block if I have the outward normal in the positive direction that
is the positive surface, if I have my outward normal in the negative direction it is the
negative surface. And we have look at two expressions; one is dV /dx = -wx and what I
get this is the slope is negative that is what it says. And obviously, yes, I have the slope
of this diagram is this is the negative slope. So, the shear force diagram there are no
major hiccups, shear force diagram is consistent with whatever the interrelationship that
we have got.
Let us look at the interrelationship between bending moment and shear force. The slope
of the bending moment diagram is related to the magnitude of V; V is positive as well as
negative fine. So, I will have to look at the slope and verify am I on the right track. I
have put a slope here and what is this slope here? This is a negative slope that is a tally
with what is given in the V; V is negative so this slope is valid that is also fine. And as I
come to this centre of the beam what happens to V? V goes to 0 and suppose I plot a
tangent at the mid span I would also have a 0 slope.
So, this parabola is quite alright with the sign convention and also the interrelationship
that what we have determined. So, there is no major hiccup in this parabola. Let us look
at have you drawn this segment correctly. Can anybody identify whether this segment is
also correct? It can also be correct; it can also be a correct I am not said it is wrong we
have to establish why it is wrong; if we say that it is wrong. Let me again draw the slope;
I draw the slope here my shear force is positive here, my slope is also positive apparently
it looks I am not on the wrong side, but look at one more aspect when it is on the free
end shear force is 0.
What I am getting here? I am getting a finite slope at the free end; it cannot be there. See
suppose you have a plotter where you feel in this equation because people are becoming
very easy now. You know you have symbolic computations have come no visualization
you simply feed in the expression it itself plots beautifully. If we have that luxury then
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you will not make a mistake in plotting the either the shear force diagram or the bending
moment diagram along the length of the beam. Because you do not have to apply your
mind, you are going to determine the various y co ordinates based on the x co ordinate
you can easily plot and connect it you will not make a mistake there. There is a
possibility of making a mistake when you do by hand calculation and when you have this
you have another clue that
slope is 0 here.
Suppose I replot this

portion of the beam let us
it satisfies all of it what we
have learnt earlier. The,
this is again a parabola
secondary the curve, here
again the slope is positive
tallies with this, but the
important clue what I have used is I have identified a point where the slope is 0, that
guides me in finding out whether I should plot the curve like this or in the opposite way.
You can also think in one more direction see I can also draw a straight line and find out
what is the value at the mid span. I can easily find out that is the just the average fine.
And you can decide whether the average from your expression at this midpoint not the
average the actual value at the midpoint is higher than this average or lower than this
average. That will tell you whether I should plot the curve in this fashion or in this
fashion.
So, now would you realize when I say that you have to plot the loading diagram, shear
force diagram and bending on diagram one below the other at least proms you to think
and find out whether your answer is correct. Whether you have drawn these variations
correctly translated your expression correctly in the drawing. So, that is very important.
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So, that is a reason why I

want you to plot one below
the other and I have also
given these for numerical
value of a = 0.63 L and I
get these numbers like this
so, this shows how the
variation is. I have done it
for two cases I have taken
a case where a is greater
than L/ 2. I have also taken
a case a is less than L / 2.
Just to illustrate by
changing the position of
the supports you can have
totally a different variation
of bending moment along
the length of the beam. The
bending moment variation
is totally different here,
you can see this in the
previous slide it is like this and mind you that these are not plotted to scale I am only
interested in the variation. In this case bending moment is both negative as well as
positive, in the other case bending moment remains negative for the entire length of the
beam.
And I go back to the generic solution which is given in terms of a, now we have to go
back and answer the question what is the optimal position? The intuition said it is 0.5 we
have to verify whether it is 0.5. How do I put the condition? See if I have to apply the
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optimal condition, I must also know how to bring in that in mathematics. Along the
length of the beam the bending moments varies from negative to positive and one case
when I brought them very close, I had that as on the negative side completely.
So, by placing the support I can vary the variation of bending moment along the length
of the beam. Can I say that I would determine these supports in such a manner that
whatever is the maximum negative bending moment is equal to the maximum positive
bending moment. That means you are limiting the magnitude of maximum bending
moment possible on the beam.
Even at the start of this discussion I said we are not really worried about the sign of the
bending moment I will provide you a reason from strength a material a little while later
we will revisit it again. Do you get the idea if I have to get the optimal position, even
though one or done a second level course I have always been saying this is only feeding
information to a second level course and I thought can’t we have one problem where,
with your knowledge you can also do some optimization and get an optimal solution.
So, from that perspective this is the very nice problem. So, what we are really trying to
say is if I find out length a such that the bending moment in the negative side and
positive side all equal, let
me put that condition.
So, when I equate these

two expressions, I get my a
as 0.586 L. You can argue
either way my intuition
was correct I have got 0.5,
I can also argue you are
not correct you have got
0.586 this debate can
continue for any length of time ok. But what you will have to appreciate is, when I have
a beam suppose I have the bending moment is in one direction I am having this as a
clock wise bending moment.
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And when I see the resistance offered by the beam, it is tensile on the top and
compression at the bottom and mind you the tensile magnitude and maximum
compression magnitude are identical fine. And when I reverse the moment direction the
top fiber gets compress and bottom fiber gets elongated, so this is the reason why I said
when I want to find out the bending moment. I am more interested in getting the
magnitude along the length of the beam either way the member is going to experience
similar loading either on the top fiber or bottom fiber is going to experience a similar
loading. So, this also gives a convincing answer that for optimal condition you equate the
maximum negative moment to maximum positive bending moment. So, that you find out
the position where the
maximum magnitude is
minimized. So, that is what
we have done.
The next problem is; draw

the shear force diagram
and bending moment
diagram for the cantilever
beam with a triangularly
varying load as shown in
the picture. See this is one of the common variations of load you come across in
engineering application. The other common variation what we usually come across is
uniformly distributed load. Usually when you are analyzing beams in civil engineering
the self write is so important you cannot ignore that that is modeled as uniformly
distributed load.
Another load with that you come across very commonly is the triangular loading; one
example is when I have a fluid which is exact in pressure that could be modeled as a
triangularly varying load.
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And here again to plot the shear force and bending moment diagram take a section at x
isolated since you have complete knowledge of what happens in a triangle you know
how to find out the centroid
as well as the area, one can
easily find out the resultant
and that acts at the centroid
which is at a distance x /3
from the base.
And using this one can

apply the equations of
statics, and
This is the first occasion

that you come across that V
varies as a quadratic
expression all along you
have seen V remaining
constant or varying as a
linear load. Whereas, here
because the loading itself is
varying linearly I get a
quadratic expression for V
and a cubic expression for
M;
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One can plot using these

expressions, but we will
also see suppose I have a
load variation not as a
triangular but it is given in
a very generic fashion what
is the kind of mathematics
that I will have to use?
Here again I take out this
and I write it in a general
fashion and within this load
variation I have another
variable delta, and go from fundamentals how to find out the centroids there again you
use a similar expressions same thing is mimic here. So, I find out what is the resultant
force and the moment at because of this loading from first principles.
So, that is what is written

down here the free body
diagram is written down
and the function w as a
function of delta is written
as w delta by L.
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And one can plot the variation along the length of the beam. So, you plot this, this is a
quadratic curve and you plot this you have to take it as a cubic curve. While doing hand
plotting it very difficult to
show a subtle difference
between quadratic curve
and a cubic curve
definitely you can draw it
and show distinctly that it
is not a straight line. And
we can also verify whether
the interrelationships are
satisfied I have dV/dx = -w.
So, the slope is negative

and when I plot the slope; the slope is negative. So, this is ok when I look at the plotting
of bending moment
diagram, the
interrelationship is dM/dx
=V and V is negative. So, I
expect the slope to be
negative. So, that gives a
verification that we are on
the right track and to plot
the curve whether this way
or the other way. It is
better that you find out
what happens at the centre
you can imagine a straight line and find out the average and find out what is the value.
And from the expression for bending moment find out the value at the center, compare
these two values that will guide you better to plot the curve in this fashion or the opposite
fashion.
287
You know we have so far seen a variety of problems, where the focus was how to handle
an external load? The focus was not on repeatedly learning different problems. So, that
you hit one problem for you to answer the question in the final exam more on a
conceptual level we have looked at it. And it is not difficult for us to complicate the
whole development of loading you can have multiple loading on a beam, I have a
distributed loading, I have a concentrated moment, I have concentrated loads acting on it
and also, I have an over hug beam. And you can also find out what is the shear force and
bending moment variation on the beam.
And when I have this you have know how many sections I have to take. So, I have to
take one section here; I have to take another section here; I have to take another section
here; another section here; another section here. So, in all I have 1 2 3 4 5 sections I have
is it all right 5 sections I have to do. So, I have to do the calculations 5 times then only I
will be able to get enough quantities for way to plot the variation of shear force and
bending moment.
And if I have to draw any one of this my first step is to find out the reactions. I have to
get the reactions without the reactions I will not be in a position to do this computation,
but you know how to handle a distributed load, how to handle a concentrated bending
moment individually you have solved the problems. So, when they come in an actual
beam it is not difficult for you to accommodate that in your calculation. I would
appreciate you do this as a homework and bring it out then we will have a discussion, I
would expect you to identify different free bodies put the quantities the way we have
learnt in the class. And determine the values and plot the shear force and bending
moment diagram and for you to compare and facilitate your answers I have put the
reactions. And the reactions are 46.16 kilo Newton on this end and 2.84 kilo Newton on
this end.
So, it is not at all difficult for you to draw the shear force and bending moment diagram
when multiple loads are given in the beam; the only difference is its going to take a little
more time for you to accomplish this. So, in this class we have determined what is the
optimal position of supports for a simple problem of arranging books on a plank. In the
288
process we learnt the sign of the bending moment is not of that concern only the
magnitude is very important that knowledge you derive from what you see in chunk of
materials.
And we have used that as a criterion to write the optimal condition and determine the
distance between the supports. In a sense it tallied very closely to your intuition, but from
puritan point of view it is not exactly intuition you need the elaborate theory of bending
of beams is necessary for you to identify an optimal location correctly. So, that is another
way of looking at it.
And in all these shear force and bending moment diagram, I re-emphasized what is the
role of interrelationships. How do you interpret the interrelationships to verify your final
plotting of shear force diagram and bending moment diagram? See the focus here is it is
not that you have got an answer and you have plotted it in one way without verifying
whether this is the correct way of plotting or not.
As engineers you have to be very definitive in your final answers and statements. So,
need to use every possible auxiliary method to verify your answers, at least whether it is
in the range of your expectations, some such visualization is very essential for you to
become a good engineer and we have also looked at another problem where there is a
triangular load variation. And finally, we looked up a beam with multiple loadings for
you to find out the shear force variation and bending moment, I wanted to do it the way
that we have done in the class. And in my review, I will solve it from a different
perspective at least give you an idea how to verify your answers.
Thank you.
289
Prof. K. Ramesh
Module – 01
Statics
Lecture – 14
Virtual Work – I
Let us move on to our next

chapter on Virtual Work.
So, we have to understand

what is the definition of
work. See we have always seen what is the origin of the word truss, we have also looked
at where do we use beam you use it for light beams, beaming smile, but in the context of
engineering mechanics we
call the member that
supports the load
transverse to its axis; we
call it as a beam. Similarly,
when you say work, we
should also understand
what is work? It should not
be confused with its literal
meaning that is quite
obvious.
290
And work done by a force is the product of force and the corresponding displacement
that is very important. So, you should look at which component of force contributes to
work. So, you call that as a work absorbing component. And what is corresponding
displacement? Displacement in the direction of force F that is very important.
And in contrast to force which is a vector work is a scalar. All of you know this. It is
better that we revisit this whole the concepts work can be positive or negative and that is
going to be very crucial when you are the working on principle of virtual work, we
should identify when I
have positive work when I
have negative work.
Now, let us consider a

force F that acts on a
particle P which moves
along the path C you have
an arbitrary path, you can
make any path of your
choice, I have a particle P
which is subjected to a force F at this instant of time. Now we will have to find out
which component of force contributes to work. The idea is the particle moves along this
path. Let us say that it is at a distance s from a reference. Under the action of this force F,
it has move in an infinitesimal distance ds and you should also look at the symbolism
that I am using here. We are now discussing about work not about virtual work when we
discuss about work, I put the infinitesimal quantities as simple d and s. We will use a
different symbolism when I going for virtual work.
And when I have this force this could be split into two components tangential to the path
and normal to the path then I can easily say what is the work done in the process I get
this as . So, only the component Ft contributes to work from moving

the particle from s to ds and Ft is a projection of F along the line of displacement.
291
Suppose I want to know

what is the work done
when it has moved along
the curve? I simply do the
integration of this over the
path and this also you have
studied earlier. And you
can find out work done as
the area under the curve,
when you go from one
point to another point force is varying along the path displacement is also varying along
the path you can always find out the work done in the process.
We will have to know

when does work is zero?
Work done is zero when
the force is perpendicular
to d s. We have already
seen then normal
component did not do any
work; it is only the
tangential component
contributed to work. See
these concepts may appear simple, but when you employed for a problem all these
properties are useful. And it is also quite obvious since I find out F as the product of the
force and the displacement if either force or ds is 0 then net work done is going to be
zero.
292
So, in the context of engineering mechanics let us see what forces contributes 0 work and
surprisingly a number of forces that are frequently encountered in statics do no work it is
a great advantage. You in fact, use this advantage in solving problems. The whole
approaches minimize the number of computations to arrive at the results. So, if I find a
number of forces are not going to contribute to work, you do not have to consider them
when you compute the work.
And we have seen the beam was supported on hinge and roller support truss was also
supported like this and we saw that you will have reactive forces developed; because
they are supports, they do not move, fine. You may argue when there is a thermal
expansion the roller support allows that movement. So, that additional stresses are not
introduced leaving that, even there you will have the reaction force will be perpendicular
to it.
So, reaction forces do not do any work as ds is 0, when I have a roller support, I can say
that the force is perpendicular to the displacement it does not contribute to work. So,
when you recognize the reaction forces do not contribute to work in my approach in
employing virtual work I do not have to worry about reactive forces. Let us look at
giving horizontal displacement on a frictionless floor, you can also think that when I
have a roller support a similar thing happens.
And I have this as ds, when

I put this as simple d; we
are talking about real work
not virtual work. So, when
I move this the force has
moved, but the force and
the displacement are
mutually perpendicular to
each other. So, it does not
contribute to work you can
also look at as a reaction
force you can also look at
what happens to the mass whichever way you do it there is no work done in the process.
293
And once we have understood by a simple force and linear displacement, we would
generalize the discussion, the terms force can be extended to include a bending moment
or torque in such a case you would call these forces as generalized forces.
For a force F you have a linear displacement when I have a moment or torque, I would
have angular displacement. So, if you have the force F is replaced by a bending moment
or a torque and the corresponding displacement is angular, then I can also write work as
. You had ; ds is now replaced by dθ and you are simple force is

replaced by a moment; it could be a bending moment or a twisting moment whichever
the case may be.
And what is the principle

of virtual work? It is an
alternate method to analyze
equilibrium of a system.
The system being analyze
is given an arbitrary,
infinitesimal and consistent
virtual displacements. How
many of you have climbed
a simple ladder, what do you do when you go and climb on a ladder, first thing what you
do. You just go and shake it and then see whether it is stable involuntarily nobody has
taught you know you are very conscious of your security and if you have a simple ladder
when it is leaned against of wall if you have to climb on it you slightly go and shake it.
We do precisely the same in a mathematical fashion in the principle of virtual work. You
had actually given the motion to your ladder when you want to climb instead you are
doing it virtually. And if you understand that then you will know I should give
infinitesimal displacement and consistent with the constraints. When I have a system, the
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system is allowed to follow a particular path, whatever the constraint in the support you
should honour it.
So, you should give virtual displacements. And whatever the forces that act during
virtual displacements produce virtual work and we have already not talked the reaction
forces we have said that reaction forces do not contribute to work. So, we also being in
another terminology call active forces that contribute to virtual work. And you have to
find out the total virtual work and you investigate whether the system is in equilibrium or
not by the sign of the virtual work.
And you know the statement is like this “A mechanical system is in equilibrium if the
virtual work is negative or zero for every small virtual displacement”. And we have
already qualified what where the virtual displacement should be should be infinitesimal
and it should be consistent with the constraints of the system. And many books would
simply say when the virtual work is zero the system is in equilibrium, we would
generalize that statement
virtual work can also be
negative, we would see
with as example when
what sort of situations you
can have negative virtual
work.
And before we proceed

further let us understands
what is the meaning of consistent with the constraint? See I have a floor and I have a
roller on it and I would like to see what are the ways can I move it; can I move it down?
It just not possible; so, you cannot have a virtual displacement where it is moving down
and solve the problem you cannot do that, but definitely I can lift it up and I can also
slide it along the floor both are possible of this, which is consistent with the constraints?
Only this is consistent with the constraint of the system. Because other one you have to
remove it from the whole floor it defeats the purpose of it. Suppose I have one more
295
guideway I cannot remove it will just slide many of the appliances you will find that it
will slide on a given cavity.
Particularly in articulated rigid bodies because we have already seen one rigid body is
not going to be useful for any applications you need to have connect a rigid body one has
to maintain the relevant contact between bodies while giving virtual displacements. So,
you have to visualise the physics of the problem. So, in a sense you understand better
engineering by solving problems in virtual work because it forces you to visualise what
happens to the system.
Now, let us look at

equilibrium of a brick
resting on floor. You know
very well when I put the
brick it is in equilibrium;
we know the answer even
before starting the
investigation. What we do
is? We give a virtual displacement. You know I have shown this displacement very large
for clarity and note the symbolic difference, I have used a quantity delta it is not ds it is
delta s.
Whenever I use this symbol it indicates we are talking about virtual displacements and
not real displacements. Can the block move from this place to this place by itself? You
have to give a small force, yes or no, how do I give virtual displacement? And this is
again emphasised in the slide also the virtual force and the virtual displacements are
exaggerated. Can I say the virtual work is ? That is not the way you to
compute the virtual work.
Even though we give a virtual displacement we do not consider the force that is
necessary to give the virtual displacement; we only give the virtual displacement you
will never compute virtual work like this. When I have active forces on the system under
the action of this virtual displacement what is the work generated by those forces this is
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what we are going to consider. So, this is what is emphasized here while calculating
virtual work the virtual force needed to provide virtual displacement is not considered for
calculations.
And you can see very well here mg does not do any work as a displacement is
perpendicular to the force. The net virtual work is 0 so, the brick is in equilibrium fine, I
have considered a smooth
floor.
Suppose I consider a rough

floor where I have friction,
when I apply this virtual
displacement these are all
highly exaggerated for
clarity fine. So, you should
keep that in mind. In fact, I
have shown these delta s much larger than even d s which you saw when the particle was
moving along a curved path. So, this is just for clarity. So, when I move this mg does not
do any work what happens to the frictional force; frictional force does work; what kind
of work does it do? We have seen work can have a sign it is positive or negative.
In this instance what is the direction of displacement and what is the direction of force
they are opposite to each other. If the force direction and the displacement are opposite
to each other then you assign the sign of work as negative, it is a very important and
settle concept this is how we are going to solve the problems. And you should know how
to assign the sign for the work whether it is a positive work or a negative work.
So, the virtual work is negative in this case and we would confine our attention only to
frictionless surfaces. So, we will never come across negative virtual work. So, I can also
simplify the statement as. If I compute the virtual work and we have virtual work is zero
the system is in equilibrium.
297
Because the books

normally say virtual work
is zero, but you should also
recognise it can also be
negative still the system is
in equilibrium. Why are we
learning the principle of
virtual work? There must
be definitely some
advantages and we have
seen the brick whether it was in equilibrium or not it is a single body, there is no
advantage when I use it for a single rigid body. On the other hand, when I have a system
of rigid bodies the method is very elegant to handle. So, one of the greatest advantages
there is no need to dismember interconnected rigid bodies.
This also we will again look at when I have the members disjointed, I will have some
internal forces whatever the work done by them will go to 0 net work done by them. So,
I do not have the consider the internal forces, I do not have to consider the reactive
forces so, I can only worry
about the active forces, it
greatly simplifies the
computational effort. And
more than investigating the
equilibrium, it is very
useful to find positions of
equilibrium you need that
kind of mechanisms for
many engineering
applications.
Though you can find out reactive forces you have to consciously make an effort to do
this; generally, I would not recommend you to determine the reactive forces by the
298
principle of virtual work unless it is asked to test whether you have understood that
aspect of the course.
Now, let us understand what is the meaning of positions of equilibrium? I think before
that I have a discussion on what is active forces see, I have a system shown here I have a
constraint at point B it can slide up and down, and I have this has hinged support. And I
have some force P acting on this link and some other force F acting on the link AO.
Depending on the complexity of the problem you may consider the weight of the link or
you may say I have a mass less link, these are all idealization you do to simplify your
computational effort and the result you get out of this is reasonable acceptable within the
level of accuracy you are looking forward to.
So, what I call as active forces they are the external forces capable of doing virtual work.
See another important aspect you have to look at, see these forces when acting on the
body and I give a virtual displacement when I compute the virtual work, I will not put
this as one half of F into delta. When you had calculated work, you would have noticed
the force is gradually applied there you will have to put one half, but here the force was
in full and you have given the virtual displacement. So, I will always have force in to
virtual displacement this is one difference that you have to keep in mind.
And I can also put the reactive forces fine because I know interactions, and the
interaction in this is because it is a roller support, I can put this perpendicular to the
reference, and I have an arbitrary force direction here and this is a force is put F0 here.
No virtual displacement at the supports and hence contribution to virtual work is zero.
So, I do not have the concert the reactive forces. See in many problems when we solved,
we have to first calculate reactive forces and then only proceed to find out.
Say for example, forces in a truss by the method of joints; in the method of sections
depending on the problem contest you can escape out of finding out the reactive forces.
So, one of the advantages in using virtual work approaches I do not have to cancel the
reactive forces. Suppose I want to look at what happens at joint A I will have equal and
opposite force as per Newton’s third law. So, if I compute the net virtual work
contribution this also goes to zero; so, the greatest advantage is I need to consider only
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active forces when I employ the method of virtual work. We have looked at what is the
free body diagram in the earlier chapters, in this chapter we would call what the diagram
that we need as active force diagram.
I don’t need to find out the reactive forces, I don’t need to find out the internal forces, I
can consider the system as a whole and vary only about the active forces make a neat
sketch of this for you to appreciate the concepts because we will repeatedly talk about
active forces. So, you should be able to recognise what are all the active forces. And by
enlarge active forces are already known, they are the forces that are acting on the system.
Normally you use principle
of statics to find out the
reactive forces; so, active
forces are usually known
they are given in the
problem statement and you
are using it for
computations.
So, the method of virtual work is useful for determining the position of equilibrium of a
system under known loads. And this is summarized again; so, when I put this I will put
this as ; the moment I put I am really looking at the virtual work, if it is a
simple force I will have delta d s, if it is a movement I will have . The use of
delta instead of d signifies that we are dealing with virtual quantity they are not real
quantities; they are virtual quantities. And this is again summarized can also be used to
determine reactive forces by computing virtual work done by reaction forces.
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So, you have to remove the

support put the reaction
and then compute the
virtual work and then get
the reaction forces. And I
said positions are
equilibrium see they were
painting the blocks that IIT
Madras. So, I found an
opportunity to record this
not done by a professional
cameraman to record it, that is why you see the shaking of it but it is very nice to see it
quickly moves up in one and it comes down the other one.
So, all these intermediate positions are; positions are equilibrium. So, you need this see if
you have travel in an aircraft when the aircraft is about to take off you know they all load
all the cargo in to the plane they would have platform like this to load the cargo if you
have noticed it you can see
that they can be deployed
quickly. And you know
even some of the toys that
they have it like this to
scare some of you to play a
prank.
It is you have to appreciate

the toy industry has learnt
from whatever that is available mechanics and turn that in to your toy, it gives you joy
they have use principle of solid mechanics and then device the toy that is also used. So,
in one case that is moving up other case it has come down.
301
And if you have a closer

look what makes it to
move up or come down
you have a hydraulic
cylinder you have this
piston is coming out, you
can see this stroke this is
only shortly linked at one
position and this has come
out fully this is a fully
replied position. And you could see that these links are very heavy when I want to
analyze a situation like this, I may have to consider weight of the link, if I want a
reasonably a good answer, but usually in many problems we also make the idealisation
that I have mass less links ok. So, you have a hydraulic cylinder which does this stroke
you can see the stroke is
adjusted and you are able
to deploy this so, they
could move up and down.
Let us understand the

meaning of position of
equilibrium by a simple
demonstration. Here you
have a system shown this
system is supported by a weight here for this weight the configuration of the system is I
have shown here. Now let me introduce a small weight to that, the configuration of the
system has changed I just come to this position which is also an equilibrium position for
this weight this is the corresponding equilibrium position. See we have seen in these the
fork lift that it is rising up slowly by a hydraulic jack. For each one of those positions of
the hydraulic jack the system is in equilibrium.
302
And let me introduce one

more bite the configuration
changes and this is the
final configuration. So,
what we learnt here is for a
given weight there is a
corresponding position of
equilibrium for a given
system. So, in this case by
employing virtual work
you would be able to find out one independent variable defining this system for a given
weight. So, this way method of virtual work is useful to find out positions of equilibrium
and this demonstration clearly brings out for a given weight there is an associated
configuration of the
system.
And another important

concept that is usually
introduced when we
discuss virtual work is
degrees of freedom, we
may not use much as such
in the solving of problems,
but it is a very important
engineering concept it is better that you learn it thoroughly. The number of independent
coordinates to specify completely the configuration of a mechanical system is referred to
as the degree of freedom for that system. And when you are employing principle of
virtual work, the principle may be applied as many times as there are degrees of freedom.
With each application only one independent coordinate system is allowed to change at a
time by keeping others as constant.
303
Please write down these statements for your notes we would discuss the concept of
degrees of freedom with animations first followed by actual demonstration to get the idea
of degrees of freedom better. In this course we would confine our attention to single
degree of freedom system. But nevertheless, degree of freedom is a very important
concept in engineering and this is the time that is introduced in your whole array of
courses, it is better that you
understand degree of
freedom.
Let me now take a single

degree of freedom system.
See I have link like this
and this roller support is
guided on both sides. So,
that is what you call this is
constraint move in the
horizontal direction it cannot move anything else. So, you have to also understand what
is the meaning of constrained supports ok, these are all the terminologies used in
engineering parlance. And you also have a reciprocating engine where I have this and
this also has a single degree of freedom this translates here and this crank rotates.
And once you specify the position of the crank the position of the other parts of the
system is completely fixed fine. And all of this come from what is known as four bar
mechanism; I have 1 2 3 and this fixed end is called the 4th link and this is called the
four-bar mechanism this is also for four bar mechanism this is also a four-bar
mechanism. Actually, in engineering many useful machines can be traced back to some
modification of the four-bar mechanism.
And in all this I need only one variable I have theta here and, in this case, I have this
distance between it. I can use any angular depiction, see if I want to do this, I can have
this angle specified or any one of the angles specified is possible. I have shown this as
theta here I can also take this as beta and then define the system only one independent
304
variable is required, but it is not quite clear as of now we will go to the demonstration
and see.
You may slightly

understand it better if I
look at what are two
degrees of freedom
systems? See in the earlier
case I had two links, one of
the ends was constraint
move in a straight line.
Now I have removed that
constraint, if I remove that constraint this system cannot be defined only by one
independent variable, this link will move freely because this is pin jointed here and there
is no constraint on this end this link also can move independent of this.
So, I need two independent variables to define the configuration of the system when I
need two independent variables, I call that as two degrees of freedom system. I have one
example like this, I have another example is I do not have four bar linkage I have
introduce one more
linkage, the four-bar
linkage was like this it is
enough that I specify theta
the configuration of the
system is completely
defined.
On the other hand, in this

case because I have an
extra link here, I need to
have two independent
quantities theta 1 as well as theta 2. The ideas will become clear when we go and discuss
the demonstrations, we will see that short by later.
305
And you could also have another example of a compound pulley. I can independently
move this pulley and this pulley and that is how you have the rope arrangement this
(Refer Time: 36:56). Although we discussed two degrees of freedom system from the
point of view of developing the subject, we would confine our attention to single degree
freedom system in this
course.
See we have seen in the

animation what is the
meaning of degree of
freedom? And we will see
with the practical
demonstration what we
understand. I have just a
link this is on a pin joint here I can freely rotate this no problem ok. Suppose I put a link
at this end this is again a
pin joint I can rotate this
independently; I can also
rotate this independently
both of them can rotate
independently. So, if I
have to define the
configuration of this
system, I need one variable
to define this position link,
I need another variable to
define this position this is the simplest two-degree freedom system fine.
306
Now, we will move on to a four-bar mechanism, I have pin joint here; pin joint here; pin
joint here; pin joint here and when I rotate this also moves. So, I need only one
coordinate either this angle
or this angle, I do not need
anything other than one
independent variable to
decide the configuration of
the system ok.
Suppose I make this as a

five links look at what
happens I have a five links
now ok; I can rotate this independently she can also rotate it independently. So, I need
one independent variable to define this, I need another independent variable to define
this it is because it is a replication of two links coming in different fashion. And you
know degrees of freedom is a very important concept that you will be coming across any
engineering education. And only when we discuss the principle of virtual work this
concept is introduced. So, it is better that you understand what is the meaning of degrees
of freedom.
So, in this class we have looked at what is the principle of virtual work we initially
discuss what is work, then we also looked at what are the forces that do not contribute to
work, we develop the concept of active forces and we also looks at the reaction forces
and internal forces do not contribute to work and we also learnt the symbolism that is
used in virtual work I would use delta to denote their virtual quantities and we have also
seen them in some demonstrations on what is the meaning of position of equilibrium and
what are the degrees of freedom of a given system.
And degrees of freedom of a given system is a very important in engineering, it is

usually introduced when you learn principle of virtual work. Although we have learnt in
general what are the degrees of freedom of a system, we would confine our attention to
solving problems involving single degree freedom systems. Thank you.
307
Prof. K. Ramesh
Module – 01
Statics
Lecture – 15
Virtual Work- II
Let us continue our

discussion on Virtual
Work.
In the last class, we have

looked at what is the
method of virtual work I
also said that you should look for an active force diagram was you learned that the active
forces do not contribute to
virtual work.
And I also mention that the

method is useful for
determining the position of
equilibrium of a system
under known loads. And
we have also noted that
virtual work is calculated
as you
should note that be
308
incremental component is given a symbol δ instead of d. I have also put for the work the
symbol δ indicating that we are dealing with virtual quantities.
And I have just written a statement that I have two active forces, I have said that the
force F has a displacement so, . Here again I cautioned you the force in full value
is acting and a virtual displacement is given as δs, the work done is force into
displacement, it is not like force is gradually applied from 0 to F. So, these are all the
distinctions that you should note while you are dealing with virtual work. So, this again
emphasizes that use of δ instead of d signifies that we are dealing with virtual quantities.
You know we have also looked at in the last class what is the meaning of degree of
freedom of a system. We have looked at a single degree freedom system and two-degree
freedom system you will really understand a single degree freedom system when you
look at a two degrees of freedom system because it requires two independent variables to
define. And when I have a single degree of freedom system it requires only one
independent variable to define the configuration of the system.
Now, the idea is when we

want to solve the problem
in method of virtual work;
we should ensure whatever
is the choice of our
independent variable I
should get one unique
answer. You know books
give the problem with one
reference coordinate, it
might label the value as θ
or β or whatever the way
the problem is coined and we would see the nuances in that when we solve a problem
you will understand the nuances.
309
And let us take a very simple problem we had seen this in a vertical fashion in the last
class it is a very similar one. So, you know what way the configuration of the system will
change; it is easy for you to visualize and I expect you to visualize in the method of
virtual work under the given application of forces how the displaced system will look
like when you give a virtual displacement. And I want you to sketch it fine, and that is
very important when you want to solve a problem in the method of virtual work.
So, the problem statement is I have a block of mass m and for convenience we have said
that there are two links which are massless; these are all idealizations you do to simplify
your mathematics. And here you are really learning a methodology; so, it is no harm in
assuming that these two links as massless.
And a moment M is applied at the end of one of the links to maintain the configuration as
shown and it is labeled in the diagram with reference to the vertical the link is oriented at
angle θ. See normally when a problem is given you tend to use those quantities directly
for solving a problem; that
is how we human mind
will react fine.
We would solve the

problem from the way it is
posed to us. And I would
like you to visualize when
I apply a moment M, if I
give a virtual displacement
what way the system will
get displaced; you put the
virtual displacement little exaggerated for you to sketch neatly.
So, I have the system like this and for simplification we can simply represent the link by
a line like this. And recognize that these are all pin joints that is how the system are
shown to the functional in the previous class. We saw the system as deep whatever you
310
see as the horizontal bar was vertical and you had literally used the similar problem to
see positions of equilibrium.
So, what is natural to go about you know very well that I am externally applying a
moment M so that I have maintained the position of the block at this level h. So, it is
natural to expect that I would put a virtual displacement for M fine; as if I have slightly
increased the value of the moment, that is how you can visualize how I introduce a
virtual displacement I said. Whatever the force that is required to introduce a virtual
displacement, we do not know that consider it for calculations.
So, can I sketch when this is applied how the link will rotate; it will rotate and try to lift
up the mass M you should recognize that; if you recognize that then you can make a neat
sketch of the displaced quantity. I would put the displaced diagram first then we will
look at it do you get this idea? You have to get this idea first in all problems dealing with
virtual work; I would insist first step you should do is for a given virtual displacement
what is that displaced configuration of the system consistent with the constrains of the
system.
When I rotate it, I have this brown line and I would naturally expect the way the
members are connected the mass would get lifted up. You should sketch this very neatly
so that I am in a position to recognize what way the δh changes. I should see very clearly
from my sketch that the mass mg has moved up whereas, the link has moved in the
direction of the moment M.
And from the sketch of the links and the geometry given the length of the link is given as
b and this height is what we want to find out this is nothing, but . So, the idea
is we would like to find out if there is an incremental change in h what way θ would
change because they are interdependent. That are constrains in the system the way it is
constructed I can arbitrarily have one value of δh and have another arbitrary value of δθ
they are interconnected.
And let us look at the problem from mathematical point of view. So, you also identify
what are the active forces involved in this case. I have the mass m, mg is the force and I
have the external applied moment M. I do not have to worry about the reaction forces
here and also internal forces in the system all that is not required like what we have done
311
for the force method where you had written down the free body diagram and
systematically calculated the forces. So, whatever the diagram that I have written down
here is known directly as
an active force diagram,
and for the given virtual
displacement I should
recognize the displacement
of configuration very
clearly.
Now, let us look at what is

the work done by the mass
mg mass m. So, I will put this as and I have the expression for h which is given as
. I would like to know what is the incremental variation of (b cos θ + c).
When I put δ for all practical purposes, I treat it as small b; I would do the differential
fine. While we will do virtual work, we will consciously use only that as δ to indicate
that we are dealing with virtual quantities. And when I do this what way this expression
will turn out to be when I differentiate cosθ what happens? I also have another important
aspect that I also get a minus sign. So, I get and c is the constant and it goes to
0.
So, I get this work done by the mass m which is the actual mg as the force into δh; I get
this value as . So, the negative sign shows that the work is negative for a
positive value of θ. So, this is what the explanation from mathematical point of view and
books have lot of confusion in this chapter fine. From one edition to another edition the
author tries to emphasize different aspects and people look at the virtual displacement
individually whether it is positive or negative; here also we are discussing that.
When I have a positive value of δθ, I have a negative value for this; they are oppositely
related is what it shows. And we have always learned that counter clockwise positive and
clockwise is negative; for convenience we change all that θ is measured positive in the
312
clockwise direction. And the explanation given is the external moment will produce
positive work that way and
for δθ it is also taken in the
sense ok.
So, there are lot of

confusions there; let us
solve the confusions like
this fine and then we will
have a detailed discussion
how should we solve the
problem ok; what should
be the emphasis.
The work done by the moment is M δθ, which is very obvious that is also positive
because I have the corresponding displacement in the direction of the force. Now, from
the principle of the virtual work, we are not dealing with friction. So, we would always
use ; not only this as the focus is learning the methodology, we would confine
ourselves to single degree freedom system.
So, you do not even have to verify whether the given problem means single degree
freedom it is a single degree freedom problem. So, that you learn the basics of the
method thoroughly then you can handle multiple degrees of freedom systems. So, I
would just write whatever I have got ; we have already seen plus from
the mathematic we got this as minus. So, when I put it on the other side, I get the
expression .
So, I cancel out δθ; so, I get an expression for θ as . So, I am in a position to
relate the configuration represented by the independent variable θ to the applied moment.
So, when the applied moment changes, the configuration will also change meaning that θ
will change θ is the function of M; it is a very interesting result. Because I am in a
position to find out the configuration because we have such mechanisms used in day to
313
day requirement. Like we saw the painters were able to climb up safely and then paint
the building that is what we saw. And I also mention when you are loading a cargo in the
airplane; they have just one it will quickly lift up very fast its very fast. So, you save
time.
Now, let us look at the

problem from two
perspective one is I can
solve the problems of
mathematics, keep your
eyes close depend only on
your sign convention so on
and so forth or look at the
physics of the problem.
Obviously, you have been listening to me all along I have always been insisting use
mathematics, never forget the physics; physics should be the basis for which you should
solve the problem use mathematics to assist you.
So, let us look at what is

the importance of the
statement.
Now, the problem was

originally coined with θ as
reference, a natural step is
you would use θ and solve
the problem and it so
turned out that when I do
the differentiation it turned out to be negative it was coming so elegantly, there is no
confusion in getting the δW = 0.
314
Suppose I have given you the problem statement as with independent variable as β
because what we have learnt when I have a single degree of freedom system, I need one
independent variable to define the configuration. I can choose any angle to define the
configuration, I can refer it with respect to the horizontal, I can refer with respect to the
vertical; it should not make a difference.
So, let us first collect the data the way we solve the problem earlier, we would just
collect the data and look at what is the kind of answer that we are getting. I can also
write the expression for h, I can also draw the displaced configuration for displaced
configuration I am taking the reference as M, I am actually increasing M so that I can
visualize which way the link will rotate fine I am not making any difference in these two.
Let us get the expression for h; in this case we have already seen that and in
this case, it is .
And when I do the
differentiation what
happens? I get this as a
negative quantity, I get this
as a positive quantity.
And if you have just

followed the mathematics,
you would have just said
and this is .
And you would have just written , I would get in one case a negative
quantity I in another case I will get a positive quantity this is all you would have done.
You know once you start the mathematics you do not apply your thinking on the nuances
when use mathematics you should also look at the nuances. Like we have looked at what
is the definition of θ whether θ is positive, θ is negative, whether δθ is positive, δθ is all
that we are not doing it and, in all likelihood, you will not even think in the examination
fine.
315
So, when I do this when I

write the virtual work
again the same thing.
I would get this answer

like this; I would get
and β as
. You know at
examination hall you will
always get all sorts of sudden intuition; you know cosθ and cos (-θ) are one and the same
ok.
You may also jump to the very convenient conclusion cos inverse is also same.
So, be the whatever the

relation I have obtained;
so, β is erroneous because I
have a relationship
between θ and β. So, what
we have got by blindly
applying the mathematics;
if I take another
independent variable you
end up with a wrong
answer.
316
Let me revisit the same problem and bring in a beautiful way of interpreting the
expressions you get, which will help you to solve a problem consistently no matter which
select and you interpret
finally, the sign of the
work. We have seen work
is a scalar and if I have the
corresponding
displacement in the
direction of the force then I
have the positive work. If
the corresponding
displacement is opposite to
the force then I have
negative work. This is a very strong sort of an idea that would help you to solve the
problem, no matter which
select that is a best way to
do it fine.
So, if I have to do that

what I have to look at is
when I get this h
expression when I get δh;
do not worry about the
sign, you just look at the
modulus. Let us assign the sign of these quantities when we write the virtual work
statement, investigate whether I am doing a positive work or a negative work.
And what is important here? Your neat sketch of the displaced configuration is extremely
important for this; if you do not do that then you connect physically visualize. Here I can
317
physically visualize when I write the δW = 0, I can physically visualize that mg is

moving up. So, mg is doing what kind of work it is doing negative work.
On the other hand M and δβ are all in the same direction, so it is doing a positive work
there is no way I will make a mistake whether I use θ as the independent variable to start
way or whether I take θ as my independent variable to define the configuration is the
idea clear. See some books do say this, but they do not emphasize it fine; we have all
along seen in the case stresses, we had a detailed discussion on sign convention, how to
interpret the force acting on the trust member as tension of compression.
And also, we had a detailed discussion on what is the sign convention used in plotting
shear force diagram and bending moment diagram, I said why sign convention is
important. And how you can solve problems on different books when they have use
different sign convention you can still solve the problem without any difficulty.
On the similar note, when you come to the method of virtual work my recommendation
is draw the displaced configuration as neatly as possible, take 2 minutes in doing that
then in one step you will
write the expressions.
Because the mathematics
involved as very simple the
configurations you are
going to come across are
again going to be simple.
The problem where you
can make a mistake is
when you are writing δW =
0, which one is positive
virtual was which one is
negative virtual work you can visualize it when I have a displaced configuration like this.
My recommendation is; please adopt this approach; we would see what is the way the
expressions are going to come.
318
Please write down I am not finding any one of you are writing the notes, it will look
obvious if you go and want to try it from a book; you will thoroughly get confused.
Because each book is different and it is very difficult to figure out what is the sign
convention that they have used and they do not spell it out very clearly. Many of it is left
your imagination. So, you will understand one problem with same problem is asked you
might max the paper in some other problem is given you will not even know how to
approach it; it is very important.
So, I have this the forced and the corresponding displacement on the same sense. So, I
write the work done as positive and mind you I think I should have put δWm and δWmg
anyway even then it is not put its quite ok; we are dealing in the chapter of method of
virtual work. And here I have indicated the sign as negative because the force and the
corresponding displacement are in opposite directions.
Then the next step to

straight forward; I have
this work done by the force
mg is .
And here again I would get

the final answer is like this
and when I converted into
θ it is one and the same.
So, one and the same I
have not got a different answer by changing the independent variable. Let me also give
you one more variation see in the both the methods where I have looked at whether I
should use θ or β; I have given virtual displacement only to M to start with, then I figured
out what way it will happen to mg.
I can also do it from a different perspective, I can give a virtual displacement to mg do

you get the idea? When I give a virtual displacement mg, mass will come down the mass
319
will do a positive work whereas, M will do a? Negative work a lot of clarity in this I
would appreciate you try that out as a home work. See when you want to learned a
subject take a simple problem look at it from various perspectives you get the concepts
clear, it is not that you
need to solve hundreds of
problems to do it. A single
problem is sufficient to get
the nuances of the concepts
and these are very subtle.
And I have also taken

another problem which is
very similar to what we
have seen yesterday.
Instead of applying a moment, I have applied a force you can also lift it by applying a
force. And here I have deliberately taken the θ as this; I have not taken θ with respect to
vertical I have taken with respect to horizontal. Just to illustrate the point normally
whatever is it is given in the problem; you start with and if you directly apply the
mathematics without thinking which is in all likelihood you may end up when you are in
a hurry to solve the
problem.
So, do not take the

approach of blind
mathematics, draw the
displaced sketch,
investigate while writing
δW = 0, whether this
contributing positive work
or negative work; at that
time, you apply the sign appropriately then you will never make a mistake.
320
So, with that perspective this problem will become very simple; I think this also I have
solved it in two different ways; let me see. And to save space what I have done is I have
cut this because this is too long; it is not drawn proportionately in the sketch; it should
have been longer than this. So, indicated that I have just made a cut you indicate that this
is longer than what is actually shown.
So, initially find out; so, in all problems you first label the active forces or recognize the
active forces, you have the active forces are P and mg. So, first step is identified the
active forces because this practice would help suppose I want to find out the reaction
what way I would do is, I would remove the support put the reaction there and treat it as
an active force that is a trick. When I have to find out reactive forces using principle of
virtual work, I cannot do it the way what I have done it in the case of force method.
Here I remove the support put the unknown force as an active force and allow it to move
the way dictated by the constraint of the system it is the trick that you will have to do.
So, I have the replaced configuration, so when I put force like this, I get this displaced
the mass moves up. So, your sketch should be sufficiently neat enough to show the
relative movements, if you do not draw a neat sketch you can add even when you want to
assign sign later while writing the expression δW = 0. Sketch is very important if you do
not do the proper sketch then you can mess up the whole thing.
So, I have the value θ and I should recognize this as θ decreasing; see what happens is
one of the conventions people uses, they look at from the coordinate point of view. If the
distance increases that virtual displacement is positive, if the angle increase the virtual
displacement is positive, if the angle decreases virtual displacement is negative. All that
can lead to confusion because if you individually assign a sign for displacement,
individually assign a sign for the forces you are ultimately looking at the product and if
you do not handle these independent sign conventions properly you can mess it up.
On the other hand, you look at the product from the perspective whether force and the
corresponding displacement are on the same direction. For example, we are accustomed
to calling an anti clockwise moment was positive, clockwise moment as negative. On the
other hand, if a clockwise moment adds and the corresponding displacement is clockwise
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the net product is still positive which you can easily visualize. So, do not go in for a sign
convention independently for a force, independently for a virtual displacement look at
the product that is a message I am trying to convey.
If I have β then β is increasing θ is decreasing, but β is increasing for this configuration.
So, it is desirable that my work is . So, the idea here is one way of looking at
the problem is look at the problem and choose an independent variable, so that your
mathematics is consistent or if I have to use this if I want to have θ to increase I can also
visualize that M comes down and θ increases and you have a negative work at P from
mathematics also you can solve.
But there are more pit falls while applying at you can make a mistake. On the other hand,
whichever the force you are taken for the virtual displacement as a reference draw the
displaced configuration from the geometry identify the internal relationship do not put
the sign for the incremental quantities, investigate whether the work done is positive or
negative and write the virtual work equation. That is full proof you will never make a
mistake no matter which
select whether you handle
one active force as a
reference or the other
active force as a reference
because the problem can
be solved in multiple
different ways. So, here
what I have by indicated
this I will strict to the
mathematics instead of
writing my interrelationship in terms of θ I would write in terms of β.
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And rest of the problem is straightforward I have the same procedure and I have this and
this turns out to be like this and I get the expression.
And this is very clear that

this just positive work, so I
have this like this and this
gives me the final
expression ,
when I put , I get
this as . So, what

I have attempted to show
here is if the problem is coin with a particular independent variable and you are going to
give a virtual displacement in one of the forces is convenient to you; you may change the
independent variable and
solve the problem from a
mathematical perspective.
Instead my
recommendation is look at
the same problem because
I have the luxury, I can put
the same slide again and
then start the discussion.
So, I have this displaced, I retain the same independent variable indicated in the problem,
I get an expression for h, find out what is the incremental change, do not assign a sign
here look at only the quantity.
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And also, for the work

done by the I think it
should be the force it is
not the moment because it
is cut and paste in
preparing all these slides
this is the force here ok,
so . Now, while
writing this expression
recognize that the force and the corresponding displacement on the same direction that it
is positive. The force and the corresponding displacement δh in this case are in opposite
sense. So, you get the expression like this I directly get .
So, my recommendation is; get the incremental quantities, do not assign the sign,
investigate for each of the active forces look at the virtual displacement and find out
whether they are in the same direction or opposite direction. If the corresponding
displacement is the same direction as the force, then you take that virtual work
contribution as positive, if they are opposite it is negative then you will find method of
virtual work is very elegant and simple any problem that is given to you; you can
comfortably solve it there is no difficulty at all.
So, that is the approach I would recommend you finally, investigate from the neat sketch,
if you draw the sketch wrongly then this method also can give surprising distance, for me
to identify that P does positive work or mg does negative work I must have clear sketch
drawn.
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Let us take a one more problem it is very interesting this is what I said in some of the
toys that they have this,
they will not have just one
unit like this several units
and suddenly they will put
like this it will come and
pop and hit at you that toys
use to enjoy I could not get
one I was seen it in the
trains that they come and
sell.
So, here a force P is

applied at the end of the mass less links of length b each and they are all pin jointed
without friction. And when the force P is applied to pull it what is the moment required
to maintain the equilibrium of the mechanism you have to get it by the method of virtual
work. And you know you should also look at what are the constraints illustrated in the
problem.
Obviously, when I pull this, it has to have a freedom to come down, so I have a slot here
which allows that end to
move up or down
depending on which
direction I apply the force
P, if I pull it will come
down, if I reverse the
direction this will go up.
So, you have the facility
provided in your
mechanism there is the slot
which allows this pin to
move up or down. So, that is a constraint; that constraint is very clearly specified. And
the first step in virtual work is identify the active forces; active forces are P and M.
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And I have the angle θ referred with respect to the horizontal and make a line sketch of
this problem and what I am going to do is? See it is easier for me to visualize I am
applying the force P; I am trying to pull it out. So, I would visualize what is the displaced
configuration when I slightly increase the force P it is easy for me to do. On the other
hand, if somebody wants to increase M and then draw the displaced configuration that
will also have to give the same value for this problem is the idea clear.
See I am giving a virtual displacement for a given configuration to establish the

interrelationship. I am not supposed to get one result if I have a virtual displacement, I
give it to force P or I give a virtual displacement to force M. If I give it for M recognize
what way P will get displaced? If I give it for P recognize what way M will get
displaced.
And when I look with P it is natural, I expect virtual displacement in the direction of P is
the idea clear. On the other hand, if I go and look at M as a reference its natural for me to
visualize in the direction of M, this is what people will do easy for you to do that. So, if I
take P as a reference P will do a positive virtual work, if I take M as a reference M will
do a positive virtual work. Either way I should get only one answer I should not get
different answers, so, this is one aspect that you have to keep in mind.
Suppose, I put the angle with respect to the vertical then also I should get one unique
answer because it is the single degree freedom system no matter what independent
variable I select, no matter which active force I give a virtual displacement to start with
because they are interrelated for me to start with I had visualize. So, here I would
visualize when P is given virtual displacement how does the links get displaced. I am
pulling it out and you should visualize that this has to come down and θ would decrease.
You should recognize all that your sketch should be sufficiently big enough to recognize
this aspect; this aspect is very important. If you get this then virtual work is the simplest
methodology for you to solve a variety of problem.
So, make a neat sketch and recognize that when I give a positive displacement δx it also
does positive virtual work, and you can see very clearly here the virtual displacement δθ
is opposite to the moment M. Now, we have to establish what is δθ and δx from the given
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configuration of the system. So, do not assign sign there that is a message I am trying to
give, when you differentiate some cases you may get positive value, some case you may
get negative value; If the problem is posed in such a manner that negative value is
acceptable and then you get a right answer, you may get satisfy that you have solve the
problem correctly, but you are not have got the concepts clearly.
On the other hand, if you investigate the sign of the virtual work there is very small
likely hood for you to make a mistake. So, the recommendation is; investigate the
product, do not investigate independently the sign convention for the force and
independently the sign
convention for virtual
displacement.
So, I get this

interrelationship between θ
and x as .
This you should be
comfortable in doing a by
looking at the inspection of
the geometry, there you have to visualize very straight forward and you can find out
what is it, this expression you can easily write.
Now, I differentiated I do not recognize this sign because I am looking only at the
modulus. I write this expression as δW = 0, then I can write the expression like this and I
get the final step I have recognize that the moment is contributing to negative virtual
work and the force P is contributing to positive virtual work. So, then I get an expression
in one shot, I nock of this δθ and I get an interrelation between the two, I can also
determine θ from this . So, it is very interesting, so in this chapter you are in a
position to find out the position of equilibrium.
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Since you are solved this you know can also make an attempt as a home work to solve an
extended version of this
and this is also giving you
some exposure to certain
other aspects of
engineering. What I have
here is? I have a screw here
and when I have a screw it
will have a pitch, it will
have a lead these are all the
terminologies I would like
you to Google it and refer
what is a pitch of a screw
what is a lead of a screw, and in your workshop practice you would have done lathe
cutting, you would have a leads screw rotating whereas, this tool post is linearly moving
ok.
So, you can also go and try it out take a bolt and nut hold the net and rotate the screw
you will find the net will have a linear motion fine, if you hole the nut. Something like
that is used here, so when I rotate this nut the point B can move forward or backward
depending on the sign of the moment you must recognize that. So, you should recognize
go to the definition of what is the lead of a screw I want you to do some homework on
that. So, that you also learned little bit of engineering terminologies.
The only thing new here how to relate the rotation to the linear movement, rest of all
instead of one link which we saw earlier I have two links, I will have change in
expression, the problem is straight forward. The only aspect which you do not have a
background now is what way to interpret rotation of a screw to linear momentum of
point B you figure that out fine, take that as an exercise for you to do it should also
understand what is the lead of a screw.
So, in this class we have learned how to solve the problem in the method of virtual work.
I have given a very important recommendation. Whenever you encounter a problem in
virtual work, first identify the active forces, then visualize the displaced configuration
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and make a neat sketch out of it. From the displaced configuration identify what is the
sign of the virtual work by each of the active forces. So, look at the contribution if the
force and the corresponding displacement on the same direction, then the contribution of
the active force for a virtual work is positive.
If the force and the displacement are in opposite direction then its contribution is
negative, this would help you to solve the problem without any difficulty. But the
important requirement is you need to have a neat sketch of the displaced configuration
and you should also have visualization of the physics of the system. The physical system
visualization is very important and, in a sense, it will also help you appreciate
engineering better. Physical visualizations are very important in engineering, so use
virtual work as the vehicle for you to learn that.
Thank you.
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Prof. K. Ramesh
Module – 01
Statics
Lecture – 16
Energy Relations
So, let us continue our

discussion on Engineering
Mechanics we will move
on to the next chapter on
stability. See in the force
method, we have really
investigated to keep the
body in equilibrium what
are the supporting
reactions that you require.
Then we investigated positions of equilibrium and in this chapter, we are going to
discuss, what contributes
to its stability how do you
define stability and how do
you verify for stability of a
given system.
And you know springs are

indispensable, you have
many appliances that use
springs for their regular
330
functionality. Even though we say that we will confine our attention to rigid body
mechanics, because springs are so, important we would like to analyse in some manner
even in this course.
And one of the ways that you can recognise spring is it stores energy when it is pulled,
and we know that the force is related to the displacement as F = kx. And whatever the
force that you apply on the spring the work done gets stored in the form of elastic
potential energy. That is nothing but, the triangle that you have and the value is
. In reality, even though you call and you have idealised the bodies as rigid
when you go to the next level of course, where you relax this and say that they are
deformable you recognise their behaviour similar to a spring, maybe it has a very high
stiffness than a normal spring that you come across. So, whatever you analyse for this
spring can be easily extrapolated to deformable solids, and I said that you would first
start in the domain of small deformations then we will graduate to large deformation.
And let us look at the

nuances when I say
potential energy; I have
one sign, when I have
work done; I have another
sign. We have to
understand these sign
conventions very clearly
for us to apply the
methodology, and I take a
spring-loaded member I give a virtual displacement δx.
And whatever the virtual work that is done is also stored as a virtual change in elastic
potential energy. So, we need to calculate what is the elastic potential energy, I have
displaced it by a virtual displacement δx and we write the expression for the virtual
change in elastic potential energy as and we have seen for a spring force is
proportional to the displacement. Now, how do I express this force?
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Can I say this force is k(x + δx). Can I afford to say it like this? We have to be very
careful see we are dealing with virtual displacements. In virtual displacements, we give a
virtual displacement we do not considered the force that it necessary to a virtual
displacement. So, I cannot have the magnitude of force as k(x + δx), I will have to have
the force only as kx very subtle point. So, I would write the elastic potential energy
virtual change of it as kx δx.
Now, let us look at what is the work done on the spring. I have given a displacement δx
and I look at what is the restoring force, this is the restoring force in which way the force
and the displacements are directed, the displacement is opposite to the direction of the
force. When the force and displacement are opposite to each other what is the sign of the
work done it has to be negative.
So, you have to understand the certain difference. So, when I say the elastic potential
energy is kx δx, the virtual work done δW = - kx δx, this is what is written down this
point. So, work done on the body is a negative of the potential energy change of the
spring.
We have looked at it for a

spring, we will also
investigate what happens
to the body force due to
gravitation. When we
develop the method of
virtual work of
gravitational force was
treated like any other active force. We have not treated it like an energy, if you treat it
like an energy it is easier for you to visualise how do we bring in stability in a
mathematical sense ok.
We have now replaced the elastic spring as elastic potential energy. We would also look
at any change due to gravitational effects you know very well, that the force and the
displacement are opposite in direction you will say the work done as . But I
332
can also see when I have this as a datum where I say the potential energy due to
gravitation is 0; I would recognise this displacement of δh as so there is
definitely a sign change between the potential energy and the virtual work, they are
opposite to each other in the sign.
So, this is summarised here for an upward displacement δh, the work done is negative,
for an upward displacement the potential energy stored Vg is positive.
So, what is its influence

then we look at in the
principle of virtual work,
we have studied that if
virtual work done equal to
0 then the system is under
equilibrium. I can now
bring in the energy terms
and rewrite the principle of
virtual work. So, we have
seen the work done by a spring is the negative of the change in the elastic potential
energy of the spring. Similarly, work done by weight is the negative change in
gravitational potential energy.
So, when I have a system that has springs as well as vertical position of members move.
One can replace the work of the spring and the work of the weight by the negative of the
respective potential changes you know in words it looks very complicated.
333
But if I put it as a mathematical equation it is as simple as this . This is

nothing but, recasting your principle of virtual work equation involving change in
potential energy. And
when you say δW you
qualify that these are the
virtual work done by all
external active forces other
than spring forces and
gravitational forces
because they are separately
included for spring and
separately included for any
vertical movement of the
system. Now, the question is how do I solve problems involving springs, because springs
gets compressed and they store elastic potential energy.
There are different ways of handling this particularly in Mariam, he treats this as a
separate chapter, in other books they talk in continuation of the virtual work, without any
major distinction. By including an elastic member as part of the system the force of
interaction between it and the movable member are internal and need not be shown we
have looked at in this chapter on virtual work.
We do not have to draw a free body diagram we need to have an active force diagram
because we recognise the supports do not contribute to work done and internal forces the
net work done is 0. So, we worry only about active forces, and we have included the role
of an elastic member like a spring by energy term, I can treat that as an internal force.
And suppose, I have this link has some weight in many problems we have solved it
without considering the weight of the member and in some problems, we have
considered the weight of the links. So, when we use the energy approach you do not even
show the gravitational forces, but we include that as a term involving Vg, because we
have recast that virtual work equation as . So, we have to use an active force
diagram minus the gravitational forces in such a case.
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What is the way I can

solve the problem, is there
any other method? I can
also replace the elastic
number by an active force.
See this is the trick that
people employ when I
have to find out the support
reactions, there again
replace the support by the
respective forces which we have modelled earlier and then treat that as an unknown
active force your virtual work equation will finally, give you what is the value of that
reaction.
So, when you learn by using this method 2 you also know how to handle the spring as
well as how to handle a reactive force. So, I would replace the presence of a spring by
another force F1 which is given as F1=kx. So, you use an active force diagram that
includes the new forces
and then solve the
problem. So, I have δW = 0
it is the basic equation.
And you could have right

hand side replaced by
energy that is what is listed
here or treat this spring as
an active force in this
direction and write basically this equation.
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Now, we have seen spring

can be replaced by an
equivalent form of
potential energy. Suppose,
I considered every member
forming the system is also
deformable I can also find
out the work done by other
forces equivalent to an
energy change. If I do that
δW = 0 simply becomes, . In this we have accommodated the behaviour of all

other systems which we have earlier treated as active force and calculated the work done
you could also replace it as a change in elastic potential energy in that case the equation
simply becomes δV=0.
Another form of writing

the virtual work equation
in terms of potential
energy and this makes it
elegant for us to discuss
about stability. So,
equilibrium configuration
of a mechanical system is
one for which the total
potential energy of the system has a stationary value, and for a system of one degree of
freedom the potential energy and its derivatives are continuous functions of the single
variable x we have discussed what is the meaning of degree of freedom.
And we said you have how many independent variables that are required to specify the
configuration of the system for such systems the condition δV =0 is equivalent to simply
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dV/dx = 0. So, a mechanical system is in equilibrium when the derivative of its potential
energy is 0. So, to arrive at this statement we started with the virtual work then we
included the action of a spring then the gravitational potential energy.
Then all the energy contribution because of all other active forces also replaced as
equivalent to an elastic potential energy then we are able to write and state that a
mechanical system is in equilibrium when the derivative of its potential energy is 0. This
is for a single degree
freedom of system.
Suppose I have multi

degree of freedom system
instead of a total derivative
like what we have seen the
partial derivative of V with
respect to each co ordinate
in turn must be 0 for
equilibrium. That is where the difference comes when you move from a single degree
freedom system to multiple degree freedom system.
And you know this you

must have learnt it in your
earlier courses. So, we
have a nice example here.
So, what is a meaning of
stable equilibrium unstable
equilibrium and what is the
neutral equilibrium, we
also looked at the
associated mathematical condition.
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When the second derivative I have a stable equilibrium and when I have this is a
stable equilibrium, when I have I have a unstable equilibrium when I have dV /d x.
Normally, people say dV /d x = 0, when you have = 0 and = 0 all these also leads
to a neutral equilibrium condition.
So, this is the way you will verify when I write the potential energy find out its
derivatives based on the second derivative you are in a position to say whether it is stable
or unstable.
Suppose, I have a situation

the second derivative is 0,
we also have situations
occasionally the second
derivative of V is also 0 is
at equilibrium positions. In
such a case examine the
sign of a higher order
derivative and if you do
that if the lowest remaining non zero derivative is even the equilibrium will be stable if it
is positive, unstable if it is negative.
On the other hand, if the lowest remaining non zero derivative is odd the equilibrium is
unstable all this comes from study of mathematics. We use that as a basis for us to
investigate the stability. So, we have a recipe, I have to get the potential energy form of
the virtual work and then look at the derivatives and comment about stability.
338
Let us solve one example problem, make a neat sketch of this problem first understand
the physics of the problem what I have here is I have a member like this to make our
lives simple I have not
considered the mass the
problem says consider that
the mass of the bar is
negligible. So, we only
understand the role of a
spring and what you can do
is, when you apply the
force you can visualise the
spring will get stretched
horizontally when I leave
the force it will come back to its original position and what is shown here as a circle you
have to appreciate this is not a sharp corner.
But a very smooth corner so that this bar can move up and down smoothly. There is a
very smooth interaction here, and what we would do is we would try to solve this
problem in two different
ways treat spring as part of
the system then I bring in
the role of a spring in
terms of its potential
energy, treat role of spring
as an active force. Remove
the spring replace it by an
active force and solve the
problem.
So, first aspect is we have to visualise when I apply the force what happens to the system
and thing it is also stated in the problem when x is 0 spring is unstretched that is also
given in the problem statement. Now, let me give a small virtual displacement to it. You
339
have to recognise that this link also will move, see in all problems dealing with virtual
work you have to bring back your knowledge of geometry.
Properties of triangles, properties of circles depending on the problem context you may
have to use them appropriately, you have to physically visualise when I give a virtual
displacement how the system gets displaced. And for example; if I have original length
of this member is s, from this point to the roller here when I visualise a virtual
displacement, I must also
recognise this length
changes by a small
measure δs.
So, I have to bring that

from the geometry of the
system ok. So, the spring is
stretched by a distance δx
and the rod from this
corner point to the roller
has displaced by a distance
δs.
So, let us first solve it spring as part of the system. So, I would replace the spring by its
energy and even before I do that, I get the relationship for the link s it is not labelled
here. But, what I mean is s is the length from this corner to the roller comes straight from
your geometry as and then the work done by the force because when I say
work done I am going to write only the active force the active force is only this. Spring I
am going to bring in the form of elastic potential energy.
So, I write δW as and you can visualise that force and displacement on the same
directions so this is positive. So, I get this as and when I put the differentiation,
I get this finally, as .
340
Now, I find that I have moved it by a distance δx, whatever the movement has increased
the elastic potential energy of the spring that is given as kx δx. You know I would not
solve the problem right here; this is a set of relations I get when I treat spring as part of
the system bring in the role of spring by replacing it auctioned by an elastic potential
energy. Then I will say δW =δVe and then solve for the value. What I will do now is I
will replace this spring by an active force, I do not have a spring but I have replaced it by
a force F1.
So, I have on this system

two active forces force F
and F 1 are acting. So,
when I write δW = 0, I
must write the contribution
of work done by this force
as well as the work done
by this force, we borrow
the same information from
the earlier slide. So, this is known , when I write for this the force and the
displacements are in
opposite direction. Here
again, I raise the question
can I write it as
just to caution you we are
not worried about the
virtual force required to
cause the virtual
displacement δx.
341
So, the force still remains as F1 = kx force and displacement are in opposite direction. So,
I get this as . So, you find the ultimate equation is same here when I put δW
= 0. I am going to get = kx δx.
I get the same answer

whether I treat spring as
part of the system or
replace the spring by an
active force, there are one
and the same.
So, I get this

when I treat spring as a
part of the system. So, I
get this expression, I have already mentioned then even if I use the virtual work method
replacing the spring by an active force final expression would be identical to this there is
no change. So, I can easily solve for relationship between x and F. So,
when you solve for this, I get the expression for x as and you also have a
condition provided .
See in many of these instances you may have to design what should be the spring I
should use for this system we would also solve a problem like this, you know we have
looked at a linear spring we would also take a torsional spring which is available in your
cycle carrier, when you lift the carrier, when you leave your hand that automatically
comes down any angular displacement you give it comes back to its normal position
there is a restoring force that brings it back. So, when I say spring it can be a linear
spring or it can be a torsional spring like we have a linear displacement and angular
displacement. We would also see a problem a little while later.
342
Now, we would take

another very simple
problem, we already know
even before solving the
problem whet is the
stability of this system.
This is just to verify, what
are the basic mathematical
equations we have got or
convincing for us to carry
on. So, we have taken a very simple problem make a neat sketch of it and in the problem
statement itself it is shown at a generic position which is oriented at an angle θ and I
have this mass pivoted at the joint O; that means, it is a pin joint the mass can move
freely over it. The question is, what are the positions of equilibrium for this mass?
Not only that of these equilibrium positions you have to identify the position which is
stable even before solving the problem you can visualize which is the stable position for
θ; θ = 0o could be one answer θ =180o could be another answer. And it is also easy for us
to see when the mass is at the lower end it is very stable if the mass is vertically up even
if a small wind comes and
hits it from left or right it
will display its position.
All problems dealing with
stability you have to
visualise a perturbation
small perturbation.
So, here it is completely

dealing with gravitational
effects. So, I need to
343
recognise a datum in all problems dealing with gravitational potential energy, I must
have a reference datum from which I make the measurements.
So, I have identified the datum here and I can simply write this, it is so simple and easy
that this is nothing, but because the mg is at a height of bcosθ from the
datum. So, I have an expression for V, now I have to take the derivatives I get
So, that gives me two solution for θ and sinθ is 0; sinθ is 0 when θ is 0 or 180o this is to
check the equilibrium and I need to get the higher derivative to check for stability. So,
when I do this, I get this as . Now, let us investigate what happens to this
when θ is 0o or 180o.
So, you have cos 0 is 1.
So, I find is
negative and this is
unstable. So, if I sketch the
configuration this is the
configuration when θ = 0
because θ is referred with
respect to the vertical and you can see I can balance it at this position even if there is a
small disturbance this will get dislodged. So, our mathematics is also agreeing to that
intuitive appreciation of the system. So, our mathematics is right, and when I have θ is
180o I have cos (180) becomes -1. I get this as positive and this is a stable configuration.
So, when I plot the same configuration of the system at θ =180o this is at the bottom and
you can very well see that its quite stable, it is a naturally most stable configuration for
the given system fine. So, this problem is fairly simple and straight forward.
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Then we move on to
another interesting
problem, you make a neat
sketch of this, see these
days prosthetics design is
becoming very prominent
mainly because of our own
making because you know
we have lot of avenues for
people to get involved in
accidents and they lose their limbs and you need to have some kind of prosthetics
support and this is a very interesting problems.
It is also dealing with practical stuff and you have to understand what is the stability see
it is a common experience when you stand on your legs, if somebody comes and put a
small force at the knee joint from behind you cannot remain stable you would buckle.
Now, the question here is you have idealized the persons weight as mass m and then you
have also modelled his leg as having two links like this I have a link of length b and then
another link of length b which is not true because your leg is not like that it is a very cool
and simple approximation. So, you solve a problem and then have a joy that you have
solved something pragmatic and practical ok.
And replace your knee functionality by a torsional spring. So, this will develop the
restoring force depending on the angular position of the leg and you have given in the
problem statement the spring develops a torque M = kb. I am sorry it is k into β and this β
is measured from this arm. And you measure what is the orientation of this see this is the
problem is basically a symmetric problem that is how we have modelled it and that is
why it says a simple model to simulate the artificial leg it is a very simple and crude
model gives a very nice problem in this course to solve.
345
The idea is what should be the spring stiffness for a given mass so that we would be in a
position to ensure stability for the knee joint when β = 0, when the leg is straight what
should be the minimum value of the spring stiffness see that is a design problem. If you
put an inappropriate spring the person with this prosthetic leg can never stand straight, he
will always collapse. You need to have a minimum value you can have a value larger
than that from a design perspective you should know what should be the minimum value
ok.
And the next slide shows

your leg and usually we
will have this shorter and
this is slightly longer ok.
So, this is a very idealised
condition that is what you
have to look at.
And so you have a datum here and I have the mass lumped here, the entire weight of the
person is idealised as like
this and we have to bring
in your property of the
triangles and find out what
is this angle that is also
again very simple, but I am
only altering you please go
back and refresh your
understanding of geometry.
We will not pay attention
on that in discussing that in
the course, but that background is needed for solving problems.
346
So, I have these angles as from geometry it is β/2, I have these angles at β/2 from the
property of a triangle you get this then I can easily write what is Vg; Vg is nothing, but
I have here another here. So, twice of that contributes to the

potential energy and if I take this as the datum.
So, in all your problems dealing with energy where you have to calculate the
gravitational potential energy precisely indicate the datum position. If the datum position
is different all your calculations will be appropriately modified and you have the spring
the stiffness is given as k.
See usually stiffness is given by the small k in the problem statement it is put as big k,
but in the problem solving it is taken as small k I think you can understand it based on
the context. So, I get the
elastic potential energy as
here only gravitational

potential energy and elastic
potential energy is there,
we have considered this as
mass less links. So, the
total potential energy is
simply . So, I get
this as .
So, now you differentiate this, differentiating with respect to β . I

ensure stability for β = 0 this goes to 0 there is no problem.
So, at β = 0 it is in equilibrium, to look for stability I have to get the second derivative
from this if I differentiate, I get this as . So, this gives me a minimum

condition for it to be positive it has to be 0 then only it becomes positive ok. So, I am in a
347
position to get a condition to ensure what should be the torsional stiffness of the spring
that I should put it if I have to develop a prosthetics to replace your knee joint; very
simplified problem.
We have given colour to

that problem by bringing it
similarity to a leg one can
improve the model in
several fold and for β = 0 it
is stable if if it is
equal to you have d2V / dx2
= V θ2 = 0 we would like to
have this as positive for stability. So, I have to get this stiffness greater than very
interesting problem and then we move on to another problem. So, I have this , we
will also move on to
another problem.
This is slightly involved

with you have a mass you
have two springs and this
springs help it to maintain
stability of this and what is
stated in the problem is the
vertical pendulum is
supported by two springs as shown, which are compressed equally at this position they
are not in the normal condition they are compressed because of the weight. Let the spring
stiffness of each of these springs be k.
348
Determine the maximum height h of the mass m and you have determined the height
from the pivotal position, from the pivotal position to the centre of mass it is h.
Determine the maximum height h of the mass m for which the inverted pendulum will be
stable in the vertical position shown, to make our life simple the problem itself states for
simplicity in analysis neglect the mass of the remainder of this mechanism. We do not
worry about all this limbs we will get a first approximation get a physics of the problem
see in all problems dealing with stability we should start with some displaced position
you should understand if there is a displacement from where the restoring force comes to
make it bring it back to the
original position.
You have to visualize that.

In some problems the
problem statement itself
gives you the displaced
position. So, it is easy for
you to solve in this case
you are asked to find out
what happens at the
vertical position.
For me to write the mathematics I must first visualise what is the kind of change when
there is a disturbance and that is shown in a nice animation here. So, if there is an
angular motion one of the springs will compressed more. So, it will have a restoring
force that is what is shown in the; I think we can go back and then see the situation our
self. So, if it is displaced like this and you will have a restoring force because of the
springs.
The springs help it to bring it back to the equilibrium position. So, let the initial
compression in the spring be taken as Δ and here I have no other active force, we have a
energy due to gravitation because of this mass and later on we will not write it as m into
g we will simply replace it by the weight W, and I have two springs, instead of one
spring I have two springs. So, I have to take care of both the springs when I write the
349
elastic potential energy, I should not ignore one spring I should handle both the springs
properly. So, I have the total potential energy is given as and I have given you a
generic displacement
position.
I have the vertical axis it is

displaced by a small angle
θ. For this configuration if
you write the contribution
of gravitational potential
energy the contribution of
elastic potential energy by
the springs the problem is
done. But then the rest is
simple mathematical expressions you have to get dV/ dθ and then d2V / dθ2.
So, I have this let me write that basic equation which is written down very nicely. So,
you have to visualise that this is displaced this spring is compressed more and this spring
is slightly elongated.
So, when I have this, I have this compressed, when I have some θ, I move by an angle δθ
I have this as and for the other spring it is . In one spring it is a positive
compression and another spring is stretched so the original compression is released
originally, we have seen that the springs were compressed in this position. So, you need
to have that otherwise if the springs are not compressed there will not be any restoring
force fine and the contribution of potential energy from the weight is very clear.
From this datum this is simply h cosθ, this is easy to write probably you would write for
one spring you must also right for the other spring carefully. That is where your sketch
here one spring is compressed another string is stretched would help you to write for one
spring it is on half of for another spring it is rest of it is simple.
350
I find out what is dV/ dθ now differentiating with respect to θ I get dV/ dθ as
and
. So, in all
this problem dealing with
virtual work you should be
able to visualise the
displaced configuration,
that is the training. So,
always put the displaced
configuration then you
would be able to write the
mathematics clearly.
For θ tending to 0 is positive if . So, that gives me h should be .
So, you run a position to establish what should be the height of the mass that can be kept
in the vertical pendulum so that it functions like a pendulum h cannot exceed this value it
should be less than . So, this chapter we have discussed about stability of
equilibrium.
So, this completes statics in all its totality in the absence of friction. We initially looked
at by force method what are the reactive forces that are necessary to keep the body in
equilibrium in the method of virtual work; we investigated what are the different
positions of equilibrium. In stability we are forced to recognise deformable solids, even
the members, which were originally considered as rigid were treated more like a spring.
So, we were able to rewrite the virtual work expression in terms of potential energy from
that we could discuss about and find out the stability of the equilibrium of the system.
Thank you.
351
Prof. K. Ramesh
Module – 01
Statics
Lecture – 17
Review Before Quiz I
So, in this class let us review the subject that we have learned so far and you know in the
first chapter we discussed the force systems. We have looked at a concurrent force which
is also seen in trusses and we discussed in practice all forces are actually distributed.
When I have a pin and a hole contact; we replace it by a concentrated force and if you
really look at what happens, you have a distribution rigid body is an idealization,
concentrated force is also an idealization goes hand in hand with rigid body idealization.
Then we have also looked at body force you have from rotating platform like this and
another important concept is we have to quantify what is the rotating effect of the force;
we understood; what is the
meaning of a bending
moment and so on and so
forth.
And one of the important

concepts that we
understood in the process
was transmissibility of
force. When we are
looking at the external effects, it is independent of the point of application of the force
along its line of action and if I make the board smart with this force; it will move
forward. Suppose, I move the force to the back and then make the board smart it will also
move forward. So, the external effect does not change and what you understand is
pulling or pushing is produces the same effect on the body under consideration.
352
Suppose I look at what

happens when I apply two
forces like this, this is
applying a tension a rigid
body by definition will not
have any change. If the
body is deformable it
would get elongated, if the
body has a compressive
force it would get
compressed. And what we learnt was even though the internal effect is different the
shape of a rigid body will not change by definition; it makes our life fairly simple at the
initial stages of the course.
We have also learned force is a sliding vector, slides along the line of action. And
particularly this is useful when you have to reduce a given force system into its resultant
or when I have multiple forces acting on it. If I have to find out the resultant you use the
principle of transmissibility to simplify the force system and find out the resultant
comfortably.
Then the important concept

that we learnt was what is
the meaning of resolution
of a force into a force and a
couple, I take point P1 and
I have a force F acting on
it I can freely move this
along its line of action.
Suppose, I want to find out what is the effect of the force acting at point P1 to point P2, I
cannot simply move the force to point P2.
353
Suppose, I want to maintain the external effect as same; I can add another force and
subtract here, I have put this force here and I have subtracted this force here this is
similar to what is the situation here. Since, we have learnt what is the meaning of a
couple force system; we could visualize the force here and this force here would form a
couple and you have the perpendicular distance as d. So, I can visualize sliding a force
from this point P1 to P2; it actually amounts to in addition to a force you also have a
moment and we found that this is a free vector.
I can slide the force along its line of action; it is fairly simple, but if I have to move the
force from point P1 to P2, if I have to maintain the external effect, I have to have a force
as well as a couple. And this is what we said finds repeated applications in the study of
mechanics and I have also advice that you should master this technique and you can also
reverse the above
procedure. If I have a
couple and a force, I could
find the force acting at
some arbitrary point which
we will have to find out the
location.
And we understood the

subtleties between the
moment and a couple by taking this example, I have a force acting on this handle. Now I
want to find out what is the effect of this force on this shaft, the free body diagram is
shown here.
Let us go in stages I have the force acting at this point at a distance b away from the
plane on which I want to find out its effect. I would move this force horizontally like
this, we know I cannot move this force horizontally unless I have a couple fine. So, this
would result a couple which is given here which will be F into b; then I would move this
force from this level to the level of the x axis.
354
So, I have this force when it is moved what I will have is I would have a force acting on
it as well as a twisting moment. My ultimate interest is to rotate the shaft, but if I apply
the force with one pin like this it would introduce the force as well as an additional
moment Fb. On the other hand, if I put an equal and opposite force system it would only
produce a twisting moment on the shaft. So, this brings out a subtle difference between
rotating the shaft with one handle, rotating the shaft with two pins attached to the handle
fine.
So, we have a necessary

foundation and one of the
common doubts the
students had was you had
shown a beam and there is
a welded arm like this I
have a force P acting on it.
And when we discuss in
the class, we replace the
force which is acting at a distance on an extended arm as a force and a couple acting at
point B.
This comes out naturally if you look at how do you apply the principles that you have
learnt. But the doubt was you said the force is following a principle of transmissibility
why not I simply move the force and find out the bending moment acting on the B. Why
not I do that, it is because you are not understood the concept very clearly and I would
counter it by another example.
See in this case when I move this force there the member is still there and then you are
able to have the force hitting on the member. The member as such does not feel the force
like this, it is feeling only at the point of weld that is where the confusion is.
355
Suppose I have another problem where I attach a bar like this and I weld it here, I apply
the force here. Now let me use your argument of transmissibility, I have this is the line of
action and then the force is
moved along the line of
action, it is not hit;
touching the body of the
beam anywhere like in the
previous example.
When I have a force

system like this you would
naturally feel, I cannot
move the force like this
and then try to find out
what is the effect on the body. You would only see that this is the arm attached to this
body and you would naturally reduce this as a couple acting like this. You have to look
at; yes, principle of transmissibility tells pushing or pulling has no difference.
But you cannot apply it randomly when I have a beam, when I have an extended arm
where I put the load; the beam senses that force only at the point where it is attached. So,
you have to apply the principle properly when you want to understand what is the force
system that is happening on the beam, is the idea clear? This is one of the doubts that
students have raised why not I simply transmit the force?
See once, I put here this will be a force which can go in the line of action, that is fine
simple for the resolution or simplification you can do that. But the beam as such does not
feel this force, the way that you want to translate and then look at it; it feels this force as
a moment acting at this point the same argument is valid for the previous example also.
356
Now, we move on to solving a simple problem in three-dimensions, my idea is I have

deliberately focused on two-dimensions. I said at this level of the course you have to
visualize what happens and visualization is far simpler when you are handling two-
dimensional problems.
I would like you to

visualize whether the
bending moment is acting
in the clockwise direction
or anti-clockwise direction
that training has to come;
which can come when you
solve two-dimensional
problem it is easy to scale
up to three-dimensions. It
is not a big deal at all, fine; and this is also a problem given in your assignment sheet. So,
you have a transmitting tower and you have this supported by three guy wires and the
problem also specifies
what should be the
selection of the coordinate
system fine.
And when I have to do a

problem like this, I have to
first identify the
coordinates of the key
points. I have point A and
then I have point B, I have
point C that comes from your geometry, then you have to have the coordinate of point D.
Then I have these guy wires are cut and they would essentially transmit tension, we also
label them as fA fB and fC and the first and foremost step is, I need to find out the unit
357
vector along these forces fine. And for me to write the unit vector its easier if I write the
coordinates first and I take if I have to find out the unit vector from D to A. So, final
minus initial divided by the distance that gives me the unit vector like this.
And similarly, I will have

to do for the fB and fC. So,
there is no big deal I mean
you have to do little more
mathematics. So, that is the
reason why I said that let
us not focus on three-
dimensional problems,
concepts can be better
understood when you solve
two-dimensional problem
and you will also be forced
to visualize, that visualization is very important for engineering fine. So, I get the unit
vectors along these directions.
And then you have a

simple mathematics I have
to find out what is the
tensile force acting on the
guy wire, I get this value
because it is given in the
problem what is a tension
in A and I have a unit
vector. So, similarly I can
find out what is the force
acting on guy wire B, I can also find out the force acting on guy wire C; it is all fairly
straightforward you have a little bit of arithmetic involved other than that the procedure
is very simple.
358
Then I find the net force this is FA + FB + FC; I get this quantity like this then I have the
moment I simply put it as r × F. You have already learnt r × F and it is very difficult to
visualize in a problem like this and if your r cross F will automatically give you the
necessary result that you are looking for. So, I finally, get this as 4024 i - 6971 j kN-m.
So, scaling F from two-dimension to three-dimension is fairly simple you have all the
fundamental that you have that are required to solve such problems. The only
requirement is you have to apply them systematically, you have to be patient in
identifying the coordinates
and find out the unit
vectors properly and then
do the arithmetic.
Then we have also looked

at in many systems you
could identify equilibrium
very easily if you
recognize that I have a two
force member or a three force member and the question raised here is if you have to keep
a body in equilibrium you need at least two forces and how these forces should be? They
should be collinear and equal and opposite.
You would use this property when you recognize in an assembly of rigid bodies if there
is a two-force member you use this information effectively to reduce the complexity of
the problem. We have done the problem of a crimping tool initially it was looking as if it
is too difficult problem to solve. One we split it up as links and identified two force
members the problem was very simple, two force and three force member assembly is
what you come across in many problems, it is a very important clue.
359
And we have also looked at what way you will do when you have the three-force
member. I have 1 situation where the force is not balanced so, it will have a translation.
In the other case the force
polygon is closed, but it
has a net moment and the
way that you can visualize
is the third force has to
pass through the point
where the other two forces
meet.
And we have also

discussed if I have to have
a necessary and sufficient
condition for equilibrium I have to look at for every conceivable subsystem. And we
have also looked at different types of supports, I have a roller support, I have this bearing
so on and so forth.
Then the question is yes,

when we had discussed the
necessary and sufficient
condition in that chapter, I
took up three example
problems. I did solve for
the system as a whole and
for some sub assemblies,
we verified whether they F
= 0, M = 0 satisfied. Have is done that for the all other problems you have discussed
later, if you go back and look at when we looked at the truss problem by the method of
joints.
360
In fact, we did that, we have taken joint A; isolated the joint and we have also put the
forces to start with as away from the joint, then I had used the arithmetic and found out
what is the actual force reverse the direction, then I move to the joint F; I moved to the
joint F and I put these forces properly and my arithmetic gives me what should be the
correct direction of FFE and so on.
So, what we did was the isolated the sub-assembly, isolated this sub-assembly at least in
the method of joints even without your knowledge you had verify the equilibrium
condition for every conceivable subsystem. In the method of sections, when you take a
section you should analyze the left free body as well as the right free body which we are
not done, where does error
that precipitates when I do
not follow this.
There is one nice example

I said in the case of in the
Crandall and Dahl in the
first chapter he has given a
nice problem I wanted you
to do the reading
assignment and this is the
universal joint if you look at a truck. At the bottom of the truck you will have this from
the engine you will have the rear the wheels are driven through this universal joint.
It is very prominently seen in trucks you have a look at it you learn engineering only
when you look at systems around you. So, you need to transmit torque from one access
to another axis. A simplified model was taken up in Crandall and Dahl and they have
analyzed it.
361
And what they did was they have taken the bearings to start with as thin bearings when
you have the bearing as thin suppose, I have the load this is also slightly thick I should
have had just half of it,
and when I apply a force it
will just come down and I
could replace the role of a
bearing simply as a single
concentrated force.
So, if you do this kind of

an assumption; the
problem is initially solved
you have reactions at the bearing a single reaction in this plane, single reaction in the
other plane. And they have
analyzed the system as a
whole and got an
expression relating the
torque MA and MB and the
result was, they are equal
torque. Then he goes about
and dismembers these sub
assemblies and he finds
equilibrium condition is
not satisfied in a sub
assembly. Then he raises a question what has gone wrong in the process? Because when
I say the system is under the equilibrium, it should satisfy for the system as a whole as
well as all the sub-assemblies.
362
When he does that exercise, he brings in an important factor we have considered the
bearings as thin. If it is a thick bearing when I have a force; it will have a situation like
this, it will be inclined and
it will make contact at two
points; this happens on the
vertical plane this happens
on the horizontal plane
when I show it for two
different planes you can
visualize it for any other
plane.
So, replacing the bearing

reaction as single vertical
force is not going to solve. And when I have a two force it is also going to transmit a
moment. So, the mathematics has helped in improving the idealization.
So, this is where the

mathematics helps and
when they do this analysis;
the bearing is no longer
can be idealized as a thin
bearing, it should be
idealized only as a thick
bearing. And when you
translate it in the free body
diagram, I would have two
forces acting on the; at the place of the bearing. And when you do this subsystem as well
as the system as a whole remain in equilibrium and you get an altogether different
answer the torque here is for this particular configuration, for another
consideration the expression would change.
363
So, the focus here is as long as your idealizations are clean and neat and that reflects the
physics of the problem, when you find out the condition satisfied for the system as a
whole subsystems also will satisfy because the problem dealing with the truss or being or
so simple, you idealize the supports these idealizations are reasonably good. Even though
we have not specifically insisted on analyzing the sub-assemblies; the answers were
correct.
So, the message here is

compare the predictions
with a behavior in the
actual system by an
experiment. It is not that
you say that I will idealize
like this and solve the
problem, what for you are
idealizing it? You are trying to understand what is the actual problem that you have how
well you have understood and how to verify whether your modeling is correct ultimate
goal is it has to satisfy an experimental result fine.
If satisfactory results are not achieved, reconsider the steps of analysis. A frequent
difficulty is a failure to select an appropriate system or systems to define actions on it by
its surroundings. So, there could be a problem in what you identify as a system this is
one type of problem that you may encounter.
It may be necessary to alter the assumptions regarding the characteristics of the system.
This can lead to different idealized model of the system; this is what we had seen in the
nice example of universal joint. See it is also difficult to coin simple problems to
illustrate concepts, you should at least appreciate the team that they coin this problem
and then figured out that mathematics ultimately helps. See we have all along said and if
you are not dealing with problems involving friction, I can assume the reactions in any
direction unknown forces in any direction, my mathematics is will tell me what is the
correct direction.
364
And here you have an example if I verify the necessary and sufficient conditions it also
helps you to verify whether the idealizations you have chosen to solve the problem are
indeed appropriate fine. And you have to know I said whether some of you have had an
experience of river rafting, you see the ship is going in the sea what is the kind of forces
that happen on this? Just have a look at it. It is very it is caught in a storm and so, another
most difficult aspect in any engineering is how to identify the forces acting on your
system.
Do not think that whatever you are studied in this course is great enough for you to feel
proud of you have to keep in mind that we are taking baby steps. We are learning
idealized systems and idealized force interaction which somebody has given you and
whole of engineering lies in how to identify the forces that act on your system for you to
analyze. Look at the wave it goes through the complete body of the ship and it should be
about 20 to 30 feet high and your system has to survive it cannot collapse. So, have
humility that is very
important.
Then we moved on to
discussing about trusses
and we emphasized that no
member is continuous at a
joint, you have a gusset
plate whether it is a two-
dimensional problem or a
three-dimensional truss. I
have idealized for a two-dimensional case as a pin joint, for a three-dimensional case it is
idealized as a ball and socket joint here.
And we have also seen that loads are applied only at the joints that is a very important
aspect of it. And we also learned two methods one is a method of joints; I take out a
section like this and then I analyze this and I can also take out a section like this and then
you call it as a method of sections. In the case of method of joints, it is a concurrent force
365
system so, I can write only two independent equations. In the case of method of sections,
I can have non-concurrent
force system and I can do
three equations.
And we have also

discussed how to associate
the member force as
tension or compression.
And we discussed at length
when I have a pin at a
highly magnified
perspective, we will have a clearance and if you assume that the member is under tension
the force interaction has to happen here and here. So, that this member is under tension.
But if you analyze the pin you would naturally put the force like this and I said
engineering is one
profession where you use
convention. If you use this
kind of an approach then I
should put this force
interaction only on this
direction. Indicate the force
at the pin on the same side
of the member then you
can interpret if I have a
force away from the pin
you call it as a tension. And if it is towards the pin you call it as compression ok; force
away from the pin is indicating tension, force towards the member is indicating
compression. All that circus is much simpler; if you follow our discussion of isolating a
joint along with the member.
366
It is easy to visualize when you put the force away from the member, it is easy to
perceive that it is tension and I have also discussed our mathematics is such when I get
negative it automatically
becomes a compressive
force, you have taken
advantage of the choice of
unknown force direction to
start with.
And you know in the case

of method of sections we
had taken a section with
four unknowns, but we
could still solve it, I can also do the same trick if I have method of joints. Suppose I have
unknowns FAC, FAD and FAB; in this case, FAC and FAB are along the same line of action
you choose a coordinate system along this line of action. Even though I have three
unknowns at the joint I can find out the third unknown, if my interest is only on FAD.
See the basic requirement

is if I use method of joints;
find out the joint which has
only two unknowns. If I
use method of sections cut
a section which has three
unknowns, we have seen
exceptional cases in the
case of method of sections.
Method of joint also I can
do the trick by identifying a
suitable coordinate system.
367
So, it is better that you learn many methods that you have and I said that we have
focused mainly on two-dimensional trusses. Suppose I go for a space truss like this what
is the difference it is going
to be? It is all supported by
ball and socket joint and
you will have to go back to
your vector algebra and
solve the problem.
Without vector algebra it is

difficult to handle the
problem like this and you
have three reactions at each
one of these supports and they are handled in a similar fashion.
And we can also look at

whether the problem is
statically determinate or
not. The main difference is
instead of m+r = 2 j, I
would replace it by 3j
because at each support
when I have a ball and
socket joint, I can write
three independent
equations that is the only
difference rest of it becomes vector algebra for you to do it and you lose out on
visualizing what happens physically.
368
And here again I can use a; this is a statically determinate problem because I have
number of joints as 5, number of members as 6 and reaction as 9. So, I can solve this
problem with m + r = 3j.
And when I do this, I have

to find out the unit vectors
after I find out the unit
vectors isolate a joint;
isolate a joint like this
And then again you do the

forces like this and since I
have vector as i, j, k. I can solve for three unknowns so, equating the terms i, j and k here
again you can find out the
member forces associate
whether it is tension or
compression so on and so
forth. So, scaling up from
two-dimension and to
three-dimension is not at
all difficult that is what I
am trying to say, it is only
little bit involvement in
mathematics. But while
learning the subject; learn it thoroughly for two-dimensional system, you can easily
graduate to three-dimensional system.
369
I have all these forces where the directions also modified and so on. Then we moved on
to discussing beams, we have understood any member that supports transverse load we
call it as a beam and we
discussed that I should
have the loading diagram,
moment diagram one
below the other.
And in this chapter also we

have discussed about sign
convention. It is a
discipline because depending on the problem complexity you may want analyze the left
side of the beam or the right side of the beam and I should follow one single convention
so that whatever the result I get from analyzing the left portion or the right portion, it is
unique in magnitude as well as sign for me to plot shear force and bending on diagram;
magnitude may be same, but the sign may become different. So, it is more of a discipline
ok.
And what is the sign

convention? We have to
identify this as a positive
surface and then we have to
identify this as a negative
surface. Since we have
adopted Merriam, we will
use that sign convention on
a positive face positive moment is positive and negative shear is positive; this is what
you have in the case of Merriam, I take the moment anti clockwise and shear force
downwards.
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This is to draw the isolated section. Once I draw the isolated section, all my signs I have
to refer it with respect to the reference axis ok. You should treat this force as negative
when you do the force balance, you should not miss that. On a negative face negative
moment is positive and
positive shear is positive.
And we have also looked at

the concept of you know
what I have said is you take
a section and then do it, I
expect you to do this in
your examination. So, find
out suitable planning of
your answer script. So, that you do all this calculation separately and reserve a space for
you to draw the bending moment and shear force diagram one below the other; we have
these expressions you have
seen it earlier.
I have drawn the bending

moment and shear force
diagram one below the
other, I have these
expressions. And in this
context, I also discuss all
systems in practice are in
some way non-linear, we
idealize that as linear system why do we do it? We do this primarily because I can
exploit the principle called principle of superposition.
371
I can rethink that this problem is consisting of two different loads; load P and load Pb; I
can get the shear force and bending on diagram for the load P. I can get the shear force
and bending on diagram for the moment, I can simply add this I would get this answer.
This problem is very simple I just brought it for illustration and this is a very powerful
principle that will be used
in your later courses.
Not only this when I have a

slender member it can in
principle transmit three
forces and three moments
and we have seen bending
moment in the plane, xy we
have looked at the bending
moment as Mxz. Suppose,
you have a member which is transmitting force in one direction also transmitting force in
a direction perpendicular to that. You can apply it in specific position draw the bending
moment diagram for this
loading draw the bending
moment for the other
loading.
So, principle of
superposition can be
exploited for this also even
though we have not solved
any problem you can also
handle such situations.
Then we looked at when I have a variable load acting on the beam, we develop the
interrelationships. We realized that we have made a deliberate cut at a section of Δx, it
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has a length of Δx so, I have to recognize that there will be variation shear as well as
variation bending moment.
And when I use this, we

have got the final
interrelationships that
relates, what is dV/dx and
what is dM/dx and we have
also discussed how you
can exploit these
expressions to correctly
draw your shear force and
bending on diagram ok.
And I have asked all of you to solve this problem; it is no big deal to make your problem
involved in calculation by
putting several forces. We
have solved series of
simple problems; it is no
difficulty at all to handle a
problem like this and I
think I have also given you
the reactions and the
supports so that there is no
difficulty in comparison of
your answers.
For me to find out the reaction I can replace this distributed force as a concentrated force
and all of you have determined the shear force and bending moment diagram by taking
appropriate sections; drawn the free body.
373
Now, I am going to discuss a method to verify it, use this for verification for all your
problems in quizzes and exams you have to take a section, show the free body write F =
0, M = 0 find out the unknown forces. But once I have obtained all these how do I verify
it?
See for me to plot the shear

force I move from left to
right with the Merriam
convention when I start, I
have this Wxx is 0 so, I
have this as 0. I start at 0
and this is uniformly
distributed so, from section
1 to section 2; it has to be a
linearly varying shear
force, and I find out what is
the shear force at section 2, I mark this point and I would join these two by a straight
line.
Then at section 2, I have a shear force that is the support I have; I can find out what
happens at section 3 the value I can mark them like this, I should not join this to this
point. I should recognize at this point I have a shear force, I would join a vertical line
like this then, it remains constant till 3; fine. So, if you do like this I will come down
when I have a force like this, I will come down that is how the calculations will be ok.
And then I will it will remain constant the moment has no role to play in the shear force
then I will come down by 12 kN then I will go up by 2.84 kN. So, the plot will start from
the left to right you can trace the forces. So, the key points are wherever you have
external force, they serve as key points and you should also decide how many sections
you need to take to solve this problem. And let us go and draw the bending moment
diagram.
374
For bending moment diagram move from right to left, simply find out whether it is
clockwise or anti clockwise moment and then keep plotting it, that is all you have to do.
For the first one I have translated the force and indicated that I need to get a moment like
this and I have got this value here and many students have asked me the question how do
I handle a concentrated moment acting on the beam? Very similar to how you handle the
force acting when you plotted this shear force.
So, when I go here, I should recognize that there is a step increase in the bending
moment fine. I should recognize that there is a step increase at this point and if you
recognize that, then it is
very simple to do. And
wherever you have a load,
you have a change in the
moment diagram they are
all key points when a shear
crosses 0; you have
extremum values and you
can figure out. Because I
have the slope is 0 here, I
can figure out this or even
otherwise I can draw a
straight line and find out what is the average, if my equation gives more or less, I can
find out what should be the curvature of this ok.
Then we moved on to position of equilibrium; there we said that we need to focus on

active force diagram, we also discussed concept of degree of freedom. I have a single
degree freedom system; I have a multiple degree freedom system and I have two links
and in all these cases you need to plot the displaced position and you have a nice
animation of a lift like this which can be deployed quickly.
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And let us solve one very interesting problem by force method as well as virtual work
ok. And this kind of a truss you will come across normally in many industries. I have a
handle like this and somebody pulls this down then it presses this object here and it is a
pin joint here, it is also a
pin joint at D, it is also a
pin joint at C.
Suppose I have to find out

what is the reaction at A by
the force method I have to
dismember all of these
members, then only I can
find out the force. We
would solve by both the
methods and you will find
virtual work two, three steps you get the final answer. Whereas, a force method requires
computation and also in the process you learn how to find out reaction by the method of
virtual work, you have to replace it by an active force which we have learnt by looking at
stability, we have replaced
a spring by the restoring
force.
And when you are solving

with a force method, I
expect all of you to write
you know all the problems
idealizations. So, what are
the idealizations you have
joints C. D and E are pin
joints, A acts like a roller, part B moves smoothly over the column we are avoiding
friction that makes our life simple. And you have the geometry which is shown as a line
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sketch which is useful for method of virtual work and I can also visualize when I pull
this; what would happen to the link.
So, in the case of method of virtual work I have to draw the active force diagram which
is mentioned here, I have to find out the reaction here so, I just put the reaction by an
active force and when I pull this will also move if I do not consider that this moves I will
not be in a position to solve the problem.
So, first let us solve this as

a by force method the
problem looks
complicated, it is not
complicated at all if you
recognize a few important
things. So, you have the
member DEG is one unit
ok, it is a one physical
member and when I have a pin joint, I can replace the interaction at the pin joint as two
forces we do not know the direction.
And I have assumed a direction like this on this, this is connected to the linked DC. So, I
have to put the link DC and then put these forces opposite to this by Newton’s third law.
And you should recognize that link DZ is a two-force member, the moment you
recognize this as a two-force member the force has to be along its line of action ok, that
makes your life fairly simple.
So, once you determine the force RD; I can put this RD here for me to write my interest is
to find out in this what is the reaction here. So, if you look at here, I need to find out the
vertical component of D; force at D would be identical to this. So, I would replace this;
these are all simple mathematical simplification I have RDY as from the given
problem geometry.
377
Then I go to the next step,

I put only essential things
here take moment about E,
I get the value like this,
this gives me RDY = 966 N,
I get RDX as 259 N. So, I
have dismembered this;
determine the forces here
then I have to find out the
force this force I can easily
find out because I have RDY. Then I have to identify what happens the interaction of C
with respect to this bottom block that is what I have listed it here.
So, you need to have

reference axis, this is again
a pin joint can be replaced
by two forces and you will
have a reaction from the
pole that is put as the
normal force. Because I
have a smooth movement
upward and downward
there is no friction, and this is a roller with a flat edge and this is also smooth so, I have a
reaction R.
So, this clearly shows I have R = RCY = RDY. So, the question asked is what is the
reaction force, we have got the reaction as 966 N; circuitous process, I have to
dismember and do it. This is what is asked, but we will also see what are the forces
acting on this member?
378
Can you recognize what is

this member, how many
forces acting on this
member? You should
recognize that this is
nothing but a three-force
number. See many
mechanical appliances you
can see them as assembly
of two force and three
force members I have a force acting on this which is what the operator is pulling it down,
then you have the interaction at D, you can easily say what should be interaction at C. I
have these forces meet at a point and it automatically says the force acting at E has to
follow this line of action.
So, this also gives you the

force REx as 311 N and REy
= - 773 Newton’s. This is
just to appreciate
seemingly practical
problem can be thought of
as assembly of two force
and three force members.
Now we move on to method of virtual work and simply solve it in no time ok. You see
the power of virtual work; I have δW = 0, I have a geometry and we have to identify the
reaction.
So, make that as an active force and you have to look at what is the work component of
this. Here the force and displacement on opposite direction so, I have negative, here
force and displacement on the same direction so, I put this as positive because this is the
379
sign convention we discussed, do not individually assign a sign for the force or the
displacement, look at the work component ok; look at the product and then assign the
sign and this gives me in one step I get R = 966 N.
So, this brings out the elegance of method of virtual work nevertheless, you will also
have to know how to solve it by the force method, I thought it is a nice problem where I
can review because it is a class on review; I could bring in how we have solved it by the
force method, how we can solve the same problem by method of virtual work. I suppose
we had a fairly good discussion on all the key concepts including the sign convention
used in trusses, beams and virtual work.
Thank you.
380
Prof. K. Ramesh
Module – 01
Statics
Lecture - 18
Friction - I
Let us move on to our next chapter on Friction. See in common usage of the word
friction even in the
relationship when we say if
there is friction, we use it
in a negative connotation,
we are not using in a
positive connotation. If
you ask the question
whether friction is a bane
or a boon you find friction
is needed in certain
applications.
Even for you to walk you need friction I have shown it on a glass floor if somebody
walks, you have to walk
very carefully that is what
you see here without
friction you cannot walk.
And if you go to well

simple ‘atta chakki’ this is
driven by belt drives and
these belt drives employee
381
friction; so, in such applications friction is beneficial.
Friction is also a beneficial

in another application that
deals with braking system.
So, when you apply the
break because of the
friction the wheel comes to
a stop. So, there are many
applications where friction
is needed for our own
good.
There are also many other

situations where friction is
undesirable you know lots
of money spent on
lubrication. This is the IC
engine which is used in
automobiles and you have
millions of automobiles,
they all use oil to minimize
the friction between the
cylinder and the piston, and you also have several applications of general bearing where
oil separates metal to metal contact between the shaft and the bearing.
And if you go and see a machine in the workshop you would see lot of oil is used to
lubricate the systems involve and here you also have a system where this is pumped like
this and you have a worm and worm wheel that assembly is literally flooded with oil to
382
remove the frictional effects this is one example. You also have another example, this is
a quick return mechanism of a shaper is literally in oil, it is a pool of oil here. We will
also have an occasion to solve this quick return mechanism when we see dynamics. So,
in all these applications
you find you need to
minimize the effect of
friction. So, you achieve
this by having a medium of
oil to solve your frictional
issues.
And we have also seen

earlier when we studied
support conditions when I have a pin joint it restrains translation in two directions and
you have two reactions the
force is unknown and the
direction is unknown. So,
you have essentially two
unknowns. We also saw
frictionless thin bearings,
here again the direction as
well as the magnitude are
not known you have two
unknowns.
Extending this you have in

the case of rough surfaces in contact, the rough surfaces are shown highly exaggerated.
You have two forces a normal force and a frictional force. In all problems dealing with
friction one of the challenges is to find out what is the actual direction of the frictional
force.
383
And from the loss of dry friction when the motion is impending; it is possible for you to
write the frictional force
from the equations of
friction. In all other cases
you will have to determine
these forces only based on
the free body diagram of
the component under
consideration which we
will emphasize and see
later also.
And what are the classifications of friction it can be broadly classified as external and
internal. In external friction I will have static friction I will as also have dynamic friction
and internal friction I have
fluid friction as well as
solid friction.
What you call as external

friction? The interaction
between surfaces of two
solid bodies in contact, this
can be static friction or
dynamic friction. In static
friction, the surfaces are at
rest, but there is a tendency for relative motion. See only when there is a tendency for
relative motion frictional forces come into play, until then frictional forces do not come
into play. And in dynamic friction, the surfaces are in relative motion.
See in earlier books you would also find the term called kinetic friction, the current
practice is to do away with kinetic friction and embody all that what we have discuss
384
under the ambit of kinetic friction as dynamic friction that is the new terminology that is
accepted.
And before we get into the

details of external friction
let us have some brief
discussion on fluid friction
as well as solid friction.
This is developed between
fluid elements when
adjacent layers in a fluid
are moving at different
velocities. This is possible
only when you have the
metal to metal contact is completely separated by your lubricating oil.
And what is interesting here is the frictional force developed is proportional to the
relative velocity between the layers and the fluids viscosity. It is also interesting to note
in your course related to physics you are already exposed to certain aspects of friction
and you might have also heard the frictional force is proportional to the normal reaction.
From Newton’s third law you also learnt force is proportional to the acceleration related
to the acceleration. So, in a case of a dry friction you find the frictional force is directly
proportional to the acceleration.
In the case of fluid friction, it is proportional to relative velocity and we would see later
in the case of solid friction the frictional force is related to displacement this is very
interesting. And fluid friction is useful in problems of flow through pipes or orifices,
bodies immersed in fluids, lubricated surfaces and so on this is also called viscous
friction.
And you know fluid friction appears as a frictional drag which is seen in the design of a
automobiles and India is also going in for a high-speed train, if you look at the stream
lined body counter of the engine, this is essentially done to minimize the frictional drag.
385
And also, in the case of sports, if you look at the cycling in Olympics the participants are
competing with each other and they can have an edge over the competitor if he or she
wears an appropriate clothing. The dress is design based on frictional aspects and if they
reduce the frictional drag from that they may have an edge of the order of 0.1 one
seconds compare to the
competitors.
And another interesting

aspect is in the case of
vibration studies, you use
the damping as viscous
damping and this is also
used in aerodynamics the
frictional drag in the as
frictional drag in
aerodynamics and as
viscous damping in vibration studies.
And this is what you see here in the vibration study I have a spring and dash pot, and
dash pot has viscous fluid and you find the amplitudes reduce rapidly because of the
viscous damper. And this is the case of a shaft running in a general bearing completely
separated by a fluid film and this develops a maximum pressure slightly to the left. This
is where it develops a maximum pressure; there is no metal to metal contact, fluid
completely separates it.
In such a case in well lubricated applications you have to employ only fluid friction for
analysis that is what is again seen here, I have the lubricating oil is pumped on to this
you find this is the contact point where you have a flood of a viscous oil. So, in this has
to be analyzed based on fluid friction you also have the other application. This is the
quick return mechanism of a shaper; this is almost in a bath of the oil.
In fact, it is a very big subject by itself tribology is a name of the subject and you have
engineers who have trained how to circulate the viscous oil to all the components in the
386
engine, and with space application how to handle microgravity; zero gravity applications
are also becoming very important. You also have journals that deal with where so, it is
not a trivial aspect one has
to handle friction very very
carefully.
And it is also surprising

when solid materials are
subjected to cyclic loading
one comes across the
impact of solid friction.
Energy is dissipated
internally within the material that is why it comes under the category of internal friction.
For example, if you put an oscillating spring in vacuum it comes to rest on its own, the
moment you put it in vacuum you make sure that there is no frictional drag because of
the surrounding air. So, that is eliminated when there is no retarding effect visibly you
imagine if you disturb the spring it would continue forever it does not happen.
Even in vacuum this spring comes to rest and the energy dissipated per cycle is
independent of the frequency over a wide range of frequencies and is proportional to the
square of the amplitude of vibration. So, it is interesting to note frictional force is
proportional to the displacement, this is what I mentioned you also earlier; in one case
frictional force is proportional to displacement, in another case frictional force is
proportional to relative velocity. In the case which you normally come across frictional
force is proportional to the accelerations. So, you have all the three possibilities.
And this spring comes to rest after a long period of time and in vibration problems
material damping is usually included as equivalent viscous or Coloumb friction. Either it
is related in terms of fluid friction or it is related in terms of dry friction to simplify the
analysis. See even in friction experiments are played a very important role in
understanding the concepts.
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Let us get on to dry friction. Suppose, I have a block and I have a force F1 acting on it;
are frictional force is
developed? Frictional
forces are not developed.
In the absence of an
external force to cross a
tendency for relative
motion no frictional forces
are developed, only when a
force which is try to
dislodge when there is a
relative motion possible
between these two surfaces
you have frictional force is developed.
And frictional forces are developed and the object continuous to remain rest until the
force applied reaches a threshold value; this is a common experience I have a table in
front of me. Suppose, I
want to push this table
common experience is you
go and try to push it, after
you apply sufficient
amount of force suddenly
you find the table picks up
an acceleration and it also
becomes easier for you to
push it further. And when
the F reaches the maximum
frictional force, the object will be on the verge of sliding.
388
And this is what put in the graph it is plotted between applied force and the frictional
force. It is remains linear as the applied force is increased frictional force is also increase,
it cannot indefinitely increase it reaches a maximum value dictated by the frictional
coefficient between the surfaces. And this happens reaches a maximum value when the
motion is impending; that means, if the forces are slightly increased further the block or
the object will tend to move.
Under this situation, the block is at rest; suppose, I increase the force you also plot
between relative motion starts when I increase the force, dynamic friction comes into
play and frictional force is reduced. This is the common feeling experience, if you take a
if you have to push a table you find at some point in time you have reach the maximum
force.
Then the block or the table whichever you are trying to push picks up an acceleration,
why it picks up an acceleration? There is a drop in the force there is documented in the
form of a graph like this. There is a reduction after that it remains constant it is also an
idealization; frictional
force is independent of
relative velocity up to a
limit beyond that there are
changes it drops down.
And in this situation the

block is in motion, it is
always desirable that you
plot this graph as two
graphs as it is shown in this
slide. Because the first graph is between applied force and the frictional force, second
graph is between relative velocity between a contacting surfaces and frictional force.
Many books simply combined these two as one graph which is strictly not correct.
389
And what are Coloumb’s laws of dry friction, though they are attributed to the scientist
Coloumb the first two laws are formulated by another scientist call Amonton and these
are based on experimental observations they are empirical laws.
And the law states magnitude of a frictional force is directly proportional to the normal
load between the surfaces for a given pair of materials what you need to understand is
the coefficient of friction is always given for a pair of materials it is not given for one
single material. Between the two materials what is the coefficient of friction and what is
said here is magnitude of the frictional force when we mean, we mean the maximum
static frictional force.
And the second law is this maximum static frictional force is independent of the area of
the contacting surfaces which is known as an apparent area for a given normal load. It is
a very subtle point because normally you associate when you bring in you are intuition if
I have a larger object it has
a larger surface, you may
think that it would offer
larger resistance because of
friction this is not so, we
will also see some of the
details as we go by.
To these two laws

Coloumb added a third law
which says magnitude of
the frictional force when we say this, we always mean the maximum static frictional
force when the object is at rest and the object is moving kinetic or dynamic frictional
force is independent of sliding velocity. This is an experimental observation we also
have situations where this is violated and what happens in such a case.
390
The first law maybe expressed simply as the frictional force is . Please note down
the mathematical inequality written here normally, people write this equal to µs N, but
you should recognize from the way we have learnt what happens when the frictional
forces are developed. In the initial stages, the frictional forces are dictated by the
conditions of equilibrium and it reaches a threshold value when the motion is impending,
when there is impending motion takes place only at that condition, I have .
This is the coefficient of static friction that is by the symbol s is used and N is the normal
load and you should note here when I want to denote this as a force. These are written in
terms of italic font one may confuse this with the Newton as the force unit that is always
written as a normal font without this italic so, see the distinction. And you know it
depends only on the two contacting surfaces I have one surface shown as in this color
another surface in this color.
Suppose, I apply a smaller load here and I apply a larger load here. The experiments
reveal even if the load is
varied by a factor of 106,
the force is shown by a thin
arrow indicating 1 gram of
load and this is shown by a
very thick arrow indicating
one ton separated by a
factor of 106. The
coefficient of static friction
between the surfaces in
both the cases remain same
they do not have a change.
And this is based on experiments; without experiments one can never appreciate this
concept, intuitively may feel more frictional forces would be developed, but the
coefficient of static friction that remain same that does not change. So, that you will have
to make a distinction µs is independent of the normal load.
391
And another aspect is experiments also reveal that µs remains constant even when area of
contact is varied by a factor of 250 times. What we normally see is only is an apparent
area where is nothing but the area that we measure macroscopically And I show an
example here I have the surface on this I have an object supported on a knife edge, I
apply a force to displace this and I have another situation where the block is resting on an
one of the edges, the third situation where the block is resting on an edge like this. In all
the three cases the coefficient of static friction remains same; it does not change at all.
The experiments reveal, if the apparent area is increased by 250 times there is no change
is observed.
For all practical purposes we can take that this is independent of the area of contact and
also the load that is acting on the object. On a similar way we also find coefficient of
dynamic friction is nearly independent of sliding velocity and what is the best way to
find out the coefficient of static friction. We would see a demonstration and we will also
see that by in animation.
See one of the simplest experimental methods to find out the coefficient of friction is the
inclined plane. In this you make the plane made of one material or you put the material
for which you have to find out the frictional coefficient as the base. Then you have a
sample in this case, I want to find out of the same material I have a block made of this I
put it on this and slowly increase the orientation and find out at what angle the block
slips. What is the angle? 22o ok. Now, I have the same block instead of putting it like
this, let me put it this way the surface area is less and this also happens more or less at
the similar angle. So, this indicates that surface area has no role to play on determining
the coefficient of friction and if I have to find out for another material I have this is
aluminium, I put the aluminium here and rise it and slowly rise it and you have to see at
what angle this slips, its slips at angle 26o.
392
This is happening at an angle 26o. And what you have to appreciate here is you have to
appreciate that the motion is impending only at a stage where this is about the slip if I
slightly rise the plank it will start slipping. So, you have to correctly identify that portion
that position and you have
to employ that for applying
your frictional laws. When
I say frictional force is
proportional to µN, it
happens only when the
motion is impending that is
very important to see. The
first case I have Perspex on
Perspex, the frictional it is
very smooth I have a
smaller angle that is about
22o and for aluminum between aluminum and Perspex it is found to be 26o.
So, now I have this animation and you find the block is sliding I will repeat this
animation again. And what is drawn here is I have the free body diagram of the block
weight is acting downwards, friction is opposing the motion and your normal force is
shown slightly displace is a good practice to put in this way. And from this experiment,
if we measure the angle at which the block is about to slide you call that as angle φs
which is known as a friction angle based on the equilibrium equation. This is related to
the coefficient of static friction as .
I will repeat this animation. The important point what I want to see is if I displace
slightly at the stage the block slides. So, you have to understand what is the meaning of
impending motion only when slight angle is modified the block is going to slide that
moment is impending. You know in the game of tug of war when you are pulling the
rope when the rope is about to slide out of your hands; that is the time the motion is
impending and you should know how to identify whether the motion is impending or not.
You understand whether the motion is impending only the actual slipping takes place.
393
But we are talking about the situation where slipping has not taken place, but any slight
modification with precipitator sliding of the objects concerned.
So, that is what is

illustrated in this. And
when you look at the
mathematics, I get the
expression , this is
not dependent on the mass
m or the force of gravity g;
acceleration due to gravity
g, it is not a function of
these two and in fact, if
you go and see in many
places where they store
sand or where they store some of the construction materials or also in the place where
they have grains in large markets where they put it in a pile depending on the material
that you have they will automatically form a cone of a particular angle.
And this is also known as angle of repose that is dictated by the friction this is also
known as angle of repose.
And you again see what is the meaning of impending motion when I slightly change it
the block begins to slide. So, the situation just prior to this is the condition for impending
motion.
394
What happens at higher relative velocities, when I when the block is in motion it is
dictated by the coefficient of friction which is known as dynamic friction indicated by
the symbol µ with the
suffix d. At very high
sliding speeds for metal to
metal contact µd falls with
increasing velocity this is
what is observed. What is
the consequence of it?
These phenomena are
observed for poorly
lubricated or unlubricated
surfaces that may lead to
fictional oscillations called
stick-slip.
In fact, in some of the movies where they want to show a very eerie condition in
midnight the you would
enter into a bungalow
where there will be a door
which will be oscillating
like this and generating a
creaking sound. You feel
the situation is very
uncomfortable for you to
feel; the creaking sound
what you here is mainly
because of the phenomena
called stick-slip.
So, it is seen even in simple doors if they are poorly lubricated, and what happens when
the objects under consideration of well lubricated, friction coefficient µd increases with
increase in sliding velocity and minimizes the frictional oscillations. So, it is always
desirable that you should have well lubricated surfaces.
395
So, normally that is what you will do, if there is a creaking sounds from your door you
take a drop of oil and put it, you essentially lubricate it, you do not even need to study
mechanics to do this you are not comfortable with the sounds. So, you simply put an oil
and manage the situation.
So, from a scientific
prospective you have to
lubricate it well so, that
you can increase the
coefficient of the dynamic
friction. So, that you
minimize the frictional
oscillation.
And how do I select the appropriate frictional laws. Three possible states of the surfaces
are identified, one can be dry, greasy or partially lubricated, film or completely
lubricated. For the first two cases when it is dry or partially lubricated, laws of Coloumb
friction are applicable that makes our life very simple. On the other hand, when I have a
film completely separates the metal to metal contact, even though I do not see visibly
here there is a film available in between the two; it is very small in thickness with a very
high pressure. In such cases you have to apply laws of viscous friction for the analysis of
a problem.
So, in dry friction or Coloumb friction it is essential external friction phenomena, you
have both static and dynamic friction. In dry friction maximum frictional force is
proportional to the applied normal load, the concept is re-emphasized. And this
maximum frictional force occurs only when the body is just about to slip that is a key
point to note for any frictional problem you cannot simply replace the frictional force as
µN. Only when you investigate and find out relative motion is possible or motion is
impending then only you can say frictional force equals µN.
396
And you will also have to note dynamic frictional force is always less than the maximum
frictional force when the body is just about to slip. And you know this is very useful to
study wedges, power screws; power screws are nothing but wedge wrap around a
cylinder. And you have a square threaded screw which is used in many mechanical
engineering applications, partially lubricated bearings, you have an important application
of brakes, clutches and belt drives. In all these cases you can apply laws of Coulomb
friction and get your
parameters calculated.
And you know it is better

that you learn the concepts
by solving a simple
problem. I have a block of
2a × 2a weighing 200
Newtons and in this case,
you will have to find out
for different forces F2 starting from zero, 50, 90, 100 Newton. Find out the condition of
the block and also determine the reaction forces and it is given in the problem statement
that the coefficient of static friction between the block and the floor is 0.3 and the
dynamic coefficient of friction is 0.25. You can note clearly here the µs > µb, please
ponder about this problem and we will try to solve it in the next class.
So, in this class we had a brief idea about what are the classifications of friction we
classified as external and internal friction. In external friction you have further classified
as static and dynamic, in internal friction we looked at fluid friction as well as solid
friction.
And the interesting point I brought into focus was in one case frictional force is
proportional to displacement that is what happened in solid friction, in the case of fluid
friction, frictional force is proportional to relative velocity and in the case of dry friction
frictional force is proportional to the acceleration. And I have a cautioned in problems
397
dealing with friction, you should recognize frictional forces develop only when there is
tendency for relative motion.
Further in initial stages the frictional forces are dictated by the equilibrium condition.
The frictional forces increase as the external forces is increased; it reaches a maximum
value when the motion is impending. Only at that condition you can replace a frictional
force as mu times the normal force.
Thank you.
398
Prof. K. Ramesh
Module - 01
Statics
Lecture - 19
Friction - II
Let us continue our

discussion on friction.
And we will try to solve

this problem. You have a
block of 2a × 2a subjected
to a force F1 and it is also
subjected to a force F2,
whose magnitude is
changed from zero to 50,
90 and 100 Newtons in steps. You are also given the coefficient of static friction between
the block and the floor is 0.3 and dynamic coefficient of friction is 0.25.
The idea is for different

values of F2, you have to
get the position of the
reaction on the block and
also at what distance it will
act.
See this is the problem

dealing with friction; so,
you have to clearly
visualize, which way the frictional forces would develop. The problem statement is
399
simple and straightforward. I have force F2, which is trying to push it to the right. So, I
would naturally have the frictional force developed like this and I have indicated the
frictional force simply as small f, you know this is a good practice, do not replace the
frictional force as µ times the normal reaction; never do that; although in very important
problems this might be true. In general, one can coin a problem, where this as not reach
the maximum frictional force.
Only when the motion is impending, you are allowed to write that. So, that is always a
good practice to write this as f and the frictional force directions quite alright. I have this
opposing the force that is the applied; so, this direction is all right and one of the
common ways students solve the problem is, they put the normal reaction through the
centre of gravity of the block. This is one of the common mistakes, please do not do that;
the location of the normal force is dictated by the moment equilibrium.
And if you start the problem by putting it through the centroid, it clouds your thinking.
So, it is always a good practice to put the normal reaction, at a distance slightly away,
whose distance you have to determine as part of your mathematics. This is always the
good practice to do that and, in all problems, dealing with friction, if you do not write the
frictional force direction correctly, you are solving all together a different problem. So,
spend a minute on observing, what way the frictional forces would develop? This is very
very important do not rush through because if you rush through; then, you will be
solving all together a different problem.
And we have the reference axis and we can write the equilibrium equations, ∑Fx = 0,
∑Fy = 0, when I apply this ∑Fx = 0, I get the expression the force F2 = f and I get the
normal reaction. I have the weight of the block as 200 N and external force, which is 100
N; so, I get the normal reaction as 300 N and if I take moment about the point C, which
is taken here. I can very well see that; this force will give a clockwise moment; this also
will give you a clockwise moment and these two forces will give anticlockwise moment.
So, I get an expression . This force since passes it through C; it

does not contribute to the moment all the forces are accommodated. On simplification, I
get an expression for the distance x. So, in problems dealing with friction, do not put the
400
normal reaction passing through the centroid of the blocks; in certain problems it may be
true, but in general do not put it passing through the centroid.
Determine the distance from the basis of your moment equilibrium; so, I get an
expression
and in the
way, I have taken x is, I
have implicitly taken this
as a positive x and if I get
negative x; I will say that
the distance will be put on
the other side.
Now, let us investigate;

when I have F2 is 0, what
happens?
When I have the situation F2 = 0, I do not have this force and you have to recognize, no
frictional forces are
developed. Frictional
forces develop only, if
there is a tendency for
relative motion; if there is
no tendency for relative
motion, no frictional forces
are developed and you also
have the expression, the
frictional force equal to F2.
Suppose I have and I also

have, when I have this expression for x, I can find out what is the distance x that turns out
to be 0.17a and your normal reaction will act only, at this point. It will not pass through
401
the centroid and this would balance the moment equilibrium of the block; so, it is always
determined from the moment equilibrium equation.
Suppose I have F2 as 50 N, when I have this expression on x, that gives me x = - 0.08a

and from the way we have labeled x; I put the x on the right side. The diagrams are not to
scale; they are only illustrative. So, it is at a distance of 0.08a and I have the frictional
force is equal to the applied force. It has not reached the maximum value; you have to
recognize that; it reaches a maximum value. Then, the block begins to slide, if the force
is increased further.
Now, let us look at the case, F2 = 90 N; so, when I put it in this expression, I get the
value of x = -0.28a and in the diagram, it is put on the right side and I have this as 90 N.
What does the problem statement as given? It has given the coefficient of static friction
as 0.3 and I have the normal reaction as 300. So, the maximum frictional force, it can
reach is only 90 N. So, this is the situation where, the block is in a state of impending
motion.
If the forces are slightly increased; then, the block will begin to slide and you make a
neat sketch of all this and as I told you earlier, if you select key problems in any chapter,
you understand all concepts related to that very systematically. The problem statement is
definitely very simple, but illustrates important aspects, what you have to follow when
you have a problem dealing with friction?
We have also been asked to find out, what happens, when F2 is 100 N? and we find that
x is 0.33a from this expression and you also find that, the reaction developed because
you are given a kinetic coefficient of friction that is given as 0.25. It can develop a
maximum force of only 75 N in this case; that is dictated by the dynamic coefficient of
friction; even though my applied force is greater than this, you would not have frictional
forces to balance it.
Suppose I make the screen as smart, what would happen? The block would begin to slide
to your right; it will no longer remain in equilibrium. So, this problem clearly brings out
frictional force is developed only when, there is a tendency for relative motion, initially
402
depending on whatever the force is applied, the frictional force balances it and reaches
the maximum and the maximum frictional force at the point of impending motion is µN
not otherwise; unless you satisfy yourself that, the motion is impending. You cannot
blindly put the value as µN; if you do that, then you are solving all together a different
problem ok.
So, what are the guidelines

for solving friction
problems? As I mentioned
you earlier, laws of friction
are valid only at the
moment, when motion is
impending, that needs to be
investigated. The reaction
force at the surface can be
resolved into two forces
normal and tangential or as a single resultant force inclined at the friction angle phi s
with the normal and whenever, we use the algebraic solution handling them as normal
and tangential forces is easier to simplify.
On the other hand, if you use a graphical solution. See, in fact, in early part of
development of engineering; they were not having calculated; they were having only
slide rules and they were depending more and more on graphical solution, graphical
solution is very important from visualization point of view and engineers have use
graphical solution earlier.
And if you use graphical solution, a single inclined reaction is useful and it is cautioned,
when the motion is not impending, the frictional force can be determined only by using
the equilibrium equations. You cannot replace it as µN, unless the motion is impending.
403
So, the advice is you start solving by representing frictional force as unknowns. See, in
the previous problem we had only one surface where, there was frictional interaction. If I
have multiple surfaces, it is
always desirable that, you
indicate the frictional
forces f1, f2 etc. Do not
jump to µ1N1 or µ2N2; do
not do that. You
investigate; you make a
statement specifically in
your problem analysis,
whether the motion is
impending. This is a good
practice to handle problems dealing with friction.
So, this is again caution, I have told you many times. Unlike other free body diagrams
problems, any direction cannot be assumed for frictional forces. It should always be such
that it opposes motion. It is very important. Then, you are solving all together a different
problem. All your effort in
doing the simplification
will go to a waste, if you
rush through in putting the
frictional forces and it is
again advice analyze,
whether motion is
impending or not. If the
motion is impending,
replace f1, f2, whichever is
appropriate. All maybe
appropriate or some maybe
appropriate. In such a case, replace them with µ times the normal load; otherwise leave
the unknowns as it is and determine them using equilibrium equations. So, that is a good
practice for you to follow.
404
And we will also spend a short while, just to understand the mechanism of static and
dynamic friction. See, on the atomic scale, all material surfaces are rough; which is
shown in a magnified fashion here. So, they have microscopic projections, depressions
and other irregularities. This is just a magnified version of what you see here; so, I have
projections and depressions.
When two bodies come in

contact, micro-projections
and depressions mesh and
impedes relative motion.
Surface adhesion also
impedes relative motion.
Both these factors are
promoted by the normal
force at the interface. So,
this is where the
difficulties come, if you extrapolate it and then, visualize it without doing an experiment;
you can come to wrong
conclusions.
The microscopic behavior

is very complex and
people have efficiently
modeled it by careful
experimentation; that is
what is summarized here.
Although microscopic
behavior is quite complex,
the macroscopic behavior
is reasonably modeled based on experimental evidence.
405
What happens when I have the pushing force less than the maximum force of static
friction? It leads mainly to elastic deformation of the micro projections and the contact
points, where the forces of intermolecular coefficient are exerted; that means it is
reversible. I have only elastic deformation; when the force is released, it comes back to
its original position.
On the other hand, and this is also summarized that the elastic resulting elastic force is
the force of static friction and sliding friction is due to plastic deformation. Frictional
force reduces as motion begins because of the reduced meshing and adhesion of the
surfaces.
And obviously, when I have a frictional force, you have dissipation of energy and that is
felt as heat; in many appliances you find heat is generated and this is also one of the
reasons, when the frictional forces are not that significant. We use conservation of
energy as a very important tool for analysis to make our life simple; even though some
energy is lost in friction, if the frictional forces are considerably less; it is not considered
for simplicity in analysis.
And you should also

recognize friction
coefficient depends on the
quality of surface finish.
Ground and polished
surfaces have less friction
up to a certain limit; it is
not that as I have honing
operation done on the blocks, which will live a very smooth surface finish or very high
class of finish the bodies adhere. There the phenomena totally change; it is not
engagement of micro projections. You have adhesion becomes predominant.
Particularly, when you go to a work shop, they will have blocks to find out the height
406
and they are very highly polished and when you put them together; it is very difficult to
separate.
So, in general when I have a ground and polished surface, you will have less friction; but
only up to a limit. The mechanism of surface behavior changes, when I have a very high-
class surface finish and I have adhesion and in such a case friction coefficient is
increased rather than a decrease because of smooth surface.
And another question is what happens if I have a normal force acting on the object? Thus
the length of time has an influence on the frictional behavior and what is observed from
experiment says static friction is a weak function of the time of contact; it is a function of
time, but it is only weak function; so, in all practical purposes i can neglect the time of
contact of the surfaces for
analysis.
And before we move on to

solving problems dealing
with dry or Coloumb
friction, we will also have
a peep into, what is rolling
resistance? It is always
labeled as rolling the
systems and you can also
call it as rolling frictions debatable. There is only an analogy fine?
Rolling resistance is the force resisting the motion, when a body rolls along the surface
of another body. It is again a very complex interaction and deformation at the point of
contact introduces a resistance to rolling. There this resistance is an entirely different
phenomenon from that of dry friction, dry friction is because of tangential forces
developed; but rolling resistance why do you study is the way you write the expression
for frictional forces, you use a similar analogy even for rolling; other than that the
phenomena are quite different like I mentioned to you earlier. In analogy with sliding
407
friction rolling resistance is often expressed as a coefficient times a normal force, this is
where it shares the commonality.
There is no slipping or impending slipping in the interpretation of rolling resistance. Do

not extra plate beyond the point; rolling resistance is also expressed as sum coefficient of
rolling resistance multiplied by the normal force; that is the only meeting point. It is
actually dictated by deformation at the point of contact and you have many parameters
that contribute to rolling
resistance.
If you look at, what is the

amount of deformation of
the wheels; the
deformation of the roadbed
surface, the wheel
diameter, speed, load on
wheel, surface adhesion,
sliding and relative micro-sliding between the surfaces of contact.
So, it is a very complex mechanism by itself. People are still doing research on this and if
you look at a rubber tire will have a higher rolling resistance on a paved road than a steel
railroad wheel on a steel rail. All your rails, what you have as the train, you have a steel
wheel rolling on a steel rail. On the other hand, you have automobiles going on the roads,
which has a very soft rubber tire; so, it will have a higher rolling resistance and one of
the significances of rolling is, rolling friction has a least value. See, one of the aspects,
which we have seen is, how do you support a bearing? We have seen earlier that people
put oil and then separate the metal to metal contact.
After rolling people also have device, what are known as ball bearings and you can see
the resistance is very very small; it has a very nice movement and you have different
types of ball bearings, you have this as spherical balls and you have rollers. You can see
this as rollers ok. The inner race is taken out, this is; there is a inner race and there is an
outer race. So, this will take more radial load than a simple spherical ball and you also
408
have tapered ball bearings. You look at the kind of complexity; engineering has
developed into. Once they have recognized, the rolling has the least friction; they have
devised various gadgets and in this what you find is, it can take both axial and normal
load, the tapered ball bearings are there.
And you also have in important applications; the end points are completely sealed. This
is ball bearing; you do not see the inner casing here. This is also required; you have
many submersible applications, where you do not want any fluid get into it and affect its
performance. So, you have this hermetically sealed. So, that is what is summarized here,
rolling friction the motivation is. This has led to the development of ball and roller
bearings, which are
normally, used in many
engineering applications
routinely.
Ok, let us come back to our

dry or cooling friction,
when you are dealing
problems in friction, you
must also recognize; it is
not that sliding will always happen. See, for example, if your mother wants you to push
the Almeria in the house; intuitively you know, where to hold your hand on it and then
push it. If you differ, the height, at some height it will not slide; but it will only tip. You
do not do as calculation there and find out. You just have a physical feeling and then do
it. If I have to do that mathematically, what is the way I will gone and analyze it?
So, we have to find out the point of application of the normal force by moment
equilibrium and obviously, when I apply the load like this, what will happen? If the point
of application of normal force N or the total reaction lies within the base, sliding occurs.
The force happens here; there is a small spelling mistake here, please correct it. So, you,
we have already seen, how to find out the location of the reaction force and if this is so;
then, you will have only sliding to happen.
409
On the other hand, if I apply the force at a different location and if I investigate, what is
the point of action of the reaction? If it lies outside the base, block will tip before sliding.
What is the limiting case? Limiting case is the edge of the object; so, here it becomes the
corner. So, a limiting condition is that, it is just at the end of the base. So, if I have to
investigate whether the object under the action of the force, whether it will slide or tip.
One way of doing it is, you put the reaction force here and then, find out what should be
the force? Or what should be the weight? Problems can be coined on multiple ways.
So, if you want to mathematically investigate, whether sliding will precede or tipping
will precede; you will have to find out, what is the location of the reaction force? If the
reaction force locates within the objects, sliding will occur; if it lies outside the object,
tipping will occur. If I have to investigate tipping, the limiting condition is that will
happen at one of the edges, either this edge or this edge depending on, which way you
apply the force ok.
So, if I summarize this

mathematically; so you see
that it has tipped, if N or
the resultant force R
coincides with the end
point of the base and fs is
evaluated from moment
equilibrium conditions, one
can say that by investigating the value of fs and compare it with the actual force; if the
applied force is greater than this force fs, sliding precedes tipping.
If the applied force is less than fs, tipping precedes slide. When you solve a problem, you
get to know, how do you distinguish between the two? So, this is again emphasized in
problems dealing with friction. Find out the direction of the frictional force by reflecting
the possible relative motion? Do not rush at this stage; that is very important.
410
Let us, understand this from a very simple problem; I have two blocks, block A and
block B; the geometrical
dimensions are given. This
is given as 1.2 m, height is
0.3 m and you have
triangular block A. This is
about 0.5 m height and you
are given the frictional
coefficients between the
value of µs is 0.40 between
block B and the horizontal
floor; the frictional
coefficient is only 0.4.
But between block B and block A, the frictional coefficient is given as 0.45 and the
whole system is pushed by a force 200 N, which is acting at a height of 0.15 m and the
question asked is, what should be the weight of the block A; so that the system remains
in equilibrium under the action of the external forces 200 N and a 600 N applied at the
tip of the block A.
It is a very fictitious problem to understand various aspects of visualizing and taking a

strategy to solve this problem. First of all, we will have to recognize, what are all the
possible motions that can happen under the action of the forces; that is what you have to
investigate.
Then, find out for each case, what should be the minimum weight from among these
solutions which is the minimum weight that is required for equilibrium? Ultimately, what
you want is; when I apply the force 600 N and 200 N, the two blocks should remain in
that place; it should not move. That is what they are really looking at.
411
What all things can happen? I can think of three different situations. I can have one
situation, where in; when I apply the force 600 N; only the block A slides on block B;
this is one possibility. The
other possibility is when I
apply a force 600 N, the
block A tips; this is another
possibility. The third
possibility is both these
blocks slide together fine
and you know, what you
will have to recognize is;
for understanding I say that
this slides like this; that
mean just prior to that the
motion was impending.
Just to indicate when the motion was impending; when I have to consider this, I have to
consider the block A was
impending. This is what I
have to do to verify
whether this will happen or
not fine. Similarly, when I
have this; both blocks A
and B would be under
impending motion. Then, I
can replace the frictional
force as µ times a normal
force and let us solve the
problem systematically.
412
Now, I consider the case impending motion of A to the left. Though, I say impending
motion my animation will emphasize, if a force is lightly increased relative motion like
this is possible. So, do not link impending motion to sliding; do not do that. We are
talking of a situation just prior to this; to illustrate that, to communicate that I am putting
it like this; understand it in the context.
So, I have the free body drawn here; I have to put the forces and I have the weight acting
like this. The question is, what is the value of mA we should find; this is the question and
I would have in general frictional force developed and this direction of friction opposes
the force of pulling ok; so, that is fine and as we have discussed already, I would not put
this normal reaction passing through the centroid. I would put it up at an arbitrary
position. Let that location be at a distance of d. Once you have drawn the free body, rest
of it is very simple; there is no great mathematics involved, but take a minute to draw the
free body correctly. Do not rush there; that is my advice.
So, now I can write and fAmax that is dictated by the maximum frictional
force and this gives the normal reaction as 1333.33 N and I get
. So, I can calculate the value of mA, this turns out to be 135.92
kilogram.
We should not stop here; we should also find out, what is the exact location of the
reaction force? Because that would tell me whether it will slide or tip. So, let me write
the moment equilibrium about point o, when I write moment equilibrium about point o, I
get this as .
So, when I substitute the values of mA and NA; in this I get the value of d = 75 mm,
which is within the block; so, sliding is possible. The block is not going to tip, if the
block is of weight 135.92 kg. It is not going into tip; it is going to only slide.
413
Let us now, assume block A is assumed to tip about the corners. Let us investigate this
situation; in this case d = 0.
So, I will have the normal
reaction acting at the
corner; this is what, we had
seen mathematically if I
have to investigate,
whether sliding is possible
or tipping is possible, I will
have to take the reaction
force at one of the edges,
depending on the problem
context. In this problem
this is the appropriate edge.
From moment equilibrium one has the value like this .

This gives me a value mA as 101.94 kg. Now, we have to go back and investigate; this
gives NA = mAg = 1000Newtons. Maximum fA possible from frictional forces is 450 N
because the coefficient of
friction is given as 0.45.
And what I find is, the

force what you have
applied is greater than fs;
even though we have
investigated for possible
tipping; what we find is,
when I have the mass as
101.94 kg, sliding will
proceed tipping; it will still
slide only ok; only if the mass is less than nine 101.94 kg, which we can see in the next
slide.
414
I have the expression; you have to look at the expression for this. We have determined
mA keeping d = 0, when I have this mA value is less than that; then, the sign changes ok,
d will go outside of it. So, for NA <1000 N, indicating mA < 101.94 kilogram, the block
will tip as d will go out of the block for equilibrium that comes from the moment
equilibrium.
Now, let us look at the third possibility; both the block slide.

third possibility; both the
block slide; block A and B
together have an
impending motion to the
left. So, this is what I have
said that, you have to
impose this condition and
find out the requisite
answers. I show that it is
sliding; it is not sliding, just to put a recognition that when I increase the force slightly, it
would start sliding. So, it is at the wedge of impending motion.
So, I have this and I take them together and I am investigating what happens on this
surface. So, I put this at an arbitrary position at a distance s from the edge Q; I have the
reaction as NB and frictional force as fB. When I apply the condition Fx = 0, I get fB-200-
600 = 0; this gives me fB = 800 N and fB = 0.4 NB; so, I get NB = 2000 N.
And I can also go and find out, what should be the value of mA for this. Fairly simple
algebra; and if I put Fy = 0; NB -125 - mAg = 0.
415
This gives me mA=78.87 kilograms and we will also see whether its slides or tips; so, I
have to take moment about Q, shifting NB equal to this point. So, MQ = 0 is what you are
doing it. So, I have this
mathematics and I do get s
as 0.287 meters; so, this is
within the block. So, then
the mass of block A is
78.87 kilogram. We have
confirmed at it will only
slide ok; it will not tip.
Now, let us go back and

analyze, what should be
the minimum value for the
block A So that it remains in equilibrium.
We have got one answer

for when block A slides, I
got this as 135.92
kilograms. I have got
another answer as 101.94
kilograms, below that it
will tip. If it is 78.87
kilogram the slide, but we
have seen from this answer
that the block will tip. So,
the minimum value for the system to remain in equilibrium turns out to be 135.92
kilograms; while you have to investigate all aspects of possible motion; it is a very nice
problem; which illustrates the basic principle whether you investigate for sliding or
tipping, whether the block tips or slides all that you are able to investigate.
416
Then, we move on to another very interesting problem which is very useful from
practical application point
of view; again, very
simple. I have a huge block
W; it is a weight of 10 kN.
The friction between the
contacting surface is 0.3
and the angle of the wedge
is 5o. See, for illustration
purpose the angle is shown
almost close to 30o; if it is
actually 5o, it will almost
like parallel lines. To aid
your visualization in problem solving, it is deliberately done. So, do not take that this
angle as 30o. It is given only as 5o in the problem statement.
And the question is, determine the force P required to lift the load and you would have
seen if you have gone to any civil engineering construction, which they do it in a
conventional sense; where they put bamboos to support the centering. They will have
small shims they will go on hit at the bottom; so, that they will level the top fine and this
is also used in an extended fashion, when I have this wedge; this wedge is rolled over a
cylinder; you get what is known as a square threaded screw, that is used in many
mechanical engineering machines and you want one important property call self locking.
We will also see, what is the meaning of self locking? From that perspective only we
have taken this problem.
And you will have to draw the free body and, in all problems, dealing with friction; you
have to indicate the frictional direction correctly. Here, I am driving the wedge into the
block W. So, what way should I indicate the frictional force? Which is the way should I
indicate the frictional force? Because I am driving the wedge into it, you are deliberately
applying a force in a direction; you have to recognize that, that is very important. So, I
have the weight of the block acting downwards and this is the direction of frictional
417
force. You should recognize that. That is the key point here ok, because I am driving a
wedge into it.
The moment you recognize this; then, it is simple. Since, I am driving the wedge, what
way can I idealize the force f1? I am introducing a relative motion or I can definitely
assume that the motion is impending. These are all key important aspects, when you
handle a friction problem; you have to investigate and then only write. Under the action
of this, what will happen to the block?
What do you think the block will do in relation to the wall here? The block will tend to
move upward; so, what way the friction will be? Friction will oppose this; this is very
important. You should visualize physically, what could happen. You must visualize
imagine that you are wedge and find out what will happen to you, imagine you are a
block, what would happen to you based on that you identify the frictional direction.
Then, the problem is very simple. Solving fx = 0 , fy= 0, you can do much better than me.
This is very important here and once I have assumed this force directions; automatically
direction of force on the edge is fixed, at least in this surface and this surface what way
the friction would be? Because I am driving this like this, the friction will try to oppose
this ok. I have this force, which is applied. This force is opposing this, that we have
already seen and this force
will also will oppose.
And what you can look at

here is in all the surfaces
one, two and three, the
motion is impending ok.
No place you have to
determine the frictional
force by solving the free
body diagram.
418
The way the problem is posed to you that clearly says that, this is the case and this is
what we are going to write in the next slide that I have because
in all the cases the frictional coefficient is given.
So, it is not difficulty for you to find out this and equilibrium of the wedge gives Fx = 0;
then, you can easily do. I get some long expressions ok; which you can easily write down
and solve. Let me pay attention on the physics behind it ok. So, what I am going to have
is I am going to have these many equations and I have to solve for these unknowns and it
is in principle possible for
you to solve this and I get
the final answer as like
this.
I get this P = 8.1 N; very

small force and N1 =12
kilo Newtons; N2 =11.6
kN and N3 = 4.68 kN and
you also learnt certain
mechanical engineering
terms. You know, when you have this; they classified this as a machine ok. So, there are
certain definitions, what is the mechanical advantage of a system? I apply force P; I
think you have to go back and verify the numbers; have I miss some this one we have to
see whether it is 8.1 N or 8.1 k N, you just find out because here I have handled it as kilo
Newtons, I just put as 10 by 8.1 kN; I get this as 1.23.
Otherwise, the mechanical advantage will be different; we have already seen the
mechanical advantage concept, when we have looked at the crimping tool; that is again
classified as a machine. My effort is something that gets magnified many times and you
also have another definition; these are definitions ok. I have, what is known as velocity
ratio? Distance moved by force P and distance moved by the block W, that is given as
cot α that is 11.43 and I also have a terminology called efficiency, mechanical efficiency
is given as mechanical advantage divided by velocity ratio into 100.
419
This turns out to be 10.8%; this indicate that this should have been 8.1 kN; so, please go
and check up this. So, I have only 10 % efficiency; that is quite alright ok, but I am in a
position to lift a weight
comfortably.
Now, let us look at, what is

self locking? Self-locking
means that when the force
P is removed, the wedge
should remain in place; it
is a desirable aspect; this is
the way we want the
system to behave. I do not
need to keep the force applying; I just hit the wedge and leave it at that. When the force
P is removed, the block tries to push the wedge outward; if the wedge is not self-locking;
then, impending motion will set and eventually the wedge would be pushed out; which is
not desirable.
To check whether the wedge is self locking, assume the limiting condition that the
motion is impending. The condition of self-locking is a function of the coefficient of
friction between the surfaces and the angle of the wedge; so, it is a desirable property.
When you have a mechanical power screw, you want that power screw to be self locking.
It is very well used in mechanical engineering applications and the way to solve the
problem is given; if the wedge is not self-locking, then impending motion will set and
eventually the wedge would be pushed out.
So, to check whether the wedge is self-locking; assume that the motion is impending and
re solve the problem.
420
So, I have the same situation. Now, I do not have the force P, P is 0. Now, I would have
to put the fictional direction opposed ok. Now, this will try to push this out; so, look at
the frictional direction,
they are all different.
So, when I solve this

problem in this fashion, I
get the value N3; I get the
value as minus 0.21N1.
That means, I have
assumed it like this; I am
getting this opposite,
which is not possible. So,
that means, motion is not
impending and the wedge
is self-locked; you need the self locking as a desirable property. Is the idea clear?
See, we solved the same problem with two different frictional directions and this is one
of the reasons, when you have many of the mechanical engineering applications. People
simply write frictional
force as µN because many
of them operate at the
condition of impending
motion; only while you
learn the fictional concepts
in the initial stages, you
coin problems where
deliberately some surfaces
as known impending
motion, some surfaces
there is impending motion. So, this distinction you should be able to appreciate.
421
So, I have this, a negative value of N3 implies that the vertical wall must apply a pulling
force. This is not possible and hence the wedge is self-locking. So, we have established
that the wedge was useful and the system was under self-locking.
It is a very desirable property; which is used in many mechanical engineering

applications. So, in this class, we have solved a variety of problems dealing with friction.
We have listed out a systematic procedure on, how do you approach to solve the problem
dealing with friction? It is worth that you spend a minute in investigating the direction of
that are a frictional force developed.
Then, investigate whether the motion is impending; then only replace the frictional force
as µ times the normal reaction and we have also discussed how to investigate
mathematically whether the block will slide or tip. Finally, we have also learnt a very
important concept dealing with self-locking; which is a very desirable property in many
mechanical engineering applications.
In addition, we have also seen certain basic definitions that are used like mechanical
advantage, velocity ratio and mechanical efficiency which is used in your higher studies.
Thank you.
422
Prof. K. Ramesh
Module - 01
Statics
Lecture – 20
Friction – III
Let us continue our

discussion on Friction.
See in the last class, I

introduced the concept of
Self-locking and the idea is
you have a weight lifted by
a wedge, I had told you
earlier, for illustration the wedge is shown very big, the actual angle is about 3 to 4o. It is
shown as 30o, for the easy
visualisation.
So, the idea is when I

remove the force P, the
block should remain at the
place where it was lifted
initially and when the force
P is removed, normally the
block will try to push this
wedge out. And what you
have is you have impending motion set and you bring in the condition of impending
motion and investigate, whether the wedge what you have driven into the block is self-
locking and self-locking is a desirable property you want to have it ok.
423
And if you look at this, I

remove this force P and
draw the block as well as
the wedge; and the block
comes down ok. So, you
will have a friction will be
in the opposite direction
and the wedge also comes
out so that is prevented by
the frictional effects and
you have to indicate the
frictional forces correctly. The moment you indicate the frictional forces rest of it is
straightforward. So, here we are investigating, when the load P is removed, what is the
condition of the wedge as well as the block and the equilibrium of the block gives
∑Fx = 0.
It gives me this expression

and when I simplify, I get
an expression for the
reaction from the wall N 3,
that turns out to be
negative, this is 0.2 1 N1.
The negative value implies

that the vertical wall must apply a pulling force, which is not possible. So, that is how
you establish, that the wedge is self locking and what contributes to self locking?
424
If you look at, the angle of the wedge and the friction contributes to self locking and this
is very well used in many
engineering applications,
what you see here is a
tensile testing machine.
This is screw driven and
the material what you put
between the jaws is pulled
by it.
And it is rotated on one

side it comes up and then
rotation is in the opposite
direction it comes down
and what you need to
notice is this is a square
thread. Many of the power
screws, if you go and look
at a lathe, where you have
a you have a tool post, that
slides that is also activated
by a lead screw and most
of this power screws have
square threads and for the purpose of analysis, this can be simply visualised like a
wedge, wrapped around the cylinder. It is very easy to analyze and all of these appliances
require self locking.
425
It is a desirable property not only that, in all these cases motion is impending. So, this is
a reason when you learn friction but, when you actually apply to mechanical engineering,
you find many of the
applications you have self,
I mean you have
impending motion, people
tend to replace friction by
mu times N blindly. You
can also coin problems
where in some portions of
the system motion is not
impending in some
portions motion is
impending; you should never forget that.
And this is also very

interesting use of
frictionless pulleys and this
is known as Archimedes
system of pulleys and
important aspect is
neglecting friction,
calculate the mechanical
advantage of the system.
See if you look at engineering development, you know you need to achieve things with
what material availability, with our minimal effort, how can I lift a very large weight that
is where the Archimedes has given this contrivance.
426
And we will just go on

investigate, how do we
handle this. So, I have a
pulley separated weight is
acting on this.
In general, I can replace the

tension in the cable as T1
and T2 because, I have a
situation where there is no
friction, we can also
investigate what should be T1 and T2, that will turn out to be T1 = T2. And from the
equilibrium of the pulley I have T1 + T2 = W and this is what I said because, I do not
have friction, I get an expression, the tension remains constant only the pulley changes
the direction, that is all it
does. And if I look at what
is the value of T1 and T2 for
the pulley A, that turns out
to be W/2 and this is a load,
that needs to be supported
by the pulley B.
So, pulley A supports W,

pulley B supports W/2,
pulley C supports only W /
4 and pulley D supports
only W by 8. So, you have a mechanical advantage of 8. So, with a small pulling force,
you can lift a very large weight, fine.
Let me ask, see I am going to have a keychain and I also have a water bottle fine; this is
the 1 litre water bottle. So, it should be 1 kilogram fine. Can I support this water bottle
427
with this key bunch, we weighed it yesterday it is about 80 grams fine, shall we try that;
ok.
So, I will do is I will first

tie this and what I have
here is I have a peg, which
has friction fine, what I do
here is, I put it like this is
not safe 1 round is not
going to be safe, it is not
safe, I put one more one
round, even this is not safe,
I put another round and
you see here, I have only 80 grams, supporting 1 kilogram of weight. And this is having
a friction, friction aids, it looks very surprising fine, we will go on investigate the
mechanics of it.
You know to develop the

mechanics we will take a
real-life system, where I
have a flywheel, this is
prevented from rotation by
the use of a break band
and thanks to Archimedes.
We have a nice lever arm
system. So, I need to apply
a smaller force to apply a
very large force in the segment B C and the main difference between what we saw as
Archimedes pulley and this is you have friction between the drum, flywheel and the belt
and the value of kinetic friction is given as 0.45 and you have certain geometric
description, the diameter is about 500 mm, the thickness of the band is 1.8 mm and this
428
is a steel break band. And initially the flywheel was rotating in the anticlockwise
direction all that is very important.
Now, let us go and draw

the free body diagram,
before that you know I also
have another interesting
animation. Suppose I have
a braking system which has
a very small length of the
shoe, the braking action
can burn this off intense
heat is generated. So, it will
not have a life suppose, I increase the length little longer, here again it is slightly
improved but, this also can burn off because of friction. And you have a sufficiently long
shoe for you to affect the braking and if you want to have a braking system to have a life,
you should not only have just one shoe like this.
We will mean to have 2

shoes likes this; this is how
many of the braking
systems are available
commercially now. So, the
angle of lap is very
important, you cannot have
a very small angle of lap.
So, you have a concept
from a practical example.
429
And we will look at, what happens in the braking. Here the braking is more efficient
because, I have applied a smaller force because, of the advantage of the lever system and
as before I will put the tension as T1 and T2, we do not know what are these values and if
there is only normal reaction, if there is no friction I will have only normal reaction and
now we have to correctly put the frictional force on the band. Please understand that, the
band is preventing the flywheel from rotating, the flywheel is rotating anticlockwise.
So, what is the direction of friction acting on the brake band? The drum is applying so it
is anticlockwise fine. So, I will have a fictional interaction all around the circumference
of the belt and if I have to analyse, I need to take a typical section out of it and it is
convenient to analyse it in the polar coordinate system. So, I will take a section at angle θ
, I have taken it from
clockwise and I take a
small segment Δθ, I
separate it out and I put the
force interaction on this
and I should recognise, that
the tension does not remain
constant along the length
of the brake band.
Because, I have friction the

situation is different. So, if
I say T at one section, I will say T + ΔT in the other section. So, I said that it is
convenient to analyse it in a polar co ordinate system. So, I have the r and θ axis shown
like this and I have the normal force is depicted as ΔN and the motion is impending
because, you know you want to stop the brake band and it is in the limiting condition.
So, I can replace the friction interaction conveniently as µN. Now, I will put the tension,
this segment is taken as Δθ.
So, if I put the normal on these faces, there will be oriented angle Δθ / 2 and if I take the
tension as T on this side of the belt, when I move by an angle Δθ, the tension on this side
would be say T + ΔT. So, now, we are equipped with all the forces depicted on the belt
430
and write the equilibrium equation along the r direction and θ direction that is straight
forward. So, the key point here is, you have to recognise tension does not remain same
along the length of the belt because, I have friction. And secondly, you will have to
identify what is the correct direction of friction on the belt, these are very important.
So, I use the equation of equilibrium, when I say , that gives me
, please verify whether this expression is correct and when I
put sigma , I get .
And you know very well that, Δθ is very small, I can replace sin Δθ / 2 as Δθ /2 and cos
Δθ / 2 as 1 when I do this, I get an expression like this, and this
expression reduces to . Please verify these expressions including

the sign, there could be some typographical errors; please correct them if they are.
So, what I get this finally,

neglecting product of small
quantities and eliminating
ΔN one gets, . So, in

the limit as Δθ goes to 0, I
get , this can be

written alternately like
. And if you look at

the way that we have
labelled θ and Δθ and the
other quantities, I can integrate it over the complete length of the belt, which is wrapped
over the drum, .
431
This you can easily do the integration and get the expression as , it is a very
famous expression. What are the contributing things? When I have this tension, the
tensions are totally different and they are exponentially related, T2 is very high compared
to T1 and what contributes to this, do you find the size of the drum coming into the
picture? The 500 mm diameter is not come in error, radius is not coming into the picture
at all, what is coming into the picture is, what is the angle of lap, how much it is on the
drum? And another important aspect is it is also written here.
When you write θ, even if the problem statement gives the angle of lap in degrees, please
converted into radians, these are all the common mistakes peoples do. They will know
that the expression ,

you should not substitute θ
in degrees, you should
substitute only in radians,
only then you can evaluate
these quantities correctly
and in the problem you are
given the force in the
segment BC, in our
derivation we have taken
that as T2.
So, T2 = TBC = 50 kN and θ is very obvious from the problem statement, that this is one
half of the drum it is lapping. So, θ = π radians and you are also given the value of
kinetic friction. So, you can easily find out what is the value of tension T1 in this case,
any of the tensions you will be able to find out and we want to find out what is the
tension in segment theory and that turns out to be 13 kN ok.
432
Let us reflect upon this expression, see in our labelling what we have done is, we have
cleverly put T1 on this side and T2 on this side, knowing fully well how I want to get the
result. In our expression,
when I write , the

expression also tells you,
T2 is always greater than
T1. T2 represents the
tension in that part of the
belt or rope, which pulls.
See in all friction
problems, you will have to
identify the direction of
friction from the physics of
the problem, you have to visualise, you have to visualise it correctly and if you visualise
it wrongly, then you are solving all together a different problem.
You should understand

how T1 and T2 are when
you draw the frictional
direction, one way of
looking at is, I have T2 here
and the friction is just
opposite to that. I have
tension T1 and I have the
friction direction and
tension T1 or aligned in the
same way. So, what I have
here is, when I use this expression, you must consciously label T2 and T1 correctly.
433
T2 should be the higher value of tension, T1 should be the lower value and it should be
mark correctly on your free
body diagram, looking into
the direction of frictional
force.
And let us look another

application of friction is
your belt drive in your
common ‘atta chakki’ and
what I would like you to
point out here is.
I have a driver pulley here and this is a driven pulley, that is done by a belt drive and you
will have to distinguish
between a driver and
driven pulleys.
Whatever the expression

that we have got, can be
applied to problems
involving belt drives. Here
both the pulley and the belt
rotate. The point here is,
whether the belt will slip,
that is will it move with respect to the pulley. Due to friction, there will be change in the
belt tension. So, you recognise that the belt is deformable, see even though we confine
our attention to rigid body mechanics, we have relaxed it in brought in springs and then
we have analyzed them.
434
Similarly, in this application, whatever the belt that you have, that can deform. Due to
friction there will be change in the belt tension, which in turn cause the belt to elongate
or contract and move relative to the surface of the pulley. This motion is caused by
elastic creep and is associated with sliding friction as opposed to static friction.
Suppose, I have to solve a brake problem or the pulley problem, how do I identify the
friction direction, let us revisit this, there is a subtle difference. You will have to
recognise that subtle difference and then handle it, fine. Now, let us take the case of a
brake, the flywheel is rotating in the anticlockwise direction and I separate the belt and
the drum, here you should recognise, that drum is providing the frictional force on the
belt, which we have seen just now.
So, it is acting on this direction and naturally by Newton’s third law, I will have on the
drum the action is opposite to that. And how do I label which is T1 and T2? I have already
said, T2 and friction should be opposite to each other. So, I will label this as T2 and this
as T1. Now, let me go to the belt drive and I am looking at a driven pulley, this pulley is
driven by the belt. So, the friction is brought in by the belt to drive the pulley, it is a
driven pulley. So, in this
case the drum is rotated in
anticlockwise direction by
the belt.
So, what is applying

friction on what? The belt
is applying a friction in the
anticlockwise direction to
the drum, when I go to the
belt, the belt will have a
friction in this direction.
How do I label which is T1 and T2? This will be T2 and this will be T1. Final
interrelationship between T1 and T2 is same, .
435
So, you need to identify am I analyzing a brake, am I analyzing a driven pulley or

driving pulley, you think about how you will analyze a driving pulley, take that as an
exercise ok. So, in all problems dealing with belt friction, you have to be very careful in
identifying the friction direction, as well as labelling T1 and T2. You cannot apply the
formula blindly, you have to physically assess the problem situation, label them correctly
and then only use the expression.
And suppose I want to improve my analysis of the belt drive; I would like to bring in the
mass of the belt. How do I bring it, then I will have to put the centrifugal force because,
of it is rotation it is a body force and you have this standard expression; I have taken m
as mass per unit length.
So, mass of this segment becomes, I have m r dθ so, mv2 / r is your centrifugal force. So,
that you are putting it here, your final expressions change slightly, in addition to
whatever the expression
we had, I will have an
additional term mv2 Δθ and
this turns out to be the
final expression is,
. So, you can

accommodate the body
force due to the belt.
If it is significant, if your
operating speeds are very
high then it becomes significant, then you will have to improve your predictions on the
tension by incorporating the body force appropriately.
436
And look at this example, see you have to recognise, it is very difficult to lift yourself, if
you do not have assistance from friction.
So, he goes up stays in

place by friction and this is
a fiction knot, there is also
a special knot here and
while coming down he just
releases that and he is able
to come down at a
controlled speed easily.
Imagine I have a
frictionless pulley, you put
your rope and then you
hold yourself, you can probably hold yourself but, you cannot make yourself to move up
or move down because, you have to exert a very large force for you to move up equal to
your weight.
On the other hand, friction

is very well used, it plays a
very important role both
upward and downward
motions.
And let us analyse the

problem given here, you
know in western countries
they call them as tree surgeon, they go inspects and you have very tall trees, in all cold
climates even if you go to Shimla, you will find very tall trees and you cannot climb on
437
to the tree by conventional methods, you need to have gadgets available for you to do
that and in this case a tree surgeon uses a rope over a limb of a tree to go up and down. If
the coefficient of friction between the rope and the limb is 0.8, compute the force which
the 60 kg man must exert on the rope to let himself down slowly.
And; obviously, a tree branch is of an odd shape to make the problem simple, assume
that the rope wraps to 180o.
I have deliberately given
this angle as 180o, just to
alert you, even the problem
statement gives it degrees
convert it into radians and
then use it. Do not make a
mistake; do not rush to
solve the problem.
And what is the challenge here? You need to identify, what is T1 and T2 and the situation
is that the person is climbing down, he is just coming down smoothly. So, he is just
having a force to hold it, he comes down automatically by his self-weight. So, which is
the pulling force and which
is the holding force? The
pulling force is weight ok;
that is happening on this
part of the rope and this is
where he holds it. So, he
holds this portion. So, this
becomes T1 and this
becomes T2, the moment
you identify what is T1 and
T2 the problem is solved.
There is nothing else in the problem, whole of this problem requires correct visualization
of the frictional interaction and correct labelling of the tension T1 or T2, rest of it is very
438
simple. Once I have identified this, I get and T2 > T1 and you are given friction
coefficient as 0.8 and θ is now written down in radians and I apply this I get T2 = 12.35
T1. And if I use , I get (weight of the man). So, for him to come
down, he needs to just hold a very small force of 44 N.
Precisely the similar thing happens when I was supporting the water bottle of 1 kilogram
with a key chain of 80 grams ok. So, it is possible, it is possible because of friction and I
am not quite sure, when your anyone is from coastal areas, where you are accustomed to
going in a boat coming back to the shore or if you have an occasion to visit Andaman
and Nicobar islands, you go from one island to another island by a boat ride.
And once it comes to a shore, the person will throw the rope and the person in the shore
will take it and put it on the peg several rounds and that is how the boat is halted and it
stays in place and you can get on out of it and friction is very well used in this
applications. So, friction is very useful, it is exploited in many engineering applications.
So, friction helps so it is a very interesting problem.
I will just make this problem statement and you think about it ok, you know this is a very
nice problem, which encompasses both a sliding friction, as well as a rope friction, the
problem statement is like
this you have a very strong
massless beam is supported
by a rope which is attached
to the right end, the rope
wraps over a rough peg.
You have to notice the

language, all along we
have said that it is
frictionless peg, frictionless
pulley. Now, we are
bringing in friction and to make our life simple, the friction is taken as 0.45 at all
439
surfaces and the question asked is determine the maximum distance that the block can be
placed from a, I have labelled this as a and this is hinged and I have a hook here, I have a
pulleys supported by some other means and the geometric dimensions are given.
And assume that the block will not tip, that is also a very obvious from the way it is
being connected, I have the hook aligned with the centre of gravity of the block and I
have this like this. Can you visualize the physics, can you visualize the physics?
I can keep this block anywhere here. So, the block will try to keep the beam horizontal,
we want the bean to the horizontal. Now the question asked is, what should be the
maximum distance of the block can be placed from A, can I keep it there, where the
motion is impending, that is that is what is implied. If the block goes further and further
the whole beam can fall down, if it is towards A, then it can remain horizontal. So, you
have to investigate the
frictional problem very
systematically; very
interesting.
You have sliding friction

as well as belt friction
accommodated in one
problem, only if your
concepts are very clear,
you would be able to solve
this problem.
Let us attempt to solve this problem here. Now, let me draw the free body diagram of the
block. So, I have the weight acting downwards and I have a tension on this string, we do
not know what is it is value, it is acting at a height of 0.3 metres. And what is the
direction of friction you expect between the block and the plank? It opposes ok, I am
pulling it like this. So, friction will oppose and I will have the friction force like this,
frictional force.
440
I have just put frictional force as f but, we know very well from the problem statement
we are looking at a condition, when the motion is impending. So, I can also replace it by
so on later but, we will have a look at it and when I put the normal force interaction, I
deliberately put it at a distance d1, I do not put it through the centroid because, you have
to recognise the normal force is determined by the moment equilibrium. Now, let us
write the equations of equilibrium one by one. So, from the free body diagram of the
block, I get , that gives me , , that gives me the normal reaction equal to
weight of the block, that is given as 588.6 N ( )
So, this is what the justification, at the maximum distance the motion will be impending.
So, when the motion is impending, I can write . So, I

know what is the tension T1 acting on the string now, you have to recognise, which is T1
and T2, I have already written down as T1 ok.
So, you have to recognise that, you have to recognise which is T1 and T2, when you look
at the pulley and before that I also get one more expression so that I get what is the value
of d, d1 is nothing but, 0.3 f, this is anticlockwise and then this is clockwise and N =W.
So, I get this value as 0.135
metres.
So, under these

conditioned the rope is
about to slip, this is also
given as a problem
statement. Assume that all
interactions are impending.
So, tell me which is T1 and
T2, think about it. I have
already told you that as T1, I should not have told you that T1, I should have put that as T
and then ask this question anyway. So, I have there this labelled as this is holding and
this is pulling force, moment I put this as T1 and T2, I can handle the pulley with friction
and what is the angle of lap, we can take it as 90o, that is π/2. So, I get T2 as, 2.0276 T1.
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Since, we have already determined what is T1, I can get what is T2, T2 is 537.05 N and
now we go back and find out what is the minimum distance d.
The problem is very

interesting in the sense, it
accommodates all that
what you have learnt in
static before we leave
statics, I have the pin joint
here, replace it by the 2
forces and I have the
block, the interaction is a
normal force and frictional
force like this and you
have T2. So, from this free body diagram, I can estimate what is the value of d + d1. So,
that turns out to be, when I say the moment about A, I get this as . So, I
get d equal to this expression and finally, d turns out to be 4.427 meters.
It is a very interesting problem it brings in sliding friction as well as rope friction in one
problem; it makes you to think carefully and also gives you raining on drawing the free
body diagram of the plank so that you have a good revision of your statics. So, in this
lecture, we have looked at what happens when the, when there is frictional interaction
between the belt and the pulley or the drum, we have determined the expression as
. We have noticed that size of the drum or the pulley does not come into the
expression it is only the angle of lap that is coming into the expression.
And this angle has to be expressed in radians and you have to be very careful in looking
at the physics of the problem and decide the frictional direction, as well as label what is
T2 and T1. T2 is always higher than T1, if you do that the problem is completely taken care
of and we have seen that this is quite useful in many engineering applications like belt
drive and also for a person to climb on a tree and even for the demonstration, I have been
442
able to show a simple keychain weighing about 80 grams to support a water bottle of 1
kilogram.
Thank you.
443
Prof. K. Ramesh
Module - 2
Dynamics
Lecture - 1
Particle Dynamics
So, we shall move onto the

next module of the course
on dynamics. I will start
with Particle Dynamics it
is mostly like a review
because you know quite a
bit of particle dynamics.
And you know in this course I have always tried to give an importance to modeling to
the extent possible.
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I have a situation like this the car is traveling in a road, I have another situation. It is very
unfortunate that this met with an accident and I would like you to observe what happened
to the car ok.
Now, the question is I have

two situations how do I
model it for the purpose of
analysis the situation one,
what is the minimum
requirement to model the
situation you can always
complicate the problem, a
complication bringing in is very; very simple engineers have to solve the problem with
suitable idealizations. And;
obviously, this is a huge
body car you know 4 or 5
people can sit the situation
was it was moving in a
straight line; how can I
model for the purpose of
dynamic analysis? Can I
model it as a particle? You
can model it as a particle
that is how we have solved
the problems I can model
this as a particle.
Again, the same car that has met with an accident I wanted you to see what happened in
the accident; what is it that you have noticed? There is a particular thing happened to the
car I brought it out very deliberately, the car was rotating, turning turtle is very common
445
if we apply brakes very heavily the car can turn turtle. So, what you see there it has a
rotation, the moment the object has a rotation you can no longer analyze it as a particle
you will have to bring in a minimum of idealizing that as a rigid body.
In an actual situation you know you will also have to bring in the deformability, you
must say that this is elastic, you may want to find out a car moving on a speed breaker
and we have funny speed breakers here. And you know if you have to find out the design
of suspension system and
all other aspects of the car
you may have to consider
that as a deformable and
make your life complicated
and have complicated
mathematics.
And one of the simplest

things that you come
across in particle dynamics is projectile motion, a particle that moves in vertical plane
with some initial velocity, but its acceleration is always the free-fall acceleration g is a
projectile. You have learned it thoroughly, solve thousands of problems in your earlier
exposure, nevertheless we will have a quick overview of it.
And in the case of statics I have said that when I apply a load try to visualize how the
load could be applied, that brings in certain amount of engineering visualization. In
dynamics, you must visualize when I say it has some initial velocity how the initial
velocity has come about, think about it. That will make you what is the real problem
situation or when you have a real problem situation you can use that information to
model it appropriately, it will help you to understand the problem better.
And you have a fun fact here you have many games although I have not played this
game, my student was so enthusiastic he had put this, in this and probably the game
developers would have used projectile motion to simulate all this movement of the bird
446
because the bird here does not have its own energy you are only making it to move and
you have to recognize that this is a free motion.
Let us understand this little

more and before we get
into it let us see the
commonly used equations
please write this down
even though you know
these equations. There are
many symbolisms that are
used, I can have the
velocities represented as v
and u then I have the velocity . I can also represent it as v and v0 and I will also
bring in the initial distance initial velocity and so on.
So, I have a relation
and the distance
traveled is . And
in all this case you should
note that the acceleration is
constant, you have a
variety of problems in
engineering where you
have acceleration is
constant, fine. So, here
large class of problems can
be handled and you can also have other symbolisms like ux, uy, vx, vy so many
symbolisms people have adopted and you should remember that these equations are valid
only if the acceleration is constant.
447
Let us understand the vertical motion; I have a particle that is dropped from this height h.
Now, I do it differently in the blue diagram, I will drop two balls one ball horizontally,
one ball vertically; that means, I given horizontal velocity. Now, you had visualized from
where this horizontal velocity can come, we will also solve some problem where I will
tell you how this could be visualized fine.
What do you think it will happen when I drop the ball vertically down when I put it like
this what happens? You look at the animation what is the striking observation both of
them reached the ground down at the same time you can easily explain it from your
projectile motion fine. But for a commoner it may be very difficult for them visualize,
they will only say if I drop the ball straight it will reach faster, if I throw the ball
horizontally it will take more time to reach that is how your normal thinking will happen,
your so-called intuition cannot help. And if I look at the analysis you should recognize
the horizontal motion and
vertical motion are
independent of each other.
Though the horizontal

motion of this ball is
different, the vertical
motion is identical to the
red ball or the blue ball
that is dropped straight.
You exploit the equation
that you have in both the
cases and then I have and get . So, the time

taken to reach the ground is the same, it is very important learning when you learn
particle dynamics to start with.
448
And let us move on to projectile motion and here again recognize the horizontal and
vertical motions are independent. I use different symbols for different problems so that
you will get accustomed to different symbolisms, people have used different symbols.
So, I have a ball which is thrown at a velocity u oriented at an angle θ and this goes in a
parabola even before you know the problem you understand all these quantities.
So, I have what is called a range of this projectile, what is a maximum height it can reach
and what is the condition when it reaches the maximum height and we can also derive
what is the equation of this curve, it is all very simple we are only recapitulating what
you have learned already. So, let me write for horizontal motion separately and vertical
motion separately. There is no acceleration in the horizontal motion I have acceleration
in the vertical motion that
is -g I have given the
reference axis this way.
And I can find out the x

component of velocity as
and y
component of velocity is
and x is
given as and
y is given as
, all of
this you know you have to treat these motions independently. And then you can also go
about and getting the expression for the range, for the height, for the time taken etc.
449
So, if I substitute I am in a position to get an expression of this curve,
when I simplify this I get the expression for y as and this is
nothing, but a second degree curve. So, I have this is nothing, but an
equation of parabola that is the reason why you put the curve the projectile motion as a
parabola. And what are the other understanding that we have?
Let us say capital T is the time taken to reach the ground; that means, from here to this it
takes time T and mind you in all these analyses we have not considered the effect of air
around it, there is no friction acting on the projectile fine. And it will reach the peak
point at T/ 2, so I have an
expression
from this I
can easily get an
expression for what is the
time taken .
Then I can also find out

from the expression for
. I get the
range as . Now I have to find out what is the height H? So, if you
consider the x motion and y motion independently you can derive all these quantities
comfortably, there is no great difficulty in doing that.
To summarize I have , , and I have this expression, so from

this I am in a position to calculate the height maximum height possible is
and we have already got the expression for T and also the expression
450
for R. What is the range, what is the time taken, what is the maximum height reached?
And this is one of the first things you do when you learn particle dynamics and this has
many applications in day to day life right from cricket onwards you have many
applications that is the
reason why you have learnt
all of this.
And this is a very nice

animation it summarizes
visually what happens in a
projectile, see I start with a
velocity and look at here
the vertical component
goes to 0 only horizontal component remains and another one for the entire motion, the
horizontal component remains same.
Visually you understand

see, visual understanding
and appreciation will stay
in your system much
longer than just
mathematical expressions
and when it comes and hits
the ground it is not coming
and sitting it is coming and
hitting with a velocity, it is
not coming and simply
hitting the coming and
landing on this with 0 velocity ok. So, this gives a nice appreciation of what happens to a
projectile.
451
And now we will solve some interesting problems, these are all fictitious problems to
bring in some life you attach it to some kind of idealistic situation and you know the
monkeys in IIT are very, very intelligent fine. So, if there is a gunshot this fellow will go
and hide that is a natural instinct when there is some danger you would like to find out
the least possible distance where you can go and hide.
But, in the problem, it states startled by the sound the monkey drops at the same time the
bullet leaves the barrel of the gun, so it is fictitious fine; that means it has a free fall. The
question is if the monkey has a free fall will the bullet hit the monkey. That is all we
have to investigate fine.
So, the question is if it falls
will the bullet come and hit
the monkey? A very
interesting problem and
you can analyze it
comfortably.
First thing what you learn

is when you aim the
monkey and put your gunshot it is not going to go travel straight, look these people who
are not trained in mechanics will not be able to visualize, they will only think that it will
go straight because of acceleration due to gravity it has a projectile motion fine. Now, we
have fictitious situation. The moment it heard it sound it starts falling down freely. So,
this blue this green falls down straight and this red ball follows the projectile motion.
So, let us look at what happens to the monkey, I have a coordinate system like this for
the monkey and I write the motion and it starts from v = 0, so I get
and I can also write this s with respect to the ground that is the height y which is nothing,
452
but . So, I have an expression at any point in time t, the height of the monkey
from the ground is .
Now, what we will have to see is what is the height of the gunshot which follows the
projectile motion from the ground if these two heights match then there will be a hit on
the monkey it is a fictitious problem, but very interesting to learn concepts related to
projectile motion. So, for the bullet, I can write the motion as mainly
because it gets released from the gun with an initial velocity. Whereas, the monkey drops
down with 0 initial velocity.
And what are the other things that I know and from the geometry I can get
. So, when I go and replace this here, I get this as, I get from this
simplification I can get . I will replace this here I find the height of the bullet
from the ground is , at any point in time no matter what is the distance
between the gun and the monkey whichever distance from the strength of our
mathematics provided there is a free fall, provided that the monkey has good hearing and
there is no friction, there
could be a possible hit that
is what your mathematics
says. So, it is a very
interesting, but fictitious
problem.
And now you have another

interesting problem which
relates your circular
motion and projectile
motion, this you might have played in your school days. A boy whirls a stone in
453
horizontal circle of radius 1.5 meter and at a height of 2 meters above the ground. The
string breaks and the stone flies off horizontally and strikes the ground after traveling a
horizontal distance of 10 meters, somebody has done the measurement and given it to
you.
So, this gives you when I say something moves with an initial velocity you get an idea I
have the swirling of the stone like this and suddenly the string snaps and it comes with an
initial velocity, when I have a gun, you have a gun powder which provides the, which
bursts and provides the initial velocity to the bullet and here the initial velocity comes
from circular motion.
You know in many of the

problems that we have
solved I have consciously
taken effort to bring in the
physical reality to the
extent possible to aid your
visualization fine. How do
I go and solve the
problem? I have a circular
motion initially and I have
a projectile motion to follow. And you know if you look at a problem in dynamics, there
are many; many ways of solving it, there is no one unique method to solve the problem.
The method which is comfortable to you should adopt and then solve and we will solve it
from first principles from the simplest way of handling it and I can look at the horizontal
and vertical motion as independent and investigate what is the height the ball has to fall
on the ground that is and I get .
So, the time taken to reach the ground when I substitute the quantities this turns out to be
0.64 seconds. So, I have looked at the vertical motion initially and I have calculated the
time. And let me look at the horizontal motion next, see before I go into this I would like
454
to caution the reason why I said from where the initial velocity comes, when you want to
coin a problem you simply say there is an initial velocity, but you should also visualize
in which of the applications you can get that initial velocity.
See one of the commonest things that I find is you know young mothers when they bring
their children to the school in IIT they come at a terrific speed and the children are not
clinging onto the vehicle or the mother firmly when they come. Imagine if there is some
obstruction and the boy or the girl travelling in the scooter falls off, they do not realize it
can be a cause for danger ok. If you are travelling at slow speed of 20 km/hr when you
dislodge yourself you have 20 km/hr.
When you are firmly fixed to the body nothing happens to you that is the reason why
they want you to wear seatbelt in a car or when you are sitting in a scooter you should
put the child properly see elders will know how to manage, but children will not know
how to cling onto it and if you really observe the scooters children are not kept in a safe
position. And if you go abroad there are regulations on what should be the child seat,
how they should be secured, they will be never allowed to sit in the front seat of a car, a
car is much safer than a two-wheeler fine.
So, as educated students when you have the role of parenting please apply your
mechanics understanding and handle them safely, it is very unsafe what you see on the
common ground is very unsafe and you should also realize there are thumb rules which
says if you are travelling at a speed of 20 km and have a fall, it is equivalent to falling
from two-story building.
You realize when you go to a storey building you will not jump off, you know that it is
very dangerous, on the other hand, you think 20 km is not a very great speed and 40
kilometers is like falling from fourth floor. So, do not make your life very
uncomfortable, you learn mechanics bring in that understanding in your day to day
dealings fine it is not for just learning and getting the grades it should percolate into your
lifestyle where it is needed.
455
So, consider the horizontal motion I get and ; and now I have
this as a circular motion, I can easily find out what is the centripetal acceleration
. So, it is
very simple, but it is also
very interesting. So,
always visualize when I
say there is an initial
velocity; what is the source
of that initial velocity?
That will make you a better
engineer because you start
visualizing and then relate
it to physical situations
fine.
I can also solve this by

another method with just
one equation provided I
know the equation which I
would not recommend
because you do not have to
remember anything, but
here I should know the
projectile path, if I know
the projectile path and I
substitute the value I get the velocity straight forward I get the same answer, I cannot get
any different answer. There are multiple ways that you can solve a given problem.
Choose a method that is comfortable to you, I would always prefer a method where I
start from the first principle where I do not have to remember anything fine. So, that is
my recommendation to you.
456
So, far we have never

looked at the air resistance;
what happens when there
is air resistance? I am not
going to solve it
mathematically, but I
would give you an idea
what would happen to the
range; obviously, the range
will get shortened and that
needs to be accommodated
when you are designing a missile you want to hit your enemy. You should calculate all
of this an intercontinental ballistic missile you need to even bring in relativity theory and
then calculate.
If they travel for 500 km

one thing if they travel for
20,000 km the story is
different, you cannot apply
the same mechanics for
short distance and long
distances. So, there is all
the more important for you
to learn mechanics.
And let us look at another situation what happens we have seen when I drop a ball
because of acceleration due to gravity it acquires speed. Now, I do not drop the ball at
short distance I go to a very tall building and drop the ball. What happens? So, you have
the concept of terminal velocity, you should thank God; God has created all of this it is
457
not that anything you drop will acquire infinite velocity, ok, the velocity cannot reach
beyond a particular point.
When an object starts falling it starts with a 0 velocity, it gains velocity as it falls due to
gravitation, but you should
also look at air resistance.
See in engineering we
bring in features when they
are significant when you
have learnt the projectile
motion there was air
around you; you are not
done that experiment in
vacuum. When it is not
significant you do not
bring in into your modeling, when it is significant you bring it into your modeling and
then understand what happens.
Drag resistance develops

and you have a drag force
Fd and that is given as
where Cd is
the drag coefficient
depending on which fluid
you are moving in and A is
the projected area, v is the
velocity and this keeps
increasing. So, it reaches a
situation that it balances
the weight of the object, at one point of time the drag force equals the gravitational force
and the body reaches equilibrium.
458
That is what you see here and I get this final expression and I can also
find out what is the limiting velocity, it will move at a constant velocity downwards and
this is .
So, this is the velocity of body at this point and you have called this as terminal velocity,
people also have calculated for different situation what is the terminal velocity possible
and if you take a shot put it
can have terminal velocity
of 145 meters per second it
takes 2500 meters for it to
achieve this, 95 % of the
velocity for it to reach.
And for a skydiver he will
have the highest velocity
of 60 meters per second
you need to be trained to
be a skydiver, everybody
cannot do skydiving.
Because now you have all these sports have come in abroad you have skydiving also
possible, people go for skydiving and come back and if your health is not alright then do
not try out all of this.
There is a difference between skydiving and a parachutist; parachutist has a velocity of

only 5 m/s, whereas a skydiver he will have a terminal velocity of 60 m/s and your body
should be strong enough to withstand, it is constitutional strong does not gain age. You
can have our honorable past president doctor Abdul Kalam travelling in the jet airplane
and comeback safely at the age of close to 75 or 76, even as young boy can have a
problem ok, so do not try out skydiving without knowing this.
459
And another interesting thing is the raindrop, see all of this are falling at some known
height raindrop from the clouds it comes, imagine it acquires velocity and then you will
have injections you will not go out in the rain you cannot have a nice film song in rain
fine ok. Thankfully it has a terminal velocity of only 7 m/s and it acquires this with a
very short distance of 6 meters ok.
See, in dynamics what you

do is in problems where
you can see absolute
motion you try to solve
based on absolute motion
that is what we have seen
earlier, but a variety of
practical problems you can
handle if you understand
the concept of relative
motion fine and you know you had recent floods in Kerala, so our air force was dropping
food to all of these people. The question here is for an observer on the earth he would see
the packet following a parabolic path because it follows the projectile motion. What
would be the motion perceived by the person sitting in the aircraft that is what we have
to find out ok.
Let us understand the concept of relative motion. So, I have given the axis like this the
particle is labeled as A and this moving object is labeled as B and let us analyze the
motion and it is given in the problem the plane moves at an acceleration you are given
the acceleration a in the x direction it is not moving with constant velocity. It is picking
up speed because it has to go from one place to another place fine fast enough. So, the
velocity of plane is .
460
And velocity of body in x direction is because at this point when it dropped it has a same
velocity like the plane. So,
this is where I said from
where does the initial
velocity come if it is
dislodged, from the
moving object it has a
same velocity as that ok.
So, velocity of body in x
direction is and
velocity of body in x
direction with respect to
plane and substitute this relevant expressions I get this as -at and position of
body in x direction with respect to plane because I want to find out what happens to this
with respect to plane, the x position is given as and I can also find out
velocity of body in y
direction and
velocity of body with
respect to vertical plane is
same there is no change
because it is moving in the
same height.
Position of body in y
direction with respect to
plane is , now I
combine these two expressions I get an equation as . So, this is nothing, but a
straight line.
461
So, if a person sitting in the air plane he would see the object falling as a straight line this
is what he would feel. So, this is just to give you an idea on relative motion.
Then we move onto how to

apply Newton’s law, you
will also have to appreciate
inertial frame of reference
and lifts are very; very
common these days and
here you have a few stories
and if you go to New York
you have 75 stories, 100
stories. So, you really travel for a very, very long distance and they have very efficient
lifts which will cover 60 floors in 10 seconds or 15 seconds and so on fine.
So, there you will definitely feel that there is an accelerations, steady motion and
deceleration all that you will have an opportunity to feel for it, in a short distance of two
floors or four floors you may not feel that. Now, what I do is I have a spring scale in the
lift and the man is standing on it and let us analyze what happens to this air as again we
just model this a particle and I have this weight acting downwards. And I have the
reaction from the floor; the floor is here the spring scale the idea is we can also note
down what is the reading of the spring scale, is the diagram complete?
This is that you have to make a difference between statics and problems dealing with
dynamics. The particle is having an acceleration a you have to indicate that very clearly
only then the diagram is complete fine and I am going to write the Newton’s law
standing on ground I am not going to stand inside the lift and then write it, here I can say
F = ma fine. I can write the motion is in the y direction, so I can put and from
this I get and what is the surprising answer you are getting I get
462
. What would the spring scale show as the reading on it? It will only show
the reaction fine.
So, you will find the weight of the man is more than what he is actually is because the
spring scale shows only the force that it exerts on the man. So, the apparent weight
shown by the scale is higher. So, do not get annoyed when you are on weight reduction
because that is a common thing that is happening, governments are putting levies on
people who are overweight and you are on a regime of dieting and then you find that you
are overweight in a fun do not be annoyed, you can also be underweight when you are
travelling in a lift ok. So, now, that you comment and think about it what will spring
scale show when the lift is
coming down and
decelerated ok.
Let us move onto another

situation, it has come to the
this level, then it is moving
at a constant velocity
imagine that I am going for
100 floors in rock feller
tower and let us write the
free body diagram I take this as a particle I have reaction R I have mg. Now I recognize
that this is moving at a constant velocity, there is no acceleration we have learnt from
Galileo’s principle of relativity moving at a constant velocity or stationery one and the
same. So, in this case I will have and I have and I get the reaction
equal to the actual weight.
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Now, let me think of third situation it is coming down accelerating, let us see what
happens, I put the free body diagram. I have this. The diagram is not complete is should
also put in the acceleration until then this diagram is not complete, we are dealing
problems in dynamics.
Then simply apply these
expressions ;
because the
acceleration is in the
opposite direction of the
coordinate axis, so I get
this as .
So, if I or on a weight
reduction regiment do not
be happy that your weight is low when you are coming down in the lift, you have to look
at the actual weight and then decide about it. Apparent weight shown by the scale is
lower and now comment what will the spring scale show when the lift is going up and
decelerating.
Let me move onto another

unfortunate situation that
the lift is snapped, so it is
falling at what acceleration
and you know now all this
space agencies, they want
to generate more resources,
they want to send people
and feel 0 gravity, so millionaires can fund some of their space programs. Early only
astronauts were doing it, you get something similar to this in this when I put the equation
464
and when I put the free fall acceleration, I get an answer the reaction is 0 ok.
So, you feel weight less apparent weight shown by the scale is 0.
Now, let us go back and

analyze from a different
perspective. Now, I have
an observer inside the lift
noting down what happens
in the spring scale, it is
going up and accelerating
fine. We have already seen
this diagram earlier, the
same diagram and I will
also have to put the
acceleration and . I can apply only from inertial frame of reference, when I
am standing on the ground it is the initial frame of reference it is not having an
acceleration. I can write this expression and the spring scale shows only the
force that it exerts on the man.
However, for an observer standing outside, for an observer standing inside the lift the
expression for net force is again mathematically we are not qualifying what is
the value R what is the value of this one, this is same for the observer inside the lift also.
Can the person inside the lift use this and write the Newton’s law? Because this where
people make a mistake see you will have to understand when to apply Newton’s law, you
can apply only in an inertial frame of reference. For an observer going in a lift with an
acceleration does he perceive any acceleration? He will perceive no acceleration. He
cannot write the Newton’s law there.
One will get only absurd answers as the lift is accelerating and not an inertial frame of
references very; very important for you to note ok. So, for an observer in the lift
acceleration is 0, so apply the Newton’s law very carefully. See this what we are going to
465
learn, how do we analyze relative motion from various perspectives for a rigid body,
then move onto kinetics
where we apply the
Newton’s law properly
fine.
And we would also see one

more interesting
application because in
India the roads have
become very good now
and also have very
powerful cars. And often we hear accidents happens by young drivers fine, you learn
mechanics please apply your mechanics when you drive.
And you have to recognize when the car has to come to a stop, you need a finite distance
though in advertisement they say that I have a good braking system it is going to be
instant do not believe all of that. People are developing; developing definitely braking
system you have ABS so many parameters people are finding it out so that it does not
become a turtle all that they are doing it let them do all of it.
And if you look at this and I can analyze this as a particle. So, I get the distance required
for it to stop is a function of the velocity and I look at this I have normal reaction, I have
this weight of the car. And you have a frictional force generated because of your braking
action between the tire and the road and this has an acceleration like this it is actually
deceleration, but we do it like this, but mathematics will help me to get the correct sign.
So, this happens when f is fmax.
So, and I am in a position to get the expression which relates the distance
as a function of the quantities finally. The minimum distance required is a function of the
velocity as well as the coefficient of friction.
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See now, we are having rains in Chennai you have to be very careful when you driving
because of water the friction decreases fine and what you find is if the friction decreases
by half the d minimum increases by two times.
So, you have to understand

there is a minimum
stopping distance that is
required. So, do not drive
the vehicle on a rainy day
carelessly. You also have a
table which shows I do not
think any driver in India
maintains when they travel
at 40 kilometers per hour a distance of 7.87 meters. So, accidents are waiting to happen,
in many of the industries they will say accidents do not happen they are caused ok, so
this one way of bringing in safety.
So, you have to recognize, you have to maintain a respectful distance on the road in case
of any eventuality you need to brake your car, you often hear in the Yamuna expressway
you have a pile of cars, when somebody applies a break you have 100 cars come and hits
which used to happen in the west occasionally. Now it is happening in India that is why
you need to have all these cars to have crash worthiness. Earlier we were travelling at
very slow speed, we were not travelling at very high speed.
So, once you are travelling at a high speed you have to bring in airbags for your
protection, seatbelts for your protection and as engineers when you drive the car
recognize that there is a minimum stopping distance which is the function of the velocity
as well as the friction coefficient of friction and the friction drops when you have a water
on the ground because of rain. So, you educate yourself and educate your friends and
relatives and have a safe driving.
So, in this class we have looked at an overview of particle dynamics and we find a
variety of situations can be modeled as a particle and we have also looked at what is
467
known as terminal velocity and we have also looked at how to apply the Newton’s law
when the lift is accelerating or decelerating. And finally, we have also looked at what is a
minimum distance for a car to stop which is very; very essential particularly India
nowadays because we have very good roads and very high powerful cars.
Thank you.
468
Prof. K. Ramesh
Module – 02
Dynamics
Lecture – 02
Circular Motion
So, let us move on to

Circular Motion.
And let us take a particle

moving along an arbitrary
path. And let us look at
quantities from a Cartesian
coordinates system. I have
the position vector for the
particle and I can write the vector as . Now let me find out the velocity I will
do the differentiation of
this; when you do the
differentiation, apply the
product rule properly and
write the all the quantities,
do not leave any quantity
untouched.
So, when I do that, I get
this as
and let us look at what
happens when the particle has moved by a small distance to a position A’. I have the new
469
position vector as rA’ and let us look at what are the base vectors at point A and point A’.
We are looking at the Cartesian coordinate system, when I do that at point A; I get this as
i and j at point A’ also I have this as simply i and j. Please make a neat sketch of all this
even though you know these concepts earlier; clarity is required for further development
of the subject if you have clarity then you do not need any preparation for your
examinations.
So, by virtue of they being

identical I can write
, this makes our

life very simple in
Cartesian coordinate
system. So, I simply write
the velocity as
and when I
want to get the
acceleration, the
differentiation become
simple because we already
know that has

made our life very simple.
And I have the vector v can

be looked at as
components vx and vy, then
again acceleration as
simply . So,
this is fairly simple you
have no difficulty at all and this is what we have learnt it in your earlier exposure also.
470
Now, let us move on to polar coordinates you know I make my animation slow; the
reason is that you also make a neat sketch of what we discuss. I have an arbitrary path, I
have the particle A, again I put the position vector, then I also draw the coordinate axis
there I have r direction like this and θ direction like this and let me put the unit vectors
on this direction as er and eθ.
So, make a neat sketch of it make a big sketch so that you have clarity and what we
discussed. Then I move from position A to position A’ separated by a distance dθ, I have
moved to A’. So, I have this as rA’ the distance as the position vector is denoted as rA’
and here again, I can draw the r coordinate system and θ coordinate system when I have
the polar coordinate system, let us look at how this coordinate change from position to
position.
So, I draw a extension of line rA’ , I get the r axis perpendicular to the I put θ. And the
diagram is drawn so big for
you to visualize unlike
what we saw in the
Cartesian coordinate
system. If I put the unit
vectors er’ and eθ’, they are
not identical like what we
had seen in the Cartesians
coordinate system. It
remains i and j when I
moved from point to point,
but here it changes from er to er’; they are not parallel there is distinct difference and we
will analyse these differences ok. Unit vectors change depending on the position; this is
what you have to recognise.
471
So, when I recognise this I would also go and put these with a much bigger
magnification. So, I have er it has changed to er’ and eθ has changed to eθ’ and let me
complete this vector diagram. So, this is the direction θ this is +θ and when I put a
perpendicular to this, this becomes -r. So, that is very necessary for our discussion later
and I would call this change as der. So, er + der gives me er’, eθ + deθ gives me eθ’.
Now, look at how do we designate the magnitude of der; mind you that these are unit
vectors. So, when I say that these are unit vectors the magnitude simply turns out to be
deθ, from the diagram it is very clear and we are discussing about der and what is this
direction it is along this direction. So, the unit vector is eθ.
Now, let us look at deθ before that I have written it . Let us look at similarly
the magnitude of deθ that also turns out to be simply because these are unit vectors, I get
this simply as dθ and what is this direction? It is clearly given in the figure. So, you can
write the direction as - erθ
is what is you have to be
careful about; this - er and I
can write this as
. So, let me
rearrange the terms above
and I can write
And let us move on and divide them by d t and rearrange it because we are interested as a
function of time in dynamics. So, when I do that; I get dθ/dt which
could be simply written as and ; it is a very important relationship.
Because what you have to recognize is when we move on to polar coordinates which
becomes convenient in certain class of problems. You have to leave it with polar
472
coordinates, you cannot always leave it Cartesian coordinate, certain problems are easy
to handle in a polar coordinate system, certain other problems are easy to analyze in n t
coordinate or intrinsic coordinate system. So, when you use intrinsic coordinates or polar
coordinates in both of these the unit vectors change, only in Cartesian coordinate system
the unit vectors remain unaltered ok.
And I have done it for polar coordinates, I would like you to do it independently for the n
t coordinates or the intrinsic coordinates. Now, look at how do we get the expression for
velocity and acceleration. Now I can write and apply the product rule properly
and write the velocity as
. And we
know very well what is
; that is given as ;
so I get velocity as
; I can also
recognize what is the r
component and θ
component and I extend
the same for acceleration.
I would like you to differentiate and check your mathematics with my expression
because you know when I make the slide, I can also make small mistakes in the
expressions. Because these are usually cut and paste and, in the process, we miss out
something, you apply the product rule, collect all the terms and put them in proper
fashion and check it with my expression.
It is a very simple exercise. So, I have and I differentiate this expression employing
the product rule properly. So, I get this as we have

not left out any term fine.
473
You might have used circle motion where the radius is constant, there some terms go to
0. What we are now looking at is a particle is moving along an arbitrary path, r is not
constant it varies as a function of position. When I simplify this, I get the acceleration as
, I am not telling the

brackets and that is
understandable ok. So, this
is a most general
expression that I get for
acceleration and velocity if
I employ polar coordinates
to investigate the motion.
And this is finally summarized as I have velocity; it is now represented as a component

in the r direction and a
component in the θ
direction, I can visualize
this as Vr and Vθ.
I know it is very important

to see in our day to day life
we have many applications
where we come across
rotation from a simple
hanging fan like this or
impeller blade and you have a gear drive here. See, I made it a point that this is a course
on engineer mechanics when there is an opportunity to bring in engineering aspects, I
would like to show that. I have different types of gears, I have one set of gears here, I
have another set of gears here, I have a third set of gears here ok.
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If you look at these are known as spur gears and these are known as bevel gears and this
is called as warm and warm wheel. And look at in all of these cases how the axes are
aligned? And you can look at here, the gears are rotating like this and you can closely
look at what is the kind of profile that you have on the teeth that profile is known as
involute profile, you learn in later courses and you need that for smooth functioning of
the gear. And in the cases of bevel gear note that I have an axis like this, I have another
axis horizontal they intersect at a point. So, you are in a position to translate rotation
from one direction to another direction using this.
On the hand, you have a warm and warm wheel where you required a very high
reduction in the speed this is used, you will find that this is a warm this is called a warm
and this is the warm wheel the warm wheel will have a very slow rotation. And also look
at the axis I have an axis of worm like this and I have an axis of a worm wheel like this.
And what is common in all these cases? You have a fixed axis around which these
objects rotate.
And I have also

deliberately shown a table
fan in this fashion table fan
has a very interesting
motion we will see that
later. It also has an axis
and because in many
applications, you have an
axis above which things
rotate we also cloud our
thinking and we always
perceive rotation with
respect to fixed axis this is a mental blog that we have, but we have to get out of it fine.
And suppose we would like to analyze something in a circle motion like this what is the
kind of mathematics that we have to do? I have the general expression velocity and
acceleration that we have derived just now.
475
If I have a motion along the circular path first definition is r remains constant; it is not
like this is varying in a generic path I have r changing, when I say r remain constant and
I have r dot and r double
dot goes 0 and a circle
motion is simplified simply
as .
And I have this I have an

object I have shown this as
a rigid body, I have a
reason for it I have axis
above which the body
rotates and I have taken a representative point and pictured its motion like this; this is at
a distance fixed distance r from the point of rotation. And when I look at this expression,
I get .
And I also represent v as tangential to the path as rω and I have acceleration this reduces
to . And I can also visualize it in the diagram a r as pointing towards
this centre of rotation . This you know very well you know many
times you have looked at these expressions and you should not undermine this
expression; you should know how to use these expressions properly.
Even though I say that we have looked at axis of rotation, even when we solve later our
problems, we will somehow look at this as circle motion about some point which will
make our calculations very simple. Even though there is no deliberate circular motion we
would have instantaneous centre of rotation, all these concepts will develop. So, we
would fall back to these expressions because we are accustomed to this and use this
intelligently for solving different problem situations.
476
And I can also represent

this in other fashion, I can
also recognize this as nt
coordinates and I have just
shown that this is rotating
in clockwise or antic lock
wise both are possible.
Let us compare the

expressions when I write in
expression for v, we
always say it as , how you have learnt it has anybody told you as ωr? Usually, we
will call it as rω but when I write it as a vectorial form what is that I should do? I have to
do very careful I have to call it as ω×r do not make a mistake because you always call it
as rω, in vectorial form it does not become r ×ω it is ω × r ok.
See these are all the usual mistakes students do in a hurry and I have a normal reaction,
normal acceleration and that is given as an=rω2 and that is nothing, but
and if I write it in vectorial form, I would write it as and

this is what I have shown it here; I have a acceleration towards this point.
This is the normal component and I can also write the tangential component; usually you
call it as rα that is what you say rα, but when I write it in vectorial form; I should say it
as . See we would solve problems graphically so that you get better

visualization where we will deal with components there you can easily use rω or rα, you
would also solve the problem by vectorial notation you have to handle those vectors
carefully, ω × r and α × r you should never make a mistake there.
477
And you know you also have a vector triple product when you want to do a vector
algebra; it is also desirable that how do you do this quickly. There is no point in spending
time looking at i j k and then do the long hand calculation for a simple expression. If you
look at, I would get the
answer as
. The interpretation is what

I get in the triple product is
minus of the product of the
scalars; please write down
it is a very important
property which you might
have not noticed it, it will
make your algebra faster.
So, it is nothing, but the minus of the product of the scalars and the directions
corresponding to the last
vector; in a vector triple
product invariably, you
will get only the answer
like this. So, if you know
the trick you can do the
mathematics fast and you
will not come back and say
question paper is simple,
but it is very long you need
to apply all these tricks to
solve your problem quickly
ok.
And before we move on to further discussion; let us also look at the analogy between
rectilinear motion and angular motion. The repetition of what you all learnt earlier no
478
harm in having these equations again in your notes; and the parlance in angle
motion is and
acceleration is
Here I have
a
nd you also have another
interrelationship
. In angular motion it is .
And we will also look at

the other expressions and
mind you that these are
derived for constant
acceleration; a has to be
constant ,
and
479
And you know I am not going to bring in these equations again, for completeness these
equations are necessary, fine. Now, look at what is happening to this line. Observe this
and then visualize these are anything that you can recognise out of this I have just shown
a line. What does it look like? Line is moving in space fine in a plane it is moving, it is
rotation ok.
So, I have given this as I have already shown that this is rotating like this and I am
showing another line like this. What is happening to this line; what is happening to this
line? Let us compare these two, this line is rotating like this line is moving like this; are
they one and the same or different? They are different; I am happy, I want you to say that
I want to provoke you to say that I have done my job ok. Let us look at how these lines
have come about fine, because you are accustomed to this, this looks weird, this looks
different fine.
Let me tell you how I made this animation, I would say before deriving this; this is
rotating with angular velocity ω this is also revolving with angular velocity ω, they are
not different ok.
Let me put the cat out of

the bag; I will see this is
you have pictured it very
clearly this is a rotation I
have a object which is
rotating about a axis and
you are able to see this.
And what I have done in
the second case is; again I am rotating the same object, I have taken a different line that
is all, we are not accustom to that; we have a mental block rotation means it should be
like a spoke in a wheel, am I right. You have to get out of that if you get out of that
feeling, then you can understand general playing motion of a rigid body.
480
And we have to understand what is the meaning of rotation; we are having a relook at it.
When I say you have to have a relook at it, we will also have to evaluate this, quantify
this, how do I quantify rotation? We all know you say angular velocity how do you
define angular velocity?
And the next slide shows

to convince you; they are
one and the same I am
showing all of them in one
plot. But you may think
that you showed these
diagrams differently, you
show everything at all at
the same time let me see this is rotating on this object. This is a line which is again
rotating above this centre of rotation, but the line is different that is all the difference, but
for appearance it looks as if it has a very complicated motion; it is because our eye is not
tuned to it, suppose want to
make a machine man as a
scientist what is that I
should do?
I should actually monitor

what is its motion from a
fixed reference. Here we
know that this is θ and I
can say and then do it. If

I have to monitor this, I
should find out what is the
angle with respect to a fixed reference and monitor as a function of time; what happens
to that ok. And we would also derive, so this becomes and here it would result
481
see here I am measuring it anti clock wise, here I am measuring it clock wise.
So, that makes a difference; so, we will get on to this.
I have this shown again now look at this we know . So, I have this angle θ, now
on this diagram I put this line CD as it is like this here. And you know this is scribed on
this rigid body whatever the angle in this case it appears to be degrees, it need not be 90 I
have just put a generic angle beta that relative variation will always remain same, you
agree with me? That does not change. Now, I put this angle ϕ and from the property of
the triangle what is that I
get? I get .
So, I take the time

derivative I get this as
; is the idea
clear? You know your
rotation very well, but you
have understood certain
aspect of it if something
differently shown to you;
you are shaky. Now, you will never be shaky we will again revisit it ok, I will again
explicit it from a different perspective.
Is there any sanctity that I should measure it only from horizontal? No, the requirement
is I should have a fixed reference in space, if I measure it with phi, it will also go to the
same angular velocity.
482
Let us take a noncircular object I again have scribed two lines, now you know very well
how to find out what is the definition of ω, scribe the line and monitor what happens to
that line fine. And this is having a rotation like this and we want to find out what is the
rotation of this object ok.
So, I put a line to that the
idea here is one normally
one normally associates
rotation with concept of
centre of rotation as many
day to day examples are
like that.
I do not need to define

rotation based on a centre
of rotation; it is enough
that I mark a line on the rigid body and monitor its motion from a fixed reference, then I
can find out what is the angular velocity either this line or the other line this is one and
the same ok. I have measured both of them anti clock wise; when I measured both of
them as anti clock wise I would get and .
So, it is a very subtle

concept it is better that we
revisit this. For defining
angular velocity and
angular acceleration one
need not look for the centre
of rotation, just scribe a
line on the body and
monitor its motion with
respect to a fixed reference.
You know books do not
pay so much attention on
explaining this; it is a very subtle concept that you need to know.
483
And I also have another example you know I have taken a wheel; it is not a rolling it is
just rotating above this axis, I just shown one reference here, another reference here.
Normally, if you are asked to find out what is the angular velocity; involuntarily you will
take a line on the spoke because, you always associate rotation with centre of rotation
and put a radial line, this is how you do it. And this I have measured it as clock wise
angle θ, I can also have another line which is put on it is this portion of the wheel,
another line CD monitor it from a fixed reference. In the same sense if I measure it clock
wise; this also I measure it clock wise and monitor what it is this would also be simply
ω.
So, the fundamental learning what you learn here is if I want to investigate whether the
body is rotating or not;
scribe a line on the rigid
body, monitor it from a
fixed reference, whatever
the answer you get you
would be able to specify
that as ω or α as the case
may be fine.
And before we complete

this let me go back to a particle moving in a circular path; I have a particle moving in the
circular path and this is what is happening to the particle. And then if I want to define the
motion of the particle at an instant of time, I would have taken the centre, I would have
labelled it as OA and θ.
And tell me what is can I call this as a ω of the particle? What would you do? I have
; it is rotating in a circular path can I call this as ω of the particle? Tempting, it is

tempting that why not I call it I cannot call it for a particle; particle by definition is a spec
fine.
484
We have looked at I have a big car which is moving in a straight line without any hit
against a tree, I said I can analyze it as a particle. Have you played with a magic ball
when you are kids you have rubber ball and then you spin it? It will go forward and
backward and come to a halt; it is like a boomerang. You throw it comes back to you, but
you have to spin it, if you do not spin it properly it will not do.
How will you analyze that ball from dynamics point of view? It is very small can you
call it as a particle? You cannot take it as a particle; the moment it has a spinning, you
have to treat it as a rigid body. So, please understand when I say in the contrast of
particle analysis; you have to recognize as a rate of change of line OA, angular
velocity is defined only for rigid bodies. Again, a very subtle concept, we all know about
it, but we do not handle it properly it is a very subtle concept.
And if I have to find out the angular velocity, scribe the line and find out its rate of
change of orientation from a fixed reference. So, you have a recipe I am going to use this
recipe in tomorrow’s class
and find out what is
rotation and understand
what is general plane
motion fine.
Let us move on to solving

simple problem which
combines linear motion as
well as rotary motion and I
would like you to look at the gears here. What you see in the first place? What is the
rotation of this; this is rotating anti clock wise, what is the rotation of the other gear? It is
clock wise understand this inter relationships, if you have a gear in mesh; if one is
rotating anti clock wise, other will be rotating in clock wise.
And it moves very smoothly. So, I have teeth engaged on this; this is not the replica of
this I could get some gears moving, I thought you have not exposed to gear it is better
485
that something of a physical reality, then you can correlate what happens to these gears; I
can simply replace these gear with a mean radius of the contact at the point ok.
I will not put these teeth when I look at the solving of the problem. And take down the
statement here, what it is gear B is attached to the hoist drum and the pinion A drives it
this is the hoist drum. The gear B is integral with the drum C and I have a smaller gear
you usually call it as a pinion that is the language used in engineering.
Pinion means if I have a 2-gear system smallest gear you call it as a pinion which
acquires a velocity of 3 metres per second, I have a block which is resting here at a
height of 0.6 metre from the rest position. At this instant determine the acceleration of
load P, acceleration of point C on the cable in contact with the drum, angular velocity
and angular acceleration of pinion A; all these quantities you have to find out.
So, it is nice problem combining linear motion and circular motion; I am not quite sure
whether you have solved
such problems earlier it is
very simple for you to
solve ok.
Just to refresh how to solve

the equations and I have
replaced the sketch of
these gears as simple
circles. And the essential
geometries listed I have and , from equations of linear motion I can write
this as and . I get please check my arithmetic ok.
That is a reason why I told you that you should bring your calculators, then and there you
check and verify if there is any typographical error please bring it to my attention. And
assuming no slipping condition this will be the tangential acceleration of point C do you
486
recognize this? This is a rope which is winding on the drum and this has a particular
acceleration, this is the same as tangential acceleration of point C ok.
And what is the normal acceleration? I have the dimensions marked and I have this
velocity and I have the
expression
.
And let me put the angular
accelerations here normal
accelerations here and I put
the tangential acceleration
this is same as linear
acceleration of this block
B. So, I get the net
acceleration ac.
So, I have a net acceleration of point C as 16.77 metre per second square; from which
what is that I can find out? I can find out the velocity and acceleration of gear, gear B are
given by and B and C are integral. So, I get this as 5 rad/s, from this acceleration
value I can also find out the angular acceleration of gear B I have and is nothing,
but 7.5 m/s2.
So, I get and what is common in between these 2 gears the pinion
and the gear you have a common point here at the common point both of them should
have same linear velocity. So, I have gear B as ωB and αB shown like this and I have for
gear A; ωA like this now you know very well this is anti clock wise this is clock wise that
is how a gear pair operates.
And I have α a like this and I have this velocity v1 if I measure it from this gear or this
pinion it should be identical, I use that for me to find out the quantities of interest. So, it
487
can have velocity v1 and acceleration a 1. So, that gives me the requisite expressions to
get the answers.
So, I get
, this is counter
clockwise motion and I
have
. Please check the

numerical calculation and
alert me if there are any
typographical errors. Let us move on to another simple problem.
I have circular disc rotates

above the z axis, I have the
point A on the periphery
marked and I have a point
B which is marked at this
point in time along the y
axis at a distance of 100
millimetres and the
velocity of point A lying at
the periphery of the disc is
4.5 metres per second.
And it is decreasing at the rate of 9 m/s2. At this instant determine the angular
acceleration of the disc and I would also like you to write it in vectorial form. Also
determine the total acceleration of point B which I have already said on the y axis at a
488
distance of 100 perimeter. Again, a very simple problem the idea is to get familiarized
with handling those equations it is fairly straight forward.
So, what is given is
and you
have to recognize what is
given as the acceleration as
. You have
to recognise from the
problem statement the
value given is a t that is
what you have to recognize ok. This is - 9 m/s2, the mathematics is very simple angular
velocity at point A is . So, in vectorial form it is 30 k and angular

acceleration at point A is
αA is
it is fairly a straight
forward problem.
And we get the

acceleration at point B. So,
I have to write it as
and you could substitute these expressions the values for these
expressions and we have already seen how to do a triple product. So, when I simplify; I
get this as .
489
The focus of this example is to interpret the problem statement and in vectorial analysis
put it as α × r and ω × r; do not put it as rω r × ω or r × α it is the other way you have to
recognize that.
Let me move on to a 3rd

problem it is again a very
simple; what I have is I
have disc of radius 300
millimetres. For a point on
the periphery that the
tangential acceleration is
given for another point the
orientation of the
acceleration is given ok.
So, the tangential component of acceleration of a point A on the periphery of the disc at
an instant is 9 m/s2. By
some measurement at point
B only the direction of
acceleration is known and
what other quantity that is
known is the tangent of the
angle θ made by the
acceleration with its radial
line BO is 0.6. This tangent
of θ tanθ is 0.6. Determine
the angular velocity of the
disc and the final part of
the question is can you comment on its direction ok.
490
So, tanθ is 0.6 the interpretation of the statement problem statement I have a B at this
orientation and I have this as rω2 and this is rα. So, I get I get . The
tangential acceleration at point A is given by that is tangential component and I
get . From
this, I can go and find out
what is the value of ω.
I get and I get
this as .
So, the idea is to say do not
think if α is given in one
direction, ω will be in the same direction; ω is an independent quantity, α is an
independent quantity fine.
So, both the answers are possible; ω could be clockwise or counter clockwise depending
on whether the root is positive or negative; both solutions are admissible, we do not have
additional data to find out which is the direction for this problem. So, you will have to
anticipate at both the solutions are possible. So, respect mathematics; do not say I like
positive I will say ω is positive and then deal with it ok.
So, in this lecture we have looked at circular motion basically we looked at nuances of
employing polar coordinates, we saw that the unit vectors change, we develop the
interrelationships. Then we have also looked at what is the meaning of rotation? Finally,
we said if you want to find out the rotation of a rigid body; simply scribe the line and
monitor its motion from a fixed reference, you get the angular velocity and the angular
acceleration of the body. Then we solved certain simple problems and the concept of
rotation is subtle and I hope I have made that idea clear for you to appreciate general
plane motion of a rigid body.
Thank you.
491
Prof. K. Ramesh
Module - 02
Dynamics
Lecture – 03
Absolute Motion
Let us move on to the analysis of rigid bodies using their Absolute Motion.
You know I move the

duster that is what
simulated here, this motion
is very easy to comprehend
and all of you would say at
this is rectilinear
translation; there is no
difficulty at all in
visualizing what is this.
Then we have also seen fixed axis rotation, this is rotating anticlockwise and I can also
rotate this clockwise; it could be clockwise or anticlockwise. Make a neat sketch of these
diagrams and observe what is a kind of motion that I am giving to the duster now.
How will you classify this kind of motion? Look at this motion and also the motion that
you have now. Are you able to perceive any difference between these two motions? For
your benefit I will repeat the animations. So, what I have here is it is moving over a
curve in one fashion, this is also moving over a similar curve in a slightly different
fashion, do you observe the difference? And how can we label this kind of a motion; this
is definitely a translation, but of a curvilinear in nature.
492
So, the difference is the body is not rotating when it traces a curve, this is slightly
difficult for you to appreciate initially you know you all have your mini drafters when
you want to move it, you
have a parallel bar
mechanism; you are able to
have a curvilinear
translation of this. If you
have your scales fixed
when you move it; you can
have a curvilinear
translation on your
drawing board.
And in the second case the object translated as well as rotated. So, you call that kind of a
motion as general plane motion and we will have to understand how this has come about.
Let us go back and visit our discussion on statics. You would also see that right now I
have a very nice interesting animation here. This is IC engine and this is a very
interesting problem that we would also solve later. It has all components of motion that
we have discussed so far, you have a fixed axis rotation, you have a translation, you also
have a general plane motion.
And this crank this is known as a crank; this crank has fixed axis rotation and your piston
has a reciprocating motion, essentially on a line. On the other hand, when I have this
connecting rod; this connecting rod what way can you classify the motion? The
connecting rod has a very interesting type of motion.
Because on end this is moving in this slot, the other end is rotated by the crank and this
in general has a general plane motion, it has both translation as well as rotation. I have
this translation when I come to this connecting rod; this has a translation as well as
rotation.
493
And in absolute motion

analysis what you do is;
make use of the geometric
relations which define the
configuration of the
system involved. You
know a class of problems
you can attempt to solve
by using absolute motion,
but it may not be
convenient to solve all
problems, so you need to develop newer methodologies; that is why we have translating
axis, rotating axis and so on, so that you are able to perceive the relative motion much
more easily than an absolute motion.
In the case of absolute

motion analysis you have a
mechanism like this; I am
having this with a velocity
pulling it out and you have
a groove and a slot and
these body can move in
this fashion in horizontal
fashion and since you have
already done virtual work
where we have looked at
pin jointed members like this, it is easy for you to visualize what would happen when I
move this cylinder. Then you get into the geometry and take the time derivative to obtain
velocities and acceleration. A class of problems can be easily amenable for solution
when I look at the absolute motion.
494
And we have looked at

what was rotation in the
previous class; this just a
recapitalization. So, you
will have to realize that it
is enough I put a line on a
body and monitor its
rotation and able to find
out what is the angular
velocity and all of you
have some idea of what is rolling. And I would like you to go back and see what
constitute rolling; see I have three discs I have put. Can you guess why I have put three
discs for me to explain?
If you have noted my initial slide that shows the background you would have got the
clue. Is it same as rotating about its axis, is it same as fixed axis rotation? Or it has some
connection with fixed axis rotation, you understand the question? You see a wheel rolls
everybody sees, you come to the class using a bicycle; the bicycle wheel rolls and then
come that why you are able to come to the class.
It is also rotating about its axis but it also has another component of motion and that is
what is beautifully illustrated in this animation. I have a fixed axis rotation and I have a
translation, the combinations of these two gives me rolling, sees again. What I show here
is this disc rolls in this direction. Why it rolls? You will have to now bring in an
understanding in statics you have read that when I have a rigid body, in general under the
action of different forces it can have a force and a couple at an arbitrary point and in
dynamics the arbitrary point we might take the mass center.
So, it can have a force which will translate, which will have another component, which
will tend to rotate it, that beautifully happens in the case of rolling. So, it is a
combination of fixed axis rotation and a translation; when I give these two this translates
and rolls as long as I given the translation here. Suppose I change the direction of a
495
translation, I am rotating the disc in the same manner, but I translated in this direction; it
rolls in this way; make a neat sketch of it. So, you have looked at their rolling and you
know the interrelationship and then you stop thinking and solve problem after problem;
that helps you to get grades.
But that does not help you to understand and appreciate what physically happens in
rolling and how do you model when we have complicated array of things where you
have to accommodate
rolling from the
fundamental principle. You
have to recognize rolling is
a combination of fixed axis
rotation plus a translation;
it has a rotation and a
translation.
And the next slide shows, I

have the similar rotation, I have a horizontal translation it rolls horizontally, I have a
vertical translation it rolls
vertically, I have an
inclined translation, it rolls
in an inclined fashion. It is
a very nice example of
general plane motion, very
common example that you
are accustomed to.
And let us get the

mathematics for this, so I have a wheel of radius r rolls on a flat surface without slipping
that is a very important statement, if you have slipping none of these kinematic relations
are valid. It is observed that the centre of the wheel has a velocity v naught and
496
acceleration a naught. Determine the angular motion of the wheel in terms of the linear
motion of its center O.
Also determine the path of a point on the rim of the wheel and its acceleration as the
point comes into contact with the surface upon which the wheel rolls. And you have nice
set of animations; please make a neat big sketch of this in your notes. Here it just rolls
from the next slide onwards you have much more details, so we move on to the next
slide.
And you have the disc rolls

by a small amount please
observe this; this animation
will be repeated. First
make an observation, then
you have enough
opportunity to draw, very
carefully drawn so this is
roll on the surface and the
point C which was originally it was contacting it was moved to a point C prime. And it
has horizontally translated by a distance s and we have already said it rolls without
slipping fine.
And what was C originally is now A here, so from A to C prime what should be the
distance without slipping? That is same as the distance s, then you are in a position to
write down the kinematical relationship; when the absolute motion is simple and very
clear finding out velocity and acceleration are straight forward ok.
So, I have this and how do I put θ? θ should be expressed in radians do not
substitute it in terms of degrees. So, once I have this relationship getting It

is a very important kinematical relationship; the moment you recognize in your system I
have a wheel that rolls. How does it roll? That also you have to look at.
497
See you have thick cables that are used for electrical cable laying; you will have a spool
and hub. There again you need to have a rolling and in some of those instances you will
have the hub rolls on the cable. So, you have to look at which part of the system is
rolling on what; that you have to recognize, then you straight away apply this
kinematical relationship then the problem is taking care of and I have .
Very simple and straightforward; is a classical example that we start when we discuss
absolute motion, as I mentioned earlier θ must be in radians. And in this case the
acceleration is shown in this direction as it was increasing, suppose the wheel is slowing
down; you will have a deceleration it will opposite to the sense of Vo.
I can have accelerating wheel as well as decelerating wheel both are possible. And this
just summarizes in such a case angular acceleration alpha will be opposite to that of ω.
The idea to emphasize here is once you know the direction of ω without a reflection on
what kind of motion, do not jump to write the direction of acceleration identical to ω that
is a message here. You have to investigate what is a motion, then appropriately put the
acceleration direction.
And here again to facilitate

visualization I have the
same animation repeated.
So, make a neat sketch and
put it or if you have drawn
the sketch half way
complete the sketch by
looking at this and I can
also write the quantities what I have this as x. I have x axis like this, y axis like this and
origin coincides with C and x you can easily write it as I can
also write .
Once I have this, I can also get x dot, y dot, x double dot, y double dot all of it you can
calculate, they are all very simple; please work it out yourself and check your arithmetic
498
with the final answers I have on my slide. I have ;
Then I do the second differentiation I get this as
So, these are all straightforward. In the absolute motion you should be in a position to get
a configuration, how the relative motion, how the motion takes place and if you are able
to depict that; differentiate and get the velocity, differentiate and get the acceleration.
I can also get
We will also understand little more about the motion of a wheel when it rolls.
It rolls like this and this is nothing but if I monitor what is the path taken by a point on
the rim, it would be the pink line what is shown here that is nothing but equation of a
cycloid. And there are very interesting stories about who are all worked on cycloid
people give credit to Galileo that he only coined the term and things like that and you
know historians always have many names; so many people have contributed to the
understanding of this, so it is very interesting to see.
And you also have many sites which provide you have a nice animation how when the
wheel rolls you get the cycloid. So, I have the position vector r is simply given as
. See one of the students came and ask me in my representation I

simply put a cap to denote the vector. I am not distinguishing it as unit vector we put a
cap, for any other vector we put an arrow.
499
You know with whatever the software that we are using for generating this equation it
was easier to do. So, we have taken convenient route to represent this, I suppose this
does not make much
confusion in your mind in
interpretation. So, I have
This was only a summary

here; I hope I have the
correct expressions here.
And we would like to see

two important points; one point is when θ=0; I am looking at point C what happens at
this point. An another one I would like to see what happens exactly oppose to the
diameter and what I find here is I have this , but I have acceleration
for this point. And you will also find that this velocity is 0, the point of contact with the
ground has zero velocity.
It is again to emphasize when something is 0; do not jump on to conclusion everything

associated with that point is 0 because these are all common things we extrapolate, we
also label it as falsely as intuition; you will also have to be intelligent to get those
intuitions, right intuitions. You cannot simply assume that when I have zero velocity, I
have acceleration and acceleration is towards the centre that is what you get from this
expression.
And we will also look at what way the velocity varies for a diameter like this, we have
already said that this is the combination of a rotation and a translation. So, the body has
rolled over to this point by half of its circumference and I have these equations repeated
to facilitate discussion. And at , what happens to the velocity? When
500
cos180o what happens? So, I get this velocity at this point is twice the velocity of the
mass center; I get this as
And if I simply consider

the objectives having a
fixed axis rotation how do
you anticipate the change
of velocity from point to
point? The central does not
have any velocity, I have a
rotation here, I have a
translation here. In a
rotation I would anticipate the velocity variation is like this fine and here translation
every point will have identical velocity and when I add these two; I have a linear
variation on the diameter and this is also a very special point. What is this special point?
I can also look at and call this as the point c as instantaneous center of zero velocity.
What is the meaning of it?
It is as if the object rotates
about this point at that
point in time; I have a
variation of velocity like
this; this is very similar to
what I have done it from
the centre to this, from the
center to this I have put a
triangular variation; this
was the axis about which it
was revolving.
501
Now, I have an instantaneous center of zero velocity very useful later we will learn
several tricks of this one of it will be identifying instantaneous center of zero velocity
and simplify your calculation. So, it is a pure rotation about an axis, normal to the plane
of motion, passing through this reference point at that instant of time; that is what you
have to keep in mind. At
that instant of time it
makes your computation
much easier and
straightforward.
And let us look at what

happens visually when
there is rolling with
slipping. I have a roll
rolling of this disc which is a pure rolling, there is no slipping at all and look at the
second disc how does it moves? So, you do have a rolling and slipping it is precipitated
by the surface condition, if your path is not alright, if the floor is not alright; you could
have slipping. And the moment there is slipping of the wheel, the kinematical conditions
are not valid and this has a pure rolling.
So, there is a distinction

between pure rolling and
rolling with slipping and
we make our life simple in
many instances you would
have noticed in actual life
when you have oil that is
where many accidents take
place. If there is a some
there was an accident and
there was oil spillage;
people do not have a stability, there will be sliding. So, if I have a slipping, I cannot
502
apply the kinematical condition that we have developed earlier and I have to analyze it
much more carefully.
Let us move on to another problem make a neat sketch of this. I have a hydraulic
cylinder which can move up and down and I have a triangular plate which has a roller
here. And this roller is guided on the horizontal direction using this and geometrical
details are given, it has a triangle of equal sides, I have lengths b, b and so on. And this
also gives an animation which tells you what happens when the cylinder is moved up;
watch the animation then the dimensions come.
So, I have this cylinder is moved up, it is moved up, this roll and then moves within that
slot and you find that plate has a rotation. And in the problem, itself it is labeled as
distance x here and this distance is taken as y and with respect to horizontal the
orientation of the plate is θ. At the instant when θ=30o; calculate the velocity and
acceleration of the center of the roller B, this is one part of a question.
The second part of the

question is; also find the
angular velocity and
angular acceleration of the
edge AC. You know after
listening to whatever the
discussion we had about
the angular velocity you
should be able to say,
suppose I ask the question
what is the angular
velocity of the triangular plate, how will you find out, do you have to do the computation
again or this itself is the answer? This itself is the answer fine because I scribed the line
and then monitor its motion then I get the angular velocity.
And the piston rod in the cylinder is moving upward at a constant rate to make our life
simple, there is no acceleration, it is moving at a constant rate of 0.2 m/s. Fairly
503
straightforward problem, it is easy to visualize how the motion takes place and we can
write the geometrical relationship conveniently. Then simply differentiate get the
velocity, then get the acceleration that is what I am going to do.
So, from the geometry of the figure I can write it shows the animation again and then the
markings come which shows the dimensions and so on. So, I get an expression
, mind you that we are dealing with rigid body. That is why we have idealized
that as a rigid body, if you considered that as an elastic body; under the action of forces it
can have a minute deformation that will make our life difficult to do.
But even when you do deformable solids; we will keep our eyes half closed and then still
do the same thing saying that deformations are very small fine; that is how engineering
works, see engineers have to deliver answer with the available knowledge. So, you will
make intelligent approximations and justify them also. It is not that you make
approximations without any logical basis.
So, take the time derivative of the above equation; once this is written and you recognize
that this is what is to be handle; rest of the procedure is fairly straightforward and simple
mathematics. So, when I
differentiate this, I get this
as . On
differentiating it again I
get .
So, this gives me
and you get the

acceleration
. Now,
we have to go back to the problem statement; the problem statement clearly says there is
no ; we have as 0. So, that is how you interpret and simplify substitute the quantities,
504
you are also given what is y dot. So, you just substitute these quantities you are in a
position to do that.
And we also know and as I said the problem statement says ;

this is moving at a constant velocity upwards and we have this interrelationship. So, that
helps me to find out what is the velocity of point B, VB is nothing but when I apply this
expression and use this, I get .
And we are asked to find out at θ=30o and the expression, for rewritten here substitute
these values and I get the acceleration at point B as . You are given
θ=30o and b is 0.3 meters and VA is I think it is 0.2 m/s, so when you substitute, I get the
numbers.
So, velocity of point B
.
Acceleration at point B is
given this expression when
it substitutes the quantities,
I get a B is
; fairly
straightforward problem.
Now, we have to go back and find out what is the angular motion of the edge AC.
505
So, we are given from geometry and when you differentiate, I get this
, so I can find
out θ dot. So, I get
. So, when I
substitute, I get this as I
have the values also, but
before that I have also
written down the
expression for alpha;
differentiate this again
. And
when I substitute the values; I get and .
And if somebody ask what is the angular velocity of the triangular plate you can
confidently say now. I have said, if I have to find out the rotation of a rigid body simply
scribe a line; here the shape itself is triangular, one edge itself is a line, if I find out for
that line; that line whatever
happens to that line is what
happens to the rigid body
also.
Then, we move on to the

next problem which we
had already looked at when
we started thinking about
analyzing the problems
using absolute motion.
Fairly straight forward the idea is to make it simple and get the concepts and make a neat
sketch of this problem statement and you can easily find out the interrelationship what is
506
x and what is y and the job is done and it is also very easy to visualize when I move this
up B and C will come closer because of the geometry.
And that is what we have

shown in the deformed
configuration these are all
pin jointed members, very
easy to visualize the
deformed configuration
and we get on to the
mathematics.
We can write x as to 2bcosθ I can write this as and ; the job is

done. The velocity of sliders B and C is given by because we know very well that
it is going to when I move
up C will be in the
negative direction; C will
move in the negative
direction of the axis
and we have a
relationship .
So, the velocity of slider A
is given by
and VA is y
dot and
from this expression.
507
So, I have expression
Velocity of A, B and C
slider are given by I have
and then
and
. So, I can
simplify this finally, this as
So, when I move this up; this comes down here I have written only the values here and
this is fairly a straightforward problem for you to comprehend the motion and you are
able to do an absolute motion analysis. So, in this class we have looked at what are the
kind of motions a rigid body can have, easy to identify rectilinear motion or a fixed axis
rotation.
What is subtle is curvilinear translation of a rigid body; even a general plane motion you
can easily comprehend, curvilinear translation is a slightly tricky idea for you to
appreciate. Then we moved on to solving a problem of rolling of a wheel and we
recognized rolling is a combination of rotation and translation; we have seen nice
animations depicting that, determined the kinematical relationship.
And I cautioned these kinematic relationships are applicable only when there is no
slipping, if there is slipping those relations are not valid anymore. And finally, we solved
two example problems to illustrate you can do absolute motion analysis when you are
looking at rigid body dynamics.
Thank you.
508
Prof. K. Ramesh
Module - 02
Dynamics
Lecture - 04
Relative Motion - I
Let us continue our

discussion on rigid body
dynamics, you know we
started with simple circular
motion, then we moved on
to absolute motion. And
today we will take up
relative motion using non-
rotating translating axes.
And we will find in this
development we would still go back and then use the equations developed for circular
motion very intelligently.
So, whatever you have

learnt in circular motion is
not a waste, even though I
said and cautioned you
have looked at many of the
practical applications.
When you look at a
circular motion you have a
fixed axis of rotation. And
your mind is also clouded that rotation means you should have a fixed axis of rotation
that you have to get out of it.
509
But nevertheless, we would used that very intelligently and now we go back to our
review of statics when we wanted to find out the resultants of force system. Several
forces are acting on this body, they are not concurrent and you make it concurrent by
your understanding of moving a force from its line of action to another point by a force
and a couple, so, this is
what we had looked at.
So, any rigid body when

you have multiple forces,
in general the force system
acting on the body can be
reduced by moving these
forces to the point of
interest; by a force and an
appropriate couple. And
this expression for the
couple is given here.
So, then I make the force system as concurrent at point P, once I make this as concurrent
at point P its easier for me
to get the resultant force,
this is what we have seen
earlier. So, what you find
is when I have a general
force system acting on
body like this, it can
always be reduced to a
combination of a resultant
force and a resultant
moment. You may have
exceptions; you may have only resultant moment or you may have only resultant force.
In a generic situation you will have only a combination of this.
510
And what is the effect of these forces, and you should recognise analysis of forces and
determination of resultants of forces is common to both statics and dynamics; there is no
difference at all. In statics the body is said to be in equilibrium which you have seen at
great length, .
In dynamics non-zero resultants of force systems and their effect is studied on motion of
particles, a rigid body or a system of rigid bodies. You have a force and a couple, a force
will tend to have a linear motion, a couple will try to have a rotation. So, you will always
have a combination of rectilinear motion and a rotation and we have also seen curvilinear
translation all that is possible ok.
In statics you take any arbitrary point for you to do the computation, in dynamics the
point P would be usually the mass point which we will see when we take up kinetics.
You may not look at an arbitrary point, but there again when we want to develop the
subject, we would also have the luxury of looking at from an arbitrary point. All that you
have to learn, you have to
learn several tricks; so, that
you have many methods
available with you to solve
a problem of interest.
Now, make a neat sketch

of this object the shape is
arbitrary. So, what I have
is, I have an object of rigid
body, I have scribed a line
AB; and what I find is the rigid body has a complex motion. And if I monitor what is the
motion of point B, it has a motion like this. And if I look at the point A, it has another
curve of this nature. And what I am going to look at is develop the generic equations, so,
I would consider general plane motion of this rigid body.
511
Let us look at the general motion and it moves to another position like this. And if you
look at this motion, this can always be thought of as a combination of rotation and
translation. And that is what is shown here, I would have this animation quite a few
times. So, that you get the central idea better and even when you want to draw the
sketch, you could take advantage of the multiple repetition of the same in various forms.
So, I have another important aspect I am having a rigid body. So, if I put point A and B
the distance remains fixed, r is constant. So, you get an idea how we get into a circular
motion, in a circular motion the radius does not change fine. We will see how we will
link this to circular motion intelligently and make our life simple. And being a body in
general plane motion, it has a rotation and a translation. And imagine that the rotation is
something like this of a very small rotation. It is all done slowly, so, that you
comprehend the combination of these motions.
So, I have a rotation, and I also have a small translation like this; combination of these
two as resulted in the final position of this rigid body. So, we will look at this from
another prospective, putting the rotation and translation on the side where does not
convince you whether the
motion is a combination of
these two.
We will again go back and

what I will do is I will have
the original motion
preserved in this part of the
sketch. So, I make the
screen smart whenever I
want. So, let me make the body to move, this is the motion it has reached; look at the
point where it is located on this. And this is reasonably done these are all the animations
I have done it, reasonably brings out the essence of it. You know microscopically you
can say that it is exactly not same you can argue, but do not get into that argument.
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Now, what I am going to do is, I am going to rotate this first; this is the kind of rotation I
am giving it, let me rotate this first. When I rotate this first what happens, this is not the
final position here; it is totally different it also gives an impression am I looking at the
motion correctly.
Now, to this rotation, let me give the translation, I have a translation like this; and let me
give the translation it is exactly identical. So, it is very convincing to see that a general
plane motion can be thought of as a combination of rotation and translation. It is a very
very subtle concept, if you look at the equations, they are very simple; but you have to
get this concept to assist you in solving problems confidently.
It is not that you have some equations, you know how to apply these equations; you do
not feel how the body is getting this kind of motion. Now, let me ask a question, we have
looked at I have applied rotation, I have applied translation in a particular sequence. In
reality the body has a combination of this rotation and translation happening
simultaneously.
But the only then you can have your gazettes working in particularly in packaging
industry they need many such motions. It is a very interesting application where you
have to have different types of complicated motions to achieve your packaging
requirement.
Can I ask a question; suppose I reverse this order we have seen rotation followed by a
translation. Now, let us look at translation followed by a rotation, do you think it will
remain same or there will be difference, let us see what it is. The central idea is general
plane motion is a composition of a rotation and a translation. It is a very subtle point if
you understand it you can enjoy solving problems. Here again I have this general plane
motion for this rigid body, and this we would initially have translation like this.
When I translate it is not same like what I have here, it is different. And when I give a
rotation, like what I see here, it is precisely the same like what you have got earlier. This
again reconfirms the central idea; general plane motion can be thought of as a
composition of a rotation and a translation. You know this is qualitative appreciation,
you know this is not going to help us; we need to develop the mathematics.
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So, I need to put in the unit vectors, and look at what it is, and you have already learnt; if
I have to recognise what is the amount of rotation for a rigid body simply scribe a line
monitor its motion. You have come out of the mental block that I should look for a fixed
axis above which rotation
takes place, that is what
you have learnt in the last
class.
So, now let us apply all of

these now, so, I have
position vector for the
point B is taken as rB, and
this is at an angle θ. And I
have a position vector for point A please make a neat sketch in your notes. And we have
repeatedly seen that we have considered this as rigid body. So, the vector r remains
constant that is a very important information from the way we have idealised the body to
make our life simple and comprehend what is it.
Suppose I want to find out rotation of this body, what is that I should do, I already have a
line AB scribed on it; just find out its orientation from a fixed reference. And then
monitor what happens to that; so, let me put that as a line like this and put the angle ϕ.
Now, I call it this as the unit vector er and I have another vector perpendicular to it I call
it as eϕ, to distinguish it from θ; I have a r and ϕ coordinate system ok. I have an r and ϕ
coordinate system, and you should know here that this is a B is an arbitrary point. There
is no special selection of point B, and as I mentioned you earlier by monitoring ϕ rotation
of the body can be evaluated.
And you can also write this interrelationship . And mind you that r is a constant
here I can also put this as rAB rBA and so on. And I have already told you to indicate the
vectors I just put a cap not making distinction between a unit vector and a normal vector,
so, you can interpret these expressions correctly.
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So, this has moved to another position here, and what you should recognise is, when I
put the new unit vectors at the new position. They are not same as what was original, it is
er’ and eϕ’; please make a neat sketch of this, I would also repeat this from different
perspectives again. So, you will have sufficient time to make this sketch as neatly as
possible. We will again go back and see these unit vectors in stages.
(Refer Slide Time: 16: 21)
And once I have the unit

vectors are changing, I can
also bring back whatever
we had derived for the
polar coordinate system,
here I use r and ϕ. So,
, . We will
see this from a different
perspective, what I have is,
I have this like what I had shown earlier and we will have rotation and translation, this is
how the body has moved.
And I have er’ and eϕ’, now

I would have a rotation; we
have already looked at
rotation and translation can
be interchanged. So, when
I rotate, I have these
changes, essentially to
emphasize that er direction
changes because of the
general plane motion. Now, I give a translation, so, you can very well see that er’ and eϕ’
are different than er and eϕ. Just to emphasize that you are looking at it from different
prospective to convince yourself the unit vectors change.
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And now we go back to the mathematics, so, we have learnt that er and eϕ changes from
polar coordinates we know
how to write ,
. And from simple

mathematics you can write
what is . And rest

of it is straightforward, you
simply have to do the
differentiation get the
velocity; again,
differentiate that and get
the acceleration apply the product rule systematically; do not swallow some other terms
ok.
And apply the interrelationships when I have , how it is related to eϕ and , how it is
related to er use it in your expression. So, this is going to be a similar expression like
what I have got for the polar coordinate system which we are derived earlier, there is no
difference at all. I have . I am careful in applying the differentiation I
have two terms and .
Then I do the acceleration; I have simplified it right here, because we know very well it
is on a rigid body the distance between any two arbitrary points which is labelled as r
here remains a constant. We invoke that, so, ŕ.=0; so, I have this as, I have also labelled
this as . And this r is replaced, because writing it in general may be confusing in a

complex problem.
So, this is nothing but the vector rAB, so, I have VA = . So, it is very
straightforward; do you see that the equation of circular motion is coming into this. I
516
have a complex motion, but this complex motion is now simplified and we are going
towards that, we will have detailed discussion on that fine.
So, I have this first expression, and you differentiate this I get a
. Here again I can invoke that r is a constant and knock of
terms which will go to 0. So, I get this as , and this r can be replaced for
clarity .
See, in all this discussion we have taken two points A and B, the idea is to get the
quantities velocity and acceleration with respect to a fixed reference for point A. The
intermediary is we find out what is VB and aB plus some other quantities. And this is how
we would develop the equations for using a rotating axis.
So, this terminology B and A you should perceive it like this, when I want to apply
Newton’s law, I need to do it only in a inertial frame of reference; until then I cannot
apply it. But to calculate the acceleration velocity, we employ different tricks to make
our life simple and get the absolute motion as a combination of two different aspects.
So, what I am going to

look at is, when I say non
rotating axes, I would
attach a non rotating axes
at point B; that means, I
will sit on the object and
translate with it not rotate
with it and observe what
happens to the body which
you can visualise
physically and you can see
that mathematically right
here. Mathematically this is nothing but you are sitting on B, and then you are viewing
the other point moving in a circle, let us elaborate on it subsequently.
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So, I have a non-rotating translating axes; this is very important all these terms are very
important. I have only a translating axis do not confuse it with what Galileo has done,
Galileo said moving in a straight line or being stationery straight line at constant velocity
is one and the same. That is how we develop the inertial frame of reference; we are not
saying anything about that here.
We are only saying I am having a non-rotating translating axes, the translating axes can
have both velocity as well as acceleration please understand that. I have not put any
restriction on it, and I cannot apply Newton’s law directly on this, I have to get the
absolute values only then I can do that.
So, now we will visualise that this translating axis is attached to point B, how would I
view the point A sitting at B; that means, I move along with the body it is you have to do
the imagination little difficult to do. So, I will help you in doing the animation and then
help you to do that.
So, I have this position vector here, this is nothing but rAB, if I see the point A, the body
is in general plane motion please understand that. But I translate I attach a non- rotating
translating axes at B which has both velocity of B and acceleration of B; it is not having
only velocity; it is not having a constant velocity.
I would see the point a moving in a direction this line of action, perpendicular to this line
of action; that is v A with respect to B, is the idea clear. And I can get , the
equation from your circular motion.
If I calculate the velocity like this, I can also calculate the acceleration in a similar
fashion. And if you visualise that this is having an anticlockwise motion that is how we
have taken it. You would see sitting at B, the point A would appear to move in this
fashion; please make a neat sketch of it.
And observe the sense of rotation observe the sense of rotation observe the sense of
rotation; if you understand this clearly then you will be very confident in solving
518
problem. There are many interesting aspects you get out of it; you know the direction of
the relative velocity.
This is perpendicular to the line joining B and A, and that would be very useful in solving
a problem practical problem. You know the direction you may not know only the
magnitude. So, you can write a vector diagram graphical sketch where you can use this
information to calculate the relevant quantities.
So, you need to understand the mechanics of it, if I attach a non-rotating translating axes
at point B; I would see point rotating with respect to B like this. Suppose I do a different
aspect, I do not take point B as my reference; I attach an axis at point A, what way would
I perceive the motion of point B looking from A, this is question number 1.
The question number 2 is, how you have seen the rotation here? The rotation is
anticlockwise, how will you see the rotation sitting at point A and then look at what
happens at point B? These are the two questions you have to get clarity, see the body as
such has a general plane motion. Our interest is to get the quantities of particles lying on
the body to find out their absolute velocity and absolute acceleration this is our goal.
Intermediary what you are doing is, you are attaching the axes to one of the points and
make your computation in stages. For one if it you might know the quantities from some
other aspect or the physics of the problem. So, I get that information for the other point
you intelligently use the equations and get it.
Now, the question is, if I want to view from point A to point B, how will this happen. I
have attached an axis at this point; I put essentially as a pin joint, because pin joint you
know very well it allows rotation. When I say that it allows rotation that is why the pin
joint symbolism is used. While you solve the problem, you will not introduce it like this,
you will just put the axes and label it as non-rotating translating axes this is to aid your
visualisation.
And you can calculate the velocity , and this is again perpendicular to the
line joining A and B. And look at how does this rotate; what is the sense of rotation, what
was the sense of rotation earlier? It was anticlockwise; what is the sense of rotation now?
It is again anticlockwise.
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It does not become clock wise, it is again anticlockwise and the body as a whole has only
anticlockwise motion. Is the idea clear? We will also understand it with further
animations that helps and it is important to note the sense of rotation is same for both the
points. Whether I view it from B or view it from A, the body as a whole has one sense of
rotation which agrees with
the physical reality.
And let us summarise the

points, relative motion,
non-rotating axes. The
distance between points A
and B is always a constant
as it is a rigid body. If it is
a deformable body what
will happen? There may be
some small change in the distance. But I told you earlier engineers model the problem
like this, even if you consult deformation you say it is the it is small. I can still work with
initial coordinate system, all that tricks we do.
But here you do not have to do a trick; we have given an idealization that this is the rigid
body. A non rotating observer attached to point B views point A as having fixed axis
rotation about B, which is what we have seen with very nice set of animations ok. It is a
central aspect of this discussion.
And once you know that this has a fixed axis rotation about this point, the relative linear
velocities, please underline the term relative linear velocity. I am not getting the absolute
velocity; the relative linear velocity is always perpendicular to the line joining the points
in question.
This property we would exploit while solving problems in graphical methods, I am going
to teach you graphical method as well as vector algebra. Because I would like as
engineers, you should visualise things first. They are very important just learning the
mathematics and blindly closing your eyes is not going to help you.
520
The non rotating axes attached to point B can have both translating velocity as well as
translating acceleration, I am emphasising this. Do not take the reference frame attached
to B as inertial reference frame; it is not an inertial reference frame. It is only an
intermediate step for you to calculate the absolute acceleration at point A, I cannot apply
Newton’s law in this axis attached to point B. The only requirement is that the axes do
not rotate.
We will see and

understand it better now,
because you know the
path, I can easily depict the
acceleration, the velocity
as tangential to the path. I
have velocity VB at point B
and I have some other
velocity VA at point A. My interest is; now try to visualise, suppose I attach an axis at b
what velocity it would translate and how do I visualise the motion fine.
So, I have and mind you; VA is the absolute velocity which is measured
with respect to the fixed reference VB is also from the fixed reference, but VAB is relative
quantity ok. So, I have both the points have velocity VB, because I have a translating axis
attached to this; that means, for the observer he will have velocity VB in this direction.
And this is nothing but a general plane motion is nothing but a combination of a linear
motion like this plus a rotary motion like this which we have seen. And we have
convinced ourselves, I could appreciate a general plane motion as a combination of
translation and rotation, not withstanding whatever I have made the statement.
If you look at the mathematics, the mathematics tell you that this is what happens, but
you do not appreciate the mathematics clearly until you see an animation to do that ok.
We will also animate this and then reconvince our self. We will see what happens from
521
point B as well as point A. If I say from point A, then I would replace the velocity as VA
and so on.
Make a neat sketch of this write down these expressions. So, we intelligently bring back
our equations related to circular motion and you use them. So, I have a VA like this,
velocity B is like this, and I
have the relative velocity I
have velocity diagram
complete.
And we would see

physically what happens I
have VB; that means the
object will have a
translation and a rotation,
and let me make the board smart. So, it will show for a short while. So, attached to B, I
will have a translation like this and a rotation like this. So, the combination of these two
explains the general plane
motion of the original rigid
body.
Now, we would look at if I

have axes attached to point
A, it would have a velocity
VA and the body will rotate
like this, you can see this
animation again. So, you
have this velocity is
different and you have a
rotation like this and which is what is shown simultaneously here, so, you get a clarity of
what is happening.
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So, you can think of a general plane motion as a combination of translation and rotation.
We have looked at the velocity, now we look at acceleration.
See when I say the

acceleration it will have a
generic direction like this, I
do not know the direction I
have given an arbitrary
direction like this. I have
acceleration at point B and
I have acceleration at point
A and this is nothing but it
is accelerating with AB
plus a rotation above B. And once you recognise this it is easier for you to put the
relevant quantities and put the acceleration diagram. So, I have relative velocity is A,
acceleration is aA/B, this
has two components ok.
I have put this relative

acceleration; it will have a;
I can look at this as AB +
aA I get this. But for me to
get aA/B, I will have two
components one along the
radial direction or towards
the centre of rotation I
have this as a(A/B)n, and I
have a tangential
component; I put this component here. I have a(A/B)n and I have a(A/B)t, I can get the
relative acceleration.
523
And we would also write the expressions; ultimately, we need to settle down with the
expressions. So, I have given this AB and want to rewrite the same thing, I need to get
the absolute acceleration of point A that is nothing but absolute acceleration of point B
and relative acceleration of point a with respect to B.
And my computation is largely simplified; because of a recognition that relative

acceleration I can easily get it from circular motion equations that is the central core of it.
The motion as such is very complex since we have looked at this as addition of
translation and rotation, we are in a position to write these expressions.
So, I have aAB, let us put here this is nothing but combination of a normal component and
a tangential component. You can view it in either way as a radial or θ direction and I
have this as normal component, and I have the tangential component this way.
And the normal component can be obtained from your circular motion as
. And your
tangential component is
nothing but α × r, and in
long hand I can write
I have already cautioned

you, when you write it as
vectorial form you always
call it as α × r. Otherwise
you simply say as rα which is convenient; so, you should understand the distinction
between the two.
524
So, what is the solution approach, always sketch the vector polygon clear enough to
reveal the physical relationships involved. So, this is where the sketching is very
important for engineers. So, sketch known vectors use this as a basis to proceed further,
from this sketch scalar component equations can be written by projecting the vectors
along convenient directions.
So, this is how you do it in a graphical approach is not that you are going to take a graph
sheet and then solve it. You can sketch it that is good enough for you to do it, alternately
use vector algebra to construct equations from this by collating the terms corresponding
to say i and j construct scalar equations. So, what we will do is we will replace er and eϕ
as simply as i and j by
representing the axes we
will do that.
And take up a very simple

problem which you all
seem to have a better
exposure on rolling. A
wheel of radius r = 400
mm rolls to the right
without slipping that is a
very important aspect. It is measured that the centre O has a velocity of 4 m/s using
relative motion analysis calculate the velocity of point A on the wheel for this instant. I
have already told you in dynamics, we are learning methods through the vehicle of
problem. So, the method is more important than the answer for the problem. So, I want
you to solve it only by relative motion analysis.
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It is a very simple problem there are multiple ways to solve it. So, we look at what way
we will handle it. Taking O as the origin of non rotating axes, from relative motion
approach one gets
. So, I have
this distance is fixed, the
angle is given as 30o. And
I am given the velocity Vo
in the problem statement
that is horizontal like this.
And you know very well

from our discussion on
relative motion the relative
velocity when I attach a translating axis at O has to be perpendicular to this. And mind
you while developing the equation we have put A and B. So, in a physical problem, you
should find out what corresponds to B and what corresponds to A, so, do not confuse
these two issues.
So, you should know how to apply the equations properly, suppose I call this as B and
then A, you should be able to apply the same equations appropriately fine. It is only a
labelling requirement, but you should understand the motion correctly. And since it is
said in the problem statement that this is rolling, I bring in the kinematic relationship
So, I get this ω as 10 rad/s, it is given in the problem its 4 metres per second. So, now, I
can find out what is . So, I write this, then it is a child’s play to
get the resultant.
So, it is a very simple problem to start with, and we have got the value of V2A, please
check the arithmetic. This turns out to be; it is also wrongly written here; I have to get
this final value; this is put as . I was initially thinking that this is (m/s)2, but
I am calculating V2. So, , fairly a straightforward problem.
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So, in this class we have looked at what constitutes general plane motion. I have said that
it is a combination of rotation and translation whichever way you do the sequence; the
final motion remains same. Even though the motion is little more complicated we have
been able to bring in the circular motion equations intelligently to handle the problem
like this.
And once you learned how to do relative motion analysis, you can solve a wide variety
of problems which was not possible only with absolute motion.
Thank you.
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Prof. K. Ramesh
Module - 02
Dynamics
Lecture - 25
Relative Motion –II
Let us continue our

discussion on Relative
Motion analysis. You
know when you look at
relative motion approach
you really expand the
scope of solving more
class of problem.
Absolute motion analysis
restricted where is ratio
motion analysis helps you to solve a larger class of problems.
And one of the key points

we learned in the last class
was what constitutes
general plane motion, here
I have the body experience
in general plane motion.
This motion can be thought
of as a combination of
rotation and a translation,
so, I rotate this first it is deviating from the path and I give a translation this comes to the
path as what we have seen in this diagram. So, it is a very important concept.
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General plane motion is a

composition of a rotation
and a translation, it is a
very subtle concept. And
when I want to view the
point A sitting at B; that
means, I have attached a
non-rotating translating
axis at B. The axes can have velocity as well as acceleration, it is not an inertial frame of
reference.
And when I have a rigid body this distance remains fixed; the relative linear velocity is
perpendicular to this line joining these two points. And the body when I the point A when
I view it from point B it rotates, observe the senses of rotation. Now, what we would see
is? We would fix the axis
at point A and view point
B. Here again if we look at
the sense of rotation, its
one and the same. This is
by virtue that you have
been able to appreciate
general plane motion
consists of a rotation and a
translation.
Now, we are translating

with the body, when I view it from different points the mathematical details will differ,
but the sense of rotation still remains the same. This is what is illustrated it says that the
sense is same for both the points.
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The idea of attaching a

translating axis at B
amount to translating with
velocity VB and you have a
corresponding rotation
here.
If I attach the axis at A it amounts to travelling with velocity VA and rotation in this way.
We will go and solve the

very practical problem;
you have a reciprocating
engine. This is again
example of four bar
mechanism and it is called
as slider crank mechanism
and the crank OB, this is
the crank OB revolves in a
clockwise direction at the
rate of 1500 rpm.
First identify the nature of motion of crank piston and the connecting rod and you have
to determine certain quantities at a particular crank position. The crank position is a
given as θ= 60o, you have to determine the velocity and acceleration of the piston A. You
know when you start solving the problem; we have developed the equations based on
530
two arbitrary points A and B. To make your life simple more or less these points are
similar to what we have started with.
So, you do not have confusion on interpreting the equations first, once you get the grip of
the equation, we can label it in any way and solve the problem. And you are also asked
to determine the velocity of the centroid of labeled as point G. Solve it by sketching the
velocity and acceleration
polygons and also by
vector analysis. Say the
idea is if you draw the
diagrams you get a better
physical appreciation of
the problem. On the other
hand, when you get into
vectorial analysis, it
becomes totally
mathematical in a sense it also will be slightly boring to do that.

motion of this, so, this is
how the whole system
operates. Now, we will go
and individually analyze
what happens to the crank,
what happens to the
connecting rod and what
happens to the piston.
531
The connecting rod has I mean the crank has a fixed axis rotation and your piston has a
reciprocating motion and the connecting rod has a general plane motion. That is what
you have recognize; it is a very nice problem where you have the motion of all three
varieties in one problem.
And what is given in the

problem statement? The
angular velocity of the
crank is given in
revolutions per minute; it
is desirable that you
convert it into rad/s. So,
when you do that, I get
data as 157.08 radians per
second. See you have to interpret the engineering quantities properly. You should not
ignore that conversion you have forgotten you have over stepped that all that you should
not say, you should handle all these quantities with right units.
And we have already noted that crank OB is under fixed axis rotation, so, I have a fixed
rotation like this. The velocity at point B can be determined directly from that, when I
have a fixed axis rotation the calculations are very simple. This is what I told you earlier;
though we say fixed axis rotation we have a mental block in looking at axis of rotation.
Even when I have a non rotating translating axes attached I still invoke fixed axis
rotation equation when I want to look at what happens to general plane motion. Before
that since we are analysis the crank which is having a fixed axis rotation. You can write
the quantities VB is nothing but rω and I get VB as when I do that computation. I would
also appreciate that you check these calculations using your calculator; this comes to be
15.71 meters per second.
And we also know what is the direction of VB; it has to be perpendicular to the crank. So,
that is what is indicated here, I have VB is perpendicular to this; I have this as 15.71 m/s.
And what we had determined we had determined the absolute velocity of point B and if
532
you look at the connecting rod; point B is also part of the connecting rod. But for the
point B we have already determined the absolute velocity, so, I can attach a translating
axis to point B and look at
the what happens at point
A.
Taking B as a reference
point I can find out the
velocity of A, we have
already looked at that this
is experience in general
plane motion. If I attach a
non rotating translating
axis at B; what way I would perceive A? It would simply have a circular motion with
respect to B. So, the velocity of A is .
And by virtue of the piston having a reciprocating motion in this slot, I can say that this
is the velocity of A; we have already determined what is the velocity of B. So, these are
known and can you comment about what is direction of velocity of A with respect to B,
you can do that from your general plane motion analysis.
We may not know the magnitude to start with, but we are in a position to find out its
direction. The velocity direction would be perpendicular to the line jointing B and A,
because I would perceive by sitting at B on a non rotating translating axis. The point A
would have circular motion and I think yeah VAB is perpendicular to the line AB.
And for us to proceed further I need to have certain geometric quantities; I need to know
what is angle β when θ=60o. You know I am doing all this calculation systematically,
because when you have to solve the practical problem you have to bring back your old
memories you have learn about properties of triangle, sine rule, properties of circle.
533
All that you have learn in your 11th and 12th standard you cannot forget, you must bring
back goes memories. And I can get this from the law of sines, I can write .
And this gives the value of β as .
So, I know how to put the direction of the relative velocity of A with respect to B, this is
the key aspect that you
have to recognize. This is
what you spend time in
understanding general
claim motion which can be
thought of as composition
of a rotation and a
translation when I attach a
translating axis, I perceive
only the rotation.
So, I put the velocities I have VB, I have VA and I have to put VAB perpendicular to this.
And one can also guess which should be the direction of velocity of a with respect to B,
because it has to close the polygon fine. I am essentially finding out what is VA I know
what is the direction of VB, so, I can always say that the direction of VA with respect to B
should be like this.
So, this is what I am going to have, I have this perpendicular to this line joining B and A
that happens to be the connecting rod what we have also shown as a line. So, I get this I
close the polygon, now I know what is the velocity of A with respect to B.
And we will look at the magnitudes I need some more angles for me to proceed, so, I
need to get that by the appropriate properties. And we have already said that this is
534
perpendicular to the line joining this and this line is at angle 18o from the horizontal, so,
from the vertical this about 18o.
So, if I want to find out this angle that turns out to be 72o and this naturally comes to be
78 and from the trigonometry of the velocity triangle the values of VA and VA with
respect to B are determined
as follows. I have
Similarly, I can also write
. So,
I get the velocity of A with
respect to B as 8.26 meters
per second, is the idea
clear. Can you find out
with these quantities is
what is the angular
velocity of the connecting
rod, you can do that fine.
So, that is what we are

going to do angular
velocity of AB
. So,
let us look at the connecting rod and we have attached our non rotating translating axis at
B. So, it is shown as fixed and I have perceived the velocity of A with respect to B like
this.
535
We are also asked the question what is the velocity of point G and from this diagram you
can easily say what is the relative velocity of G with respect to B. And before that you
know we are also looking at from the since of VA/B, I attach the angular velocity direction
and I say it has to be
counter clock wise all this
is very important. You
have to physically
appreciate all aspects of the
problem and whenever you
make a statement there has
to be a mathematical basis
for it and it should fit with
the physical reality.
So, I have determined this angular velocity direction and we will have to find out
velocity of G fairly simple and VG can be written . And we have already

looked at velocity of a with respect to B, and we can say about a what should be relative
velocity of velocity of G with respect to B.
I can simply put this as , which could be re written in this fashion. And when I
do this, I get the value of velocity of G with respect to B as . And it

can be easily drawn in the sketch as a line like this these two are parallel, because I see
the whole connecting rod rotates with respect to point B. Once you know the relative
velocity you already know what is VB I can find easily that is VG, that is no great big deal
in getting that is what is done in the next slide.
536
We already have the direction of VB, you know I would like you to make neat sketches;
you have to be trained as engineers to draw neat sketches. And what I have drawn also
need sketches, I have not taken any geometric assistance to draw them these are freely
drawn figures only.
So, I have velocity of VB and we know velocity of G with respect to B which we have see
in the previous sketch is in
this direction. This
perpendicular to this
connecting rod I have
velocity of G with respect
to B. When I close the
vector polygon, I get the
velocity of G and that is
what is shown there in the
actual point, we can also
determine the magnitude
now.
For that I again I need to

do properties of the whole
diagram. So, I need to find
we already know the angle
72o. And I can write from
knowledge of trigonometry
cos 72o as a function like
this, so, you have to go
back and brush up your
basic trigonometry
properties of triangles
properties of circles.
537
So, I can find out from this the quantity VG turns out to be 15.4 m/s, please verify my
calculation using your calculator. The idea of solving this problem systematically is to
bring about you cannot
come and say I have for
gotten the sine rule. Only a
sine rule I forgotten all that
you should not say, for
solving a practical problem
your old knowledge is
required fine, so, brush up
those fundamentals.
Now, let us move on to acceleration analysis, we have already recognized that

connecting rod undergoes general plane motion. Points A and B are now visualized as
points on the connecting rod, again the statement is emphasized. For a non rotating
translating axes attached to point B, one would visualize point A to have circular motion
with respect to B.
See the next chapter we are going to have an axis which will be rotating with the system.
So, when I say non rotating translating axis you should appreciate in that context. We are
making a very clear distinction; in one class of problems you simply attach a translating
axis. In another class of problems your life become much simpler if you attach a rotating
axis.
So, I can write the expression for the acceleration at point A .

These two quantities are essentially relative acceleration quantities and what all things
that you know about acceleration at A. You can definitely say that it will be horizontal
direction fine and about B you can find out everything, because it is part of the crank. So,
I can find out what is absolute acceleration of point B. Once you know ω which we have
already determine I can find out aA/B, the only catch is I have to find out α aA/B that is
what I have to find out ok.
538
And when you go to point B it is said that this crank rotates with constant angular
velocity. So, I have only normal component of acceleration, there is no tangential
component and I can write this as . So, the absolute acceleration of point B
turns out to be this magnitude, I brought this as 2467.41 m/s2.
See again and again you use the circular motion equations intelligently; you have to
appreciate general plane motion is a composition of translation and rotation. And put an
appropriate axis and then
calculate all these
quantities do not apply
Newton’s law in any one
of this coordinate systems.
We are determining the
absolute acceleration of
point A by using this
intermediary. Once I get
the absolute acceleration in
that frame of references
apply the Newton’s law,
that we have do the when I go to kinetics.
We have already seen the connecting rod undergoes general plane motion; you have
already determined the angular velocity. That is . So, I can find out the
normal component or relative acceleration easily, that is nothing, but , so, I
get this value as .
As I told you earlier one needs to find the angular acceleration of the connecting rod to
calculate the tangential component of relative acceleration. So, we will take advantage of
the acceleration diagram.
539
And let us look at what all quantities that we know, direction of aA is horizontal that I
have already told you,
because its reciprocating
like this. So, I can put this
as a horizontal line and we
know we absolute
acceleration of point B.
So, aB is known and the
relative acceleration of the
normal component is also
known, normal component
is known like this and
your tangential component
will be on this direction ok.
So, I have drawn this a B, because a B I know completely from the problem statement,
and this direction is known. So, I can also put that, see these animations are carefully
done, so, that you have sufficient time to write it down. It is done slowly and also the
sequences is done in such a manner even if I do not speak, when you see the animation
the logical evaluation of concepts you can appreciate.
All this take a very long time do the animations, they are not very simple to do time
consuming lot of effort has gone into all this. Line of action of the tangential acceleration
is known, as of now I have no knowledge what is the sign of acceleration. I have
determined the sign of angular velocity from the physics of a problem, knowing angular
velocity does not tell you anything about the direction of acceleration this is the point I
want to drive home fine.
Let us see what way the acceleration turns out to be in this problem, but I know this
direction, so, I can complete the polygon like this. So, I will have this in this from this
polygon I am also in a position to find out what is the final direction of the this, so, we
will continue with this in next slide. So, the question what I have raised is whether it is
clock wise or anti clock wise that question is unanswered at this stage.
540
So, I have this from the acceleration polygon

equating horizontal and vertical components I
can do this aA is so much.
And I am in a position to
calculate the tangential
component that turns out to
be 2167.63 m/s2. And we
already know what is the
acceleration of A 795.61
m/s2 so, the acceleration of
aA is smart.
So, this fixes the direction of the

tangential component of acceleration,
once I know the tangential component of
acceleration the direction of α can be
fixed. So, that turns out to

7741.54 radians per second square. So,
can you tell me what is the direction of this acceleration? We know the direction of this
with the sense of aAB that angular acceleration of a B relative to B can be determine.
So, I get this as clockwise. See this problem very interesting that is why I choose this
problem. With this problem I am able to bring out all the nuances that you can come in
cross in a generic problem. I have combination of fixed axis rotation, translation and a
general plane motion. And once I know the angular velocity, you should not jump to say
angular acceleration is same direction. These are all the common mistakes students do,
541
when you know one quantity as a scientist without assessing what is other quantity do
not jump to easy conclusions fine.
Now, let us again solve this problem through vector analysis. So, will take origin as at
point O, I have put the positive x axis like this, positive y axis like this all the other
quantity output. And you have to find out the position vector very carefully with respect
to this coordinate system, whatever the coordinate system that you take.
And we have already determined this angle β from the previous analysis. So, the position
vector of point B you can
find out and write very
easily and that is nothing,
but
,
when you simplify it takes
a value like this. All this
position vector you should
do it very carefully with
references to the
coordinate system that you
have taken, what is the velocity at B? Is nothing but , ω we have already

determined, rB we know, so, I can calculate what is VB.
It is a simple mathematical operation, so, I have this and to a divided cross product I also
put this i j k like this, so, that you keep track of the signs properly. So, finally, I get
, see mind you would find small variations in values when you do a
vector analysis. Primarily because when you are determining the position vectors, you
are not taking all the digits fine, the round of errors can come.
542
So, that is very common you should also know in any engineering calculation you should
take care of round of errors there may be small deviation from the numbers which you
have got earlier, so, you have to keep track of. So, when you are using this, I have
actually rounded of 2 digits, if I round it off to 3 digits may be, I will have improved
estimations fine, so, that matters.
Whenever I put this vectorial calculation whether I stop at 2 digits or 3 digits that
matters. So, the VB turns out to be , I think earlier we

got it as 16.16, so, there are there will be some deviations ok. We have determined what
is a velocity of point B and
velocity of A can be
obtained from relative
velocity equation. The
equation is like this
. And
velocity of A relative to B
is given by we know from
attaching the axis here, if I
know the angular velocity,
I can calculate that, so, I
put that as .
And we have rAB write it with respect to reference axis, it is written in this fashion. And I
find out the velocity at A you know that this is translating, so, the direction is known the
direction is i, I do not know the magnitude VA. So, I write the expression then you collect
terms involving i terms involving j this is how you do simplification in your vectorial
analysis, so, I write the expressions.
So, I write . So, on grouping j terms together, I get the

value of ωAB that is 29.07 radians per second. And this is I have this as k, so, this counter
543
clockwise. In vectorial analysis the directions are determined from your mathematics
itself straight forward.
And on grouping i terms together I am in a position to get the velocity A, I get
. We have already determined ωAB on sub situation I get the value as

16.77 m/s. See in a vectorial analysis you have to carefully write the position vector and
also the appropriate angular velocity and write the equation and group the i terms j terms.
And once in a while you may probably peep in and see whether physically these numbers
are alright directions are
alright. On the other hand,
when you do a vector
polygon when you are
writing the velocity
polygon, you have to
visualize and that aids your
thinking and you can also
appreciate the physics of
the problem better and you
become a better engineer.
So, in the initial stages you to try to visualize as much as possible also learn the trick of
doing a vectorial analysis and vectorial analysis to an extent try ok.
Having said that you know when I go to rotating axis I would completely well on vector
analysis, because that becomes simpler to handle with. Whenever there is some
opportunity to visualize better visualize that will help you to think better. And like we
have determined the velocity A; we will also determine the velocity G write again the
relative velocity equation.
544
You are able to write this relative velocity equation on the strength of understanding
general plane motion. We have attached a non rotating translating axis at B, so we are in
a position to write this relative velocity equation, otherwise it not possible to write. So,
and when you substitute these quantities in the relative velocity equation. I
also get the final values
and we need to get the
position vector of point G.
So, that is written in this

fashion, so,
. If you
do not handle these
quantities properly to
appropriate number of
which is that would be
variation in your numbers,
because of round of errors. And all engineers have to appreciate round of errors in major
calculations, so, you have to accommodate your design to take care of such errors in your
analysis.
So, I have the expression

for VG, we have already
determined what is ωAB,
so, I have substituted that.
And to aid your thinking is
i k j is put like this, so, I
get . And
we will also find out the
magnitude, the magnitude turns out to be 15.72 m/s.
545
And I have to find out the acceleration, again you write the relative velocity expression
instead of doing it from polygon of the acceleration you are directly handling the vector
quantities here. Even for that I started with this equation and then wrote down the
polygon. And the normal component is ω ×r, we are finding out what is the relative
acceleration a with respect to B.
So, I put the appropriate ω, these are all the places where you can make mistake in if you
do not keep track of figure ω properly. You may use ω of the crank to this place on all
your calculation will go for a 6 ok, so, handle the mathematics also systematically. And I
have the tangential component as α ×rAB and this is again brought your attention the
point B has only normal component of acceleration.
So, I can write the normal component like this , so, that turns out to be
we have already learned the trick. If I have a vector triple product how do I write the
final quantity, you do not
have to go through the
conventional approach
directly write the numbers
and the vector is same as
this, but the opposite sign.
So, you can take

advantage of all this fine,
because you are going to
do this repeatedly there is
no point in doing these mistakes. And finally, arrive at this vector representation, and I
can also find out the magnitude; the magnitude is 2540.36 m/s2.
546
When I move on to determining the other quantities, so, I have this normal component of
accelerations like this. Here again use the simplification which we learn earlier for that
vector triple product and find out the value as
And the tangential component of acceleration is . So, I have this

expression I do not know the value of αAB ok and I will write the complete expression.
And from this by grouping the terms, I am in a position to calculate what is the value of
acceleration at A as well as the angular acceleration of the connecting rod. So, grouping i
and j terms I get one expression like this, I have another equation, I have 2 unknowns,
and I have 2 simultaneous equations and it is possible for me to find out the value.
So, αAB terms out to be -7943 rad/s2, so, this directly tells me that this is clock wise and I
can also find out what is
the acceleration of point A.
You know the idea of
solving the problem by
both graphical approach as
well as vector approach is
to appreciate what are the
aspects you should pay in
your graphical approach,
what are the aspect that
you should pay in your
vector approach.
And in your exam problem I may specify the method I want you to be proficient in both
of these methods. So, in this class we have taken up a very interesting problem dealing
with slider crank mechanism is very widely used in many applications. From the data
547
given in the problem you have been able to find out what is the acceleration of the piston
and also the rotation of the connecting rod.
And we recognize the connecting rod as a general plane motion and we also have to
appreciate by attaching a non rotating translating axis to a rigid body. You see other
points in the rigid body having a circular motion with respect to the attached axis.
Thank you.
548
Prof. K. Ramesh
Module – 02
Dynamics
Lecture – 06
Relative Motion - III and Instantaneous Center
Let us continue our

discussion on Relative
Motion.
We will take up a very

interesting engineering
problem, we will start with
a very simpler problem
then we move on to another interesting problem. And make a neat sketch of it, what I
have here is I have a slotted member and I have a threaded collar and I have a pin
attached to this threaded
collar. And when the
threads rotate in one
direction it will move up,
it will rotate in another
direction it will come
down.
So, the point B which is

marked can move up or
down, in this case the case
that you are going to analyze is when you it is moving down. And what you are given in
the problem statement is the pin B moves down with a velocity of 0.3 m/s.
549
And the angular orientation of the slotted arm at this instance is 30o and you will soon
find slotted members are used in many engineering applications and that gives a clue
how to go about in solving problems of that nature. They could be solved from relative
motion analysis; they could also be solved from fixing a rotating frame of reference that
we will see later. And now we have to understand what happens when these relative
motions take place fine.
And we also have a very

powerful method of
approach where we bring
in what is known as
coincident points ok. So,
this just shows that I have
a power screw which is
rotating in one direction it
comes down, rotating in
another direction it moves up. And what we would look at is I have a pin which is there
on this collar, I would also
imagine another point on
this slotted member which
is fictitious which is
coinciding with this point
fine.
And we would see how the

motion takes place fine.
Useful in the analysis of
constrained sliding contact between two links in a mechanism. So, I am going to imagine
that I have a point here and this is the constrained motion. And you could visualize when
550
I have this point here, this point can move only in this slot, so the relative moment is
understandable.
So, I have two points A and B we have seen that we have label B as the point on the
collar and A as a fictitious point ok, which is on the slotted link. And you have to notice
that these two points are on different bodies. And the important aspect is that distance
change as a function of time, unlike what we had seen earlier at the instant considered
the relative position from A to B is zero.
Because they are coincident what I am trying to say is in the slotted member I would
have a point ok, coinciding with the point B. And what is stated here is the direction of
relative velocity is dictated
by the constrained sliding
contact, it is essentially
tangential to the slot. In
this case I have a straight
slotted member, suppose I
have a curved slot and this
member is also of a
different geometry then the
velocity will be tangential
to the slot.
See let us understand the concept of fictitious point and that is what is depicted
beautifully in this animation, please take your time to make a neat sketch out of it, I
would repeat this. So, I have a point B on the collar, I have point A on the arm and you
could see here I have shown the point B as green in colour, I have shown the point A as
red in colour.
At this instant of time points A and B are coincident, I will again show the animation;
and you could see the point A as a circular motion. Because this is dictated by the pinned
slotted member the point A is considered as if this coincident with point B at this juncture
551
ok. So, point A has a circular motion, point B which is moving up and down on the
threaded member that is shown as green dots here.
So, again have a look at it and make a neat sketch of this and you exploit this
understanding in solving the problem ok. And what I do here, taking B as the reference
point one can write the velocity of A is velocity of B plus velocity of A with respect to B,
we would see the mathematics little while later ok.
And again, if I summarize

those points, we will
quickly review this,
recognize that points A and
B are chosen on each of the
links, but coincident at the
instant considered. And
what we do is we have
exploited the constrained
motion behavior in writing out the relative velocity equation, what is that we have done
earlier? We have done
earlier when we looked at
general plane motion.
We have identified that if I

attach a non rotating
translating axes at B, I
would see the point A to
move in the circular
fashion. If I attach it with A
the point B would move it in a circular fashion, this understanding has helped us to write
the relative velocity equation.
552
So, there it was different and the distance r remains constant, on the other hand in this
case it is coincident at the instant of time. And it varies as a function of time nevertheless
because of the strength of our understanding of the constrained motion we have been in a
position to write a relative
velocity equation.
So, the situation what we

saw earlier was different
and what we are going to
use now is different.
Ultimately, I am in a
position to write the
relative velocity equation.
So, this is again depicted

here for clarity, because it
is a very subtle point and I
have taken efforts to bring
it out in a nice animation.
Otherwise books say that
left it to your imagination.
So, you should recognize
this even for getting out all
the other expressions, even
if I have to do the vectorial analysis I have to visualize these movements only then I
would be able to write the unit vectors properly.
553
And we would solve the problem both by a graphical approach as well as a vectorial
approach. Magnitude and
direction of VB is known
completely, it is going to
come down that is where
the problem statement is,
so it is coming down here.
So, I have VB as 0.3 m/s

and from the constrained
motion you know what is
the relative velocity
direction, you also know
what is the relative velocity the absolute velocity direction of point A. Both are known
the absolute velocity of point A will be perpendicular to the slotted link ok. And the
relative velocity will be in the direction of the slot, because I have a straight slot.
So, the direction of relative velocity A with respect to B is along the slot. From the
simulation it is clear that it is away from O, so, you can see all these from this I have this
animation running. Direction of VA is known, because it is perpendicular to that, so, I
have this, this is the slot and this is perpendicular to that, because the slotted link is
pinned.
So, it has a circular motion, with all these quantities the problem is solved its very simple
and straightforward to do in a graphical approach. Magnitudes of VA and VAB can be
determined from the velocity polygon, I get . And this turns out to be 0.26
m/s and I can also find out the angular velocity of the slotted bar. So, that is nothing, but
and you get .
You have been able to write the relative velocity equation primarily from the
understanding of the constrained motion, and you have brought in a concept of
coincident points. And in this instance the vectorial approach we will see later, but the
554
graphical approach is so simple in just two three steps you are in a position to get the
quantities that; you want you would also solve it by vectorial calculus.
And before we get into that we should again go and look at the motions, otherwise will
not be in a position to write the vectors properly. So, I know the relative velocity
equation as . Now, I need to know the unit vectors for the direction A and the
relative motion direction.
So, I have to write
and you have a

depiction of the motion of
point A and the motion of
point B. And we will also
have to write .
Can you write the unit
vectors for the eAB and eA;
eAB is fairly straight
forward. And for you to
write eA and you have to
visualize this motion without visualizing this motion you would not be in a position to
write eA properly.
Can you find out eAB that is nothing but the direction of a slot ok, so, there is nothing but
. I have not shown the axis here, you can take the axis as
horizontal and vertical here. And what is the unit vector for velocity A; that is tangential
to this, it is having a circular motion like this or in other words you can say that this is
perpendicular to the slot at this instance.
You have to recognize this so, in a vectorial approach also in this instance you have to
visualize the motions only then you are in a position to assign the vectors, because you
are exploiting the property of constrained motion. So, in a sense the vectorial approaches
slightly involved and you have to be careful in handling the quantities.
555
Once you recognize that , the problem is done. For you have to
visualize this you have to go back and understand what happens to the coincident point.
At this instance it was coinciding with the point of the collar, what happen an instance
before, what would happen an instance later would give you how to identify the unit
vector for the fictitious
point.
Once you have to

determine this, the problem
is straight forward; so, you
are given and I

have the reference axis
listed here. And I have
these
are all simple arithmetic you can easily check these quantities you are given 500 mm you
are given the angle, so, you can find out the other quantities.
Then we have written down this as , we have already

determined this and the relative velocity equation is like this. So, we also know what is
the unit vector eAB and again the usual procedure collect the i terms and j terms.
And then you will get sufficient number of equations for you to solve for the unknowns,
so that is what we are going to do. The important point here is in many other previous
problems when you approached vectorial calculus it is enough that you write the
appropriate equation, because very little imagination was required.
But in this class of problems you will also have to picturize the relative motion for you to
appreciate how to write the appropriate vectors. So, this reduces to this and grouping I
terms I get one expression relating VA and VAB. And I get ; please check the
numerical calculations and verify whether these numbers are correct.
556
So, grouping j terms I get this expression and from this in a position to get the velocity
. I can also
find out the angular
velocity that is
clockwise.
So, you have to take a
decision whether to
approach the problem
using vector polygon I
mean velocity polygon or
vector calculus.
In some problems vector calculus may be simple; in some problems, velocity polygon
may be simple. It is better that you learn both of these techniques; so, that you have an
option to choose or if you solve the problem in one method verify the answer from other
method all that you should do. Because I said doctors and engineers have to be very
confident of their
decisions, you cannot be
ambiguous.
And this is the very nice

application we will solve;
we will also have a
satisfaction that whatever
you learn in the classroom
is of use in some
engineering application.
This is the shaper what you have to observe here is, you have to observe what way this
tool goes and comes back. Do you find these two the forward and backward stroke are
they of same time duration, observe that?
557
See in the forward stroke it is actually doing the cutting, the machine the machine is
shown you do not have the object put here ok. You have to imagine that it takes a longer
time to move forward, so, it does the cutting operation. And after cutting operation you
know industrial engineers will say you have to reduce time in manufacturing, how to
they reduce the time?
When it is not cutting it can come back at a faster pace, and how this is achieved? This is
achieved by a mechanism here. So, you have a slow cutting phase and fast return and this
is achieved by a mechanism here. And that is a mechanism that we are going to analyze,
I have nice animations for
you have to dwell upon it.
So, what I have here is this

is the mechanism that is
shown here, this is what
we are going to analyze.
So, you have a norm that is
oscillating like this ok and
that pin joint is literally in
a bath of oil well. Look at
the amount of lubrication that is required and also this slotted arm is quite sturdy. See it
has to withstand the cutting forces; it is not very light; you could see from the
construction that this is quite sturdy.
Because when it does the cutting operation it has to bear the cutting forces, so, all that
will come here and if you watch very closely you also have a provision to change the
length of the crank there are many adjustments are possible. You can adjust the stroke
length; you can adjust the time duration all that you have control depending on the
problem one hand. So, the idea is you minimize the time for a machining operation, so,
you can improve productivity like that.
558
So, the problem is like this, so, I have a slotted arm like this, I have a crank which is
rotating it. And the shaper
tool post that was moving
back and forth is just put
as a sliding block like this
and you have the
geometric dimensions
make a neat sketch of it.
And you have already seen

that it takes a longer time
while cutting the work
whatever the job that is
kept there and takes a shorter time to comeback is also has a nice name this is called a
quick return mechanism. And the machine that you saw was known as a shaper. And the
problem statement is if the driving crank AB’s angular velocity is 5 radians per second,
determine the velocity of point C for the instant when θ=30o.
When θ=30o you have to

find out what is the
velocity of point C. So, this
has a slotted member you
have a crank which is
rotating and this is used in
an application involving
the machine shaper. So,
from that sense if you
know how to solve it
whatever you learnt has
some practical use in the field.
559
And this is shown slightly differently in this sketch you know I had done the problem
long time back, then I got the image of the shaper. So, it is not exactly the functionality
of this the strokes are slightly opposite in direction, but it gives an impression that I can
achieve if you look at this
animation.
You can see that it is

coming back slowly and
then moving forward fast
whereas, it does the exactly
opposite one. It is moving
forward slowly coming
back fast, here it is shown
differently nevertheless
you have a practical
situation which is possible
by a mechanism fine. You have a mechanism which does that job and we would analyze
this problem
So, I have this diagram shown like this and let us identify point P be a coincident point
with B. I have B attached to this pin which is also part of the crank, and I have a point P
which is in this slot ok. You have to understand that they are coincident points to see
them distinctly I put B and P like this.
So, they are the same point on this, I have a point B below which on the slotted member
you have the fictitious point B, then I have seen this has an oscillatory motion. So, the
velocity of C is simply perpendicular to this, for me to get this I should have the
knowledge of the angular velocity of this. If I know the angular velocity of this then the
problem is solved. So, you will also have to appreciate that I have determined this
quantity by solving the problem.
So, we have absolute velocity of B is , this comes from the concept of

coincident points. And can you find out the absolute velocity of B; you have the absolute
560
velocity of v, because the crank is rotating at a particular angular velocity you know that
completely.
And I can say what is the direction of VP, I can also say what is the direction of this
relative velocity component all that is known, so, the problem is amenable for solution.
There is what is stated here, the directions of VP and VB/P are known, say I am also using
different label.
So, that you get accustomed to applying your equations no matter what way you have
labeled it, I am doing it gradually I am not doing an abrupt change. It was in the rotating
frame of reference usually we call the coincident point as P that is the reason why I have
taken that as P. That is the way we will develop the argument and do the discussion of
several terms.
So, their magnitudes can be found using vector addition. So, I have this relative velocity
which is in the direction of the slot and I have this is perpendicular to this slot. So, I have
this VP and I know VB completely, so the problem is solved. I am in a position to if I get
the VP, I can find out what is angular velocity of this. Then I can find out easily the
velocity of point C, see the problem appear to be so complex, it is also a very interesting
quick written mechanism. Once you understand the concept of coincident points it is
very easy for you to attempt a solution.
So, you can find out this angle this is 60o and this is nothing but the angle β. So, I put
and you can also get from your geometry what is the length OB or OP
whatever it is ok. So, that turns out to be 396.61 mm. So, it is a very essential that you
refresh your properties of triangles, sine rule, cos rule all the other simple calculations;
they are needed you should be able to write them confidently without making a mistake.
561
And I have from sine rule I can get the angle β=13.9o and I have this velocity diagram
written like this. So, I can also get , so, I get VP = 381.37 mm/s. So, once I
know VP I can find out the ωOB, so, I can instead of finding out the ω I have directly
written down this, so that
is also fine.
So, I get velocity C as
, I have
actually used vector
polygon I mean velocity
polygon. And you
understand the relative
motions very clearly here
and in easy for you to
handle a problem that
appear to be very complex when you look at the shaper as such.
So, it is a very useful way to solve the variety of engineering problems, coincident point
is a very useful concept.
And you should recognize
that I write the relative
velocity equation based on
constrained motion. There
is the distinction between
when you handle a general
plane motion and a
constrained motion.
So, these are all various tricks to solve a given problem, another trick what we have is
the concept of instantaneous centre of zero velocity. So, instead of choosing a convenient
reference point, here one chooses a unique reference point which has zero velocity. Once
562
I find out this, I can find out the absolute velocity of any point in the rigid body in one
short I can find out no difficulty at all.
So, it acts like absolute center of rotation at the instant considered you have to underline
that and you should also
know it is not a fixed point
in the body nor a fixed
point in the plane. It can be
anywhere depending on the
complexity of the motion.
See normally whenever
you say something is zero;
everything else associated
with also is zero is the way
you are normal intuition
works ok. So, I want to caution can this point have acceleration the question itself has an
answer fine.
And you have seen for a rolling wheel what happens at point C? It as a zero velocity, that
we learn it from the first principle that it has a rotation and a translation. So, I have the
velocity of due to rotation is like this, velocity due to translation like this. When I
superimpose, I have zero velocity here and then it increases to the maximum here and
this is what you call it as instantaneous center of zero velocity.
So, the object can be visualized have a rotation about that point and you know from
rolling that this point C what you have here as an acceleration. So, when this is zero
velocity, it does not imply zero acceleration. So, instantaneous center of zero velocity
can have an acceleration component dictated by the problem situation.
563
And how do I find the instantaneous center, let us consider a rigid body having a plane
motion. When I say plane motion it has a linear component of translation as well as a
rotary motion. Absolute
velocity VA of a point is
given as well as the
rotation ω of the body is
given. And if I know these
two quantities, it defines a
velocity of all other points
in the body. Or in other
words if I know the
absolute velocity of any
two points the rigid body, I
know the motion of the rigid body comfortably.
(Refer Slide Time: 34:58).
I take two arbitrary points

A and B and you know the
absolute velocities of these
points from your
understanding of the
motion ok. We will solve a
problem then will
appreciate how do I get
this. So, I have the velocity
VB like this and velocity VA
like this, and if they have to find out the instantaneous centre of zero velocity just draw
perpendicular lines from this and they meet at a point and this is your instantaneous
centre of rotation.
And it is very clear for you because it rotates about this, so, the velocity is perpendicular
to that. So, you use that property to find out what is the instantaneous centre of rotation,
and I could think of different orientation of these velocities a variety of them. So, that
564
you have a recipe how to get the instantaneous center of rotation. The prerequisite is you
should know the absolute velocity at two different points. So, this is one instance we
have seen, we can also have before we go into that you know you also have the
information that angular velocity can be easily determined simply as or VB/rB

whichever way you want
to calculate.
Suppose I have a velocity

are parallel and of non
equal magnitudes, how do
a find the instantaneous
center. So, you have to
draw a line joining the tip
and the base ok, they will
intersect and form the
instantaneous center of rotation. And suppose I have these velocities are parallel;
obviously, the body does
not have a rotation it
means at infinity it has
only a translatory motion.
And suppose I have these

velocities are parallel, but
in opposite direction that
possibilities also not ruled
out. I have velocity which
are parallel they are in
opposite direction. Again, follow the same recipe join the tips and the base I get the
instantaneous center of rotation. I get the instantaneous center of rotation and it is a very
useful concept to solve a class of problems ok.
565
And we will again visit this rolling of a wheel you have this as instantaneous center of
rotation, so, the point C in general can have an acceleration. When I say instantaneous
center of zero velocity on
similar lines one can also
anticipate an instantaneous
center of zero acceleration,
which is used in
mechanism kinematics
which is the specialized
topic. And happily, this is
beyond the scope of this
course ok, at least you
know that is when I have
this, I have a parallel concept. You may have an opportunity to learn if you stick to one
of the mechanical engineering-based branches.
I have very simple problem

the idea is I have always
been saying, I take
problems to teach you a
method I am not interested
in getting only the answer.
I am using the problems as
a vehicle to teach a
methodology and you
know how to calculate whatever the quantities related to rolling very comfortably.
So, you can verify your answer and pat your back that you have learnt the method
correctly. And what is important here is it is rolling without slipping its very important
only when it rolls without slipping, I can use the kinematical relationship that you know
566
for a rolling motion. Whenever rolling comes you can invoke that and solve your
problem, they very fairly simple problem you have this as instantaneous center of
rotation, and you have to
find out the velocity at
point A we have also done
it earlier.
And so, I have this as

instantaneous center, so, I
determine the distance AC
from the geometry this
comes to be 120o and I
have to get the distance
AC. So, use the trigonometry and get the distance, that turns out to be 0.608 meters from
the property of a rolling wheel without slipping that is very important I know .
You are expected to use

this kinematical
relationship when the
problem statement says it
rolls without slipping. So,
you have to remember the
property of rolling,
and
I get ok. And I get
,
so, it is fairly simple VA is
perpendicular to AC. So, it is a fairly simple and straightforward problem it is a known
territory for you, then we move on to another interesting problem.
567
This is dealing with gear, so, I thought that I would also show you the animation of the
gear. And you have to understand what this gear is all about, how it works? See
essentially these are all spur gears with involute teeth like what you have here, but I have
taken only the mean radius of that. And what I have here is the gear A which is shown in
blue rotates clockwise about O with a constant angular velocity of 5 rad/s.
And what you see as grey in colour is a thick member, it is like a plate, it is a sector OED
which is a 90o sector which is mounted on an independent shaft at O. It is very clearly
given that is what is shown as a black circle here; this sector can rotate independently
independent of the blue wheel.
And you have two small gears each of the small gears at D and E meshes with gear A;
see such aspects are required in some of the gear boxes ok. We are analyzing only a
portion of a gearbox; if the sector has a counterclockwise angular velocity of 6 rad/s at
the instant represented, determine the corresponding angular velocity of each of the
smaller gears is the problem statement clear.
I have a blue gear which is

rotating in clockwise
direction, I have a sector
gear this sector is rotated
independently when I
rotate this independently
these gears will roll on this
base gear you are asked to
find out what is the angular
velocity of the smaller
gears. And this is the good
candidate to analyze it from instantaneous center of rotation. See I teach this chapter and
I solve this problem; it is easy solve to figure out I can apply instantaneous center of
rotation. The real challenge is when you phase a physical reality even identifying which
methodology to solve requires some to prior training.
568
Let us see how we will apply instantaneous centre of rotation to do it. So, this is depicted
very nicely here pictorially; I have this rotating at 5 rad/s. And when I show this the line
OD on that it is put, so, you have to recognize that I have a sector I think I have that
figure also put here for clarity ok.
I have this rotating at anticlockwise 6 rad/s, the question ask is what is the angular
velocity of the smaller gear? You know I have already said I should be in a position to
get absolute velocity at any two points on the object, the motion of the body is
completely understood ok. Let me set the goal as I have to find out the angular velocity
of this gear D. My focus is to find out absolute velocities of this gear at two different
points, which are the points I can find out the absolute velocity from the given problem
statement?
You have a blue gear, you have a sector, which all the points can I find out? Suppose I
say that these two mesh I thing have label it as B let me see. I have label it as B, I also
give you the clue that I have to find out the absolute velocity at B and absolute velocity
at the center of the disk D.
Can I estimate it from the given problem statement, if I know the absolute velocity of
two points on the object D; the motion of D is completely specified. Do I have the luxury
to find out what is the absolute velocity at B, yes, I have fine, that is nothing but
; fine. I know the absolute velocity at point B and can I find out the absolute
velocity at point D.
So, for you to recognize I have brought in that main picture, you have to recognize that I
can rotate this sector this sector itself is rotated at anticlockwise. So, I can independently
find out what is the velocity at point D. So, what is the expression is idea clear, do you
follow what I am trying to say; for B I can do it from the gear A for point D I will look at
the sector. And this as a distance OD and I need to know what is the angular velocity of
the sector or the line OD whichever way you say, so, I can also write this as .
So, I know the velocity at D which is 1.2 m/s and from the sense of rotation I can also
put VB is like this and what way you will have VD, VD is like this. So, on the smaller gear
569
D, I have been able to find out absolute velocities of two points, and they are parallel in
opposite direction. So, it is
easy to find out the
instantaneous center of
rotation. This is the
instantaneous center of
rotation I join these two
tips and the base; I have
this as instantaneous
center of rotation. Now, I
can easily find out the
angular velocity of D its
now big deal.
So, let ω be the angular velocity of the smaller gear, I get . So, from the
geometry I get an expression like this, so, I get counterclockwise. So,

in this class we have learnt one more way of writing down the relative velocity equation.
We have used the constrained motion we brought in the concept of coincident points and
we found that it could be applied to practical problem like analyzing a shaper
mechanism. Then we also moved on to learn, what is the concept of instantaneous center
of rotation for a class of problems; you can easily find out this instantaneous center of
rotation and use it as a bases to calculate certain parameters concerning the problem.
Thank you.
570
Prof. K Ramesh
Module - 02
Dynamics
Lecture - 07
Rotating Frame of Reference- I – Velocity
See a rigid body can have

both translation and
rotation. In the last few
classes we had attached a
non-rotating translating
axes to the rigid body and
analyzed relative motion
using that knowledge, we
also got the absolute
velocity and absolute
acceleration of certain key
points in the body.
Suppose I attach a rotating
frame of reference to the
rigid body what are the
advantages? And what
does it that I am able to
measure easily and what is
that I do not see this is
needed for you to solve
another class of problems,
where rotating axes will be
a natural choice for you to do the relative motion analysis.
571
At the start of the course we have looked at this cyclone and this is in the northern
hemisphere and you find
that this is rotating in
anticlockwise direction.
And we saw the southern

hemisphere, this is rotating
in clock wise direction; see
for many problems of day
to day importance we have
just considered earth as a
frame of reference. We felt everything is quite alright with the earth, we are not really
considering whether the earth rotating or not, but when you observe some of these
phenomena unless you recognize that earth is rotating it may be rotating slow, but it
matters in certain understanding of these phenomena. So, there is a need for using your
rotating frame of reference
in the certain applications.
And just observe this and

also make a need sketch,
what I have is I have a
particle having a motion
like this and by some
means if you know what is
the description of this
motion. Then I can use polar or intrinsic co-ordinates to evaluate the dynamical
quantities.
572
So, question is are you in a position to get an expression and in this case, it is possible
because this is developed by us and the particle is experiencing a spiral, most spirally
and the equation is given as r =ro enθ. So, I have the motion described and once the
motion is described I can use polar r intrinsic coordinates see in the case of statics, I said
when I show you a load, I have always asked you to visualize how the load could have
been applied.
Because in a practical problem you see only a load application in a practical sense which
you have to modulate for you to solve the problem and you also learned better
engineering if you visualize how the load has been applied. It is easy to say that the
particle is given a spiral motion, but how do you give this motion? You must also have a
via media to do that is it not; and if you visualize that that makes you a better engineer
and you appreciate problems on dynamics better. And look at the second animation what
do you see here? Here I see the particle is moving in a spiral. Observe this closely there
are two things that you can observe the first thing is that the disc is rotating that is visible
because, you are not sitting on the disc and observing what is happening to the particle
you are standing outside and visualize and the disc is rotating slowly.
So, you are able to see the rotation of the disc as well as how the particle is moving now?
You can say that the particle is steadily moving in the slot. And if you look at what is the
difference between these two, I only made the animation I made the disc to rotate in a
synchronous fashion with the particle. I may not getting all together a different picture in
comprehending how this particle moves and also if you say a finally, I want only a spiral
motion of the particle for a given application how a spiral motion can be achieved by
having a rotating disc and have your particle to move linearly in the slot; is the idea
clear.
So, in many engineering applications what you will find is, only an appropriate
mechanism is given in which certain relative motions are easily comprehensible. Many
of the problems that come in engineering they are like that; we will also see one example
a short while later. And in this case suppose I have not given this motion as spiral I have
started with this then you would say that I have a disc is rotating and a particle is moving
in the slot steadily that is what you have here, disc rotates the particle moves in the slot
steadily.
573
So, this is what it says the path is not clearly specified suppose I have given only this
problem without this picture, only an appropriate mechanism is given in which certain
relative motions are easily comprehensible then use of rotating frame of reference is
recommended see mind you, I am looking at this as an external observer from the top I
am not rotating with the disc. Suppose I rotate with the disc what is it that I would
observe? I would observe only the particle is moving in the slot steadily. I would not
sense that I am rotating with the disc it is a subtle point and this is what happen people
are looking at cosmological happenings around the earth and they were sitting on a
rotating frame of reference.
So, rotating frame of reference becomes so important for you to comprehend for you to
analyze another class of problems. So, look at this, the only difference between the two
animations is here the particle is having its path; the particle has again a similar path in
this animation also. But what I have done is I have made this disc to rotate
synchronously with the particle that is the only difference if you look at, suppose I have a
light emitting mechanism to the particle and I have a photographic film and then I find
out exposure of this light
and find out what is the
path. In both the cases the
particle would have only
spiral motion fine.
So, on the other hand if I

have to get spiral motion, I
simply have a disc to rotate
and make the particle to
move, both are achievable
I can make that particle to
move linearly in this in many fashion I can have a screw thread and then it moves over it.
So, physically it is achievable; it is physically achievable and look at another example.
574
You know there are many theme parks are coming up when you have to be very careful
before you select the theme park see that it is well maintained. And then he has used new
equipment not imported equipment which they discarded abroad and then they are
setting up a park and all this you have nice joy rides ok.
So, only the rotation on the main arm is shown and what is given on the problem, this
cabin is rotating about itself in addition to the main arm rotating. So, in a problem like
this I know only the relative motions easily, I know what is the speed of the motor that I
have given it to the cockpit here; and that is fitted to this arm and this arm is rotated and
people device many such variations to give you sort of happiness ok. But from an
engineering perspective if you are designing a theme park ride, you are expected to
calculate the accelerations a person who would experience when he sits in the cockpit
and moves through it. It cannot exceed certain recommended levels given by
organizations which do research on human safety.
So, if I have to do that, I necessarily need a rotating frame of reference for me to start
with and do the analysis.
So, there is a class of

problem that requires use
of a rotating frame of
reference and what are the
usual forms I have given
fixed axes like this. The
simplest one is I have
rotating axes whose origin
coincides with this, it makes your life very simple the origins are coincident. So, the
mathematics becomes lot simpler.
And I would like you to make a sketch please keep a note of it and I have another
possibility I can have the axes collinear, I have them collinear and I can have any
rotation, I can have a clock wise rotation, I can have a anticlockwise rotation, I can also
have the speed of rotation changed.
575
That is why I have given all these possibilities because normally you get a mental block;
we solve only a few problems whatever we have done in this problem is what you
anticipate. In order to remove that mental block what I am trying to bring out is here, the
axes are collinear the axes can have a clock wise rotation anticlockwise rotation as well
as the speed can differ it can also have acceleration all that is possible.
Then I have another possibility I have these axes are parallel and the most general one is
what you have here, I have this axis is oriented at some angle to start with. And if I
develop the equations for this all the other things are easy for you to do. And what I have
is I have the position vector; I have always used a position vector in green color and I
have also followed a discipline in labeling this fixed axes and rotating axes. Rotating
axes is in pink color and
the stationary axes is a
family of blue I have used
different types of blue
later, but it is a family of
blue. So, you can easily
identify which is the fixed
axes of reference and
which is the rotating frame
of reference.
So, I call the frame of reference O capital X and capital Y. I call that as inertial frame of
reference, because that is fixed and I have a rotating frame of reference which is labeled
as Bxy and these x and y are small. These are capital so these are small. You emphasize
that this is a rotating axis I have shown that this is rotating the origin of this rotating axes
is labeled as capital B. And whatever the point that I have on the object I put it as A and I
view this point from the rotating frame of reference by the position vector here.
There is r B which denotes as position vector of B with respect of fixed reference there is
r A with respect to B, which is seen in the rotating frame of reference. And once I have a
rotating frame of reference I have to be cautious that the unit vectors are not going to
576
remain same they will change; to start with I put this as ex and ey and later on to make
our life simple in writing I would simply replace it by small i and j, do not confuse this
with Cartesian coordinates i and j you have to be very clear of that.
I use a symbol mainly because it is convenient for us to handle because we are going to
handle it repeatedly with the explicit understanding this is for a rotating frame of
reference; and you would attach that it will have i dot and j dot. You should not jump on
to Cartesian coordinates and say i dot is 0, j dot is 0; do not get confused, this is to write
your equations faster and easier to print books with that.
So, this rotating axis can have an angular velocity as well as angular acceleration we are
not putting any restriction on it. In some problems you may have only angular velocity,
in some problems you will have both angular velocity and angular acceleration we are
not putting any restriction. We are only going to view with the rotating frame of
reference and the moment I bring in the rotating frame of reference I must also bring in
the variation of e dot.
So, and , which could also be written down in a different fashion. And I
have the position vector for the point A is given as rA and you have the relative position
vector is rA with respect to
B make a neat sketch of
this. I have a expression
. So, I can
write .
So, when I differentiate, I
would recognize will
be there will be there,

but later on I would simply
replace it by i and j for convenience. Because it is again nomenclature, we which we use,
in this chapter we will use it like this. So, in the context you interpret i and j differently.
577
So, that is what I have said. So, when I go for this axes where I have used capital X and
capital Y; I would use capital I and capital J as the unit vectors, when I use small x and
small y for the rotating axes, for convenience we simply put it as i and j. Understand the
word convenience every time I have to write ex and then put a dot all that takes time and
it is also very difficult to compose books with that fine. So, I have the fixed axes as
capital I and capital J and mind you if I express these quantities with respect to i j you
should recognize that these are different. So, I can have some quantities with respect to
capital I some quantities with respect to capital J.
So, if I do any mathematical calculation you must have one consistent reference axes to
which you put all the unit vectors appropriately, when you solve problems you will
understand that statement better. And we have , I can also write these
quantities in a much better convenient fashion and it is also very easy to remember, can I
write it differently as a cross product? When do I get ωj? .
So, I use this for all my mathematical simplification later, so put this axis and recognize
that these all vectorial quantities. So, I have put the vector cross product and then
with an explicit understanding that we are in the chapter on rotating
frame of reference, we would interpret i and j as unit vectors of the rotating frame for
convenience. So, I have
also replaced
that is
Now, the idea is to get the

velocity, let me
differentiate this and get
the velocity see now
mathematics is very well developed. So, when you follow the mathematics rule you will
never make a mistake, but if you look at the development of these part of mechanics
578
people make observations in those days. So, based on observation they develop the
mathematic they did not have mathematics to assist them.
So, there was lot of discussion on what a person would observe and use it in a rotating
frame of reference, there were lot of debates on that. So, we will also go through that
from that perspective and see whether we could understand the concepts better. And you
can write this straightforward I have . And there are also multiple
symbols people use to refer these quantities and we have adopted Meriam. So, he uses
the terminology Vrel to denote .
We have already seen how I can write i dot and j dot on that strength; I could replace this
as ω × r. It is very important to do this and we have not done anything great we have just
applied the mathematics systematically step by step.
So, what we have got? Suppose I sit in a rotating frame of reference and I know what is
the angular velocity of the rotating frame of reference? If I observe the point A, I can
write the velocity of A with respect to the fixed frame of reference as .

And what is this Vrel, how can we measure this Vrel?
Another interpretation to this is; this is the velocity with respect to the frame of reference
XY and what you actually call as Vrel is what is the velocity a person who is sitting on the
rotating frame would observe; that is a better terminology. Is the idea clear? Please write
this expression it is not given in Meriam, but you should write this and if you see some
other books, they use this kind of symbolism. There are multiple symbolisms you have in
this context and you have to understand it what is best for you.
So, what I have is, this component of velocity is what one would observe if you are
sitting in a rotating frame of reference; see in this development I have not really brought
in a rigid body. I have just said I have a particle A which is moving in space and then I
view that from another particle B which is where I have put a rotating form of reference.
Now, let us give a feel to this, how I can achieve this kind of motion? Let me put a rigid
body to this in a particular fashion and then handle it.
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So, before I get into that I make a caution, I have a rotating frame of reference which is
oriented at an angle i and j
have to be expressed in
terms of capital I or capital
J or capital I and capital J
should be expressed in
terms of i and j for you to
do mathematical
simplification, do not rush
to solve the problem.
So, I express all the

vectors in common
coordinate system before summing them, otherwise this expression has no meaning.
Because certain quantity is, I get it from rotating frame of reference; this quantity I get it
from fixed frame of
reference. As long as you
have a coincident axes we
started the first one like
that ok, if you see the
samples you may not have
to do anything even when
the axes are parallel or
even when the axes are
collinear; you have no
problem only when they
are inclined like this. In some problems you may require this also; in those problems you
have to be careful in doing the mathematics; be sensitive to that.
580
So, what I am going to do now is I am going to visualize how this motion could be seen
if I have a rigid body ok. And my interest is I should be able to see certain quantities
when I sit in the rigid body and rotate with it and we have also seen a slotted member
earlier. So, this is the kind of idea that I am going to bring in.
So, I have a fixed frame of reference please make a neat sketch of it like, I have given a
large segment here for you to write for me to draw the pictures you also apportion this
because we are going to bill that the picture one after the other ok. So, what I am going
to have is I am going to imagine a rigid body in the rotating frame of reference, I attach
this point B to one corner of the rigid body.
I have the point A, so the until this it is like what we have seen earlier now I bring in I
have a rigid body and I have a slot in the rigid body in some fashion I have shown some
generic curve; it can have any shape depending on the problem context. I am trying to
give a life to this how this motion could be achieved in practice. Like in statics I said
visualize how the loading has been applied. If you say there is a concentrated moment
acting, I need to attach an arm and then put a couple force system, similar to that I have a
particle A moving like this particle B moving like this I give a life to this for clarity.
And even before we start this, we have the expression as given in

Meriam. From another perspective it is velocity with respect to xy, because this is a fixed
frame of reference this is your absolute velocity and I have this VB as absolute velocity of
B with respect to this. See in your non rotating frame of reference that is you have non-
rotating translating axes if I say VA I have VB + VA/B. That VA with respect to B now has
two components is the idea clear? This is what I am going to explain it

from different perspectives. Certain perspectives it will be clear for some students; other
perspective will be clearer for a larger class of students.
Let us see what it is, now I have this point located at a distant s and we know very well
that this is rotating with respect with an angular velocity ω. And mind you we have also
learnt the concept of coincident points, it is a fictitious point; the point is not existence
ok, but we imagine on the slot a point P which is identical to point A at this point in time.
And I have the path is denoted as a dotted line and only when I setting this frame of
reference and move with it.
581
I would be able to measure this; I would be able to get this VA|xy or Vrel which is also
labeled as velocity of A with respect to P is the idea clear? We have already seen when I
had the particle freely moving, I was not recognizing that it is moving linearly in a slot,
but when I make the disc with the slot rotate synchronously with the particle I could
perceive because the motions are slow where the particle is moving linearly on this slot.
Extending that logic; suppose I move and rotate with the body here; I would perceive the
point A to move on the slot
whichever the contour that
it has and tangential to path
is your velocity direction
that is what you get it here.
And this is to sensitize that

this is not a fixed frame of
reference, it is a moving
frame of reference, only
when it is a rotating frame, I am in a position to see and measure the component Vrel or
VA|xy I will repeat it. I could see that some of you are not totally convinced; we will get
back to it will again; and I have also written down one more thing I have put this as ω ×
r I have put a direction perpendicular to that.
Suppose I imagine at point B I attach a non-rotating translating axes it could be is again x

and y or x prime y prime which is non rotating. Can I write this? Because I know any
point on the rigid body will appear as if it is rotating with respect to the point, then I can
find out the relative velocity, relative velocity is perpendicular to the direction that I label
it as VP with respect to B, I can also calculate the magnitude as ω × r.
So, I rewrite this expression as , this is what I have written it now.
Then I can say simply VP where VP is the absolute velocity of the fictitious
point; is the idea clear? See my ultimate objective is to find out what are the quantities I
get from a rotating frame of reference. And what quantities I do not see both are my
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interest now. From a mathematical perspective we have already got the correct
expression what I would have to use, when I use a rotating frame of reference attached to
point B.
Now, the question is how do I rationalize these terms from a physical perspective? VP is
the absolute velocity of P and we have looked at fine. And then I can write
this as which is what I started with, I have an expression for velocity

here, if I have an expression from a non rotating translating axes I would only have
and what is that is nothing, but ω × r + VA|xy.
So, what is the difference between a translating axis and a rotating axis? That is nothing,
but ω × r the persons sitting on the rotating frame misses this quantity. See whenever I
use something there are advantages; there are also disadvantages. The advantages a
person sitting on the rotating frame would be able to observe and measure this VA|xy
comfortably, he would be
able to measure this
comfortably otherwise it is
very difficult to do it.
On the other hand, because

he is rotating with the
object; he does not
recognize this, you have to
have this in your
expression when you want
to do it only then your
mathematics will be correct ok. Let me go and explain it in steps we will spend some
time on it this is the crux of rotating frame of reference, if you understand this then doing
acceleration is simple the mathematics will help you and you can comprehend it better.
583
So, I explain it in stages. I want to bring back your old memories when I attach a non-
rotating translating axes to a rigid body, I see every other point on the body rotates about
it you might have forgotten that ok. So, again bring back that old memories if I attach a
non rotating axes
translating axes to a rigid
body, I would see every
other point to rotate above
that point; this is one
knowledge you have got.
Another knowledge what is

that you have got
independently, I had
concept of coincident point introduced in a very simple system where I could figure out
what is the motion of A? And what is the motion of point B And I said point A is
coincident with point B this is what I said and we understood from the physical motion
of this the relative velocity
will be along the slot; you
got that idea earlier; isn’t
it; that you would see only
when you rotate along with
the slotted member, I
would be able to see that
from a coincident point
perspective.
So, when I have a slot

when I have a member that
is rotating the knowledge you get from coincident point discussion is, the relative
velocity will be along this slot. This is what you have got I could write in this problem
. Now, we come back to this is the velocity along with slot for an
observer rotating with the slotted arm.
584
Now, let us understand what is happening here. Now, let us see what I am going to look
at this is, I am going to
look at the fictitious point
P. I know very well that
this object rotates with an
angular velocity ω, I can
attach a non-rotating
translating axes at B and
see what happens to this
point somehow have to get
VA/P that we get it from a
ok.
But if I want to do it for the point for the point P, I would say that ,
can you find out what is VP|B?
You can find out from your non-rotating translating axes attached to the rigid body; I can
always say VP|B is nothing but ω × r that I can confidently say is the idea clear? As our
original problem demands VAP I have also shown this and we also have the knowledge
that VAP is nothing, but what is the velocity perceived in the rotating frame x y that idea
you get from the coincident point when we took a very simple problem of a slot. And
this I write it as ; then let me go and see the whole again.
This is nothing, but what we had seen earlier. We are revisiting the same discussion
again; and I have this and if I have to get the velocity VAP I can get it only when I sit and
rotate with the object. Otherwise I cannot measure VAP, if the problem statement gives
this then you do not have to do it, but if I have to get that I have to rotate with it, but this
I can visualize from a non-rotating axis attached to it.
585
So, what we are trying to give is a physical meaning to an expression like this, which we
got without any difficulty by applying the mathematic systematically. Getting the
expression mathematically straight forward, but understanding it from a physical
perspective it is little complicated and little tricky, this is what I am trying to explain it to
you to the extent possible.
So, whenever it is convenient you consider the axes XY as a rotating axis, whenever it is
convenient you see that as a non-rotating translating axes understand the term ω × r from
a non-rotating translating axes measure the term Vrel from a rotating axis.
So, we give life to this and finally, the message here is the discussion the final message
of the discussion is ω × r, is the difference between the relative velocity as measured
from non rotating and non rotating axes; it is a caution. That ω × r a person who is
rotating with the object does not perceive this; that is the message. If you understand that
this is the message then you can handle it carefully how do I comprehend what we
discussed for the slotted
member, when I take
coincident point; what is
the distance between point
A and point B when you
say coincident what is the
value of r? That is 0.
So, when I have ω × r plus

that this becomes 0 and
you see only the relative
velocity is the idea clear?
And this can be generalized this result can be generalized; and before we go into that we
would also label this in a convenient fashion please write down step by step. I am going
to label them VA is the absolute velocity of A and VB is the absolute velocity of origin of
rotating frame, see in this context I have labeled it as B in some other problem it is
labeled with some other symbol d or e or f. You should know how to apply it. So, this is
586
nothing but coordinate velocity VB is nothing, but absolute velocity of origin of rotating
frame. So, it is a better way of remembering the terms in this expression.
And what is ω? Angular velocity of the rotating frame X,Y measured from the fixed
frame, usually the problems are constructed and you are in a position to make that device
only by attaching a motor you know what is the rotation of the motor. So, you essentially
get only the relative quantity so this is the angular velocity of the rotating frame.
And what is r; r is a position vector of the point seen in the rotating frame of reference,
measured from X,Y. You should know that this is small x,y you know in some slides I
will changed the font for you to easily write because, I am using a power point slides I
could show a distinction between a small x comma y and capital X,Y they appear very
similar ok. And I

also said Vrel is one type of
nomenclature; a better
nomenclature is velocity as
measured in the rotating
frame of reference x,y,
where a person rotating
with the object will
measure only this
component of velocity that
is not the absolute velocity.
So, you have to have
additional terms or you to get the absolute velocity.
So, whatever the understanding that we have gained in this can be extended to any
vector. So, only the rotational effect is considered, we are not looking at the translation
part of it. I have two positions A and A prime; please make it and this is different by an
angle dβ ok. Time derivative of a vector in a rotating frame of reference is related to the
fixed frame as follows.
587
So, we are writing it in a very generic fashion, I have any vector V its not necessarily the
velocity vector it is put as that is why it put with the capital V it can have a component
Vx and Vy, . And when you differentiate it you get it like this we have
already done this for the position vector r, the same mathematics and what we perceive
this is, if I want to find out the time derivative of a vector in fixed frame of reference, I
should know the time derivative of the vector in the rotating frame of reference, plus ω ×
V this is the very important aspect.
This a rotating frame of observer, if you do all the calculation based on your observation;
that overall is not sufficient observation you miss it; somebody has to tell you; you have
missed it; and you have to have that in your analysis, but mathematics are developed
very well now; so from the mathematical rule you have no difficulty, when these
concepts were developed they were not having parallel development in mathematics.
So, they had to bank on observation and then people predicted that if you have a canon
ball from a auxiliary it will move when you do it on a north it will move eastward so on
and so forth. People figured it out from a different perspective and ultimately again as I
said many of the scientific development all clean each other whether you like it or not so
they were worried about this.
So, they had made observation then they understood from a mathematics, now you have
the advantage and luxury of mathematics to help you. So, whenever I have a rotating
frame of reference if I am getting the time derivative, if I have to do it for a six frame of
reference, I must have the quantity ω × V, this is also pictorially depicted in the next
slide ok. So, this is . Here I have changed the font. So, that you can
easily write in your handwriting you can write this kind of a font; just for clarity I have
written it like this, but in all the other slides I have put only the aerial font.
588
So, let us look at what happens when a small movement takes place dβ, I have this as an
expression when I graphically represent, I should recognize that this is rotating with an
angular velocity ω I denote
this position as θ. So,
and I have at this

instant of time, see the
vector in space there is no
difficulty at all I have a
vector in space I view it
from different axis then I
have all this mathematical
requirement; what happens
to the vector can be
perceived from different
frames. When I do it from a fixed frame, I get the final expression that is what we will
use it for our later computations.
So, I have this with respect to the rotating frame of reference suppose this is at an angle β
and in a small interval of time this has moved by a distance dβ; and the point has moved
from A to A’ I have given a kinematical representation for this. So, the vector magnitude
changes as well as direction changes; is the idea clear? So, what is the change in the
magnitude? I have a small change in the magnitude, I have put that as dV and change in
the orientation would be perceived by a observer sitting in the rotating frame in one way,
observer sitting in a fixed frame in a different panel this is what you will have to
appreciate, because I have a fixed observer will see this at an angle gamma.
So, it will go by an angle d gamma, it has gone by an angle dβ now I will go for dβ; V dβ
and I have this, this is what the observer sitting in the rotating frame will observe as the
change dV/dtxy. He has a component as a function of as a magnitude variation as a
orientation variation. In addition to this a person sitting here would also see Vdθ and the
final quantity that this person will observe is dVxy, so this is the V’.
589
So, the take today is if I have . In fact, we would exploit this when we
want to derive the acceleration terms and when we do that without any difficulty you will
also get the Coriolis component of acceleration; no difficulty at all. So, to understand it
from a physical perspective it took generations for people to do it.
So, in this class we have said that a rigid body has a translation as well as a rotation, in
the previous chapter we have looked at if I attach a non-rotating translating axes; what do
you perceive? Suppose I attach a rotating axes to a rigid body what does that you
perceive and what is that you do not perceive both are there both are necessary so that
you can have a proper mathematics and in a class of problems use of rotating frame of
reference is very elegant to solve.
Thank you.
590
Prof. K. Ramesh
Module – 02
Dynamics
Lecture - 28
Rotating Frame of Reference- II- Acceleration
Let us continue our

discussion on rotating
frame of reference. See the
idea you have to keep in
mind is a rigid body has a
translation as well as a
rotation. You are
accustomed to attaching a
non rotating translating
axis from your earlier
knowledge of particle
dynamics. In fact in certain
class of rigid body
mechanics you would be
able to determine only the
relative quantities based on
the construction of the
mechanism and such
problems lend themselves
easily for analysis if we
have a rotating frame of
reference, with which you
view the problem situation then you can solve them comfortably.
591
And one of the concepts that we discussed in the previous class was how do you express
the time derivative of a vector in a rotating frame of reference to a fixed frame of
reference. And we have done the generalization only the rotational effect is considered,
and the expression what we finally, got was if I have a generic vector V, expressed in the
fixed frame of reference its time derivative is related to time derivative of that vector in
the rotating frame of reference plus an additional component which is ω×V, this a
rotating observer sitting on the rotating frame of reference fails to observe it.
So, you need to understand that there are advantages by rotating with the frame of
reference you are able to see the velocity in that frame, acceleration in that frame, which
are labeled as Vrel and arel, you can measure only when you rotate with the coordinate
system. But in the process, you also miss out certain information, that is what is
explained in terms of the vector. Vector in space is denoted like this you are able to get
the components either with respect to the fixed frame of reference or to the rotating
frame of reference.
So, in a time delta t or dt it has moved by a distance dβ. So, the vector has a magnitude
change as well as a directional change a rotating observer is able to observe only this
change in the vector because of the directional change, whereas a fixed observer will also
see the change because of the rotation dθ. So, finally, you get the velocity vector V’. So,
from a fixed reference the person will have to have this component dVXY, from a rotating
frame of reference he would observe only dVxy small letters written here. And when you
take the time derivative this is the final expression, this is a very important aspect no
matter what vector you are looking at it could be a position vector, it could be a velocity
vector.
So, this is like you get the new mathematical rule, when I have to find quantities with
respect to a rotating frame with respect to a fixed frame of reference from a rotating
frame of reference how do you write that. So, when I want to find out the acceleration, I
would use this systematically, written down in another form this is nothing, but
592
Let us now move for developing the acceleration, we start with the expression for
velocity. We have . I have to essentially differentiate this and get the

acceleration. So, when I differentiate this expression apply the product rule properly
when I write it, I have . See any one of these time derivatives you
have to handle it carefully.
we have just now learnt
when I am sitting in a
rotating frame of reference,
I get one value, but if I
have to refer it to fixed
frame of reference, I
should also have additional
component of ω cross that
vector.
So, that I have to

systematically put it, if you do that final result is very straight forward and simple. I am
going to do that systematically I am going to recognize . So, when I have
this , I am going to replace it like this and we have already looked at what is the
other symbolism which we have used was Vrel.
So, I have this as , then I have to worry about what is . So, if I write
you should not forget this. This is very important when you are
having a rotating frame of reference. So, when I write this expression from the quantities
which we known which we have the symbol I can write this as arel that is the acceleration
perceived by an observer sitting in the rotating frame of reference and observes the
particle.
When he sits, he is able to measure Vrel, he is also able to measure arel. And I would have
ω × Vrel as an additional term that you have to do when you are handling a rotating frame
593
of reference. Now what I am going to do is, I am going to substitute the terms in these
expressions and get the final expression for the particle or the point A. So, this is the
absolute acceleration of point A, this is the absolute acceleration of point B which is
nothing, but the origin of
the coordinate axis. Which
is rotating with the frame
of reference we are using
that as attached to a rigid
body or attached to any
other particle also ok.
So,
We have already got . So, when I write the final expression, the final expression
turns out to be like this . See if you go back to the

history, I said people were making observations, people were able to find out intuitively
when you are sitting in air tent and fire an artillery from north from the equator to the
north pole it is not going straight, but it gets deflected.
Because you are sitting on an earth which is a rotating frame of reference for a very long-
time people were not able to perceive it independently and the term is known as
the Coriolis component of acceleration. We will also have a detailed discussion later.
This was very difficult to perceive and it was articulated by a French mathematician
Coriolis. He was dealing with water wheels, that was the in thing at that point in time.
So, he said these are all supplementary forces that is how he could get it. And I can also
rewrite this expression in terms of other known quantities I can replace ω dot as α and
you need to remember this expression. See what is new here is I have is new, rest
of it is very simple and if you go back and look at from the point of view of your relative
594
acceleration concept I have whole lot of this

quantities has to be relabeled as relative acceleration of A with respect to B it has many
components. And we need to get an interpretation of these quantities that we will also do
that.
So, let us understand the Terms in Acceleration. So, here again I take a fixed frame of
reference I have the origin of the rotating frame of reference as B, which is located at a
position vector rB. And then I have rotating frame of reference attached to this and I said
in order to visualize what
we are discussing we are
also imagining an
appropriate rigid body fine.
A rigid body which has a
slot that is the way we
visualized for
understanding velocity. A
similar exercise we will do
here and when it is
convenient to us, we will
make this as a non rotating
translating axis and view what happens.
When it is necessary, we will consider that as a rotating frame of reference and find out
what quantities I can determine. When you solve a problem, these ideas become clear.
So, I imagine rigid body like this it has a slot the moment I say a rigid body if I attach a
non rotating translating axis at a particular point all other points will appear to rotate
about that point.
This is a very subtle concept which we have discussed at length that is what is new to
you, that you have to bring in your understanding for discussing the result. So, I have a
particle A which is moving in that slot. And I also consider a coincident point; it is a
fictitious point which is there on the slot at this instant of time coincident with point A.
595
The path is depicted as follows, then I also have a position vector with respect to the
rotating frame of reference like this, I have the position vector r and this is at a distance S
from one end of the slot. You know for animation, I just shown ω it can also have
acceleration α fine.
And I have a tangential and normal component and I can visualize this if I sit on the
rotating frame and move with it. I can perceive arel tangential and normal component
only, when I rotate with the frame of reference or the rotate with the object with its
angular velocity and angular acceleration.
I cannot get this quantity otherwise because if you look at many appliances, they are
constructed that way I would know only the values with respect to that frame of
reference. I would not know from an absolute frame of reference. So, in such class of
problems it is prudent to attach a rotating frame of reference to that axis, use those
quantities and use your mathematics to get the absolute velocity and absolute
acceleration.
Now, you know I also have this visualization of α, it is easy for me to put now. When I
want to carry on the discussion further, I bring in I look at what happens to a coincident
point P. if I have to find out the parameters for the coincident point, I imagine that I
attach a non rotating translating axis at B. And you know very well that this will appear
to rotate like this.
So, this will be the component of acceleration in this direction this is and you will
have a component towards the point of rotation about which it rotates . So,
using this I can find out what is the absolute acceleration of point A, then from point P, I
have to get the absolute velocity of point P as well as absolute acceleration of point P.
From this I can find out what is the relative velocity or relative acceleration of point A
with respect to P. That is how we have developed the concept then you can understand
all the terms that involve in the development of this we will again revisit this by term by
term. And in addition, what a person would not be able to physically argue is another
quantity, which you have this as . It was so simple when you followed the
mathematical rule, you cannot miss that you do not have to do a circus to get the term
596
. It was very clear and straight forward, but this took quite a bit of effort from the
scientist to comprehend this and give an explanation for this and you know people also
use this to discount the
theory of heliocentricity,
you look at people were so
happy with geocentric
frame of reference, I mean
conception of universe and
proponents of geocentric
theory use this to discount
heliocentric theory all that
happened in history.
So, let us look at the terms involved in this expression. And you should appreciate that
this is the absolute acceleration of point A and aB is your coordinate acceleration. If you
understand it that way then when I change the symbols in my problem you would be able
to interpret this expression correctly and you have to remember this expression there is
no other go some amount of memory is also required and if you understand it easily.
So, like I discussed earlier you can easily understand that is what we
could get if I attach a non rotating translating axis at B and view the fictitious point P,
point is coincident with A. So, this is nothing, but the relative acceleration of point P
with respect to B. And these 2 quantities refer what is it the relative acceleration between
point A and point P.
You know if you look at the velocity, I had arel and this was also I mean Vrel and this was
also VA with respect to P. In addition to that I have another term . So, this is what
you know made the scientist to very difficult for them to comprehend; because they were
making the observation then trying to find out a mathematical expression for that. When
you follow the mathematical steps without any difficulty this comes you cannot miss this
term at all.
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So, this is nothing, but relative acceleration of point P with respect to B which we could
visualize if you attach a non rotating translating axis at B otherwise you will not be able
visualize it which the rotating observer missed it fine. Rotating observer will be able to
see only this arel nothing more than that. So, I can put this as a , this is one
way of looking at it and then the whole of this quantities can be looked at
So, this is what you have here and we also have terminologies which explain whatever I
have said. This is absolute
acceleration of point A,
and this is the origin of the
rotating frame, absolute
acceleration of origin of
the rotating frame, and ω
and α are the angular
of the rotating frame
measured from the fixed
frame ok. You are able to
see that from that and then
I have the position vector in the rotating frame of reference, then I have arel which is the
acceleration of A observed from the rotating frame. Here rotating observer will be able to
measure only this.
So, even in some problems to get those quantity I have be having a rotating frame of
reference and always look at this as coordinate acceleration ok. The coordinate is fixed at
point B, suppose I call that as point A or point C, you should be able to interpret you
should not see in a problem, I have A and B put at somewhere you will apply the
equation directly for the points labeled as A and B that becomes absurd.
So, this you have to be careful and the second point which I have mentioned earlier
certain quantities are referred with respect to the fixed frame, certain quantities are
598
referred with respect to the rotating frame. If I have coordinate axis inclined like this
then you have to take care of the unit vectors properly, you can also make a mistake.
We would solve some problems and before that we will also have certain observations.
See if you look at the way they have developed the equations they are applicable for; two
particles moving independently, I can also do it for particle analysis. Two points on rigid
body or bodies they can be in the same body or they can be in different bodies. And
another saving grace is we
have developed it using a
vector notation for
simplicity I have started
with planar situation; I do
not need to change
anything if I go to three
dimensions.
So, all your robotic arm

and other things which you
can analyze again based on
these equations they are valid for general three-dimensional motion as well what are the
unknowns to be determined? I have .
So, these are the quantities

that need to be determined.
And it is also useful for
analysis of interconnected
rigid bodies, I have
interconnected rigid body
like this. I have a slotted
system and you see very
599
well that things are rotating the motions of two points are somehow related but are not
equal. Further, they are not in the same body ok.
Many mechanisms are connected by pins that slide in grooves or slots. So, one of the
thumb rule is relative motion in such cases are conveniently specified by giving the
shape of the slot, and the rate of travel of the pin along the slot. And attach a rotating
frame of reference to the
slotted member it is a
thumb rule. Whether it is
applicable for the problem
under consideration you
have to verify and use it.
So, what I needed to give

is, what is the velocity with
which it traverses in that
slot and what is the
rotation many mechanisms
are constructed like this.
And again, we will revisit

this see you are able to see
that this is moving steadily
in a slot whereas, the
particle has a spiral motion
which we have seen the
previous class also. So, if I
have to have a spiral
motion, I may have to
device my mechanism like this, I have to select the speed of the rotating platform and
also the speed with which the particle has to move. So, the idea is the path is not clearly
specified; that means, you do not have a mathematical expression or it is too complicated
600
to visualize only an appropriate mechanism is given, then you can think of using a
rotating frame of reference and do the analysis.
And we have also seen the disc problem earlier we will analyze these problems later. So,
here again I have complicated motion and it becomes easier to handle such problem
using rotating frame of
reference.
And you should also

recognize this is also
applicable for solution to
kinetic problems involving
the rotation of irregularly
shaped rigid bodies. If time
permits, we will spend
time on it in later part of
the course. The moments
and products of inertia
depend on the coordinate
system used to describe
them. If the coordinate
axes are allowed to rotate
with the body, these values
remain constant thus
greatly simplifying the
mathematics involved.
So, there is a definite

advantage when you learn rotating frame of reference, particularly in 3D kinetics rigid
body kinetics it is very useful. And let us solve this problem.
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So, I have a very interesting problem easy for you to visualize and I said that initially
you do not have to look at rotation as if you should look for centre of rotation; then later
on I said when I go to a rigid body it has a general plane motion, when I attach a non
rotating translating axis you would see the body to rotate. And finally, I said we would
use whatever the equation developed for simple rotary motion intelligently in many
problems. So, I start with that kind of a problem. So, what I have here is, I have 3
platforms I have this is rotating in 1 way, I have this small platform rotating in another
way I have a 3rd platform they are stacked one above the other ok.
And some you know interesting information is given about what kind of problem is this.
The idea is these all rotating the relative I mean the angular velocities are given ω1 is 1.5
rad/s, ω2 is 0.3 rad/s. When you physically build this how will you do it when I have to
rotate this platform, I would just go on put a motor with an appropriate gear box to rotate
at the angular velocity.
So, I know only the

angular velocity with
respect to the frame you
get the idea. I do not get
the absolute value, when
even the method of
construction gives you
only that information. So,
when you have only that
information you will have
to use it appropriately ok.
And this shows a very nice animation my student has done it. He was Iqbal Baig, he was
very good in all these animations. And you could cash I mean carefully see that this is
rotating anticlockwise. And this is rotating clockwise you can see; we have seen the
values as 1.5 rad/s and 0.3.
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So, this is rotating at a smaller speed and you have a 3rd platform, the question here is
what should be the angular speed of platform E? That is what is the question. Because
when I drop something from platform E, it should go to the cubes fit in other platform
without any spill over; that means, the velocity should be identical. So, that I drop it at
the instant when I want to deliver it fine. These are all based on some time circuit which
we do not have to worry about it. It is a very interesting problem that way.
Let us understand what way we will go and solve the problem. So, only if someone sits
on platform D, he will
pursue ω2. He cannot get
ω2 otherwise ok. Attach
the frame XYZ to frame at
O that is the fixed frame of
reference. And then I
would attach for
convenience you know this
is also I have done it for
convenience I have not put
it with the same equal
length because if I draw it bigger it will go and hit this diagram.
So, it is put short for the neat looking attach the rotating frame of reference at point B to
platform C, I have this as platform D, this as platform C and I have the point B and A.
So, in the first problem I have decided that I will use the same symbols what we have
used for developing the equations. So, that you understand how to handle the equations
later on worry about to generalize it ok.
So, we have the point B and point A. So, I need to know what is the coordinate velocity
of point B, then I can find out what is the velocity of point A. So, I can directly use the
expressions whatever we have learnt it closing your eyes. And if you look at the axes,
they are parallel and collinear. So, I have also not brought in any difficulty in handling
your unit vector, they can be one and the same. So, it’s a very simple problem to start
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with and the question is we have to find out the velocity and we know the expression
Now, you have to find out what is the ω that I should use, how do I evaluate velocity of
point B, how do I evaluate velocity which is labeled as Vrel or this is the velocity of point
A, seen from a rotating
frame of reference ok. And
I have sufficient number of
ω. So, you will have to be
very careful and attentive
in applying and selecting
the correct ω for correct
quantity.
So, that is what I have also

summarized it here what
should be the value of ω to
be substituted. That is
again visualize you know
in this animation I am not
in a position to rotate the
small platform you
imagine that it is getting
rotated at the other
platform. This is just to
make you visualize; what
is the kind of motion that
rotating frame of reference has, unless you visualize this you would not be able to select
the ω, what should be the value of ω that, I should select for the rotating frame of
reference same as the ω of platform D, because it is rotating with the platform.
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So, I have repeated this expression the reason why I repeated again and again is you
should be able to remember this and you should be able to write it very carefully fine ok.
So, I have all the quantities come in 1 shot, I wanted this to come one after the other.
So, I have . I have velocity of B you have this ω1, because you
have this rotating with the platform and this also, I use same ω1 I get this as
. And then the Vrel see I am in this platform, I am looking and

observing what this is. This is also rotating ok.
It is also rotating I perceive the velocity as ω2 and because it is simply having simple
rotation like this, I get this as this is clockwise that is why I put this as
. And when I add all of these quantities, I have VA turns out
to be . See please note the platform C which is rotating

clockwise.
So, one would expect the

velocity to be downwards,
but the platform D on
which this is mounted is
rotating at A higher speed
in anticlockwise direction.
So, if you look at what is
the absolute velocity of
point A, that turns out to be
in the positive direction of
j. See for calculating
individual quantities you do not require any additional equations you all know we are
again using the equation for circular motion we are not using any new other equations,
but you have to be very careful in selecting which ω to be used in which place is idea
clear. So, now, I have to find out the angular velocity of this platform so, that I have the
same velocity.
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So, that the chemical is dropped without any spilling. So, I have this as the absolute
velocity of point A, and the other platform should rotate to give the same tangential
velocity at A.
So, I have this as ω3 and

then I have shown in my
diagram in a static diagram
I shown this as
anticlockwise, because any
unknown quantity you start
with the positive, your
mathematics will give you
the symbol, but in my
animation I have cleverly
put this as clockwise ok. So, do not get confused on that, this is just to illustrate whatever
you have learnt in statics
how to handle the
mathematics similar logic
works here also. So, I get
this ω3 as 1.9 rad/s, this is
put as minus because this
has to rotate in a clockwise
direction. So, the problem
is very simple and straight
forward very simple
problem to start with ok.
Let us move on to the other problem which we have set in a theme park. So, this shows a
ride in an amusement park, and what I have here is I have a main arm to that you have a
cockpit attached and this cockpit has a circular motion of ω1. So, when I physically
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construct what I will do I will have an arm I have a motor with a gear box attached to
this and I would be able to independently measure what is the value of ω1. From the way
I have constructed it, but the whole arm with the cockpit rotates ok. So, this also gives an
idea to which you will attach the rotating frame of reference, how do you attach the fixed
frame of reference and so on.
So, in order to visualize the whole mechanism, I also have a nice animation. So, in this I
have said that this arm is rotating and imagine that this is also rotating which is not
animated in this. And I am sure you would have seen some such you know rides in some
its available in some other theme parks such rides are available people go crazy, you
know and each individual’s capacity to withstand acceleration differ. What is suitable for
you may not be suitable for me fine, that is the reason why as designers we have to
calculate what is the acceleration and velocity at the level of eye of the person would
experience is a question.
And whatever the value I

get? I should compare it
with the bio medical
people who have the
recommendation what
should be the limits. If it is
within the limits, a large
class of people will not
have problem there will
exceptions. If that is not
suitable to you, you can
have dizziness and you can have lot of problems, in fact I had one of my students had a
great difficulty after getting into a simple giant wheel; young boy and that is the reason
why I said you have to be careful when you go for such rides whether somebody is doing
it not you should select and do it, you should whether you are comfortable with it.
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So, you are given in the problem situation ω1= 2.4 rad/s, and ω2 is 0.24 radians per
second. And here again, the axes are simple it can be perceived as ω1 only if the observer
sits on the main arm, only if the observer sits on the main arm, he will observe this as ω1.
That is how it is constructed. So, I have the rotating frame of reference attached to this
cockpit at this point I have the fixed frame of reference attached here it is just to make
our mathematics simple fine, you can also attach this from here. Here and then do the
computation, but if I attach the rotating frame right on the cockpit many of my
calculations become simple and straight forward.
So, in all these problems your first decision is, where do I attach the fixed frame of
reference? Where do I attach the rotating frame of reference? If you do that carefully rest
of the problem is only
simple mathematics, which
you will have to take care
of it. The thinking part
comes in selecting the
fixed coordinate system
and rotating coordinate
system where they should
be located in the system
under consideration, you
have to spend time on that
do not rush in that step
visualize from the given problem what quantities you know what quantities you do not
know. So, here again the reference axes are parallel and collinear, it makes your life
rather simple.
And also, so the ω of the rotating frame of reference is ω2. Here ω2 is given as the arm is
rotating, so that is the ω of the rotating frame of reference.
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So, when I write this expression, I know what the ω that I should use and I can also find
out what is the velocity of point B. So, that is nothing, but .

So, for facilitating all the product rules I have this. This is the usual way to find out the
sign, do not make a mistake in your sign. And then I have the position vector which is
from the rotating frame of reference I have the x and y directions, so that is easy to get.
And this is again rotating so finding out Vrel is again simple for you I have to use ω1 for
this.
So, I get ω × r in this expression as ω2 k and it turns out to be like this. And Vrel it is
rotating with angular velocity ω1. So, I get and then I get
velocity of A is .
So, finding out the absolute velocity is straight forward. And here again I have selected a
problem in such a manner equation are developed for point A and B is my origin of the
rotating frame of reference. You do not have to modify the expression in any manner,
once you have done it for velocity let us move for acceleration terms.
And you should first write this expression, now you should learn this whichever way you
can remember this learn your art of doing it. And what I have also done here is I have
also replaced the appropriate ω in the expression directly. If you can do that will also
simplify your job or you write the expression with general ω, then substitute what ω to
be put, whichever is convenient to you practice that rest of it is just putting the terms
properly and adding them and then do the algebra.
Here I have the axes are parallel and collinear; I do not have to worry about the unit
vectors; that also makes your life simple. So, I have
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And then I have this

rotating with a constant
velocity. So, I do not have
an angular acceleration. So,
that goes to 0 and then the
Coriolis component
acceleration;
=0
and I have to get arel and I have to get this quantity.
So, I have the expression rewritten here, and I have this . So, this is what I said
earlier if you have a vector triple product we have learnt a recipe, you do not have to
multiply it from first principle, you can directly write the final vector negative of that
final vector and product of
all these numbers that is
what is written here.
So, that is how you save

your time then I also get
the acceleration viewed
from the rotating frame of
reference, it is given in the
problem ω1 dot is 0. If ω 1
dot is present, I will have
this component as well as
this component. So, you have the normal and tangential components; only the normal
components exist, tangential component is 0 in this case.
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So, I have determined arel so then finding out this is straight forward. So, I get
acceleration of point a as m/s2. So, this you may find out the magnitude
and verify it with the bio medical tables which list out the acceleration for human safety,
I do not have the data at the moment, but that is the reason why you have to compute
this. So, this is fairly straight forward, direct applications of equations so there is no
difficulty at all.
So, in this class we have developed how to determine absolute acceleration if I use a
rotating frame of reference. We also saw that mathematical steps are simple and straight
forward, to easily get the Coriolis component of acceleration and I mention visualization
of this from an observation point of view was very difficult many scientists have
contributed to that. And we have also looked at 2 simple problems; in one of which we
determine only the velocity, in another case we determine the velocity as well as
acceleration.
Thank you.
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Prof. K. Ramesh
Module – 02
Dynamics
Lecture – 09
Rotating frame of reference III - Choice of rotating frame of reference
Let us continue our

discussion on Rotating
frame of reference.
See we have looked at

expression for velocity just
to emphasize that we are
dealing with rotating frame
of reference. I am showing
this frame of reference rotating and I have angular velocity as well as angular
acceleration. We do not put
any restriction on the
It can have velocity as well
as acceleration and, in this
animation, you know I
have not said anything
about point A it could be
viewed in many
perspectives ok. One
perspective was I had
shown that this is part of a
rigid body with a slot and the point A is moving in a slot ok.
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We also saw other class of problems, where I had this axis rotating like this. I am also
going to discuss these problems today fine. Certain aspects I am going to discuss about it
and you know, I have the point A which is looked from a rotating frame of reference. I
have a position vector r and this is rA with respect to B. And I have the position vector rA
and for this I have an expression for velocity written down like this.
And the symbols A and B have specific meaning. B is the coordinate of the rotating
frame of reference ok. That is the way we have labeled it and A is the point of interest.
And if I have different points in the problem, we should be able to rewrite this expression
appropriately and what is it that? We have said about this. It can also be looked at as
and is Vrel.
See you take the advantage of a rotating frame of reference. Essentially, to get VAxy or
aAxy; that is the, that is the reason why you are looking for a rotating frame of reference.
In fact, the first two problems, I have solved. They require that knowledge and it is easy
to perceive, if you have a rotating frame of reference. We will also have a look at it again
and this could be rewritten in this fashion.
I can look at this as and this is what I have said that, the position vector is r. And I
can also rewrite this as . From this we also get the knowledge that
. So, what we discussed was, when I sit in the rotating frame of reference,
it is easier for me to measure .
And the rotating frame, a person moving with the rotate rotating frame misses the
quantity ω × r and this is what generalized. When we put this as any vector
. In fact, we utilize this very systematically, when we differentiated the

velocity expression to get the acceleration. We use this repeatedly. This is very important
is nothing, but if you look at this expression this can be viewed in this fashion ok.
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So, that you have to be very clear about it and we use this important expression from a
fixed frame of reference to
the rotating frame of
reference.
We utilized it for the

derivation of acceleration.
So, I have this
and I
can also know that r dot
XY. Again, rewriting this
. This is to
emphasize the fact. And I can also write this expression as . has two
terms. Do not write this Vrel as VA|B with respect to B; some students have done it. That is
not the quantity.
You perceive that velocity, when you sit in a rotating frame of reference and move with
it, but when, I say the relative velocity expression, this has two terms. Now, ω ×
VA|xy and when you use this expression very carefully for differentiating this. I get the
expression for acceleration as like this. I have a Vrel as well as arel; this is the symbolism
used in Meriam. So, I do not want to confuse you.
So, that I retain the same symbolism and which can also be viewed as VA|xy and aA|xy.
And I said, this is known as Coriolis acceleration. This was difficult to perceive, if you
sit in a rotating frame of reference and try to find out the quantity. And we will also have
a detailed discussion about this in one of the classes later. And here again I can write
The acceleration of A with respect to B now has so many terms; four terms you have. So,
what we have learnt is our ultimate objective is to get the absolute acceleration and
absolute velocity. And we use the rotating frame of reference as an intermediary to do all
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the computation. It actually simplifies your analysis of a physical problem and let us look
at the problems that we had
seen in the last class.
So, I had a problem like

this, I had the fixed axis
attached to this and I had
the rotating axis attached
to this. And I deliberately
gave the problem that, the
disk itself is rotating
because the v rel is easier
to compute from circular motion.
But the students what they had the confusion was, you have to recognize that this axis is
rotating with angular velocity ω1. This axis fine and once I stand on point B; I would
perceive that this is
rotating in a clockwise
fashion. And look at I have
A point marked; the point
A is moving. So, this is the
way that you have to
understand. The relative; I
mean not the relative
velocity, the velocity from
a rotating frame of
reference. You can easily
calculate based on circular motion.
In this case the object is rotating in a circle, while we developed the theory; we took a
rigid body with a slot, where the point A is moving within a slot. That is more
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complicated motion. Here, the motion is far simpler; you do not need any mu equations,
the equations you already know, fine. Let us also look at it from a different perspective.
Now, what I am going to do is I am going to look at the side view of it. How do I make
this appliance? I can think of this disk D is rotated by a motor; with some gearbox, so
that I can adjust the speed fine.
And if I want to have another rotating platform on top of it; I can imagine that I have
another small motor, which rotates this. Is the idea clear? And I have the fixed axis here.
And I have rotating axis here, x y and z and this is rotating with an angular velocity ω2.
And now, look at the picture; I have shown the picture as of this is stationary; only this is
rotating.
See when you construct it, you have a motor, you have a speed reducer and then, you
determine this speed. That you can easily measure. You can easily measure that. So, in
my rotating frame of reference, I use quantities that are measurable fine. And then, what
I am actually saying is when I have the point B, which is the origin of the frame of
reference. You can imagine that there is a person sitting or standing at that point and
view, what happens? When she views it, she will only see that this object is rotating
because it is rotating with an angular velocity ω2. Now, it is very clear fine. There is no
difficulty at all. What I have shown here is I have shown that this is static and this is, this
alone is rotating.
Now, what you will have to visualize is; suppose, I also rotate this, but I still stand there.
Even then, I would see the same rotation; I would not see anything else. See, you may
say that I am too tall, so that I see, what happens in this disc, what happens the other
disc. I can also shrink it because these are all visualization. You do not see anything
outside this blue disc ok; you see only this disc. You will still perceive this disc is
rotating. Is the idea clear?
You have to get this idea that is the reason why we use rotating frame of reference. See,
here, I do not have the path of point A, from an absolute sense. From way the mechanism
is constructed; I can determine this velocity. Even when this disc is rotating at ω1; this
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will stay how ω2 with respect to that. So, I use quantities that are easily determinable and
then, use it in my rotating frame of reference. That is why you use rotating, not for the
heck of it you are using
Certain quantities it is not
possible for you to
measure; otherwise.
So, we had first two

problems like this, one first
problem is like this; where
I have this and I use the
quantities that are easy for you to measure. And even in this problem only the rotation
direction is different, it is
rotating like this ok; this
rotating like this.
And here again this axis

has a rotation of this
angular velocity ok.
We will solve other

problems. Make a neat
sketch of this and you know you have such gadgets available even in India now. If you
want replace any one of these fittings, you have such motions available in the truck.
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And the problem is like this. You have a multi utility truck; it is useful to repair overhead
fixtures is shown. At the instant shown, the truck is stationery and the base D is rotating
at an angular speed ω2. I have labeled the different part of this. Here, this is the base D. I
have a norm here, I have
labeled this as A, I have
labeled this as B and I have
a platform attached at C.
And the platform is such
itself aligning, whenever
the arm is having a motion
like this it will self-align
itself. So, that the person
standing here will remain
horizontal and he is in a
position to do the job.
And what is shown here is the rotating axis have both velocity as well as acceleration
both the cases. And this is rotating with angular velocity ω2 and this is rotating with an
angular acceleration ω2
dot. And here this arm is
pinned here and this is
rotating with angular
velocity ω1. This also have
an angular acceleration ω1
dot and here, I have
deliberately modified the
symbol. So, that you also
get to know, how to write
the expression? You are
learnt in the class and how you convert it for the problem concern? Straightforward
application of the equation that you have learned; there is nothing new here.
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But you have to be systematic, you have to do the calculation systematically fine. So, the
first issue here is, how do I determine the fixed axis? How do I determine rotating axis?
And where do I fit them?
So, you are given this
alpha is at 60o and β = 30o.
You are asked to find out
the velocity and
acceleration vectors of
point B. It is put as pint, its
point B related to the
ground and you are given
this length of the member
as DA equal 12 meters and
this length as 2.5 meters.
So, you have to decide, where do I put the fixed frame of reference and rotating frame of
reference? You know, I have the point D; this is rotating about this. So, it is easier for me
to put the fixed frame of reference to the truck. So, I will put the axis like this; I have xy
axis like this. And we have already seen from the problem statement that this arm is
having an angular velocity about point A. So, it is better to have a rotating frame of
reference attached to point A because I can easily calculate the value of the velocity of
point B from the parameters given in the problem.
That is the way you look at it fine. So, it is easier for me to fix this xyz to point A. And
with this choice you know, I have no confusion of capital J and capital I and small i and
small j; they are parallel. So, I have no difficulty in handling the expression because I
already said when I say , they are all referred to different coordinate
system in a generic problem.
So, you have to use the vectors properly fine. And here no such confusion is there, but
the only confusion is what we used it as point A as become point B? What we used it as
point B has become point A? So, you have to know, how to write this expression? And
619
the motion is easy to visualize; there is no difficulty at all. See, ultimately in many
instances you again invoke
only circular motion
equations in different
forms. Circular motion
equations are very useful.
Here, again because this is
rotating like this. I will
again use that kind of
expression for me to find
out, what is the velocity of
B?
So, these are all the quantities given. You are given
are given. So, let

us determine the quantities; you have the position vector. So, this is nothing, but
. So, when we substitute the quantities and simplify, I get this
expression. ; fairly, simple and straightforward.
See, one thumb rule is how do you select the rotating frame of reference? From the
rotating frame of reference, I should be in a position to find out the velocity of the point
of interest comfortably. That is the basis for you to select the rotating frame of reference
and when I put this coordinate axis like this. I can also find out the coordinate
acceleration and velocity based on the other part of the problem. So, you get identify the
rotating frame of reference, where to fix it. That is the very important step in solving
these problems.
You should select the fixed frame of reference and rotating frame of reference carefully.
do not rush doing that. In friction problems I said you should determine, what is the
direction of frictional force? Otherwise, you are solving a different problem all together.
So, in these problems, if you select the coordinate axis properly; rest of it is just
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application of the formula. While deriving the formula we have looked at the physics,
but for applying it you do not anything of that is all. You should do the calculation
systematically.
The motion of point B with

respect to the rotating
frame of reference can be
found easily. That is a
basis, why you select the
at this point. And from the
problem statement it has
rotation with respect to A.
So, I have this as ; fairly, straight forward. And you are given
.
So, when I do this, I get the
velocity with respect to
as . I
have calculated Vrel, I will
also calculate arel because
in my calculations, I need
Vrel and arel that is all I
need; rest of it I need to
have the quantities that is specified in the problem. arel is also you can easily do it
because there is a circular motion.
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And what I will have, because I have ω1 dot as well as ω1 I have two components for the
acceleration. So, you have a tangential acceleration, as well as normal acceleration. The
previous problems, we did not have ω1 dot, we had only the angular velocity. Angular
acceleration was 0 that is the kind of problems you have done earlier. So, it is fairly,
straight forward.
You have to be careful in substituting the values properly and then do the computation.
And here, what is done? I have directly put the velocity; then I can put this as ω × V, so,
it simplifies, my calculations. So, I get the acceleration with respect to the rotating frame
of reference as . So, it is fairly straight forward. So, I have these two

quantities. Now, I should apply my basic equations properly.
So, there is no harm you write the expression what way you have learnt it in the class,
but rewrite this expression
specific to the problem of
interest because A and B
positions are interchanged.
So, I would now rewrite
this as I have to get
velocity of B with respect
to capital XYZ. And
replace this term as
coordinate velocity. There
is a better way of
understanding it. So, I am
really looking at the coordinate velocity.
Then I have ω × r and this ω is nothing but what is the angular velocity of the rotating
frame. So, do not confuse this with ω1. The rotating frame of reference has only ω2 as the
it is rotating like this, it is rotating like this; that is where, students are not understood
when I give problems, which has rotary motion.
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You get confused, which rotary motion you are talking about. Now; ω2 is this. So, I
should write this then, rest of it is fairly, straightforward. There is no difficulty at all.
You are much better than, doing this calculations than me. So, understand the concepts
and get the quantities for this expression. So, coordinate velocity is nothing but I have
this at a distance 12 meters. so, . It is turning out to be .
Please verify these calculations. If there are any typographical errors; please bring it to
my attention. And I have m/s and you know it is a good practice

to write the quantities like this. And it is also easier for us to check your answers in a
large class of students; if you write them in steps. At least we would be in a better
position to give you partial marks.
So, have this habit of writing down these terms one after the other. So, ω2 × r is like this
and . And so, I have all the quantities for me to calculate VB. So, I get
. See, what will have to keep in mind is I have chosen this

rotating frame of reference because I can easily compute Vrel. That is one of the basis,
that gives you a clue, how to select a rotating frame of reference and where would I fix
its origins?
How will I put the axis?

All the decision you can do
by computing Vrel and arel.
am I in a position to
compute Vrel and arel
comfortably. So, we have
calculated the velocity
then, we move on to
acceleration.
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Here, again I write the expression as learnt in the class. This is not the expression that is
to be used directly. We have to interchange the symbols and also substitute, what is ω
dot, ω and so on. We have already calculated Vrel as well as arel. And this ω is nothing,
but the rotating frame of reference, that is ω2 and this will be ω2 dot.
So, here again I can write this as the point of interest is
Here again simply substitute the values you get the final expression. So, the coordinate
acceleration is . And that turns out be simplified to .
See when I have coordinate acceleration you have one more extra term. The computation
become little longer, but the methodologies still remains the same. You can easily
comprehend the whole thing, but it is involved and you have to be alert and do your
computation systematically.
And here, I follow this

practice individual terms I
right; so, that you can also
verify them, when you
want to check your
answers. And I have not
simplified them. I have
finally, obtained the
acceleration as
Again, a straight forward problem; the idea is you are not using the same symbols in this
problem; that is one difference. And the coordinates had in addition to angular velocity
they also had acceleration. The idea of solving a variety of problem is if you solve a
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variety of problem more number of problems you also get to know, how to attack a new
problem; which you have not earlier, fine.
We will also solve another

interesting problem, which
we have already seen in
connection with coincident
points. You have a shaper
mechanism. You can very
clearly see the forward
motion is slow and the
backward motion is fast.
So, while cutting the specimen; while cutting the specimen it goes slowly; when it comes
out, it comes out fast and
this is the mechanism that
we are going to analyze.
This is the mechanism that
you have and I have also
said lubrication is very
very important. And say,
actually in a bath of
lubricating oil.
So, we have already written down this problem earlier. Here, we are interested in finding
out the and finding out the angular acceleration of link OC. For the angular velocity is 5
radians, determine the velocity of point C for instant, when θ=30o; if the angular
acceleration of the crank is 10 rad/s determine the angular acceleration of link OC.
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So, you have asked to find out both velocity and acceleration. And you know one of the
aspects is when problems are given in a book, they leave many things for your
imagination. See, the position θ could be during the motion of the point, where the block
is moving from bottom to top or it is coming from top to bottom. It could be a either
way, but when we have an
animation, we have an
understanding what is that
we are looking at a.
So, I have this and this

shows very well that you
have a quick return. So, we
are going to analyze a
situation, where the block
is sliding from bottom to
top. And it has reached the position θ because the problem can be interpreted in either
way. Either it should be
straighter at the problem
statement that the motion
is like this. And then, you
are asked to find out.
Because the final answer
should be different; if I am
analyzing the motion of
the block coming down or
going up. Is the idea clear?
See, these are all the
ambiguities that you have in a textbook problem.
When you do the animation at least I am in a position to say, that I have come down I
have gone up. I am trying to analyze the problem, when it has moved up. That is a way I
am going to look at it. And whenever I have a slotted member, the thumb rule is you
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attach the rotating frame of reference to the slotted member. Because in a slotted
member, the path of the particle is known; it may be easier to calculate, it may be
difficult to calculate at least the path is known. In this case you know, this is simply
sliding in this.
So, I am going to have a

linear velocity here ok.
And this member is having
an angular motion like this.
So, that is the way you
were rotating frame of
reference ok. It is
oscillating actually. In this
case it is but anyway we
are going to analyze it only
for a particular position of
the crank position.
So, in all these problems you have to decide, what is the fixed axis and the rotating axis?
So, fix the axis at point O and then, have the axis aligned to the member. You have small
x and small y, along the slotted member and perpendicular to that. Then, you have to
calculate some of these quantities using geometry. So, I can find out rOB as 396.6 mm.
And here what you have is? I have the axis like this, but the rotating axis they are not
aligned. So, you have to be careful in handling the capital I and capital J and small i and
small j. So, instead what I will do is I will find out everything with respect to xy small xy.
So, we need to get certain other quantities. So, I get the angle β=13.9o . So, you have to
bring in your sin rule, property of triangles for solving a problem you need that as well. It
would be convenient to use rotating frame reference for expressing all vectors. So, I
should have some discipline because when you have that expression. This is referred
with respect to different axis. If they are collinear or parallel or coincident; then, there is
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no difficulty. If they are inclined then, you have to be very careful in handling your
vectors.
So, I will have mm. So, that is reduced to this

quantity.
And you know I have the

basic expression. In in fact,
I have written down for
this specific problem. So,
we are interested in finding
out the velocity of B that is
. And
because point O is fixed,
the velocity of O is 0 ok.
So, if you graduate then,

you can directly write the expression appropriate to the problem. Whichever way you do
it I have no difficulty ok. You can write, what is expression thought in the class and then,
convert that to the first specific problem of interest. And write each of these quantities VB
is nothing, but . You should recognize that this is part of the

crank. So, I get the absolute velocity directly.
So, here the left-hand side is known. I do not know, what is the angular velocity? That is
what I am supposed to calculate from this. And then, your Vrel is nothing, but x dot i. So,
this is the convenience. If I attach the rotating frame of reference; then the Vrel is very
simple to write. It is nothing, but x dot i. And substituting in equation 1; so, I put this
equating the terms in x and y direction. I get ; . And we

are asked to find out, what is the velocity of point C? So, from circular motion I can
write ; fairly, straight forward.
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You have to be careful in selecting the fixed frame of reference and rotating frame of
reference. Then, apply the equations systematically, handle the vectors properly.
So, now I have to find out the acceleration that is also written for this specific problem.
And here, again you will have
And you have the

expression for this and we
have been able to calculate
this.
So, I have this Coriolis

component, can you just
direction of this? Direction
of Coriolis components is
this. Please make a sketch
and note this and you find
this perpendicular to the slot. We will discuss about it little by later. You will always find
this is perpendicular to the slot, may have a slotted member. The sense is determined by
the angular velocity and one of the important aspects in Coriolis acceleration, what is the
direction of Coriolis acceleration?
This is one of the important parameters that you need to find out. And then, I have
. So, I can group the i terms and j terms and you can determine the quantities that
are required to be found.
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So, substituting in equation 2; I get this. Equating the i and j components, I get
. And . And we have already seen that and
So, it is again straightforward problem. You have a satisfaction that whatever that is the
mechanism, that is used in
a shaper which is an
important machining
operation in the machine
shop. And you know how
to handle it from your
knowledge of rotating
frame of reference. In fact,
when we discuss the
coincident point; I took this
for you to appreciate, what
is the velocity? Fine.
And in all these problems what you find; this problem is slightly different. I do not know
the arel and Vrel. I determine arel and Vrel by solving the problem, but I know very well
that, a slotted member; this member can have only a linear motion like this. I use that as
a basis to select the rotating frame of reference. See, the earlier problems you are able to
calculate arel and Vrel comfortably. Here, I do not know, how to compute them initially?
But I know how these quantities are fine.
So, the problem could be coined on anyone, the left-hand side is known or right-hand
side is known. So, you can equate the two and then find out the rest. So, in this class we
have reviewed how we determine the velocity and acceleration when I have a rotating
frame of reference? A person sitting on a rotating frame, he will be able to find out Vrel
and arel comfortably, but he misses out ω × r.
In a generic fashion, ω × V and that is used, when you want to differentiate the velocity
expression to get the acceleration systematically. And once you finally, get this
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expression can be written down as and . These relative

quantities can have more number of terms depending on, whether you are finding out the
velocity of the acceleration. And we also reviewed the two problems we have done
earlier, so, that you get a clarity what is happening to the rotating frame of reference;
what is that you perceive. And in all the problems I said that the challenge is, how to
identify the rotating frame of reference and how to identify the fixed frame reference?
So, for determining this; please, pay attention, take your time to fix them. Then rest of
the problem is straight forward, mere application of the formula with careful attention on
the mathematics. Because this is written down in different frame of reference; so, the
capital I capital J small i small j, you have to handle it properly. We have not looked at
any problems, where it is too complicated. They are all very simple as of now. You can
also have problems were these are little involved. There you do not make a mistake. So,
handle the vector equations properly.
Thank you.
631
Prof. K. Ramesh
Module - 02
Dynamics
Lecture - 10
Rotating Frame of Reference IV - Crank and Slotted Bar
Let us continue our

frame of reference. See, we
have looked at the rotating
frame of reference, can
have both angular velocity
and angular acceleration.
And for simplicity, we simply use the unit vectors i and j. With an explicit understanding
we are using it for the
It makes our mathematical
representation much
simpler. They are not to be
treated as Cartesian i and j.
We have also looked at,
that the rotating frame of
reference can have a
rotation like this. And we
view the point A from a
I have not specified any specific requirement here and we have the position vector r. And
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we also have the position vector rA. And viewing from the rotating frame of reference, it
is possible for me to get . I said Vrel has a special meaning in this

context. You should visualize this as the velocity perceived by an observer sitting on the
rotating frame of reference, observes what happens to point A. And I can also go back to
the basic relative velocity expression .
So, VAB has two terms like what is shown there. And we have also looked at how to
differentiate when I have a fixed frame of reference and rotating frame of reference. We
have got the expression for acceleration. Here, again you have arel which is to be viewed
as what is the acceleration that could be measured by an observer sitting and moving,
rotating with the rotating frame of reference. That is very important, ok. And you can
also have this as . And the important point to note is, express all the vectors
in common co-ordinate system before summing them. This is a very important caution.
And while doing that you also try to find out the simplest way to take the vectorial
representation. In some instances that may be simpler to express it in terms of small i and
small j. In some instances,
it may be simpler to
express it in terms of
capital I and capital J.
So, if you look at the

problem and find out what
way you will
mathematically solve.
Have all this at the back of
your mind so that you do
not unnecessarily do
excessive computations.
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Let us take up a very interesting problem. It is simple enough, at the same time one can
learn many aspects of the rotating frame of reference by looking at this. So, if I allow the
crank to rotate it can have a complete sweep like this. And you have a crank OA. You
have a slotted member CB. And the crank OA revolves counter-clockwise with a
constant angular velocity of 15 rad/s. For the position θ=30o, determine the angular
velocity of the slotted link CB and the acceleration of A as measured relative to the slot
in CB using a suitable rotating frame of reference. So, I have to find out the relative
acceleration which is asked as part of the problem. And you also have a very interesting
aspect. I have this at angle θ, whereas this link is at angle 2θ.
So, the problem statement says, note the dependency of the angular motions of the crank
OA and slotted link BC. So, with the animation you have a fairly reasonable appreciation
of what is the way the members are connected, how the point A moves. And one of the
important steps in rotating frame of reference is to identify where will you have your
fixed frame of reference and where will you have the rotating frame of reference. Here, I
have two members are
rotating. I have a crank OA
rotating and also the
slotted member CB is
oscillating.
And can we have a rotating

frame of reference attached
to crank OA and then solve
the problem. Because, I
have crank A, OA is
rotating. Why not I sit at crank OA and then see what is happening? I do not get any
benefit out of this. It is not that when you have a rotating frame of reference, take a
rotating frame of reference attached to any member that is rotating. Don’t do that, fine?
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On the other hand, suppose I have a rotating frame which is attached to the slotted
member. I have some sort of a physical appreciation of the problem bit. If I move with
this, what I would see is, I would see the point A is simply having a linear motion within
the slot. And I am going to repeat this animation several times later also so that you get a
comprehensive
appreciation of how we
take the rotating frame of
reference. And the same
problem can also be solved
from your simple polar
coordinates. We will also
see how we can solve it
from simple polar
coordinates, fine?
So, in this case what I have

is, I have the rotating frame origin is kept at this point and this is rotating with the slotted
arm CB.
You know, when this

problem was given to
students in exam, some of
them have also used
another way of fixing the
which I was unable to
animate it completely.
They have fixed the point
B in our expression to the point what you have here, which is not a very good choice.
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So, imagine that I have a, the Y axis is like this moving with this. Because, before you
solve a problem you should find out which is the best rotating frame of reference. If you
know that, then the problem is straightforward, there is nothing more to it ok. So, you
need to at least solve one or two problems where you exhaust all possibilities. And then
burn your fingers and find out which one you should not do. That is also a learning. It is
not that you are taught
what to do always
correctly. What not to do is
also learning.
You know, when I have a

problem like this, there is
no restriction that I should
find out the relative
velocity only by a rotating
frame of reference. You could also bring in your velocity polygon approach and find out,
the focus is that you try to understand what kind of motions happen in the problem that
you are solving. The focus is on visualization first, not application of mathematics.
Visualization is very important, that is why we take a very simple problem. And in this
also we have followed a very nice symbolism. A slotted member is simply shown as a
line with some slot. It is not exactly reproduced to the actual slot length or slot width or
anything like that. It is a very nice way of representation. And we are asked to find out
for a particular angle θ = 30o.
So, we have the relative position smart. And here you are able to see that you are really
looking at the analysis when the point is coming down. That is very clear from the
animation. That is the angle which we have to analyze. And what are the quantities that
you know? You are given the angle of velocity of link OA. So, do you get the velocity of
point A completely? Again, you go back to your circular motion. You know everything
about point A, that is why you are not asked to find out what is the absolute acceleration
of point A. You are asked to find out what is the relative acceleration in the slot. You
look at the problem statement. In this class of problems, you have to find out by solving
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the problem what is the value of the relative acceleration. That is, in the sense it is not
the relative acceleration from the relative equation. What I mean is the arel; arel is nothing
but what is the acceleration a person sitting on the rotating frame would perceive.
So, you are given and . And whenever I have a

slotted member, it is always better to visualize a coincident point. We have always been
labeling the coincident point as P. So, the point P is coincident with point A. And from
the givens problem statement, the velocity of A is completely known. I know the
magnitude and the direction is perpendicular to OA. So, you have that information. And
what is the magnitude? The magnitude is rω. We are given r as 150 mm and ω is 15
rad/s.
So, I get the velocity magnitude is 2250 mm/s. And I have VA is completely known and
what all the other things that you know? What is VP? That direction is also known. It is
perpendicular to CB. And what is the velocity of A with respect to P? That is
perpendicular to VP. So, it is actually along the slot, fine? So, you have to visualize this.
You know, you have to cultivate the habit of visualizing the problem. Do not memorize
the solution procedure for a problem because it differs from problem to problem. You
must physically argue, what is it happening? How I am in a position to take it, fine? And
I have . And velocity of A with respect to P simply turns out to be

1125 mm/s.
This is straightforward. I am also going to solve this from rotating frame of reference.
The idea is, when we are discussing rotating from a reference, do not close your eyes that
you will not find velocity by any other method because such mental blocks students get
develop. I can also use instantaneous center of rotation and find out the velocity. I can
also use velocity polygon. I can also use rotating frame of reference to find out the
quantities. You must be adept in switching back and forth in any of these methods. And
you know we also need to find out what is the angular velocity of the slotted member.
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And let us attach a rotating frame of reference to the slotted member CB like this. So,
whatever the quantity that I have got and it is very clear. The point is coming down, it is
very clear.
So, if I have x is positive

this way, when it is coming
down .
And from geometry, we
have already said that point
P and A are coincident. So,
I can find out PC
. And
we have already got what
is VP. We know the length
PC. So, it is a child’s play to get what is the angular velocity of this. Even before doing it
like this, you already had a clue in the problem statement. You had θ and 2θ. There was
a, problem statement was very clear if you observe all this. It has to be only like this. So,
I get the angular velocity of the slotted member as . And .
Now, let us go and solve

this from a rotating frame
of reference. We have
taken the rotating frame of
reference like this. Then, I
write the expression.
Before that, I have the
vectorial expression for
CA as
. And you can write this expression comfortably. See, I

consciously mix the symbols. The idea is, you must get out of the symbols and
638
physically look at the problem statement. I am looking at point A. So, the velocity of A is
my interest. .
And what you should understand is, in this expression you already know what is it to be
written for VC. I have taken C as a fixed point. What is the velocity of that point? 0 also
you can have. So, that goes off. And I can know from the physics of the problem, VA
completely. I know its direction as well as its magnitude. I can express it in terms of the
coordinate system that I choose which is easier for me to solve. Here, it will be easier to
handle it in small i and small j.
So, essentially what you do not have in this expression is, I do not know what is the
velocity of ωCB. I do not know what is the value of v rel. So, I essentially generate two
equations out of this by collating the i and j terms. I have 2 unknowns; I can solve for 2
of them. We know what is VA, this is completely known. And I can also express VA
because I know the geometry of the system and the relative orientation of the rotating
frame with respect to that. So, . Please verify some of these,

there could be some small typographical errors. So, I have yeah, this is a very important
point. I have, I thought that I should discuss and then write. What will you write as Vrel?
See, a thumb rule is, if I have a slotted member attach your rotating frame to the slotted
point member. And if a person is sitting on the slotted member and then rotate with it, he
would perceive the particle to move along the slot. That is why we choose a rotating
frame of reference. I have just made a statement. After solving all of this, I will go back
to the animations again.
Because, I want you to help you to visualize. The visualization is very important. Then
you will be very confident in handling rotating frame of reference. If you solve one or
two simple problems, any other problem you can tackle ok. So, one of the important
learning here is, the moment I have a slotted member, because in this k the slotted
member is along one of the coordinate axes. It is just a straight line. I can comfortably
write what is the component of velocity a person sitting on the rotating frame would
perceive, which is labeled as Vrel. It is not the complete relative velocity. We have seen
VA/B has two components, ω × r and Vrel. So, keep that in mind. And I have
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Because, I have A cross i, I get this as j. So, from this, equating the i terms, I get
and then I get . Same as what we have got it by using

the velocity polygon. There again, we have to do it in two stages. Here, again I should do
it in two stages. Only thing is, here the computation is vectorial. There, there was
physical appreciation of how do you handle the problem. There is a greatest advantage.
Whichever way I calculate velocity, we have always seen, it is always better to use a
vectorial approach to
calculate the accelerations.
So, we will get on to

calculating the
acceleration. So, as before,
you have the x y axis
attached to CB and I have
this distance is
. And
you should be comfortable to write this expression completely for the context of the
problem. I have deliberately changed this. We had this as AB fine. And in this problem,
we are actually having the origin of the rotating frame of reference located at C. You
should get out of this A and B. You should interpret it in terms of what is the coordinate
velocity, coordinate acceleration so on. And what is the symbol ω that you will attach to?
It is all related to ωCB. And in this problem, you have a luxury, that it this is rotating at
the constant angular velocity.
So, I will have, ω dot will go to 0. And we have already determined Vrel. I would like you
to ponder about what is it that you know on arel; think about it. I want you to think about
it now. As we discuss, I will ask a question. Let me see whether you answer, fine. We
have already discussed about Vrel. And you have the angular velocity rotating frame is
. And we also have the luxury that αOA = 0 which also implies αCB is
0 because they are connected beautifully.
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So, whatever happens to the link OA is reflected upon link CB because the way they are
constructed. So, when I do not have an angular acceleration for the link OA, I also do not
have an angular acceleration for the link CB. That, you learned from the problem
statement.
And your conscious that

the point C is fixed. So, I
have a C is 0. And then, I
have already discussed
where having a constant
angular velocity. So,
. And
you have the position
vector . We have seen this computation several times earlier. And we
have . See, what you should recognize here is, I

have a very long expression for acceleration, fine. We are fitting in each and every
component. Some other components when we discuss, a person sitting on the rotating
frame of reference fails to observe, but mathematics gives you that, fine. And what is the
direction of this acceleration? This is actually along the coordinate axis. In this case it is
also along the slot, but this is given by the component ω × (ω × r). Now, we will also
look at the term involving Coriolis acceleration. I have
. Usually, this is the component people have

failed to observe sitting on the rotating frame of reference. And you need to understand
how this component is reflected in the mechanism, what is its direction ok. So, I have
this the point A is like this. And if I interpret this and put the Coriolis acceleration, this is
perpendicular to the slot and this is in the negative direction of j.
So, this is direction of Coriolis acceleration which is very clear from the mathematics, no
difficulty at all. If you hang on to mathematics absolutely no difficulty in getting the
Coriolis acceleration. See, one of the important learning that you have to understand is,
641
what is the direction of it, in relation to the slot how it is located. This is all become
important when you analyze physical problems, fine. We will also see one interesting
application. If you do not understand this, your design of space stations would really be
jeopardized. We will see that, where there is a very nice, you have to recognize that this
is perpendicular to this ok. That concept is very important.
Now, can you tell me what is the that you know on a rel. The problem itself says that you
have to determine the relative acceleration value as well as direction. Can you comment
at least on one of the two, magnitude or direction? See, I said when you are sitting on a
rotating frame of reference, I would see the particle to move on along the slot, fine. So,
what you will have to recognize here is, arel direction is along the slot and hence
. It is a very important statement. You should not confuse with the absolute
acceleration of point A. Then, you will not be able to write it. You have a long
expression which contains several terms. You are only looking at a term what a rotating
observer will observe. And you go back to your previous problem where we had done
the quick return mechanism of shaper. There again, you had a slot which is straight.
Visualizing velocity along the direction of the slot is ok, but saying acceleration will also
be in the direction requires some imagination. So, you have to appreciate this,
. Once you say this, your mathematics can help you to solve it because I
would have grouping i terms and j terms and I would be able to calculate the value of
quantities that are associated with i and j. So, a person sitting on the rotating frame of
reference would observe the acceleration dictated by the slot. Because the slot is straight,
it turns out to be a simple expression along the slot ok. If the slot is curved, then I have to
go to n and t coordinates and find out what is acceleration. It will have a both the
components, normal and tangential component.
So, I have unit vector as . And I have the magnitude is
. And if I write it in vectorial form, it turns out to be like

this. So, what I have done here is, I have my x y axis, fixed frame is like this, but my
rotating frame is inclined. And I found, it is convenient to write all quantities with
respect to the rotating frame of reference. So, you have to understand this has multiple
terms, also their frame of reference is different for different terms. So, you have to put
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the vectorial summation properly. If the rotating frame of reference and fixed frame of
reference are not coincident or parallel or the any when any one of these conditions are
violated. So, you have to
handle this. So, it adds up
to; little more of
mathematics.
So, substituting these terms

in the equation, it is a
child’s play to solve it. I
keep writing this because
you know, you have to
keep looking at this and
you should remember it. See, by learnings a subject like this, certain things you have to
remember. There is no choice. And if you keep writing it several times, you are in a
position to remember that.
And it is fairly easy to
solve this and I get this
. We
have used a very important
understanding, that the arel
would be along the slot. It
is dictated by the slot. I
will put it that way because
if the slot is curved then it
can have a normal
component of acceleration as well as a tangential component of acceleration.
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Now, let us go and investigate the mechanism much more closely ok. This is supposed to
help your visualization. You know, I have done all these simulations based on
PowerPoint. So, I have been able to group them together, segregate them so that you get
a better depth of understanding of what is happening, fine. Because, you know how eye
gets taken away by the way that you think in a sequence ok. That is what I want you to
look at it.
So, just keep your observational skills as high as possible. So, I have a rotating frame of
reference attached to this. I am now going to look at as 2 rigid bodies. I have a rotating
frame attached to the slotted member CB. And I have a frame like this, this is just
moving. In my original animation I also had a dot here. Because, you know, the dot here
is behind this member, it was not clear. And let me just see how I had animated this dot
ok. This, a dot was animated like this. Do you see any motion of this dot? How does it
move? It is going and stopping there fine.

same animation from a
different perspective.
I am going to look at the

rotation of a crank. I put
the fixed frame. You know
this is a luxury you enjoy
because of multimedia type
of development of the
course. Otherwise, it is impossible to show any one of these variations. And now, I am
having this rotating frame moving like this. And I am just having the crank rotating. I am
not rotating any other member. You can see it again. You know, you find that there is no
connectivity between that frame of reference and the crank fine.
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Just the particle is rotating. Let us also look at just the particle is rotating. These all same
animations where I play with the groupings; I just have the, I will have the rotating frame
and also the particle. At least do you recognize that this particle is rotating as a circular
motion? It is nothing, but the particle at the end of the crank. You do not see all of that.
Now, what I am going to
do is, I am going to rotate
this light green slot and
this particle together. I am
not going to rotate any
other stuff. Let us see what
is it that view because this
is what we have been
saying, if you are rotating
with the frame of reference
what would you observe.
See, you do not have an opportunity. There is a rotating frame, you cannot go and sit and
watch. We have to only imagine, visualize. How best I can take you to that kind of
imagination is the question.
So, now I am going to

rotate the green member
and just the particle. I am
not going to rotate the
crank ok. And just look at
the magical stuff. I see
very clearly the particle is
simply moving on the slot.
When I individually look
at the particle, it has a very
arbitrary motion. You saw it yourself. And what we have been saying is, when I say that
I am sitting on the rotating frame of reference and observe, I would observe the particle
to move along the slot. So, visualize it again. So, this is what we are trying to explain
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you. Is idea clear? Again, the particle has a circular motion, but when you see these two
animations together, you get a dramatic picture ok.
Let me also ask you one more thing since you are all wetted to your particle dynamics
much more than in rigid body dynamics. It does not get into you. You resist. You solve
any problem from particle dynamics. This is a very good problem in particle dynamics. I
have simple polar coordinate system. I am looking at the and that is what the
problem is. Or you can also have a problem, I have a slot like this and then I have an ant
crawling from this end to that end. You have problem like that is not it? They are not
mechanics problems. If I have to make a device, how do I have that particle to move on
the slot? It has to be attached to a crank and then rotated. From a mechanical in
perspective, I need to have a crank and rotate it. Here, I am able to disassemble all of
them and then visualize it from different perspectives.
So, this is very interesting. This is what we have always been saying, when I say a
coincident point. When I am sitting on the member and then observe it. I will observe the
particle to move on the slot
which is very clearly
brought out. Now, I will,
let me see whether the next
one is that or yeah.
Now, I go back to my
original animation where I
have this attached to this. I
have all of them rotating. I
have, the particle is also
rotating. So, that this particle looks brighter. So, to make this animation, it has so many
layers. So, it is very complicated to do ok. My student had done this complicated one,
gave it to me. I was able to disassemble it and then bring it before you a very important
and subtle concepts.
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I hope that you have got the hang of what I am trying to explain ok. And this is to re
emphasize, we are looking at this. We will solve this problem using polar coordinates
because you have a natural
urgency to go and solve it
by a polar coordinate. And
then you are coming and
asking, why not you give
marks. I will give you 0
only because you need to
understand how to tackle
this problem from a
because you are learning a
new methodology.
So, using polar coordinates I have this like this. And I am also going to put it on this, the
animation. And then show
how they are beautifully
illustrated. So, what I will
do is, I will put this
member here. I will rotate
only the green member and
this. And I have this
beautifully rotated like
this. And I can have a
radial vector like this. And
the eθ like this. And this is
oriented at angle 30o. So, from your polar coordinate system, I can write this
. Because, you have used polar coordinate system for circular motion
where you had r as constant, you are not solved problems where r is varying. You can
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also solve problems where r is varying, I have, r double dot, all these possibilities
exist. And whatever the problem that you have, can also be visualized from the
perspective of a particle analysis which misses out a need for a crank whereas, a
mechanical engineer needs to have a crank to have that particle moving. So, like I said,
in statics you have to visualize how the loads are applied. In dynamics, visualize how the
motion is affected. So, so comparing the tangential and normal components of the link
CB see, I should also get identical answers. Method does not influence my final result
fine. So, I have . And I can also find out what is the value of r. And I can
find out what is θ dot. Then, I have . So, which is your Vrel
in our earlier symbolism. So, I can also solve this problem using polar coordinates
because you had a very
nice illustration that the
particle is coming down. It
is not just coming down it
is also rotating.
So, you have as well as

existing. So, you have
done this. Now, I can also
go ahead and write the
expression for the
accelerations.
So, acceleration of point A, I can write it like this. I have a radial component and also a
tangential component, normal and tangential component. So, I can write this as in terms
of er and eθ. So, velocity of A is completely known, which is expressed in terms of er and
eθ.
So, for the slotted link CB, I have . So, here again you see, I have
very similar to your Coriolis component. See, the grudge was, a person sitting at the
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rotating frame does not observe, but mathematically that term was always existing, no
problem. If you have your mathematics right, the expressions are flawless.
So, I have aCB as . So, I have acceleration of A with respect to CB as
. So, this is again along the slot, which again reinforces the
discussion, that when I sit on the rotating frame of reference, the slot dictates the
direction of velocity as
well as the acceleration
direction. Slot, if it is
straight, it turns out to be
along the slot. If it is
curved, it is dictated by the
normal and tangential
components.
We will also have a peep

into the other way of solving the problem. You know, this is like touching the nose the
other way. I can touch the nose easily like this. I can also touch the nose putting like this
and then touch it. Do an acrobat and say you are doing a great yoga. Add some spice to
it, everybody will start doing it.
Because, this is physically not easy to visualize because some students have solved it like
this. When we correct the paper, we will also have to solve it like this and see how much
we can give marks. You understand? Because we do not simply cut your answers straight
away as bad. So, whenever I have a slotted member where the member is moving, take
the axis on the slotted member is fine. If there is a choice between putting it along with
the fixed frame of reference or putting at the point, put it with the fixed frame of
reference. Do not put it on the point because now, I have reversed the problem
completely. I have to view the point, fixed point like this.
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Let me do some initial calculations and then you just see what is the way, circus I have to
do to get the similar numbers because it is not physically visualizable. A physical
visualization is when there
is a point is moving in a
slot. View the point. Do
not sit on the point. You
get the difference? This is
what I am trying to say.
You may ultimately get the
numbers because you
know, many times you do
not have time to visualize.
You know this is what it is
and then you simply put some direction and then put some mathematics and then if the
answer is ask you to prove, you will always know how to prove. So, it is like working
backwards. So, it is a really
physically not comfortable
to do. From previous
solution I have all this. I
will just write the
expression. So, I have a
and then I
have to have
, all this circus I have to

do.
And then, when I want to write the acceleration expression because we have solved the
problem. Acceleration expression I have to write from aC to aA. So, note the important
change in the LHS. So, you have to do this, then you will be able to get arel correctly
fine. But you will get arel correctly, but if you have to interpret the Coriolis acceleration
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you will again have to do a circus. So, the advice is, please do not sit on the point which
is moving on the slot. Sitting on the point means what? You are attaching the coordinate
of the rotating frame of reference. The observer sits on the coordinate origin and then
looks at what happens. So, do not sit on the point. That is also a learning. When I have a
slotted member, you take the rotating frame of reference on the slotted member. On the
slotted member at an appropriate point, so that I can view the point moving along the
slot. Do not sit on the point. That would be the recommendation that I would say. These
are all thumb rules. See, these thumb rules you must verify for a given application
whether the, this is applicable.
So, in this class we have looked at very simple problem and we have dissected the
animations. So, that you are able to appreciate what we actually mean when I am
hamming a rotating frame of reference. What is the advantage? I must have an advantage
by selecting a rotating frame of reference. And we have learnt a thumb rule if I have a
slotted member attach a rotating frame of reference that slotted member. And you have
also learnt; do not attach the coordinate of rotating frame of reference to the point of
interest. You will not get any benefit out of it. So, what not to do is also you should
learn.
Thank you.
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Prof. K. Ramesh
Module – 02
Dynamics
Lecture – 11
Rotating Frame of Reference V – Understanding Coriolis Acceleration
So, let us continue our

frame of reference and we
will try to understand
Coriolis acceleration better
in this lecture.
So, I have taken the very

famous example of a
straight slot on a rotating platform and it is rotating in a counterclockwise direction. And
you have a particle pink in
colour is moving in the slot.
And what we are going to
do is, we are going to
understand it from first
principle so that we make
the problem very simple,
knock off several terms and
just focus on the Coriolis
acceleration.
So, what I have here is, I

have a velocity in the direction of the slot. And I have the position marked as X and this
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is like your r. So, rω is the velocity because the platform is rotating. And you have is
the velocity the particle is moving in the slot. See, I am going to repeat this animation
several times. In each slide you will first see this animation.
The idea is to get the idea of what is happening to the particle as clearly as possible. And
I have labelled the particle as A and I also label the centre of the disk as O. And you have
this fixed frame of reference like this. And the rotating frame of reference is aligned to
the slot at this moment. It is rotating with the platform. And you know very well that the
acceleration of the particle A is nothing, but .
We have already said that disk is rotating at a constant counterclockwise angular velocity
ω. So, which implies that ω dot is 0. I will deliberately make many terms 0 fine to make
our life simple. And I have O is a fixed point and we have also said that in this slot the
pink object is moving at a constant velocity. So, all these terms are very important to
interpret. So, when I say the velocity is constant, I would also have this term knocked
off.
So, I have is knocked off. I have a constant velocity of the particle in the slot. So, the
arel is knocked off and I have that is also knocked off because it is a fixed point. So, I
am left only with the . And you have an expression for Vrel ok. You have this
as . So, . So, that is what is shown as velocity here. So, the particle A has a
velocity in this direction and also a velocity component xω in this direction.
So, finally, when you simplify, the acceleration of the particle A simply reduces to
. And we have and , all these quantities are very clearly

labeled.
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And again, I will have the particle is rotating. So, you get an idea of this. And what we
are going to look at is, I have labeled them as A and O. I have this and I also have the
expression for acceleration. I will understand the terminologies.
So, I put the axis here at this instant of time. And what are the velocity components I
have? I have a velocity
component in the
direction of the slot. And I
also have another
component of velocity
which is Xω. I have
deliberately shown that
they are not equal. I could
not show it in this diagram
this too small for me to
show. So, when I do it here
just to bring in a generality that these 2 quantities can be of different magnitude to start
with. Now what we have to do is, we have to investigate for a small rotation dθ, what
happens to these quantities. And what is it a person would perceive sitting on a rotating
frame, what is it that he will not perceive sitting on a rotating frame? And when I say the
changes in velocity, we have always looked at change in magnitude and change in
direction both contribute to the acceleration ok.
So, in an interval dt, axes rotate by angle dθ. So, let me draw that and I would appreciate
that you make a neat sketch of it. And I will also repeat this sketch once more so that, if
you miss out some of the details you could fill them up in the second time. So, I have this
rotated by dθ. Now, what I would like to investigate is, from the problem statement how
these quantities change that, you have to look at. So, I have to look at the magnitude
change as well as the directional change.
So, let me summarize. I have 2 components of velocity. One component of velocity is

Xω, another component of velocity is . What is given in the problem statement? The
particle moves with a constant velocity fine, remains constant. So, there is no
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magnitude change of . On the other hand, when I have this Xω, Xω does have a
magnitude change.
So, how would I write this? I have Xω so I differentiate it. So, when I differentiate it, I
get this as . And it is also given in the problem about what way ω is
changing. It is clearly stated to make our life simple that the disk is rotating at a constant
angular velocity. What is the meaning of that? I cannot have dω. So, dω goes to 0.
So, what I have here is, the component of velocity Xω has a magnitudinal change of the
value ωdx. So, I have this ωdx, is the magnitudinal change. And I have already discussed
what happens to the magnitude change of . It is given clearly in the problem statement;
remains constant. So, I have this magnitude change is 0. Now, let us look at the
directional change.
The directional change exists for xω and that is depicted like this, xω dθ. And I also have
a directional change of , that is depicted as dθ. See, what you will have to look at is a
person sitting in the rotating platform because he is rotating with the platform; he fails to
recognize these two quantities. You know, this was the most difficult aspect when people
were making the measurement and comprehending without the assistance of
mathematics. But, with the assistance of mathematics there is no difficulty at all. You get
all these terms one after the other. You have to be very consistent in your mathematical
development.
So, when you differentiate it with respect to the time, I have this as and that is
what you got it here ok. I have this as . I can refer I can refer this as . This is what
you are not able to see when you are sitting on the rotating frame of reference that has
contributed to the Coriolis acceleration fine.
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So, the velocity of point has two components, one along the slot and another
perpendicular to the slot due to rotation of the disk. A rotating observer fails to recognize
the change in these velocity components due to rotation, which is what I had explained. I
said that I am going to redraw this again so that you can fill up any missing links in your
notes.
So, I have and xω. And I

rotate it by an angle Δdθ.
So, I have explained how I
have got this omega d x
and I have also explained
how I have got this xωdθ
and I have also explained
how you have got dθ. So,
the rotating observer fails
to recognize dθ and ωd x.
I have this as the basic

expression. And if I do
absolute motion analysis
using polar coordinates,
also gives the same result.
There is no difference at
all. Let us go back and get
that expression. I have this
as . In fact, after a
long discussion of the
problem which we
discussed in the previous class, this is very easy for you to comprehend.
See, the idea of repetition is to firm up the concepts that you have learnt. That is the idea
behind it ok. And the healthy repetition is desirable in learning the course. From the
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problem statement, r double dot is 0. From the problem statement, theta double dot is
also 0. So, here again, I get very similar expressions ok you should recognize these
identities.
If you are in a position to solve the problem using polar coordinates, no harm in it fine.
But, when you learn the
rotating frame concept, it
helps you to expand your
scope of solving problem.
Particularly, when you are
dealing with rigid body
mechanics, you should
apply it. And you can
physically appreciate the
solution procedure. And
this is again repeated for
clarity.
So, whether I do with the

or do an absolute motion
analysis, there is absolutely
no change as far as the
acceleration of the particle.
And what is the direction

of Coriolis acceleration?
We will also summarize
for the earlier problems as
well. So, we have this noted down and direction of Coriolis acceleration is always
normal to the Vrel or V|xy sense is dictated by the cross product. Normal is fine, but sense
is dictated by the cross product. So, in this problem I have this as perpendicular to
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the slot. You should recognize that this is perpendicular to the slot a similar story you
will find in other problems
also.
See, we have solved the

quick return mechanism
and also the, a slotted
member and another
member like this. So, I
have this as for this.
And then in this problem
also we have looked at. And this particle is coming down. So, when you look at the cross
product, the Coriolis acceleration is perpendicular to the slot. And in the quick return
mechanism, we have also
looked at this and this is
perpendicular to the slot
like this.
Where does this affect us?

It is a very interesting
application.
And you look at here. The hand is stretched, because of the Coriolis force the it is
drifting away.
And look at the switches here. This is in a space station they are provided with a
protection like this. And I will repeat the animation once more ok. So, you have a
spinning space station. And if I have to operate the controls, I must go and operate the
correct switch. Look at look at the hand. Look at the hand, their hand is going there.
Because of this protection he is able to, he or she is able to remove the hand from this
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and go to the switch and switch on this. It is a very interesting one. This is published by
NASA.
So, it is a very practical application of direct feeling of where the Coriolis force
influences you because we
have come out of a space
age. The prediction is,
another 20 years people
can go to space and come
back as tourists fine. So,
you for all this spinning,
they have to be spinning
for stability. And look at
here we have seen that
perpendicular so that hand
is free. So, hand is drifting
without your control. Your intention is to keep the hand straight. Because of the rotation,
the hand is pushed away ok. So, it is a very nice illustration and we will also look at very
interesting problem ok.
We go back to the turntable. Please write down the problem statement. And interpret the
problem statement properly. Because, you need to understand that we are sitting on earth
and observing things. For all practical purposes, we have considered earth is a stationary
fine, but it is the rotating frame of reference.
So, it is a very nice problem which tells you, from a rotating frame of reference, what is
it that you observe. And it is a very simple problem which you can easily handle it. Boy
A is standing at the centre of the turntable and B is at the end of the turntable. I have 2
boys standing. The turntable rotates at a constant counterclockwise angular velocity
omega as seen from above. We have already seen that it is rotating. I have animated that
and it is a constant angular velocity.
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So, omega dot is 0. Boy A throws a ball toward B by giving at a horizontal velocity u
relative to the turntable towards B. See, the boy is standing and throwing the ball. But the
ball is in space, it is not constrained by the slot like what we have seen in the previous
problem. And for a rotating observer, he will observe a constant velocity u. That is what
the problem statement says, to make our life simple ok.
Assume that the ball has no horizontal accelerations once released. And write an
expression for the acceleration which B would observe the ball to have in the plane of the
turntable just after it is thrown. So, the pulse of this problem is, sitting from a rotating
frame of reference, what would you observe? That is the idea behind this problem. So, I
am going to put the rotating frame of reference where? I will attach it to the point B
because when I put the rotating frame of reference, I have already said the observer
sitting at the origin and observing what is happening. When a ball is thrown in space,
there is no connection between that and this. What way it will travel in space? It will still
have a straight path.
But you know very well because the turntable is rotating, it is not going to reach the
person. The person will not
be able to catch it, but the
person will apparently see
that the ball is deviating. It
is only a perception from
the rotating frame of
reference. And what we are
going to later relate is, you
are sitting in a rotating
frame of reference your
observing cosmological
things. That is what we are going to relate it to fine.
All along we have solved problems neglecting that in certain class of problems you
cannot neglect it. And you can understand it only when you feel that you are sitting on a
rotating frame of reference and do it. So, from that perspective this is a very interesting
problem. So, it is going to help us to understand cosmological happenings that you
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observe from earth which is the rotating frame of reference, which we have neglected it
all along.
So, path observed by B is asked though this decides that you attach the rotating frame to
B. Is the idea clear? See, I have taken pains to explain you in various different ways how
to identify a fixed frame of reference and how to identify a rotating frame of reference.
The moment you identify this, rest of it is simple algebra which you are master at it. The
thinking part is only on the selection of the fixed frame of reference and rotating frame
of reference. You should not rush up at that stage of solving the problem. So, I have the
rotating frame attached to the point B. And you have a fixed frame attached to the centre.
And it is given in the
problem statement to make
your life simple.
A rotating, a person sitting

in the rotating platform
would observe a constant
velocity u. And we will
also have to get the
position vector,
. I am taking the
as the basis for all my calculations. So, it is and I have given in the problem
statement, very clearly given in the problem statement. Here, observer sitting in the
rotating platform would observe a constant velocity u.
And I have the standard expression for acceleration of point A because he is going to
observe the ball thrown at A thrown by the boy at A. And it is also given the problem
statement, what is it that you have given as acceleration of A. Go back to the problem
statement and then see. It said that you assume there is no horizontal acceleration fine.
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You are just having a constant velocity; the ball is moving at a constant velocity. And if
you look from space, it will go in a straight path. If I sit on the rotating platform, I will
not see that it is going in a straight line.
So, what all things I know? I have this as a rotating platform just to show that this
rotating frame of reference rotates like this ok, rotates like this. And I can find out what
is the coordinate acceleration for me to fill up all this. We have already noted some other
terms are 0. And you can easily write because this is rotating, very simple and
straightforward for you. And I have this is 0 because is 0. And we also have
omega cross omega cross r that is r omega squared i. And we also have in the problem
statement that there is no
acceleration in the
horizontal direction. So,
So, we have to get what is

the acceleration that the
observer B would observe
for the ball. And you
know, you will also have
to go back if I have to
sketch the motion of the
ball. You have to go back
to your projectile motion. You have also looked at a projectile is just thrown and what is
the shape it takes place, u it is moving in a constant gravitational field. It has a parabolic
motion, is not it? In the vertical plane it has a parabolic motion.
Here, we are discussing about the horizontal plane fine. We are looking what is
happening, the vertical plane is, is bound to happen. In addition to that, in the horizontal
plane what happens? Because the platform is rotating, rotating anticlockwise. I have
given you the clue for you to visualize what should be the nature of deflection.
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So, when I do this . And I have this, 0 equal to the rest of the
expression is written, it again the 0 quantities are not fully removed. So, I essentially
have this. I have . So, the quantity what an observer sitting on a

rotating platform would observe as acceleration and we will soon relate it, people sitting
on earth, it is a rotating frame of reference, not a fixed frame of reference.
We have all along discussed, when I say arel or Vrel, I said, what the quantity that you
measure from the rotating frame of reference XYZ, small xyz ok. So, that is what
expression you have. And you already have what is a B and this quality. They cancel
each other. So, I essentially get this as .
Now, the stage is set for you to visualize what should be the pattern of deviation of the
ball. What does this indicate? See, the ball will have to traverse this radial distance fine
that is what you are trying to look at. And this is now moving in a constant acceleration
field, like what you had in your projectile motion you have the acceleration due to
gravity. Here, I have a constant acceleration . So, what way the deviation would
be? It would again be a parabola ok. So, that is what you see here. The person would
observe, the person would observe, this particle experiences a motion like this in the
horizontal plane. Is the idea clear? Is the idea clear?
Suppose, I look from above, I would see the ball as only a straight motion fine. For a
observer who is the outside the rotating frame of reference, when he observe it, it will go
only in a straight line fashion. It does not deviate. Because the person is sitting in a
rotating platform and rotating with it and we are also explicitly calculating the arel, I see
that this is in a constant acceleration field for the entire length. So, this deviates like a
parabola ok. And this is what is affecting when you observe things from the earth.
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So, you have a nice 3-dimensional visualization of how the ball is deviating for the
observer B in this animation. I can repeat the animation. The platform is rotating
anticlockwise and the ball deviates like this. And the deviation is shown as a curve here.
For an observer who looks above, the ball would only travel a straight path. The
deviation is observed by
the observer sitting on the
rotating platform. Suppose,
the rotating platform
instead of rotating
anticlockwise if it rotates
clockwise, what happens?
The deviation is to the left
like this.
And now, let us look at a relook at frames attached to earth. Axes attached to earth have
been assumed to be inertial
frame of reference for
solving day to day
problems in mechanics.
In reality, the earth rotates

slowly, very slowly. That
is the reason you do not
sense that. We view
everything around us only
from a rotating reference.
Fortunately, it is not
affecting the motion of cricket balls, trains, automobiles or planes. However, motion of
intercontinental ballistic missiles, spacecrafts or even natural phenomenon like cyclones
gets influenced by the rotation of earth. See, all along in mechanics, it was a very
convenient reference point to take fixed frame of reference attached to earth.
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Now, you have to realize that we are sitting in a rotating frame of reference which
influences certain
phenomena that, we have
not been able to understand
hitherto.
We will also calculate

what is the value of earth’s
rotation. It is very slow. I
have this as the time
period, 24 hours. And if
you estimate the angular
velocity, this turns out to be a very small quantity of the order of 7.27×10-5 rad/s. It is
very small. And it is also worthwhile to note, even if you calculate R omega squared
when R is so high as 6400
km. The acceleration is
only 0.034 m/s2.
So, in comparison to
acceleration due to gravity,
it is only 0.35% hence
usually neglected.
However, Coriolis force
influences phenomenon
that happen over very large
distances.
So, you have a Hurricane Katrina. This is in the northern hemisphere. And you could
observe what is the rotation of this cyclone this is in an anticlockwise rotation.
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And there is also data on how severe was the cyclone Katrina. This was the seventh
deadliest tropical cyclone of the year 2005.
So, it started as a category

1 hurricane. Strengthened
rapidly to category 5 in
warm waters of the Gulf of
Mexico, wind speed was
about 280 km/hr causing
costliest damage ever in
the history, of about 108
billion in 2005 and killing
1833 people. It weakened
before making its second
landfall as a category 3
hurricane on August 29th
morning, in southeast
Louisiana.
Then you also have

another cyclone heading
Australia. It is very striking
to see that the cyclone is in
clockwise direction. This is
again a very important
cyclone. You have this as, named as Hurricane Yasi.
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It was a very powerful and destructive tropical cyclone made a landfall in northern
Queensland. intensified to category 3 on January 2011, 31st January 2011 and
strengthened to category 4. Then, on 2nd February, the cyclone intensified to category 5
making a landfall on Mission Beach.
Here, again the speed was very high, of the order of 240 km/hr. Damage is estimated to
be slightly less, in the
order of just 3.6 billion
again, a huge money. It
lasted for 2 days and
remnants of Yasi as a
tropical low created
torrential rain.
So, from the mechanics

point of view, we would
like to understand why the
cyclones are having different rotations in different hemispheres. This is mainly because
of the Coriolis Effect. So,
when there is a pressure
drop in the northern
hemisphere because the
earth is rotating like this, it
is anticlockwise in the
northern hemisphere. And
this deviates like this. This
causes the northern
hemisphere cyclones to
have an anticlockwise
rotation.
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On the other hand, when we come to the southern hemisphere, it is rotating in the
clockwise direction. And the deviation of the wind is like this. This causes the cyclone to
rotate in the clockwise
direction.
So, this provides a

scientific explanation, why
do the cyclones have
different rotation in the
northern hemispheres.
People were not able to
understand it earlier. Only
after understanding Coriolis Effect, they were able to interpret these effects because of
Coriolis action and you could also see here, again from the rotating platform. We are
sitting on the rotating platform and viewing it. And you we see the deviation to the right
like this, when it is anti
clockwise, when it is
clockwise deviation to the
left. So, this translates into
cyclones having
anticlockwise and
clockwise motion in
northern and southern
hemispheres.
And you should also

realize that when there is a ballistic missile which is heading far away, if you do not
account for the Coriolis Effect, it is not going to hit. In fact, the history says in the 2nd
World War, Germans were targeting Paris. And it is about 120 kilometers away from
their place they were not able to hit the city of Paris. It was deviating because of Coriolis
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Effect thankfully. And here, it says that whenever there is a falling of the object, if you
do not take the Coriolis Effect into the account, it would deviate. And this deviation you
should account depending on what kind of analysis and what kind of gadgets that you
want to devise.
So, it influences over very

large distances. You
cannot ignore Coriolis
Effect.
And if you go back to

historical development, the
discussion of geocentric
versus heliocentric is also
wedded to the development of Coriolis Effect. Way back in 1651 Italian scientist
Riccioli and his assistant Grimaldi predicted that a cannon ball fired to the north to
deflect to the east.
This is a very right prediction provided the earth was rotating. And another scientist in
1674, Milliet Dechales described how falling bodies and projectiles aimed toward one of
the planet’s poles would deflect due to earth’s rotation. We have seen the following
bodies also deflect. And we have also understood reasonably well due to earth’s rotation,
how do you see the winds change its direction. And you should note that although, their
predictions are truly scientific, they used it for defending geocentric theory.
See, here you have to recognize, in those days there was no clarity on what is the shape
of the earth, whether it is rotating, whether we are in the geocentric theory is acceptable
or heliocentric theory is the most appropriate theory. This debate was still on in the
western world. And since they were passionately attached to geocentric theory, as there
was no proof available, they used these affairs because there is no proof available from
experiments. They argued that these effects are not observable and earth is immobile,
thus refuting Copernicus’s heliocentric theory.
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It may look folly now. But, in those days, even scientific discovery, truly scientific in
nature, was not possible to be interpreted in the right light because of lack of peripheral
knowledge. Now, we have satellite imagery you can take a picture of the cyclone and see
whether it is rotating
anticlockwise or
clockwise. So, all this
information is available
now to verify what we
predict from theory.
And if you look at the

history, it was in 1835, the
French scientist Gustave
Coriolis published a paper on the energy yield of machines with rotating parts such as
waterwheels. His observation was, there was a supplementary force, which is now
widely recognized as
Coriolis force since 1920
in his honor. And if we
look at the mathematical
derivation by Euler, it was
available in 1749 itself.
Laplace also had it in 1778
while he described the
effects on tidal equations.
However, there was no

clarity on understanding
these concepts at that point in time. It all became popular only after the work of Coriolis.
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And there are also multiple uses of Coriolis Effect. You also have a Coriolis flow meter.
And what you have here is essentially because of the fluid flow and the Coriolis Effect
the probe will oscillate like this. So, they measure the frequency, they measure the
amplitude of vibration or a phase shift. Using this they were available to devise a
methodology to estimate the mass flow rate as well as the density of the fluid flowing
through the tube. You know, normally, physicists exploit any new physical principal to
make it as a measurement usage for a particular application.
So, that is how Coriolis flow meter came into existence. And you will also be surprised
that people use it for gyroscopic precession in a very positive way. Spinning bodies
always through up a surprise, Coriolis force has an effect to keep the spinning bodies
stably aligned. So, this is used for inertial stability and so on and so forth. And you
know, with great struggle, human civilization as understood what is Coriolis Effect and
how it can be used.
There were confusions in understanding out of this. There was also confusion in, even
though the predictions were correct, they were not able to associate with heliocentric
theory at that point in time. In fact, since they were passionately attached to geocentric
theory, they use this as an argument to say the earth was immobile. How folly it is. But if
you go to nature, we have altogether a surprise.
We had so much struggle to understand Coriolis Effect. You find flies and some moths
exploit the Coriolis Effect in flight with specialized appendages and organs.
It is very surprising. And all your drones, they are taking inspiration from insect flight.
And insect flight is not very simple, it is extremely complicated dynamically. The
antennae in the moths are responsible for the sensing of Coriolis force. How
sophisticated nature in comparison to human evolution? So, we have to be really humble
to accept this.
So, in this lecture we have looked at a deeper understanding of what is Coriolis

acceleration. And we also learnt from a rotating frame of reference, how I would observe
a ball that is thrown in a rotating platform which moves straight. But, sitting on a rotating
platform I would observe that as deviating.
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That knowledge is very important to appreciate some of the phenomena that we observe
on earth. And you should recognize that earth is a rotating platform. Though it rotates
slowly, it affects phenomena that happen over large distances. Like, you have cyclones
the cyclones are influenced by Coriolis Effect. And we have also looked at briefly the
historical development and also how nature is far ahead of all the scientists put together.
Thank you.
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Prof. K. Ramesh
Module - 02
Dynamics
Lecture - 12
Kinetics I
Let us move on to our next chapter on plane Kinetics.
And we will start from

kinetics of a particle, move
on to system of particles
then finally, rigid body and
we would view this about a
fixed point ok, I have a
fixed frame of reference
and I have an arbitrary path
specified like this, I have a
particle which is moving
along this path and we could also label the positions like a position vector, r1 at time t1
and it has a velocity v1.
It moves to some other point and we have this as a generic point, I have this as position
vector r, I have the velocity is nothing but tangential to the path and it moves to the
another point, at time t2, I call this as r2, I have this velocity as v2 at time t2. Many of
these quantities you might have seen earlier in your courses, it is a more of a
recapitulation and today is a day where you will be writing equations after equations, in a
very comprehensive manner that will be good to have notes like this.
So, the particle has a mass m then, I can also define linear momentum, I have this as
mass into velocity and I the standard symbol used for this G. So, do not confuse this with
the center of gravity G. So, learn it from the context, interpret the symbol out of the
context. So, I have G = mv, mass into velocity and I have a net force acting on the
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particle and I can write the acceleration that is in this direction and we also have the
relation , that is rate of change of linear momentum.
So, I have this rate of change of linear momentum written down like this, one can also
write the angular momentum and we have already said that we will do this about fixed
point O, see in this chapter, when we move on to system of particles and rigid bodies, we
would like to look at the mass point G, as well as an arbitrary point V. And, I have
, I get this as angular momentum, these all standard symbols, capital HO. O
depicts about which point, I have would this angular momentum and I can also look at
the rate of change of angular momentum.
So, I can expand this and write it and you know very well, this goes to 0. So,
I have = and from simple mathematics you will know that the first term is
cross product of 2 equal vectors that goes to 0, that is what is shown there.
I can also label this as

moment about O that as
. So, you
can go back to your statics
and then look at meaning
of these expressions and
we get a relationship
moment about O is nothing
but rate of change of
angular momentum about
O.
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Now, we move on to system of particles, I have a system of particles like this, I enclose
this by a system boundary, I have a mass point. See many natural phenomena you have
system of particles, you see birds flying, when they go from one migratory location to
another migratory location, they form a pattern. Similarly, fish, they also find within the
sea, they form in a group
and then go and look at
Amazon forest, you have
animals going in groups,
something drives them to
form into a group and then
go. You can really see how
the system of particles will
move by looking at what
happens at the mass point,
provided no animal is
killed by the predator fine
because, we you are looking at a system, where the mass remains constant, we are not
looking at the system where mass changes.
So, I have a representative point and we will also have some discipline in labeling them.
So, we are going to develop expressions with respect to fixed point O, mass point G and
an arbitrary point P. For clarity, I will put the arbitrary point outside the object here. So,
that the diagram looks cleaner, when I say arbitrary point, it can be anywhere in, space
that is convenient for us to do the calculations later and you should recognize when I
have an arbitrary point, that point will have an acceleration, it is not like a fixed point O,
which is fixed in space. So, that is the difference, I have an initial frame of reference
attach to point O, such a restriction is not there for G as well as P. The points can have
accelerations.
So, O is a fixed point and I have the position vector and you have a discipline, whenever
I put a bar that indicates that I am dealing with the mass point. Quantities attached to the
mass point G, we will have a discipline to put a bar over the quantity and any arbitrary
point is located by position vector ri, I can also view this point from G, I can also view
this point from arbitrary point P. So, we will also have to label the position vectors
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appropriately, I am following the same symbolism use by Merriam. So, I have this
position vector, represented by ρ, I have ρi, from the mass point G and I have an arbitrary
point P, located at a position vector rP, for clarity I am putting it outside, it can be
anywhere that is convenient to solve a given problem.
So, when I want to find out what is the position vector, I label it with a prime, instead of
simple ρ, I put this as ρ’. So, symbolism that is used is, I reserve the symbol r, from the
fixed point. I use ρ from the mass point, I use ρ’ from arbitrary point. I can also have a
position vector connecting P and G. Now, I am going to attach this to a mass point. So, I
will have a bar over it. So, I will call this as . So, I am consistent in my symbolism, the
symbolism is consistent. So, once you understand the symbolism, you can easily write
down these position
vectors comfortably.
So, this is reiterated here,

position vectors from fixed
point O are depicted as r,
from any other point
referred as ρ. In addition, if
a bar is put on top of them,
they refer to the mass point
G, ρ or ρ’ for the arbitrary
point we put it as ρ’. From the arbitrary point P, the position vector of the particle is
referred as ρ’. It better to have a convention so, that you do not get lost; when you have
an array of equations, for you to interpret, we can recall from memory, what way we
have labeled them.
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So, velocity of any particle

can be represented by
. So, we are going

to get advantage of system
of particles, where the
mass is not changing. So, I
have G as , that
reduces to ,
can you see something
interesting here? You
know we are going to do this kind of simplification, again and again. We recognize that
we are looking at from a mass point.
So; obviously, this has to go to 0. Since it is about G, we would be doing the

simplification again and again ok. Some of those things I would skip the steps also, for
saving time and you must be able to figure out from the expressions correctly. So, I have
a very interesting relation, . Very well-known expression, it is not something new

to you; we are only
revisiting the expressions
that you know already.
Then I go for linear
momentum, and rate

of change of linear
momentum I get this as
and , then we
can also move on to angular momentum about O.
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So, I have . So, the position vector is r that is what you refer from O. So,
and when I look at

rate of change of angular
momentum, differentiate a
correctly by applying the
product rule, do not
swallow up any terms. So,
when I have
, we
would also simplify this.
This goes to 0 and I have
this as equal to moment about O and I have the identity summation of moment about
O is nothing but rate of change of angular momentum about O. You know, once we
come to a system of particles, we would also look at about point G, as well as point P,
those are all the expression
which are of interest for us
to handle them later.
How do I define angular

momentum about G? So,
look at here, this does not
change, this is again mV
but, the vector, which I use
now is ρi, instead of ri, it is
ρi. How can I express this
relationship? You have to understand this as a definition, we would also develop another
symbolism, here I have set angular momentum about G, I can also have angular
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momentum (HG)rel, when I replace this ri as ρi, I will call that as (HG)rel. So, HG may be
expressed in terms of moments about G, of linear momenta relative to G or relative to P
These become convenient, when we want to extend it for rigid body mechanics, when I
derive the expressions, we will use these identities cleverly to minimize our
computations but, the final expression which you are going to do for solving problems
are very simple right now, you will have array of equations coming up one after the
other, playing with symbols and so on and so forth, it is good that you have this as the
summary in your notes.
So, relative to G, I define (HG)rel, I have already told you how I am going to define
(HG)rel. I would call this as, , when I have this as angular

momentum about G, I use the appropriate position vector but when I put this as a relative
quantity, I also play with the velocity, I am using a relative velocity. In some cases, it is
easier to handle relative velocity computations and I would replace as because,

ultimately you are going to simplify the expressions and you will get a very nice
simplification here and I am skipping some of those steps, you know you have to expand
this and bring in what are the knowledge that you have and also switch between the
product instead of × , I would switch it, when I switch it, the sign also will change.
So, all that is done and I have the expression like this, I could rewrite this expression in
this fashion, I have initially written down the definition, replace this as , when I
rewrite this I could write it like this, taking on this identity, I can write this as HG. Can
you see something interesting here? What is the value of this term? I have a mass point.
So, I have summation of miρi becomes what? That goes to 0. So, you have a very
important relation, (HG)rel is same as HG that is identity you get, it is the very interesting
identity, we have now done it with respect to relative to G; we will also do it relative to
point P.
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So, I have the same expressions here, I have written down what is HG. Now, I do it
relative to P. So, when I write it relative to P, I have this . So,
I have , is what I am going to do and this could be replaced in terms of the vectors
and you put the product
and group the terms
appropriately, I can write it
like this.
Here again, I get an

identity,
, it is
a very interesting identity,
whenever we take
advantage of it, we can
compute it from relative
quantities or the definition what is shown here. Please write this down and I hope it is
free of typographical
errors, if there are any
errors please bring it to my
attention.
So, I have and

I have rate of change of
angular momentum. So, I
differentiate it by applying
the product rule properly
and when I look at this,
this can be simplified further and you have a very interesting relationship here. So, can
be replaced as and finally, the whole thing reduces to 0.
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So, this term goes to 0 that is what is shown here. Please take your time to write down, I
have not done the simplifications step by step, intermediate steps I have skipped, fill in
those steps in your notes later, not now in the class, you can go back and fill in the
missing steps. So, I get
So, we will write angular

momentum about P and
when I say point P, you
can imagine that there is a
non rotating axis attached
to P. When I say a non
rotating axis attached to P,
that axis can have acceleration, you do not lose sight of it, the point P what I take it is not
a static point in space, it can have acceleration.
So, I have , similar simplifications we have done for the earlier case, we
will continue to do it here. So, I will replace as , I have , I get this .I

get this expression, then
simplify this and then
knock of terms that go to
0. So, I can replace from
the earlier definition, this
as simply HG. So, for an
arbitrary point, I can write
this angular momentum,
consisting of two terms,
one from the mass point
G, plus .
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So, that is what is rewritten here in an elegant fashion, about a point P, I can write it
as and I can also define what is (HP)rel. See we have been consistent in
defining these quantities, when I say put relative, I replace by the relative velocity. So,
here it is is the velocity now and this also can be simplified; I can replace this as
So, when I also bring in another interpretation, you know there is positive of symbols.
When I say , do not confuse it with your Vrel what you have seen in a rotating
frame of reference. So, these are two different contexts interpret it in the current context,
we are just defining ok, the definition is given right here, definition of this
terminologies given right here.
So, I could rewrite this as do the simplification yourself later. So, I get this as
. So, I have that is a final identity I get. These are

multiple equations; it will look as if it is a bit confusing but, all these are easily derivable
very systematic, it is better
to have all these equations
in your notes.
So, we will look at the

moment equation about P.
So, I have put the net force
acting on the system of
particles as and
any quantity I am writing it
with respect to the mass point, I always put a bar. The same convention is used, the
position vector is put with bar, the acceleration is also put with a bar; velocity is also put
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with a bar. Whenever I have a bar over it, it indicates that I am talking about mass point
quantities; I also have a moment MG, that is equal to rate of change of angular
momentum about G.
So, I have . So, this is nothing but and we would

also rewrite it in multiple different ways, which can be used later for simplification. So,
the moment equation about P, can be expressed in terms of angular momentum about P.
We have already looked at and we also know the identity
and we have also seen what is the definition of this velocity , you should not
confuse with the rotating frame of reference, in this context it has a particular
interpretation.
So, I have and take it to the other side, you do the differentiation
properly and write all the terms, then bring in the simplification. So, I get this as
, very simple it straightforward I have just differentiated this and then

written it here and this goes to 0. So, I have expression for HG. So, this could be
substituted in this equation fine. So, that is what I am going to do.
I am going to write, we
have seen
replace , as
. This
is just reproduced the
equations that I have
written down in the previous slide and you also have another identity, see when I am
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looking at a point P, if I have the acceleration a, that is . So, I can write this as
So, I would replace use this and then rewrite the expression in a different fashion. So, I
can write . So, the idea is, the point P has an acceleration aP. So, I can
write the moment about point P, in terms of the angular momentum rate of change of
angular momentum about P, plus . This is the most general expression. So, I have
MP becomes , if any of these 3 conditions are satisfied.
So, the second term goes to 0, when any one of these conditions are satisfied, then I have
. See this is nothing but, playing with mathematics, you get multitude of
expressions, we have
looked at identities in
between them, we will use
them judiciously later.
Now, let us move on to

kinetics of rigid bodies. So,
imagine that I have a rigid
body like this, acted upon
by arbitrary system of
forces. Under the action of these forces, we have already seen, that the body will have a
translation as well as a rotation and we call that as a general plane motion, if the body
has translation as well as rotation put together, we call that as general plane motion.
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So, this is a free body diagram and that is equivalent to saying that, this as a summation
of forces, as well as a summation of moments, this has a translation, as well as a rotation
and you have this as equivalent force couple diagram and you also bring in another
terminology here, you call something as kinetic diagram and I have this as a kinetic
diagram. This has and translation like this and a rotation dictated by and this is
known as a kinetic diagram so, in many of the problems when we do it in kinetics.
We would like to have the kinetic diagram properly represented. So, that you visualize
what happens to the rigid body, use those quantities appropriately in doing the
computations. So, I have a basic free body diagram, which could be reduce to a simpler
representation of
equivalent force couple
diagram, which can also be
viewed as a translation and
a rotation, all respect to the
mass point G.
So, we will look at rigid

bodies in general plane
motion and we will look at
about G. So, we have these
identities, and . So, I have a system of forces acting on the rigid

body and I have reference axis X and Y, let me take a let me also represent the
accelerations and rotation of this and take an arbitrary point, we have the identity
. I am going to use this, I take an arbitrary point on the rigid body, this mass
point has mass of and the distance is and I have already said that, we know
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So, instead of writing HG from the first principle, I will write HG rel that is easier for me
to write and use the expression by definition, I get . So, this is where we
use the identity, we have proved earlier, . Now, my interest is HG but, I will
just estimate H G rel from the definition basic definition and simplify it. Computations
are easier for relative velocity, that is the advantage, I have and I can write from our
understanding of rigid bodies and general plane motion, .
So, when I substitute here, I can simplify it as HG the magnitude, turns out to be
and when I take the differentiation of that, I have , I get this as , is nothing but,
IGα. This is one way of deriving the expression; we have taken the advantage of our
earlier identity, . I can also do it from another fundamental prospective, we

will derive this expression from both the ways ok, here I have use this identity and I
could directly come and say that ok, that is a final expression that will be of
used to us repeatedly, we
will also look at from a
different prospective.
For clarity I have shown it

little bigger ok. So, make a
neat sketch of it, I have the
representative point and
which is located at a
distance of Y i and X i like
this and the mass point is
put as m i, saying that it is a generic point and I have a acceleration of this as and I
have the force, which is put as and this body has a angular velocity, as well as the
angular acceleration and I have this as α.
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So, these are all the other components of forces which you get and I can write MGi, if I
want to find out moment about the point G,
you have done the Varignon’s theorem, it is nothing but, writing it from the Varignon’s
theorem and we have a very interesting when I sum them up, the terms go to 0, that is
what we are going to look at. So, you know very well, that we are writing this with
respect to the mass point G.
So, by definition, we go to
0 and I simply get
. So, the
whole idea is, moment
about G, in a rigid body
reduces to your moment of
inertia IG into α, α is your
angular acceleration of the
body. We have derived it
in one way earlier, we have
re derived it from first principles in this slide, the final result is this, it is a very useful
result.
And when I have a rigid body in general plane motion, I always recognize and
. We will now look at, what are all the simple motions that we know off, we
have looked at translation, we have looked at curvilinear translation, we also have
general plane motion, we also have fixed axis rotation. So, what we are going to do is,
simplify these expressions, for the given context, any one of these simplified motions.
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And about point P, just emphasize that we have attached a non rotating axes attached to
this point, I can also write
the expressions and for
generality, you know the
point P can be on the body,
can be outside. So, I have
taken it between the body
here and I represent any
quantity related to the mass
point with a bar.
So, I have IGα, and
and I have
, d is the perpendicular distance. So, I can write this, simply as
it is a very important expression you will repeatedly use it later on in

solving problems, also another form can be looked at. Now, we would like to get
ourselves armed with different forms of these expressions, depending on the context of
the problem, we would invoke one of this and you know I can also recognize that the
point P, has an acceleration a P then, I can put the differently, I can also have IPα.
So, , go back and then see which we have derived it earlier, I have
invoke that and is nothing but, IPα , the magnitude of this is nothing but, IPα. So, I
I P is the mass moment of inertia about an axis through P and I can write this MP as
, where aP is the acceleration of the point P. So, these are again another
representation, either I could use this or I could use this depending on, which way I
would like to solve the problem.
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And the most general form is this, and I can put this as
and I could
look at specific conditions,
when , P merges
with G. So, I have this as
, we have also
seen it earlier, .
When a P = 0, point P
becomes O, the definition
of fixed point is you have
an inertial frame attached to this, the point does not move.
So, aP becomes, when a P become 0; point P becomes O and I have or and I
have . So, this

is the most general form of
representation.
And you can also extend it

for interconnected rigid
bodies, you can also put
the kinetic diagram for the
interconnected rigid
bodies. So, I have . So, I have a summation here and I have
, and I have and , I also have an arbitrary point P located vectors.
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So, in this class, you know we have looked at systematically kinetics of a particle
followed by system of particles and then finally, to rigid body. We have got the most
general expressions and we would reduce them for specify rigid body motions for
translation, curvilinear translation and general plane motion in the subsequent class.
Thank you.
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Prof. K. Ramesh
Module - 02
Dynamics
Lecture - 13
Kinetics II
Let us continue our discussion on Kinetics
See we have learnt what is

a kinetics diagram when I
have a rigid body, I have
forces acting on it and we
call this as a free body
diagram. Then I have
summation of forces acting
through the centroid and
summation of moments
acting through the
centroid. This is a equivalent force couple diagram which could be visualized as in terms
of a Newton’s law F = ma and we have learnt at length the moment is nothing, but rate
of change of angular
momentum.
So, I could visualize this as

translation and a
combination of rotation
and this is known as a
kinetic diagram. See what
you will have to keep in
mind is your graduating
from particle dynamics to
691
rigid body dynamics. Particles do not rotate whereas, rigid bodies rotate.
Even though I say rigid body is now I am essentially considering a planar situation and
we would also confine our attention to rigid bodies in general plane motion that is very
important. We have still not taken a rigid body of a hot shape and trying to find out the
kinetics of it. We are taking baby steps; we have looked at particles; particles do not
rotate and now we have taken planar objects which are rigid bodies in addition to
translation it will also have rotation that is the only difference.
And take a moment about G, where G is the centroidal axis take a mass point and then
label it is at a distance xi and yi and find out what are all the forces acting on it have m
into a. And, in all our discussion in this chapter we would have the angular velocity and
angular acceleration perpendicular to the plane fine. Very simple problem graduating
from particles to planar rigid bodies or you can make an idealization as a planar situation
and we confine our attention to general plane motion not a three-dimensional
complicated motion it is only general plane motion.
And, you can easily write in the case of rigid body, we already learnt if I sit on any point
and view any other point on the rigid body it would appear as if it is rotating about it, we
had long discussions on that when we discuss the kinematics. On the basis of that
strength only I am able to write these components of forces and I write the moment
equation about G and you invoke that we are working on the centroid.
So, these terms go to 0 and I get a very elegant expression , where IG is the
mass moment of inertia, which you will have to learn you must have learnt it already in
your earlier courses. Please brush up there are several theorems also you have parallel
axis theorem and all that you brush it up for this course again I am not going to discuss
that.
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And we will look at simple motions, you can have a translation. So, I have a four system
something typical like this; this would essentially make the object to translate, I have a
kinetic diagram like this the object will only translate if I make the board as smart, the
object will only translate is the simplest of the situations that you can think of. And what
are a governing equation? I
have and
, I can all also

have it as IGα= 0.
So, I essentially have how

many equations? If I put
this into components, I
essentially have three
scalar equations. And what
is the difference between
statics and dynamics? In statics right hand side was always 0, in dynamics it is not 0 for
translation, for translation the rotation the moment equals to 0. So, we would graduate to
other simpler motions we have initially looked at translation. And what was the next
thing we learnt in the
context of rigid bodies?
I can have a four system

like this and the rigid body
also can have a motion like
this; carefully observe how
the rigid body has moved.
It had taken a curvilinear
path, but it has not rotated
about itself, it is a very
settle point and you will have to appreciate that you can also have curvilinear translation.
And, when I have curvilinear translation all my quantities are dictated by the path, so it is
693
easier for me to have a normal and tangential coordinate and express the forces like this
ok. And what are the governing equations I have? I still have and I also have
the situation that rotation is 0.
I can have a curvilinear motion, but it is a curvilinear translation we would solve

problem related to that then you will appreciate this. Here again I have essentially three
scalar equations and it is desirable that you write in n and t directions it is

convenient for you to do the mathematics. In all the problems you will also find how to
choose the axes of reference for you to solve the problem.
And in this chapter, we would say that by your kinematical analysis you are got the
absolute acceleration or accelerations from an inertial frame of reference from a
kinematical analysis. Once you have that quantity then I can find out the forces, that is
the way you have to interpret it they are not relative accelerations, they are measured
from an inertial frame of
reference.
And you have the fixed

axis rotation, I have an axis
fixed and this is rotating
about this. So, I have
and if I remove
this pin you have to
remember how do you ideal as a pin joint; pin joint can support forces in two directions
ok. That means, you put the components in two directions I have an arbitrary force you
have to recognize that you should not forget how do you ideal as a pin joint. So, I will
have an arbitrary force acting at the pin joint, this becomes the free body diagram I
remove the support and a kinetic diagram will be like this is the kinetics diagrams, so it
has a rotation and I have because I know the axis of rotation I can find out the
tangential and normal components.
694
Scalar form of these equations are I can also replace the acceleration into , you know
in this book anything referred to the centroid we are putting a bar, means it is referring
the centroid. So, that is dictated by have axis of rotation like this, so I can write
these quantities and I also have .
And there is a word of caution while taking moment about G when I take the moment
about G when I write the LHS of it RHS you will not have difficulty you will write ,
but when you want to write the LHS you must also account for the forces at O. Now to
be very systematic, so the essential difference what you find here is compared to statics
right hand side is non-zero in general.
We are taking a baby step moving from a particle to a planar rigid body, it is not a three-
dimensional rigid body having a general motion we also say it has general plane motion
or translation or the curvilinear translation or fixed axis rotation. We simplify the
problem to the extent
possible.
You can also write the

expression from different
perspective. So, it is easier
to do it from a rotation axis
O, I can also write this as
. So, we can
easily reduce it from the
kinetic diagram. So, I have you have this parallel axis theorem . So, I
have this , so I can out this as .
In many problems this may be easier to do you can find out I naught. So, you should
know how to get from IG to I0 parallel axis theorem all these fundamentals please brush it
695
up. You already know for area moment of inertia; you must also look at for mass
moment of inertia those details I would not be explaining it again fine.
And, if I have a fixed axis

rotation about G that is
also possible, then this
reduces to and
then further I have this
and hence ok.
Then you also have a very interesting concept called centre of percussion, in statics we
have already learnt this see in statics what did you learn if I have to move the force to a
point P2 ; I need to replace
it by a couple as well as a
force or in other words if I
have a couple and a force I
can also find out a suitable
location it is repaid only as
a force. You have an
equivalence of it in
dynamics where you have
the concept of centre of
percussion and will see
what it is.
So, I have point Q, one can identify the centre of percussion point Q in a dynamic
problem such that the resultant of all the forces pass through it and the moment about Q
is 0. In fact, when people play golf whatever that bat and that they use for golf has centre
of percussion is used you need to have at knowledge of it.
696
And I have this distance as Q; how do you find out the Q? The fixed axis of rotation let
point Q is located at a distance q, this is very similar to the concept that you looked in
statics fine, reverse of it there we replaced the force as a force and a couple here I have a
rotation as well as this I make it only as a force there is no rotation.
So, I have write the moment equation. So, I get if I express naught
as radius of gyration square multiplied by mass then I have this and I have expression for
q as . So, you can find out the centre of percussion, it is useful in a class of day
to day applications. It is nothing, but reflection of the concept that you have already
learnt in statics ok.
Then we move on to
solving problems. We also
have a summary of useful
expressions.
I have F equals to ma bar

which could be expressed
in terms of Cartesian coordinates, it could be expressed in terms of n and t coordinates
also it could be expressed in terms of r θ coordinates, but most of the problems we will
confine to Cartesian and n and t.
So, when I have this as a vectorial expression in component form it could be written in a
convenient fashion to solve your problem at hand and we also looked at you know in the
case of statics what you learnt I can take moment about any point on the object or outside
the object.
So, you also need to have a via media we have actually looked at from the angular
momentum root and also developed about any point P also we have developed the
697
equation. If I go back to that expression have a point P on the object now and you must
recognize that point P is not static it is having an acceleration, but that acceleration you
should know as absolute acceleration and handle this equation. So, whatever the
conveniences you had in statics you also have the same convenience in dynamics we
have got those expressions for you to use.
So, I have this MP, if I want to take moment about point P I have the expression
and if you look at these are all measured from inertial frame of
reference. And there are simplified cases for this, I have a situation where there is
rotation, so this reduces to , I have a fixed axis rotation reduces to .
So, in the subsequent problems you will just play with equations, please understand we
have looked at three points; one is mass center other is arbitrary point both of them can
have acceleration understand this only the point O which we have labeled as a fixed
point when you attach an axis to that that becomes inertial frame of reference.
So, when we develop the equation, we have made our lives simple, so that I could write
moment about any point of my interest. So, I would choose like in statics I can choose
any point I have shown an
arbitrary position P, I can
choose an appropriate
position so that my
mathematics is reduced
and remember that point P
on the rigid body can have
acceleration. But you
should know the absolute
acceleration; in other
words, the acceleration
measured from an inertial
frame of reference for you to use these equations fine.
698
You take up this problem it is a very interesting problem and you also have the
animation to aid your thinking, see consciously throughout this course wherever possible
when we discuss a problem have made an effort to bring in what is it happening in the
problem which you should understand, so that you can translate it for solution and you
have to understand every statement of the problem.
So, what it says is I have loaded grain truck of weight 2400 kg it is lifted up by a mass M
which is an animation here so that label is not there, but you have a label put in this
sketch. And you are asked to determine the maximum mass M such that the loaded cart
will not overturn about the rear wheels, here the labeling is done the front wheels are put
as A and rear wheels are put as B. So, you have to interpret this step; step and
appropriately to solve the problem.
Neglect the mass of all pulleys and wheels for simplicity, neglect frictional effects, so we
make our life simple, so do not bring in any friction here although there is friction
present in this problem it is very obvious and we neglected for the purpose of simplicity
it is a very interesting problem.
So, what is the kind of

motion this cart is
experiencing? Plane
motion is a very general
term among the plane
motion what is it that is
experiencing because the
simplest problem you have
taken it up it is essentially
having simple translation
nothing else ok. So, you
are moving away from a particle dynamic to rigid body dynamics starting with a simplest
aspect of translation fine ok.
699
Now, let us look at the other side of it this is very interesting ok. So, I would like you to
visualize how would you handle it in the context of dynamics. How will you handle it n
the context of statics and how will you handle it in the concept of dynamics. You have an
advantage see, if it is in a problem of statics you will simply say that I have a force
acting like this because it has been balanced by this force and I can also find out what is
the tension this is nothing but two times the Mg nothing is moving it is in a state of
statics when is say statics this motion is not there.
And in the case of dynamics I have this motion, you have to visualize what way I would
model what all nitty gritty details that you have to look at, that is why the animation is
put. You have to recognize you know this pulley is moving down with some acceleration
and what is the acceleration with which the mass is moving, is it one and the same? Is the
question clear you have to visualize all that you have to visualize when you analyze the
problem it is the problem in dynamics?
So, I have my right hand side non-zero I have to put the appropriate mass into
acceleration only then the equation of motion is complete, so need to know that
acceleration and what I have I can only say there is tension in the cable I cannot quantify
it as 2Mg like what I could do in statics that is number one.
And from the physics of the problem you know this cart is moving at the same string is
coming down. So, I can say that this has some acceleration, but what happens to this
mass you look at here how what happens to this mass what is the acceleration of the
mass.
So, it is 2a you have to recognize that see the problem is simple have taken a simple
problem and thread bare let us analyze it, so that you do not miss out any details. See my
anticipation is you do not memorize the solution understand the solution, so that you can
attack any problem logically. You can analyze what is happening to the problem
physically visualize what it is, then use your equations appropriately fine so that is the
idea behind it.
700
So, in a problem in dynamics I will have to handle this kind of a diagram, I have the
recognize things are moving, things are not static that you have to recognize and from a
kinematical understanding of the problem should be in a position to find out this, the
problem is so simple. So, I can directly write what is the quantity I do not have to do a
kinematical analysis to get this quantity.
Then when I analyze the

truck what is the access
that is easier for me it is
better that take it along the
inclined plane itself x and y
ok. So, here I write the
basic equations, so have
the mass acting on the
centroid of cart and I can
component because this angle of orientation is 30o. So, I can find out mass will
be acting downwards, so I can have the component here. So, that turns out to be 11.77
kN.
Then I have the other component that is acting like this. So, let us go and
complete what are all the forces that is acting on it and also complete what are all the
accelerations that is acting on it only then the problem is complete for you to write the
equation of motion. So, we have done for the centroid. Now when I go to this I will have
a tension acting on the string and I know the geometry it is not absolutely parallel, there
is a small inclinations of the order of 4o is there and we will also invoke as engineers I
will take the cos component sin0 is 0, so I will neglect the sin component.
So, I have component Tcosδ as the force acting there and I also have Tsinδ, but I would
say sin4o is so small, so I can make this as 0 for all my practical analysis and in addition
you also know from the physics of the problem the cart is moving up. So, the centroid
701
has an acceleration, since I have put this as x direction put this as and I put a bar to
indicate the convention that we are dealing with centroidal quantities. Now, what is the
statement in the problem? Cart will not over turn about the rear wheels. How do you
translate this into your expression?
This is the statement that you need to understand and translate it into your mathematics;
we have to look at the limiting condition. What should be the force interaction at B and
what should be the force interaction at A? You do not want the cart to tilt like this. So;
that means, what? In the limiting condition the mass should be identified such that, the
force interaction here is what that is 0 that is the limiting case you have to recognize this;
this is the meaning of the statement, the cart will not over turn about the rear wheels B.
So, if you interpret this then you have your diagram complete, then it is simple
mathematics no difficulty at all. The challenge in this problem comes at two places; one
is how do you handle the mass here, how do you find out the acceleration and how do
you put the force interaction between the ramp and the wheels. If you understand these
two this there is nothing more in this problem, it is fairly straight forward, is the idea
clear?
So, what we are writing is you know you have to recognize that this is what is
the difference between
statics and dynamics. I can
write down the x
components I have this;
this; this all written here
that is equal to mass is 2.4,
you have taken the 2.4 that
factor you have taken and
then I have put this as .

So, where T is in kN and
in m/s2 ok.
702
And neglecting the Tsinδ component I can also write moment about point B and moment
about point B is what? It is an arbitrary point. We know the recipe how to write the
moment about this equation is not it, you have this as like this because I have this
quantity, I can find out the moment about all of this. So, m a d so this is the distance d
and because this is the problem in translation you do not have the IGα component, that is
0 it is only a translation, so this reduces to mad.
So, I get this is the previous equation I have got, I have two simultaneous equations. I
can solve for the acceleration as well as the tension, I can solve for these two quantities
because I have a simultaneous set of equations and your tension in the

cable is 20.44 kN. The problem is not complete because we have to find out what is the
mass M. I have taken one reference axis for me to solve this, whatever you call it as car
or cart one and the same.
And have to analyze this

portion of the problem, I
already know what is the
acceleration here, I already
know what is the value of
tension here. From a
kinematics know what is
the mass of this what is the
mass of this is also shown.
So, we know that this is 2a and I write this; I write this as I have taken y as
positive downwards. So, I have this equation goes like this, we already know the
acceleration as 3.59 from the previous calculation, so this gives me the value of the mass.
Fairly straight forward it is a very simple problem, nevertheless you should go in stages
and understand what is the motion, how do you translate the conditions given in the
problem as mathematical entities and solve the problem.
703

problem, I would like you
to observe in fact, you
know in one of the earlier
classes have shown you an
animation of this. The
problems are similar, here I
have applied a moment
instead I have just put a
load here that was easier
for me to do it
experimentally, but from
the motion point of view it is one and the same. And you should recognize what happens
to this object, that is the reason why have given, if I give you a problem like this you are
left your imagination what happens to the object?
Now, I am giving you lot of aids, not only this I also giving going to give you some more
animations to aid you what is happening to this object and write down this problem
statement you have a homogenous rectangular plate of mass 30 kg, supported in the
vertical plane by the light parallel links shown. And you are given the value of the couple
that is applied and you are asked to find out the force supported by the pin at C as a plate
lifts off its support with θ=30o, this θ=30o this is what is I mentioned.
So, the problem statement is fairly straight forward. So, in dynamics you will have to
recognize what is the kind of motion the object has. I have given enough clue in the
animation; the animation gives you a very clear indication. What happens to this body,
does this body rotate? There is no rotation about the body fine and let me also give you
another way of looking at the whole problem ok.
I have this object moving look at this animation, the problem statement remains the
same. To aid your thinking you know I have put initial state is like this in green and
finally, it has gone to the position pink. You can see very well that this object has moved
704
like this, see my idea is that you appreciate the motion because of the way the object is
constructed.
Can you guess what is the kind of motion this plate is undergoing? Can you guess that it
is the first of all it is translation fine, is it a simple translation or is it a curvilinear
translation? See you will have to recognize if you want have given you the animation in
an examination, I do not think I can give you an animated question paper.
So, you will have to visualize based on your past experience and looking at problems,
read the problem statement and interpret what way the object has a motion. To aid your
thinking I have also done one more requirement, what I have done is see this is pin joint I
have a pin joint at C, D, B and A.
The moment it is pin joint you can replace it by if I have a Cartesian coordinate system I
can replace it by two forces because I do not know the direction of force I can replace it
by two forces or if I take tangential and normal coordinates I can replace it by two
component, that you should be able to understand. I have taken this problem specially
because it provides a bridge between statics and dynamics, the concepts that you learned
in statics you have to revive it fine.
So, any pin joint I can replace it like this and it also allows you rotation. So, what
happens to this point see these are parallel links, the links are parallel of same links,
when I have parallel links the clue is it has curvilinear translation. Suppose you find out
the instantaneous center of rotation for this, it will be at in ingenuity; that means what?
The object is having a translation.
Suppose I do not have an animated picture to aid your thinking what way would you
reason it out? You should first recognize that it is translation and then qualify what is the
kind of translation it undergoes. So, when I have a link like this t can only have a circular
motion like this, for this I will have a circular motion like this I will go in an arc and if I
have point D it will also go in an arc and you know very well we have discussed if the
velocity of two points are known in a rigid body, the complete story of rigid body is
known these two bodies have a curvilinear motion. So, the mass point also has a
curvilinear translation ok.
705
And we will do the FBD of the rectangular plate and we have already seen when I have a
curvilinear translation it is better that you look at the normal and tangential coordinates is
not it you have already
looked at that, we have
taken generic situation and
I said I have the curve put
the normal and tangential
coordinates. How do you
locate the normal and
tangential coordinate here?
The clue is that I have the
value of θ that decides me
how do I put that is at 30o.
So, I can have this to aid your thinking this is the curvilinear motion that you have.
So, it is tangential to that I have this; this is the most important step of the problem f you
understand that the mechanism that I have shown introduces curvilinear translation and
what is the axis you chose half of the problem is solved. So, you should not rush at this
stage, that is the most important step in this problem and I have this mass into
acceleration. Then rest all is very; very simple and you have to go back to your statics
and then see you have learnt about two-force member; you must invoke all of those that
is why the problem is so interesting and important.
So, how do I put the FBD of the link I have a pin joint, so you know this is at 30o, so am
taking the axis along and perpendicular to that. So, replace this pin joint by two forces
normal and tangential forces and similarly you have this and I have followed the
principle in statics I have already assumed this. Once I have assumed this is fixed ok.
Since I assume this what happens in the other link is also fixed and here at the end of it I
also apply a couple for me to lift, the only difference between the two is I have a force,
but this is the animation I have, this is good enough to understand what way the plate
will have a motion ok.
706
So, FBD of link CD is like this and you must be able to quickly use your earlier
knowledge. Do you see what I am arriving at, because we have simplified problems
involving pin joints by recognizing them as assembly of two and three force members
ok. In fact, I have also cleverly shown that only one force here that comes from the string
that this is the two-force member, the force has to be along the member because it is a
very linear member. So, this is the only way you can have a force for this, this can
remain in equilibrium.
Because this is not, this is attached at point C and attached at point D ok. So, I invoke
this then my problem becomes much simpler and its considered mass less there is all the
assumptions that we have made to make our life simple. Initially plate is at rest that is
also you have to look at, when the plate is at rest omega is 0 and normal acceleration is 0,
so one of the components
go to 0.
And I have this for link AB
gives I or in a
position to find out what is
the force .
Please check the
arithmetic, if there are any
differences bring it to my
attention and I have the sketch of the plate shown here for easy visualization. For
rectangular plate Ft = mat, that is what you have to write because this has a translation, I
have this and when you substitute the terms, I am in a position to get what is the
acceleration component at.
And =0 gives a long expression like this, so I have . So, I have
from the two-force member. So, we have been able to find out the force in the
point C we have been able to find out. So, the challenge in this problem was first
707
recognize that the plate has curvilinear translation, one easy way of looking at this is if
you have parallel links connected in variably it will be a curvilinear translation. Your
mini drafter is an example a mini drafter is an example where you have parallel links.
But you have to look at the problem visualize the motion and also chose appropriate
coordinate system that is very important, appropriate coordinate system is very important
and when I say this is a curvilinear translation the links at that position itself forms the
reference for you to write the coordinate system. These are all the learning that you have
from this interesting problem and this animation has really helped and beautifully you
are able to see that this
plate has no rotation about
itself.
There is another way

interesting problem see
packaging industry needs
lot of mechanics and so
you have a bottling plant,
the bottles are transported
in a cleated conveyor; that means, you have steps like this on the conveyor and then you
have these bottles are going. Determine the maximum acceleration which the belt may
have without tipping the bottles as it starts.
You have some geometric details of the bottles it is 70 mm and the CG is located at 80
mm from the bottom of the bottle and this is oriented at angle 20o and if increase the
acceleration. You will see in the animation that this acceleration vector becomes thicker
and bigger; that means, the acceleration is more.
So, when you are having this, see from production point of view what they want they
want to accelerate everything, they want to move it fast as possible. If you increase the
acceleration you have a danger you cannot increase beyond a certain limit that is the
essence of this problem. You cannot have any acceleration of your choice just to increase
708
your productivity you cannot simply increase the speed; functionality will be lost. So,
you should know what is the maximum acceleration.
Look at this; this is what the animation shows when the whole thing acceleration
increases the bottles do not remains straight, they tip off. You may want to fill something
in the bottle, so now bottles will not be ready to hold the fluid. So, it just to increase the
productivity do not blindly go and increase the speed, increase the acceleration that is the
essence of a, first you have to understand what is the essence of the problem.
You know in a book it does not show you that the bottles are tipped like this I have the
advantage to show you and visualize to aid your thinking when I increase the
acceleration. It is natural to expect that this will tip because the problem can be solved in
few steps if you understand it correctly and you have to go back to your tipping analysis.
In a problem dealing with friction we have looked at tipping, you have looked at the
resultant force is at one of the edges, that is the limiting case.
So, it is a very nice problem which is linking your statics and dynamics, you cannot
afford to forget the concepts learnt in statics once you step on to dynamics that is a
message ok. I think what I would suggest is why do not you think about solving this
problem will continue with the problem tomorrow ok.
So, in this lecture we have looked at a basic equation of kinetics of rigid bodies in plane
motion, that is the key point here you are actually graduating from particle analysis to
rigid bodies. And we have the simplest of motions the motion of the rigid body is in a
plane not only that you idealize situations where the bodies also can be considered as
planar.
So, you learned this from simple translation to rotation possibility and we have also
looked at like in statics, we have developed the equations in dynamics also where I can
find out the moment from any convenient point, so you have the complete freedom to
select the point at which you will take the moment. And you know how to write that
expression, whatever the quantity that go into the expression you should have got from
your kinematical analysis.
709
From the kinematical analysis you are expected to provide the absolute acceleration in
those equations please remember that; the accelerations measured from an inertial frame
of reference.
Thank you.
710
Prof. K. Ramesh
Module – 02
Dynamics
Lecture – 14
Kinetics III
Let us continue with the

discussion on Kinetics.
In the last classed, we have

understood what is the
requirement of this
problem, we will have to
find out, what is the
maximum acceleration that can be tolerated by the system. So, that these bottles do not
tip.
And, so the question is to

find out the maximum
acceleration and we need
to put the free body
diagram of the bottle and
we have to investigate for
tipping. And we have
learnt in statics, how to
investigate for tipping and
it is easier to take the
coordinate axis parallel to the conveyor belt and perpendicular to that. And, in this case it
711
is a self weight of the bottle, that contributes to tipping and it is given in the problem,
where the CG is located, it
is about 80 mm from the
bottom of the bottle. So, it
is put approximately here
and you have the weight
acting on this, mgcos20o
and mgsin20o we can put it
like this and you also have
the acceleration of the mass
point.
And this is where you have to investigate, for tipping to be prevented the resultant force
should be within the bottle. So, the limiting case is you put it at the edge, we have
already seen that it is going to tip like this, that is what we are anticipating it. Since, this
diagram is complete you
are in a position to write
the appropriate equations
and it is desirable that we
do it at point A and this is
nothing but, an arbitrary
point b ok. So, you are
going to invoke this
equation, summation of
All the parameters that is required are given and this is the problem where the, you know
there is no rotation. So, IGα is 0. So, you write and write what is the value of
MA. So, you will have a contributing force from this and you will also have this force
contributing to this moment.
712
So, that is all the problem is solved, I have = . So,

that gives me the limiting value of acceleration, as 0.67 m/s2. Say it is a very nice
problem; it is a very practical problem where you have the packaging industry, when
they want to fill some liquid. If they want to increase productivity, you have to apply
mechanics and find out what is the maximum acceleration that the system can tolerate.
Otherwise, the functionality would be lost and it is a nice problem which brings in your
understanding of how to analyze, whether tipping will take place or not and this is also
an arbitrary point, in order
to remove your mental
block, I can have any point
labeled with any symbol.
In the discussion, when we
develop the equations, we
call the arbitrary point as P,
the point P can be a in this
context. So, you should be
able to apply these
equations comfortably,
when the labels are also
changed.
Then we move on to another simple problem, I have a wheel of weight 50 kg and

diameter 500 mm rolls without slipping, that is a very important statement, on an
inclined plane at 45o, the wheel has a centroidal radius of gyration of 200 mm.
See I have coin the problem such a way that, I do not wanted you to spend time on
calculating the mass moment of inertia, I directly give you the radius of gyration; so,
focus is on learning dynamics; not on calculating the mass moment of inertia and get
stuck. If friction is sufficient to prevent slipping, compute the frictional force f, acting on
the wheel during its downhill roll.
713
Also compute the minimum coefficient of static friction to prevent slipping and this is
fairly straight forward problem and you know rolling is general plane motion fine.
And the moment you look at rolling, you are expected to remember the kinematical
conditions that you have
learnt earlier. You know
you need to remember
certain quantities, it is
unavoidable and rolling is
such a common
phenomena that you will
come across in many
applications, you are
expected to remember the
relationship between the
mass point velocity and angular velocity, as well as mass point acceleration and angular
acceleration, you are expected to remember these quantities and it says wheel rolls
without slipping, when it rolls without slipping, these quantities we have learnt earlier,
you are expected to remember and use it.
If you do not remember derive and use it and we have the important relation that .
And when I have the axis as x and y, I could also label this as ax and here you know from
the physics of the problem, that C is the instantaneous centre of rotation.
So, I can apply centre of rotation as the point for me to do all the computations and make
my life fairly simple. And you are given the weight of the disc and at C you will have an
interaction of normal force and the frictional force will oppose the rolling motion. So, I
have this as the frictional force, I label it has f. So, the diagram is complete including the
rotation as well as linear translation acceleration components.
So, it is ready to be solved. So, identify the governing equation, we have , that
is what we are going to use for this problem and this becomes point C here. So, I rewrite
714
the expression as and you have to use the parallel axis theorem to get the value
of IC, you are given IG and then you can find out this ok.
So, I have this expression satisfied. So, I am in a position to get, what is the value of
angular acceleration from
this. So, the first step is I
am in a position to get the
angular acceleration and
you have utilized the
kinematical relationship,
for a wheel that rolls
without slipping. So, you
are expected to remember
these quantities, while
solving problems.
And next equation I can write and we have already seen and
. So, you
have the basic equation
returns very straight
forward, please check the
arithmetic and this gives
me what is the frictional
force, that is acting on the
wheel so that it rolls
without slipping. So, it
makes your life lot simpler,
if the wheel rolls without
slipping, you have the kinematical conditions and you are in a position to invoke those
interrelationships and solve for this problem.
715
See the question also ask, what is the minimum value of coefficient of friction that you
need to have, I can also write the other equation . So, that gives me, what is
the value of normal force and I know what is the value of frictional force that is required;
so, it gives me, I should have a frictional coefficient of 0.39 is required; so that the
wheel, rolls without slipping.
So, friction aids friction is needed in many applications, when friction is significant and
its role cannot be ignored as engineers we bring in, until then we solve problems without
friction, that is how engineers make the problem solvable ok, you get the first hand
solution may be apply a factor of safety and then design criteria to do you a design rather
than complicate your problems with all aspects of the physical system ok.
Then we move on to a very interesting problem, see I want to give you the feeling
whatever the knowledge that you learn in this course is of use somewhere that we have
come across recently and it is very interesting to see our Mars mission was a success
because, we had being able
to do this in our first
attempt, very first attempt
and. In fact, the NASA
probe that was a revolving
around Mars welcomed
this Mangalyan, they sent a
message.
So, that is the proof that is

somebody watching there,
that you have reached Mars
ok. So, the problem here is see the satellite is an orbit like this and if it has to go to Mars
it has to take another orbit and what is to be done is you will be surprised that when you
reduce the velocity, it shifts to the other orbit and there are various steps you know you
716
have the blue line, you have the black line, you have the orange line, you have the green
line, you have a slightly this kind of a indigo color ok.
So, you have definitions

for all these stages of the
craft. So, they have to align
the satellite and then fire it,
when communication is not
possible from earth that is
what is shown as a black
strip and once you reduce
the velocity, it gets locked
into the Martian Orbit.
So, it all involves quite a bit of mechanics calculations fine and so this is the spice to the
problem. So, I have a
satellite which is spinning.
And we are going to look

at, when there is an
onboard thruster, which
reduces it is velocity
because, it is moving in
this direction, when I fire
it, I am applying a force
this way. So, I try to reduce the velocity of the satellite then, it is in a position to shift the
orbit. So, that is the physics behind it.
So, the problem statement is like this. So, let us also feel we will solve a simple problem,
we also take credit that we have also done something to do with Mangalyan. So, to lock
717
into the orbit around mars, the velocity of the satellite needs to be reduced, this is
achieved by firing an on-board motor controlled from earth, which has a thrust of 450 N.
At the time of firing the motor, the satellite is travelling with velocity of 4000 m/s, in the
Y direction and spins with an angular velocity 5 radians per second, the mass of satellite
is 400 kg and it is radius of gyration about Z axis is 900 mm, the axis are shown already
in the problem, I have axis X Y Z attached to the satellite and you are also shown a point
a, which needs to be located the thrust motor and the point A are on the rim of the
satellite as shown in the figure and it is at 1.5 meter from the spin axis.
So, you are given all the

particulars, you know this
is very nice problem it
brings in your basic
understanding of how do
you write the velocity
equation relative velocity
or relative acceleration
equation, from one point
on a rigid body to the other
point on a rigid body. If
you are attaching a non-
rotating translating axis, you will see the other point, as if it goes in a circular motion.
So, all those memories we have to bring in back and then handle this problem. So, the
parameters are given which are very clear and simple.
And you have to recognize that the satellite is spinning, as well as having a linear motion
and originally it is travelling with a velocity V0 in the y direction. So, it is spinning
counter clockwise and this is the angular velocity and you have the thrust motor attached
here. So, when it is started, it is going to create a thrust and that needs to be put and it is
labeled as O that is nothing but, the mass point. See we had specific annotation while we
developed the theory; we have always referred the mass point as g, fixed point as O and
718
arbitrary point as P. So, you must come out of that symbolism and learn to apply the
correct equation to the symbols given in the problem, it may appear trivial here but,
people get confused when they write the examination.
So, I have this and I have the onboard thrust motor introduces a thrust, that values also
given in the problem. So, it has an angular motion, as well as a linear motion. Let us look
at each of these. So, when I have this; obviously, this is going to create a deceleration
like this ok, it will also reduce the velocity, it will also reduce the spin speed and you are
given what is the acceleration a0 ok, angular motion we look at, I have , this is
the mass point of a satellite and you are given the radius of gyration, I can easily write
what is MG, only this force
introduces that moment
and I have , I have

all the parameters given.
So, when I substitute, I am

in a position to get the
angular acceleration or
deceleration whichever
way you want to call it, this
is 2.08 rad/s2. Now, let us
look at the linear motion, I
have and we are given the coordinate axis with respect to the coordinate axis, I
can also put the sign of the quantities and all these quantities are given F and m are
known. So, I can find out a0 and a0 as 1.125 m/s2. The idea is what is the values for the
point a, that is what is asked. So, here this is the rigid body, which has a general plane
motion, I sit on this body, I know this absolute acceleration, I need to find out what is the
acceleration of point a.
719
So, go back to your kinematical relationships and write down the relative acceleration
and you should be in a position to write what is the acceleration of A with respect to O,
relative acceleration equation and this is nothing but, it is rotating and we know the
direction of ω and α.
So, it is easy for you to write this component, from the previous calculation we have got
this a0 and you also assign the sign appropriately. So, we know a0, what is acceleration
of A with respect to O, I have the tangential component dictated by the direction of α and
I have this normal component. So, I have this normal component is
and tangential component is . So, I have

these quantities; so, it is
easy for you to calculate,
what is acceleration aA.
I have the value as
.
Second a very interesting
problem, you try to use,
whatever you have learnt in
kinematics and you have
learnt to apply it and you
have got the values that is asked in the problem.
Now, there is a rage everybody is looking at the internet and then whatever that comes in
the internet, whether it is right or wrong, you jump on to it and then do it and I thank my
students, who have collected these details and you know it is very dangerous, you cannot
simply open your car door and then dance and somebody films it on a public road and it
tells you the history of development, it appears the cars started moving somewhere
amidst the internet noise.
720
Initially, the proponent has not asked the car to move and what is the mechanics part of
it? We are interested only in the mechanics part of it, what happens to this poor door ok,
that is what we need to analyze fine.
And before me move on let us also see, how Indians have modified it and it became a
real challenge to the Indian police. So, the advice is please do not do any of these
challenges, fine it is all
going to hurt you and my
focus is on what happens to
this door from mechanics
point of view. So, you have
warning from Bengaluru
city police, Jaipur city
police and so on and so
forth ok. The idea is not to
do this but, look at what is
the mechanics behind the
problem.
So, this is what you have, it

is not exactly the same
problem, please write down
the problem in advertently
the door is kept open and it
is decelerating and what
happens to that door, it is a
very nice problem, you
take any book on
mechanics, they would
have a car with a door opening. So, in the current context I thought that I can spice it up
721
by bringing a Kiki challenge ok. Do not do any of those challenges publicly circulated in
internet, many of them are injurious to you ok.
So, you are given the weight of the car door and you have very nice animation which
gives you complete visualization of what is happening so that you can understand the
problem statement better and look at the strategy to solve the problem. And we have to
compute the reaction forces at the hinge of the 36 kg car door, when θ=45o, the car
decelerates at a constant
rate of 3 m/s2.
The radius of gyration k0,

at the vertical axis of
rotation, you are given only
at the axis of rotation, this
is the axis of rotation, you
are given only k0 is given
as 500 mm and the mass
center is 400 mm from

the vertical axis of rotation.
You are given all the particulars of it and let us go and look at how do we handle this
problem.

motion little
systematically, I could
think of this as linear
motion, then followed by a
rotation or I can think of
rotation first and then the
linear motion and reality
both of it happen together,
that is what happens I have rotation as well as linear motion takes place, that is what we
722
call it as general plane motion. So, you have a reasonable appreciation of what is
happening to the door and you should also recognize to start with how the door was,
what was it is angular velocity.
All that is hidden in the problem fine, that is what you have to look at, that is why I have
put this animation, you have a very important clue, it starts from rest. So, the ω is 0, it is
starts from 0 angular velocity and it acquires a finite value of ω, when it reaches 45o, you
should recognize all that.
Only when you recognize
all that, you will be able to
use the appropriate
equations to handle it.
So, the door acquires

angular velocity and opens
up as the car has a
retardation. So, that is the
first observation, that we make out of it, door thus has angular velocity as well as angular
acceleration and this is what is shown, you know I have a door which is very nicely
shaped fine. But, as the engineers when you want to do an analysis, you simply take it as
a rectangular unit and I have a radius of gyration, if once I have the radius of gyration do
not need any of it is shape fine.
How we model the practical problem into a solvable problem. So, I have this as the
rotation about which it takes place and you have to investigate what is this point, I have
labeled this as O. We solve point O as a fixed point, you have to ask yourself is it
behaving like a fixed point or something else, fine just because the problem statement
says it is O, do not conclude anything out of it, you must investigate what is the motion.
So, I have this door, I have this angular acceleration, I have the location of the mass
point, the distance is also given. So, you have to recognize the whole door has rectilinear
deceleration. So, the point O is not fixed, it is having an acceleration. In this case it is
deceleration because, we know the direction of the acceleration, it is coming to a stop.
723
So, you have to treat this as point p in our calculations and what I have. So, I have the
acceleration shown here, which is a deceleration from this problem context, the door is in
general plane motion, that is what you have to recognize you have to recognize it is in
general plane motion. And once you draw the neat sketch and put the quantities
arithmetic is fairly simple, there is no difficulty at all in arithmetic.
So, I have hinge. So, when

I have a hinge, what is the
way I will do it? I will
assume two components
because, I do not know the
direction of the force
represent it as component
at the x direction and
component at the y
direction and an unknown
force can be taken in any
way, the general recommendation is; take it along the positive coordinate axis.
My mathematics will come and tell me whether this is right or wrong, all those principles
you learnt in statics are equally valid in dynamics, there is no alteration here. And we
have already looked at how to write this relative acceleration equation for a rigid body.
And I have what are all the components of force that act at mass point, I have ma like
this and then I have a normal component, and a tangential component, like
this. So, my diagram is complete. So, it is easy for me to write all the quantities that I
require.
So, taking moment about O, you have already seen, that is actually arbitrary point P in
our theoretical development, you should not lose track of it, that is very important, you
should recognize that the point is not fixed in space, even though labeled as O, it is
having a acceleration or deceleration whichever way you look at it. So, I have; you are
given .
724
So, this is a hinge. So, it has to go to 0. So, I have ,

you should recognize that the point O is in reality point P, it is not O in our theoretical
development. So, labels can be misleading in a problem and you cannot put restriction on
a person who is coining the problem to use your symbols to label it.
And we have already

discussed, the doors start
from rest. So, it has a ω is
0 to start with, it acquires
angular velocity because,
of the motion and this
expression you have learnt
long back in your particle
dynamics. So, you are
using that here. So, =
, α we have got the expression from the previous step. And then when you do this, I
get and
, you have to get the

calculation.
So, I have this and finally, I

get the value of ω as 2.86
rad/s, is it idea clear? It is a
very interesting problem
and it is quite dangerous;
you should not have any
door open in a car while it
725
is moving. In fact, the modern cars have sensors, if any one of the doors is not locked, it
gives you a beep or it gives you some visual indicator. So, you must attend to it, it can
cause accidents ok, you should not drive the car with lose doors.
Then I go to and you can easily write this expression, if the diagram is
complete, writing this is straight forward, it is not difficult all the quantities are put, you
have the angle θ. So, I put the appropriate cos and sin θ components and you substitute
the relevant quantities and for , I get ROx is like this and I get the value of ROx as
negative, that is perfectly alright, I have assumed it in a particular direction, the
mathematics can come back and tell me whether my assumed direction is right or wrong.
So, you can start your

problem with this and bank
on your mathematics to
assist absolutely no
problem. So, I have
determined the value of
ROx.
Then I need to get ROy, ROy

is given like this and
substitute the relevant quantities for , I get ROy = 7.19 N. So, it is a very interesting
problem, you take any book on engineering mechanics, they would have a problem with
car door opening, whichever way moves in the left or right or it is a very interesting
problem. And you have to recognize that the door is in general plane motion, apply the
appropriate equations, it brings in your knowledge of statics, it brings in your knowledge
of kinematics, which we have learnt all that have to be used systematically to arrive at
the final answer. And when you are designing the door hinges, you need to take care of
these forces so that it last long.
726
So, in this class you know we have solved a variety of problems in kinetics. In fact, if
you look at the problems that we have solved, we have solved problems with translation,
curvilinear translation, fixed axis rotation, mass point rotation, as well as general plane
motion. So, you have a variety and the focus was on how to visualize the problem
situation and how to use the equations you have learnt appropriately.
The training was also given we have learnt it with certain symbolism, the problem may
be given with some other symbolism use your symbols appropriately and do not do it in
a rush because, your symbol and the problem symbol are identical, the problem symbol
denotes what you have used in theoretical development, it need not be.
Thank you.
727
Prof. K. Ramesh
Module – 02
Dynamics
Lecture – 15
3D Kinematics I
See you will have to

appreciate everything is in
three dimensions in the
real world. So, we cannot
stay away from solving 3D
problems. So, we get
certain glimpses of aspects
related to 3D kinematics.
See one of the important concepts that you need to focus is to appreciate what happens to
finite rotations. Let us take
the example of a block and
let me rotate it in two
different ways fine. I will
give two sets of rotations.
So, in the first case I
rotated about y axis. So,
when I rotated it takes a
shape like this, to aid your
visualization the sides are
colored fine, then I gave
another rotation about x axis. So, I first do the rotation about y axis, then I do the rotation
about x axis.
728
So, whatever is the original object here finally, it takes a shape like this these are like
finite rotations ok. The next step what I am going to do is let me reverse this rotation and
see what happens. I have the same object here, now I rotate it first in x and what we need
to get is, even though I change the rotation you may want the final answer to be identical
let us see what happens.
So, I changed the rotation sequence, I find that this makes an influence which you can
easily verify, you can take your book and then rotate it this way because it is rectangle.
So, it is easy for you to see the sides and what you find here is when I have finite
rotations they cannot be labeled as vectors, they do not qualify to become labeled as
vectors. So, the final positions are different and commutative law is not satisfied. So,
they are not vectors.
And let us look at

infinitesimal rotations I
have a three-dimensional
body and I have an axis AA
and I try to give an
infinitesimal rotation. See
for the purpose of
illustration even this
infinitesimal rotation is
shown sufficiently big for
visualization. So, take it which a pinch of salt in visualizing this and make a neat sketch
of this and this sketch will be repeated several times so, that you will have opportunity to
fill in the gaps.
And what you need to look at is I can look at the triangle BPO this is at an angle θ which
is what is the orientation of the axis AA. And, I have the line BP and the point P has
shifted to a point P’ located at a distance Δr and this angle is given as Δϕ and we have
just taken rigid body undergoes rotation Δϕ. So, you would see this being repeated at the
subsequent slides. So, you can fill in the gaps.
729
And, this is what is mentioned consider a rigid body with point P which as a position
vector of r from the
reference x y z axis have x
y z axis have the position
vector r. Let the body
undergoes an infinitesimal
rotation by an angle of Δϕ
about axis AA and you
have the triangle BPO and
the point P moves to P’.
And, the arithmetic we are
going to do is very simple,
we all know how to find
out the incremental change, express it in the mathematics and try to figure out whether
we can argue that Δϕ can be labeled as a vector.
So, I am going to look at

the other triangle BPP’.
So, this is separated by
angle Δϕ and this is Δr; so,
which can be written the
magnitude as .
So, rΔϕ would be the
distance of this and the
distance is BP and I can
get BP from the other triangle, I can get BP from other triangle we have the inter
relationship.
So, this is BP is nothing, but rsinθ. So, this expression finally, reduces to this. I have
. See from your knowledge of vector algebra can I rewrite this expression in
730
the form that we are accustomed to and for that I need to make one small assumption to
start with.
Let me consider also as a vector. If is considered as a vector having a direction

along the axis of rotation,
then the expression can be
rewritten conveniently as
. So now what
will have to do is we will
have to disprove
cannot be assumed as a
vector if I am not able to
disprove then finally, I will
say that this is a vector that
is the way we are going to develop the line of argument.
As , the relation becomes more exact and what you need to keep in mind is if you
have a physical quantity that has a magnitude and direction; you cannot label that as a
vector it should also satisfy the commutative law, only if satisfies the commutative law
you can label that quantity as a vector. For me to do that I should not stop with one
infinitesimal rotation I should also give another infinitesimal rotation and see what
happens to the body.
So, that whichever way I do the rotation I must get one unique answer that is a meaning
of your commutative law, but this animation is meant for one angle of rotation I am not
simulated it for two angles.
731
So, here I am going to give two arbitrary small, but finite rotations represented by
vectors and you should still treat as an infinitesimal rotation only. For the first
rotation by the displacement for point P is from the strength of what we discussed
earlier you can write it as
Suppose I give a second

successive rotation
and we
already know how to write
is related like
this. So, is now
. Now I do the cross product and the knock off term that are very small, then I get an
expression what is that I have to do.
So, I have to now look at

what is the summation of
. We know Δr1
independently will we
have written down in terms
of . So, the expression

turns out to be like this and
this is fairly simple to
732
simplify and I get this I write the products and this is product of very small quantities.
So, I take this to 0. So, I get a very interesting answer when the rotations are very small
in the limit, it goes to 0. So, I have this as .
Even from the appearance

of the equation you would
find that the order does not
matter. So, it satisfies the
commutative law. So, our
original assumption Δϕ can
be treated as a vector stays
now and you have an
important understanding
that infinitesimal rotations
are vectors which is a very
useful information when we handle 3D kinematics. So, Δdϕ can be accepted as a vector.
Infinitesimal rotations do
obey the parallelogram law
of vector addition. So, I
can simply write if I have
and , I can add

this angular velocity,
; I can do the
vectorial summation.
See in the earlier chapter

we always had the rotation
perpendicular to the plane of motion. We had α and ω both are parallel; in this chapter
we will relax all of those requirements it can be in space; ω can change direction as well
as magnitude.
733
And many of the discussions on translation curvilinear translation is simply going from
two dimension to three dimensions; it does not make much of a difference in those
calculations. So, we have increasing attention upon problems will call for the analysis of
motion in three dimensions, you cannot stay away from it and I have a frame of reference
and I have some three-dimensional object. And I can also have a point B point A located
like this. I can have the position vectors. And once you come to three dimensions; you
know earlier have all base being saying try to visualize here you have to bank on your
vectorial analysis.
So, what all the visualization training that you had for 2 dimensions, can assist you in
some way ok, but you have to bank on the power of vector analysis because you are
going to handle things in three dimensions. So, I have it is all very simple and
straight forward now each
of this will have three
components instead of two
components, that is only
difference and I have
simple translation I have
VA and VB.
When I have translation

parallel straight lines if
motion if motion is rectilinear. So, I can have the situation that and . So,
then the motion is rectilinear translation.
We have looked at rectilinear translation; we have also looked at curvilinear translation

in planar objects. So, you can also have a curvilinear translation for a three-dimensional
object. So, I will have curved translation congruent curves if the motion is one of
curvilinear translation and to an extent, I have drawn these lines it is all free hand sketch.
734
So, electronically I was not able to put it so, perfectly; so, visualize that it is congruent
curves ok. The body as such does not rotate about itself; it has a curvilinear translation.
And right from your

circular motion we were
looking at fixed axis
rotation. Fixed axis
rotation is possible in three
dimensional problems as
well and look at what way
we are getting it. I have an
axis of rotation which is
label like this, I can find
out the velocity as well as acceleration and the body is rotating about this axis, the axis
nm. So, I have this rotating about this axis and when I take a point A on the object, if you
visualize what way this will have the motion, it can have a rotation in this the position
vector is shown and I have always use the position vector in green color maintain that.
So, this is how the point will have the motion.
So, here you say the position vector like this, when the origin of coordinate system you
are looking at the position vector, but this also I can look at as summation of two other
vectors. And like what you have learnt in your simple circular motion, here again
and that will be tangential to the path v is , and I could identify the vector
r as consisting of vector h along the axis of rotation and this radius b.
So, when I substitute on this what happens? , , but it finally, reduces
to simply because the first term goes to 0 and you have to appreciate how we define
the position vector r. I mean some of these simplifications can help you in solving
problems; you are not getting any different result when I take or its one and the
same, but you recognize that this is what happens to this. So, similar to velocity whatever
735
we have learnt in circular motion for acceleration we could invoke and look at, what
happens to the three-dimensional body.
So, we move on to
acceleration, and I have
this as let us put as α

and I have the point A, and
you have the tangential
acceleration and normal
acceleration to that again
borrowed from your simple
circular motion. So, I have
this component normal component as , that we know from the earlier discussion
on r and b, we can write this as simply as and I have a tangential component that is
So, whatever you have

learnt on circular motion,
in various forms it shows
up in the complete
discussion of dynamics.
So, you should be able to
use them depending on the
context comfortably that is
very important. You are
not learning any new
equations only you
understand how to use
these appropriately in your problem solving.
736
And I have the resultant acceleration is like this, I have the normal and tangential
components; so, I can visualize this. So, it is fairly straight forward what you have to
recognize is each of these vectors will have three components instead of two components
in 2 dimensions.
And we have also looked at planar motion, you can have something similar to that in
three dimensional problems as well. I have taken a very generic three-dimensional body,
there is no symmetry along the z axis ok. So, it is very arbitrary. So, I could have some
reference plane which is usually the mass point plane. So, I have the axis labeled as XY
and Z. It is a simplified motion of the three-dimensional body in this what we are really
looking at is whatever the motion happens on the central plane, a similar motion takes
place on all the parallel planes ok.
So, you are taking baby steps, you are not bringing in all the complicities of three-
dimensional motion. So, whatever you have learnt in kinematic relations for planar
motion, you can invoke here provided you have parallel plane motion from kinematics
point of view. But if you go to kinetics point of view because I do not have access is
about the z axis it is not symmetric; the moment equations will be much more complex.
It will have products of inertia, will have Iyz and Ixz components, kinetics will be little
difficult, but kinematics will be very similar to what we have learnt in the previous
chapter. So, whatever happens to this plane happens to the other plane also. This is the
simplified visualization of motion; in some practical problems you could look at this
idealization and solve your problem.
So, when all points in a rigid body move in planes which are parallel to a fixed plane P;
the plane is defined by the like this; what we have studied in plane motion of rigid body
is earlier would apply here. The reference plane is customarily taken through the mass
point G. So, these are all handmade sketches. So, you have to visualize that there are
difficulties in doing them, but gives we have perspective that we are dealing with a three-
dimensional object which is generic in nature ok. And I have this as a mass point G that
is what is located.
737
And I suppose when you are kids you had opportunity to play this single top ok. And
please observe this motion
very closely and
particularly the face where
you have a motion like this
it is wobbling ok. And you
have a very special kind of
motion here you know you
have a nail at the bottom of
this top. So, it is rotating
about a point and what you
find here is the top is
rotating about its axis not
in this phase in the later phase, when it is about to collapse the axis also has a motion that
is called a precision motion fine. But at on the same time you will have that the whole
thing rotates about the point momentarily see it is a dynamic problem here and whenever
we study the problem, we do not look at the transience, we look at the study state
condition and look at it
fine.
And, in this you have a

very complicated motion to
start with and the complete
motion analysis we are not
doing it, we are
recognizing as a situation
where it is rotating about
its axis and it is also
having a precision fine.
And, you have this kind of motion you know is known as rotation about fixed point; this
is what is different when you come to 3D kinematics, you have to recognize fixed point
rotation what are its characteristics so, on and so forth.
738
And you know you have a table fan, your table fan has this kind of a motion; I have the
an blade which is rotating at a very high speed, and you can set the back portion
appropriate, there is a knob that you can put it and appropriate position and it also has a
slow motion in the other axis and this is called precision ok.
And suppose you have a different arrangement where in I have this as a transparent
object with lot of particles inside which are easily floating, when I rotate this with ω1 and
when I rotate this with ω2; you would see that this particles get aligned they do not
move; it is a visual representation that the axis of rotation is different ok. Make a neat
sketch of this diagram also will again and again that is why I am also little slow in
explanation.
So, I have a shaft for you to visualize can have these two motions I just put the table fan.
You know when you see a table fan you never recognize that these motions it has, you
take it for granted, it should blow air to your face you should feel comfortable you do not
think anything beyond that ok.
This is not exact reproduction of this; this is another way of looking at the whole thing to
appreciate what happens to the rotation axis physically. We have already learnt when I
have ω1 and ω2; how to find out the ω of the system? I can have a vector addition simply
write this as . I can have this as and that would appear as a line like this
with angular velocity ω.
So, what the discussion is if you take any point on this axis, it will have 0 velocity. It will
have one velocity component from ω1, another velocity of component from ω2 they
cancel each other. So, along this axis momentarily the velocity is 0. So, this adds like
instantaneous axis of rotation and this rotates about the fixed-point O ok. And if you take
any other arbitrary point suppose I have this cylinder filled with particles which are in
some color maybe I have put this as a black line I can consider all of these points as a
black particle. And if suppose this cylinder is at transparent when I take a snapshot of a
dynamic event, I would find the particles will be focused along these lines indicating
momentarily they are not moving.
739
For any other general point because the point is moving; you will not be able to focus it
properly. So, you will have smear of that. So, this is an indication indeed you can
observe an axis of instantaneous axis of rotation like this when I have motions like this
have ω2 on this and ω1 on this. You know in all other problems in 2 dimensions we have
never had a situation the axis of rotation itself changes in three dimension the angular
velocity vector no longer remains fixed in direction and this change calls for a more
general concept of rotation. This is what makes three-dimensional motion little more
complicated, but if you understand the integrity details it is not that difficult to handle, it
is quite simple if you follow a systematic procedure.
So, what you find here is, you can expect an instantaneous axis of rotation now the
question is suppose visualize what happens to this instantaneous axis of rotation when it
has a complete motion.
And that is what is

depicted in the next slide;
you have a concept of body
and space cones. So, I have
this axis like this. So, this
is the axis of instantaneous
axis of rotation, all
particles in the body are
momentarily rotating in circular axis about instantaneous axis of rotation fine. So, this is
all particles are rotating about this axis.
And if you look at this the rotation axis would change position both in space and relative
to the body. So, you have what is known as a space cone and what is known as a body
cone for this. And we have taken a situation where the angular velocity remains constant
fine, I have taken a situation.
740
See in the top what you saw? The angular velocity was changing it is a much more
complex dynamics which you saw the top analysis is not simple ok. And now you can
visualize that this axis on the body it will move like this and this body cone will roll on
this space cone. And in this
case, they are simple cones
like this rotation axis in
general not a line fixed in
the body. So, this is the
fixed point of rotation.
So, the relative to the body

instantaneous axis of
rotation generates a cone
called body cone. So, I
have a body cone, now I am looking of a situation where the angular velocity does not
remain constant, we had a situation angular velocity remained constant. Suppose I allow
angular velocity to change
its magnitude as well as
direction fine. I would in
general have an arbitrary
cone like this and I would
have instantaneous axis of
rotation generates a space
cone that would be another
arbitrary cone like this; the
only requirement is that
this will roll over on that
ok.
So, if I look at this as defining the angular velocity, you can see that the magnitude and
directions are changing ok. And, you will have the acceleration tangential to this, and we
will have to see how to get this how to get this? We would look at a simple case
741
where there is no angular acceleration; we would also look at a case where there is
angular acceleration. So, you have a small simple recipe when the situation is simple and
how to handle it in a generic sense.
In all the cases whether I have a simple motion or complicated motion, body cone rolls
over the space cone this is how it happens. And I have a very simple situation here where
the angular velocity remains constant, then I have the cones that we saw earlier ok. The
body cone and space cones
are simple, they are space
cones are right circular this
happens because of
simplicity in the motion, in
a generic sense it can have
a complicated situation like
this ok.
So, it is also very

interesting to note you
know in schools you learn you have the earth which is tilted and it is rotating, and this tilt
only causes seasonal change you do not give a dam to it so, it all school portion you have
to afford to forget it ok.
And you also have a plane

about which this moves
around the sun and what
you have to look at is, you
have a equinoxes March
21st and September 23rd,
they do not remain same
what you will have to look
at is, like we have looked
at a precision on the top; the earth also has a precision.
742
See these are all animations artificially made.
So, certain aspects are

brought out clearly, certain
aspects are not brought out
you have to understand
that is not that as if the
earth rotation is fully
captured.
And you can go to this site and then get more details on the comments ok.
743
Nevertheless, this is a very interesting information, it provides you certain basic

explanation of the complicated motion. Here what is shown is this axis has a precision.
See in the top you saw that
it is revolving very fast; do
you know how long that
this takes to make a one
full circle? A mind-
boggling figure it is a very
slow phenomena it takes
about 26000 years the
precision takes 26000 years
to do and this results in
shifting of equinoxes.
And this is shown as the zodiacal sign that also I had I think have another slide which
explains this is how you will perceive your cosmos around you. So, the equinoxes shift it
is a very subtle phenomena
it takes about 26000 years;
that means, how many
generations should have
observed it to calculate this
fine. So, it is a very mind-
boggling observation.
And you also have this,

this is 2000 BC and we are
in 2000 AD ok. So, it is
like this if you look at the top view it is like this. So, it will keep changing all this is very
complicated fine this takes about 26000 years. Let us go back to history what way people
have struggled to understand this.
744
You know reforms of European astronomy began in 15th century, making a calendar is
not simple. You saw our
academic calendar it has
gone through a lot of
revisions in this semester
and making an actual
calendar it is not that
simple task, we take them
for granted we normally
take them for granted. And
Spring Equinox is used to
fix the date of Easter which
is 10 days off of the calendar occurring on the 11th of March instead of 21st implemented
by Julius Caser in 44 BC.
So, whatever the calendar that was generated by Julius Caser you cannot use it; you have
to keep changing it fine only that is correct fine. So, there was a shift of 10 days this is
what I discussed as a shifting of equinox. And you know there were lot of discussions on
how to locate the errors, they had only the calculation by Ptolemy; I said Ptolemy
believed in geocentric theory and he gave a complicated explanation of retrograde
motion of planets and you know human mind wants complex explanation not simple
ones ok. And Copernicus had the idea of heliocentric theory not interested in new
astronomical observations knew that his new theory would upset people in authority and
kept relatively quiet.
This was the kind of environment in the western world and we have already seen that
shifting of equinoxes happens, naturally people looked at cosmology and then only got
inspiration and he took 26000 years for one full rotation.
745
And if we go back to our history, you will be surprised much before Newton came in
1700 and then explained many of these concepts, you had record of Shifting of
Equinoxes by Vrahamihira way back in 500 AD. How they have done it? Only god
knows you have to give
definitely give credit to the
Indian aspect of science,
we do not know the
methodology that they
have followed, but they
have definitely made very
significant contributions in
understanding.
So, let us come back to this angular acceleration. So, in the case of rotation in a single
plane the scalar α measures only the change in magnitude of the angular velocity this is
what you had learnt in your 2-dimensional kinematics. We have never looked at that ω
changes its direction; we have seen example of fixed-point rotation where ω changes its
direction ok. In 3D motion
vector α reflects the change
in direction of ω as well as
its change in magnitude.
So, it is better to visualize

the body cone and space
cone. So, this illustrates the
change in direction of ω as
well as its magnitude, and
the tangent to that gives
you the value of α. In a generic case, both magnitude and direction of ω changes, I have
given an example for that. The angular acceleration represents the velocity tip of angular
velocity ω, it becomes tangent to space cone ok.
746
So, make sketch or complete the sketch that you have started drawing it earlier, and we
know the angular velocity. Once you know the angular velocity you can find out the
angular acceleration by differentiation fine, we will just see that.
And I have a
generalization when I say
is generalization, I would
also bring in angular
acceleration to this as well
as angular acceleration to
this, then did it becomes a
generic case and angular
velocity you know ω equal
to I have put this as x and
z. So, on this axis I have ω2. So, I put this as . So, if I have to get ω dot
naturally, I will have to do this differentiation and do it systematically . And we

have already learnt for
convenience we use this as
i and j, but we recognize
these axes rotate. So, I will
have dot i dot is not 0, j dot
is not 0, k dot is not 0 I
have to calculate those
quantities.
So, the acceleration will

take an expression like
this, I have . And here I can do a very simple case to start with; so,
when I look at this as a generic case, I have the body cone and space cone like this,
which is very generic which has a very complicated shape.
747
Suppose I have a simpler situation where I have no angular accelerations ω1 dot and
mega 2 dot 0, people also invoke analogy I have . And similarly, I can put and
we have set based on analogy you also call this as . Then the magnitude
of ω remains constant if you let you know in three dimension you will bring in this
another symbol just for convenience if you let stand for the angular velocity, with
which the vector ω itself rotates; as it forms a space cone angular acceleration may be
written as this is by analogy.
The expression for α is based on analogy in some cases just to solve the problem quickly
you can invoke this. But the most generic way of doing this is differentiate it and put i
dot and j dot or k dot whatever that comes into it appropriately you can handle it.
So, in a very simple case I
have this as and
then I have this has

written down like this. And
in this case, I will have a
simple right circular cone
as defining this, and you
will have and or 0

because that is how we
have listed the case.
So, which is what is continued here I have this, we have learnt by analogy I can write it
as . So, when I do this, I have . So, this reduces to and if I
have a generic expression, we know that and or 0 and we have to look at what is i
748
dot. And we have already learnt i dot as can be written as you go back to your
rotating frame of reference; we have expressed it in this fashion also.
So, when I invoke this because this does not rotate in space only this rotates by this
root also you get . So, you can choose the generic expression, my
recommendation is; use the
generic expression because
you are not making any
compromise on your basic
understanding, but books
also discuss if the case is
simple rather than going
through a circuitous
process, simply put α
based on analogy. So, in
this lecture we have looked
at infinitesimal rotations can be treated as vectors.
Then we looked at fixed point rotation a very special case, in the case of a three-
dimensional analysis we saw the simple top. We saw that it was precising, we also
looked at how the earth precision has been a point of discussion in astronomy and what
was the Indian contribution to that. And we have also learnt how to find out the
acceleration in a generic sense for fixed point rotation.
Thank you.
749
Prof. K. Ramesh
Module – 02
Dynamics
Lecture - 16
3D Kinematics II
See one of the important concepts that you learn in this chapter is actually fixed-point
rotation, if you look at this top it starts with a fixed axis rotation then towards the end, it
shifts to fixed point rotation. And fixed-point rotation is the new concept that you come
across in 3D dynamics ok. So, it shifts to fixed point rotation towards the end.
And if you look at fixed

axis rotation, when the top
starts rotating more like
fixed axis rotation ok,
some wobbling is there,
but it is very small. And if
you look at the axis, I have
a generic axis put like this
nn. So, it is rotating about
this axis, it is having an angular velocity ω. And we have seen already, how do you
define the position vector and how do you visualize the direction of velocity, what is the
expression for velocity and how this can be rewritten in terms of the position vector h
and v, all that we have looked at. But these are the equations for velocity that you have
got is same as what you have done it for simple circular motion ok.
750
And what you need to notice is, when I have this is rotating, I take a particle we visualize
that this is rotating and I visualized this as the cone. You know there was a difficulty
when I use the analogy, where does the cone come from. You identify this as the position
vector r and I have this
angular velocity ω and we
have the velocity as ,

which is tangential to this
circle. And, we have also
got this expression
. And the same

analogy is used to find out
angular acceleration in a
simple case.
Here what we have

discussed was imagine
that, this is the transparent
cylinder filled with black
particles. It has a rotation
about this axis ω2 and there
is a small precision about
the vertical axis ω2. And
you would see, when you
take a photograph, you will
see a line seen in your
photograph, a snapshot wherein the black particles will form this axis. This is the
instantaneous axis of rotation; any other point will appear blur ok. And if you want to
find out what is the acceleration for this special case where the precision is steady. It
does not have an acceleration about this z-axis ok.
And you look at what you have done in the case of velocity earlier you use the analogy,
751
and simply have the expression for α as Ω × ω. And in this chapter, we would have a
special symbol which will denote the rotation of the axis; rotation of the coordinate axis
is put as Ω for simplicity, because when you have multiple omegas you do not know
which ω you have to use. So, this comes from analogy this is something like a shortcut,
when I have a steady precision, I can define what is the acceleration straight away from
this.
And, we have also looked at in the previous class, evaluating α by this Ω × ω as well as
when I have ω = ω1 + ω2 differentiate, it systematically recognizes the unit vectors have
i dot and j dot is valid. From that route also we have a plane ok. And while employing
this you know books put this ω both are simply ω2, because ω2 is one which rotates with
the precision of ω1 and it is also written as the complete ω. Mathematically this is one
and the same because k × k will go to 0 and in solving problems this is also exploited ok,
and I get this as . This is a shortcut when I have a steady precision.
If you want to do it systematically from first principle, I can have this as .
In this specific example, we have deliberately considered as 0, as 0 so, though

those terms get knocked off and k dot remains same, and we have learnt a powerful way
of writing .
So, when I do that also I get the same expression for acceleration. See you learn multiple
recipes depending on the context you can use it. You can also use it for verification or do
minimal mathematics, the choice is yours. And another way of looking at this is you
know α essentially gives you what I have got as ω1 ω2 j as nothing but ω2 i dot. So, this
is the magnitude change and this is the direction change. So, you can also visualize this
as an expression that gives you directional change. This is another insight into the
problem fine. We will solve a variety of problem the ideas would become much clearer.
752
And let us compare fixed axis rotation and fixed-point rotation. I have object like this;
this is rotating about the axis nn and this is the fixed axis and I have this angular velocity
all this we have seen. We have a point a on the object, that moves in a circle like this and
I have V = ω × r, this expression is same for both fixed axis as well as fixed rotation. See
in fixed axis rotation, we
define and then

we also get acceleration as
If you go back to your two-

dimensional analysis these
expressions where
identically same, we are
moving from two-
dimension to three-
dimension, the vectors would have three components instead of two components. And
another aspect is when I move from fixed axis rotation to fixed point rotation, if you look
at the expressions for velocity and a, the expression still remains the same, but what you
substitute becomes different fine. And, that is what I shown here, when I go to fixed
point rotation you see that
this also has a precision.
And that precision is
changing and finally, top
collapses.
So, instead of this being

the fixed axis rotation, this
becomes the instantaneous
axis of rotation, when I
have a rotation about fixed
point. So, that is the subtle difference fine. And what are all the other differences we will
also have a look at it.
753
If I have a rotation about the fixed axis, α is has only one component to reflect the
change in magnitude of ω. So, in a fixed axis rotation, when I say α that gives you only
the magnitude change of
ω, because it is rotating
about a fixed axis; the axis
is not changing and what
else we see? The points
which lie on the fixed axis
of rotation clearly have no
velocity or acceleration.
That is what you see in a
fixed axis rotation.
Suppose I move on to fixed point rotation, what happens? You have seen the top
transitioning from fixed axis to fixed point rotation here. The first observation is this axis
becomes instantaneous axis of rotation that is only difference, the expression for velocity
and ω, α expression wise they are similar. The angular acceleration α now also talks
about the directional change of angular velocity that is a very important observation.
So, when I am looking at fixed point rotation. I was worry about both magnitude change
of ω as well as directional change of ω. Although any point on the rotation axis n and
momentarily will have zero velocity, it will not have zero acceleration as long as ω is
changing its direction. It is a subtle point when I am coming to a fixed axis fixed point
rotation, there is a directional change of ω, that is what you see as precision. So, these
are the differences between fixed axis rotation and fixed-point rotation, but the
expressions are very similar.
754
Let us solve simple problems. You make a neat sketch of it. This is just to give you a
fixed axis rotation problem, wherein you have to do a determination of this vector
product little more
complicated; little more
involved, you will have to
go back to your
determinants and then do it
because I have three
components. And this is a
fairly straight forward
problem, I have a rotating
arm and this is the sensor
which senses this. So, this
has a fixed axis rotation in
a three-dimensional sense, you have the axis OA about which this arm rotates ok.
And if you look at the

expression; expression is
straight forward all the
quantities have three
components; you have x, y
and z components ok. So,
we have to find out the
position the vector this is
OC is the position vector
of this. So, I have the
coordinates for me to find out the vector, I have the coordinate O; and
So, you can easily find out what is the position vector, when the position vector r is
given as . And you will also have to know this axis OA. So, this is
755
simplified to this OA rotate with constant angular velocity ω and that is given in your
problem statement itself, what is the expression for the angular velocity. It is given in the
problem statement. So, you
go back to the problem
statement you have this.
Now, I have to simply get
this expression and ,

I have to do this and
operate the determinant
and then find out the value
so, I get this value like this.
And I get . So, whatever the discussion that we had specially for two-dimensional
situation you cannot extrapolate it here. You have to do the computation, just to alert you
that you have to handle
three components of each
other vectors.
So, I have this finally,

turning out to be this; this
is just to alert you that go
back and look at how to do
the cross product of
vectors when they have
three components,
otherwise the problem is
simple and straightforward
ok. There is nothing great thinking involved I have this as 37.67 m/s2, it is a very
straightforward problem just to alert you that you have to handle the vector products
carefully.
756
Let us move on to the next problem. This gives a very nice animation, what happens to
this rod and only this is animated. See the animation software does not have all the
facilities fine. You will also have to visualize in addition to this motion, the whole axis
also have a rotation like this. So, can you recognise what is the kind of motion here?
There is a rotation of this rod and that axis itself rotates, when I have a combination of
this you could visualise this as a fixed-point rotation fine. So, that is what you will have
to recognize and you are given this angle is 35o, and you are asked to find out the angular
velocity of OA, angular acceleration of OA, the velocity of point A and the acceleration
of point A. So, we are asked to find out these quantities.
So, even before you start solving the problem you have a physical appreciation what
happens to this only a part of it is animated you have to imagined that this axis is rotating
about itself. So, the angular
velocity axis is having a
directional change. So, I
have a fixed-point rotation.
And I have ωy that is given

in the problem as
. And you
have to recognize, I have
the axis XYZ like this,
when I am having a clockwise rotation, I put the sign appropriately. I am also given the
rotation ωz so, that gives me .
Now you are asked to find out the angular velocity. Now you get the angular velocity,
because these are all infinity decimal rotations, you have already seen that you can apply
the parallelogram law, they are all vectors. So, I could write this ω as ωy + ωz, we
already have what is ωy, and what is ωz. And I get this as .
You are also asked to find out the angular acceleration, and you could see that this is a
757
z
steady precision. I am not having , I am also not having any acceleration of this
rotation.
So, I could use a simple formula that α as Ω × ω here the Ω is nothing but your ωz and
then small ω, either I could substitute this or I can directly take ωy, both will
mathematically remain the same. So, depending on the problem context, you take which
is simple for you to do that. So, I get this as 56.52 i rad/s2 and the acceleration is like
this.
So, this is something very interesting, see I have the angular velocity like this and I have
angular acceleration at some other direction. This you have to recognize when you
graduate from two-dimension to three-dimension, all these new aspects will come. You
have to look at the mathematics, and look at what is the direction of α. In two-
dimensional problems α
and ω were parallel.
Because it is all happening
only in z direction here it is
very generic ok
So, just to sensitize you I

have taken a problem like
this, and you are asked to
find out for the point A.
So, we have to look at
what is the position vector r and then I put this ω × r. So, you have to handle
determinants for you to do the vectorial product, I get velocity like this. And I get
acceleration has two terms, and we are given α is available, because you have directional
change. You have to recognize, the angular acceleration has a value, because of
directional change of ω.
Even though I do not have z

or , I still have α that comes from directional change.
y
And we have already got those expressions, and when you put them, I get this as two
758
determinants for these two products. And you have to do the multiplication carefully do
the mathematics. So, brush up these fundamentals, do some practice. So, that you are
able to handle them
quickly in the
examinations ok.
So, I am finally, going to

get the expression for
acceleration of point A, I
get this as
. So, this is the problem on

fixed point rotation. We have seen earlier fixed axis rotation and fixed-point rotation.
Now, we will look at another interesting problem, because you know for all construction
activities people use cranes. And here again the animation shows only one motion, it is
the boom is moving in the
vertical plane. In addition,
the crane also has a
rotation about this axis.
The whole boom can rotate
like this fine. The boom
has rotation like this, boom
moves up and down like
this and whole boom can
have a rotation like this.
So, what is the kind of
rotation that we can
anticipate? This is again fixed-point rotation.
759
See fixed point rotation is a new concept you learn in this chapter. So, I thought it is
better that, I solve a variety of problems to give you a practical flavour. And also, you
recognize quickly that this is fixed point rotation. So, you are given the length of the
boom as 26 meters and you are also given about the vertical axis, it is rotating at a
constant rate of 3 revolutions per minute.
And you are also given see this is having a clockwise motion. It is coming down from
vertical position, the boom is coming down and I want to caution you the animation is
showing only one motion. You know the, it is easier to do this if you have to do show the
other animation, it become very complicated we have not been able to get that
opportunity to do that. And you are given this as 0.15 rad/s and you are asked to
calculate the magnitude of velocity, and acceleration of the end P of the boom.
For the instance when it passes the position when so, it is lowering down and you
have at what is the value, it is straightforward problem again fine. And here I have
to choose my reference axis, let us see what is the reference axis; I am choosing, and
what is its Advantage? I can choose reference axis in anyway, I have taken a right-
handed coordinate system,
I take this as X, this as Y
and this as Z.
And, when you look at the

motion of the boom, the
boom is coming down ok.
From our point of view this
is clockwise, but from the
way I have put the Y axis
what is the rotation? About
the Y axis this is anti clockwise, you have to recognize that ok. These are not trivial
things, do not say instead of putting plus j I have put minus j that is only a small mistake
do not argue like that, you have to solve the problem that is given to you in all its totality.
760
So, with respect to the Y axis the boom rotates in anticlockwise direction you have to
recognize that, and rest of it is simple. So, this is just to give you practice and so, I have
this position vector r that is given as from the problem statement we can write this so, it
is in the plane X to Z. So, you put we are asked to find out at so, you write the
vector properly. And I have this as . So, I have the position vector, I have the
ω I have directly written; I have the vertical axis rotation plus this is given as 0.15j that is
given in the problem, and I this is what we have discussed whether I should put plus j or
minus j.
From the diagram for us we are finding that it is moving from vertical to down, but when
I look from the axis it is still positive. So, I have the angular velocity written like this and
I also have the expression for V it is nothing but . I have ω I have r just do the
multiplication, and I get the answer probably, it is put in next slide. So, this mathematics
you should develops speed. So, please develop speed as you solve many problems. So, I
have this as
So, when I do this, I get

this value of V as
.
And you are also asked to
find out, what is the
acceleration, when I get the
magnitude; the magnitude turns out to be 6.97 m/s. And how do I write what is the kind
of precision I have in this problem. See the precision is always slow, that is what we
have seen in problems also. And we have also seen in the case of earth. Its precision
takes 26,000 years approximately. If you do the actual calculation it is 25,920 or
something like that, but when you are talking about such a large number no harm in
saying that has 26,000 years.
So, here I have steady precision. So, I can also write a simpler expression for angular
761
acceleration. The acceleration is given like this and I need to find and is written as
α. And α I could easily write it as . So, this is the precision cross product of
precision, and the angular velocity . The axis has a precision like this ok.
So, I am in a position to get the value of α. So, this is purely a directional change and
because I do not have z

, and y
I can directly take this as α; the shortcut gives you
directly the value of α. So, once I know this rest of it is simple algebra, which you can
comfortably do. So, I have . So, this product is

fairly easier to do. And I can also do this ω×V. So, I have ω×V like this. And when I
substitute the quantities, I
get acceleration as
Again, fairly a
straightforward problem,
but this gives a very
practical example, you find
cranes are used extensively
for construction in India
also. So, you need to find out the practical flavour for it and I have also got the
magnitude; the magnitude is given as 2.85 m/s2. So, you should recognize that, α can
come from directional change of ω. You should not only say only the magnitude change,
because we are accustomed to only magnitude change in two dimensional problems. In
three dimensional problems directional change does come into play ok.
762
Then we move on to another interesting problem. So, I have a problem like this, I have a
disk, this is having a rod firmly connected to this and there is holder, which is kept here.
And you have this is the brass rod, this is put in a steel sleeve and there is clearance. So,
this rod can freely rotate above this and the problem statement is like this. I have this is I
am rotating this about this
axis ω1 having an angular
velocity of ω1 and in the
problem statement you are
given, a disk of diameter
170 mm rotates about the
z-axis. The angular
velocity about z-axis is 0.5
rad/s.
In addition, it also has an

angular acceleration of 0.3
rad/s2. So, I also have hence I have ω1 as well as . And on this disk, it is actually
the point diametrically opposite to D. I have a point labelled A and if I take the side view
and look at other dimensions are also given. I have this as 170 mm and this also as 170
mm. And you have to find
out, the velocity and
acceleration of point A.
Say the problem statement

is only like this, but if I
have to solve the problem,
I should understand, when
I rotate about this axis
what would happen to this
disk. That is also very very
important, is not it; see,
unless we have a physical appreciation of the problem statement, how will you go about
and solve it and it is not mentioned in this statement, I will mention the statement little
763
while later.
So, what I have done was, we have created this fabricated in the workshop and I have the
gadget like this. So, this is what is happening to this; you have this being rotated, you get
the idea? I have a line attached to this disk and you could see that, the disk is also
rotating.
So, what you will have to recognize is, when I rotate this, the disk also rotates and the
problem statement is still not complete, we also make one simple convenient assumption
which is also seen in the actual display of the experiment, this wheel rolls without
slipping on the platform; that is a very important clue only with this will be in a position
to solve this problem or with this we will solve the problem either way you can take it
ok.
And when, I am rotating with hand, I cannot give a constant angular velocity so, I will
also have some angular acceleration. So, the problem is embedded with that I have ω1 as
well as . And when, I have ω1 and , when this roll; this will also have a
magnitudinal change of angular velocity. Directional change is already evident from the
way that you are rotating it the angular at a velocity has a directional change, it also will
have a magnitudinal change.
And another thing, what you will have to visualize is, you have to bring in the
kinematical relationship. There is connectivity between, what is the rotation about the z-
axis and what is the rotation about the axis OB, fine. So, that is what I am going to
summarize it and before that you know, see this is not exactly same as this; the
dimensions are different; I have taken the dimension of the diameter as 170 mm, that is
there in this disk and this length was slightly different, I have tweaked the values. So,
that I get nice value of angle; the angle turns out to be 30o; just to get this, I have
tweaked these values. So, there is some disconnect between, this experimental
observation and what you have it here ok, but the concept of relative rotations is neatly
perceived in the experiment.
So, from the experimental observation, it is clear that the disk has a fixed-point rotation
764
about O. We have been discussing fixed point rotation and you are also getting a
physical appreciation of the problem, because the problem is being demonstrated to you.
It is given that, the disk rolls without slipping on the surface. So, you take this also as
part of the problem statement that makes our life simple to analyze this problem.
So, if I say that it rolls without slipping, I must bring in the kinematical relationship
between ω1 and ω2. I have to establish, I have to go back to the fundamentals, what way
we analysed rolling in two dimensions, bring in that knowledge and then establish first
an interrelationship
between, ω1 and ω2, is the
idea clear, ok.
So, I start with the disk like

this and disk has been
rotated to some other
position for clarity, I have
taken a larger angle for us
to discuss, I will have
some position like this. What is the BD? BD would have rotated to some other position
like this and I will also show you the experiment. I have the experiment starts with this
and then, this has come to some angle like this; see, this is neatly visualized from the
experiment also. So, now, I can find out, what is the distance that, I have travelled and
then, bring in the kinematical relationship.
So, I have this is yeah; this is also very important. I am rotating anti clockwise; I forgot
to alert you, which way this disk is rotating? This disk is rotating clockwise. See, these
are all very subtle things, you cannot understand it, you just problem statement is given;
if you have a prior exposure how to solve the problem you will close your eyes and solve
it in 2 minutes. Because you write it from memory, you are not understanding the
problem statement and doing it.
So, in this problem, the subtleties are, you have to find out that I have to establish a
kinematical relationship that is very important. And you should also recognize while,
765
doing it that this is having a clockwise rotation, fine; it is having a clockwise rotation.
So, I have; I will label those angles, I have this has theta 1 and from this angle, I will put
it as 2 so, I can find out, what is the distance travelled? Because, I have , I can
write the kinematical relationship and I have tweaked some of these dimensions. So, that
I get an very elegant relationship so, I have because, we have seen that, this
distance is 170 and this, diameters also 170. So, when I look at the radius, it is just half
of it. So, I get a kinematical relationship .
See, in this experimentation it is not exactly 2, it is slightly less than 2, it is around 2. So,
when you look at this rotation 3 or 4 times, it will not exactly match with this
kinematical relationship because, I have the line, this is what I alerted you earlier, fine.
By from mathematical handling for us to solve, if I have round number, it is easier to do
the calculations. So, that is
the spirit with which, the
problem has been coined.
So, I have this, I have to

recognize that I have ω1
and and ω2and . So,

when I have all of these, I
can directly write,
and α as plus ω2; as
+ . And if I want to do it, I will write it as the individual vectors and also look at
the here in this case, I have k dot as well as I will have i dot. Instead I am going to do it
from a physical appreciation, ok. We have already said that, α comes from two aspects a
magnitudinal change and directional change. You can take either way of solving the
problem; choice is yours.
So, this is straight forward, is straightforward, we have already learnt this. And,
766
we also have the interrelationship and you should also write this unit vector
properly and we are also given this ω1 as 0.5 rad/s. So, ω2 becomes 1, ok these all done
to simplify the mathematics.
So, I have ω is now written as . Because, I have this as

clockwise, you should recognize the sense correctly; sense of this disk is rotating in
clockwise, ok. So, that is why minus comes and since I have ω2 as 1, if the mathematics
looks very simple and straightforward, ok. So, I get so, this is what I said; if I
have to find out Ω × ω for me to get the directional change of acceleration. In this
problem I can directly use this because, I have the number it is one and the same, ok;
mathematically it is one
and this same.

acceleration. When I have
; when, I have
then, is also fixed,

gives you only the
magnitudinal change; it has
magnitudinal change as well as directional change. You have given so, I can find out,
no issue. And, I can write the angular acceleration of the disk as, I can put the
magnitude as this, I am putting the appropriate unit vector and then, putting this, that is
what, I have done and I am also attaching, what I am writing here as a magnitudinal
change.
Because. in the problem, magnitudinal change is specifically given and I thought I would
discuss as a magnitudinal change as well as the directional change. You can also write it
as, + , in terms of vectors where, I will have plus ω1 i dot that, kind of expression
767
also you can do it. I mean, here I have put this ω1 about z. So, I will have k dot there and
for this will have i dot, that
is the only difference.
So now, what I will have

is, I will also look at the
this is what I said; when I
have just put the vector, I
have not put the
appropriate vectorial
directions here; when, I put
the vectorial directions, I
will have to handle the differentiation properly. So, instead, I am arguing it from a
magnitude and directional change, the RHS must include the change, due to direction as
well as magnitude. And in this case, directional ω1 is fixed so, there will not be any
directional change of ω1,
only the magnitude change
of is there, ok.
So, only for ω2 which this

disk is rotating, I have to
find out the acceleration
due to directional change,
fine. That, we already have
a recipe; we already have a
recipe and you do not write it as α, but you write it as α specifically of direction, this is
the one change which I am asking you to recognize I am use the same expression Ω × ω
and I recognize this as, directional change which, we have already discussed.
There are two ways of looking at the same thing and I have chosen to discuss it like this
768
and we have ω is nothing but ω1 and then we already have the expression for ω. So, I can
directly write that ω, it is so, that reduces to this, ok. Mathematically this, but when
I substituted the ω itself directly, if I have to write it mathematically, I will also put the k
component. And the k
component, k × k will go to
0 while writing this I have
used directly the value of
ω ok.
So, I recognize that, what I

get from this expression is
the directional change of
ω2 contribute in to the
acceleration term. Now, you have all the quantities finding out α is not difficult. So, ω2
total, I have the; I think this is the directional change and this is the magnitude change.
So, I have this and then, we have , what it is? So, the α reduces to this is this, this
is ; now, I know α; rest of it is straightforward.
I have the expression for finding out the acceleration straightforward expression for you
to do that. I have this α reduces to and I have and we also have

to write the position vector properly; this is the position vector. So, write the position
vector based on the mathematics fine and so, I have this like this. So, you multiply ,
I have the value of r is given like so, getting V is straightforward.
So, I get v as this is the multiplication, this simplifies to 0.127 j m/s and you also have an
expression for acceleration. See, this expression is very similar to what you have learnt
in two dimensions, what you have learnt in a fixed axis rotation, what you substitute for
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and ω are different from fixed axis and fixed point, that is the only difference. So,
you are not learning any new equations altogether, we are all one and the same equation
which was seen it umpteen number of times.
So, now I substitute for these quantities, do the mathematics. So, I get this as
. So, it
is a fairly straightforward
problem provided you
understand the motion ok,
to aid that you have this
experiment is conducted
and you are shown, what is
happening to the disk,
when I rotate it about the z-
axis?
So, in this class we have

looked at, what is the distinction between fixed axis rotation and fixed-point rotation and
I have also emphasized in 3D kinematics what you come across as new is fixed point
rotation, and we have looked at how to identify the acceleration. The acceleration will
have two components; one because of magnitudinal change of ω, another because of
directional change of ω. And we have also solved variety of problems and bulk of them
was on fixed point rotation so, that you get a flavour how you have to handle the fixed-
point rotation properly.
Thank you.
770
Prof. K. Ramesh
Module - 02
Dynamics
Lecture – 17
3D Kinematics III
See in 3D Kinematics one

of the important concepts
that you learn is fixed point
rotation, which we have
seen in detail in the
previous class. You know
in 2-dimensional analysis
we have looked at a, non
rotating translating axis,
attached to the body and
we also saw a rotating axis attached to the body, we will now extend it for 3-dimensional
problems.
So, we move on to general

motion and I am not
calling this as plane
motion. So, it can be any
motion space and I have a
3-dimensional body, this
body has some angular
velocity and some angular
acceleration, we have never put any restriction on this. And, what you need to notice is,
these could be of different orientations in a 3-dimensional problem.
771
Similar to what we have done in 2 dimensions choose a point B, as the origin of a

translating reference system, it is a non-rotating reference axis. So, choose a point B and
attach small x, small y and small z to this point and we have already discussed in detail,
if I attach a non-rotating axis, what way the person would perceive in a 2-dimensional
system. In a 2-dimensional system he said that, he would perceive that it is rotating in a
circular fashion.
Here you are talking in terms of 3 dimensions, here also the object will rotate about point
B, instead of a circle, you would see that as a sphere because, we are looking at 3
dimensions, that is only difference. So, similar to the earlier one, we put the position
vector rB, position vector rA and we are considering a rigid body. So, the distance
between points B and A remains fixed and that is given as the position vector r or you
can also qualify it that as position vector rA with respect to B.
So, the main difference is, point A appears to lie on a spherical surface with B as the
centre. So, that is the only difference between a 2-dimensional analysis and a 3-
dimensional analysis. So, the important concept is, if you sit on a body and translate with
it, you would see that it is rotating and no matter whether I see from point A or point B, I
would still perceive same rotation, there is no change in that, whatever we have
discussed in 2 dimension, naturally extends here, all the vectors will have 3 components,
instead of a circular
motion, it will have the
point A would lie in a
spherical surface.
This we have also

discussed in detail in 2-
dimensional analysis,
whichever point I take, I
will still have the sense of
rotation preserve, sense of
rotation does not change.
And it is a very subtle concept, whatever we have discussed in 2 dimensions, you could
say extended for 3 dimensions.
772
And whatever the expressions that we have developed, we had and the
expressions what we have learned for circular motion again a place, here the vectors
have 3 components. And, ω is the instantaneous angular velocity of the body and r is the
position vector, .
So, similarly you can also write for the acceleration and I here again I can write
comfortably the relative quantity as consisting of a normal component and a tangential
component, here again you use equations developed for simple circular motion. Only
thing is the components are having the vectors will have 3 components in a quasi and
you have to do little more computation, when you do the mathematical part of it.
So, I have the normal acceleration as and tangential acceleration as
. So, whatever you learn as circular motion used in different ways, at different
parts of the course, the basic equations remain the same, you use it appropriately
depending on the context.
So, I am in a position to
find out the velocity as
well as acceleration.
773
Now, we move on to rotating axis. So, here I have an axis like this to emphasize that this
is not a translating axis, I
show that it is having a
rotation. All the symbols
are very similar, there is no
difference in the symbols
and here again you have
this unit vectors and unit
vectors we will write it as i
and j later. And instead of
looking at like this, if you
look at as product of ω
cross the position vector,
then it is easy to employ and use, all these we have done in detail. So, I can afford to go a
little faster. So, you write the basic expression like this and write it in terms of the unit
vectors.
Then for convenience we replace it as i and j and I said that I can have velocity as well as
acceleration, angular velocity as well as acceleration and whatever we have discussed,
we have derived the expression for velocity, we have also derived expression for
acceleration. They remain same and you also know , which could be written
differently as, and , this kind of writing is very easy for your mathematical
simplification.
We have also used this when we discussed fixed point rotation, there again you will have
i dot j dot k dot depending on which one is having this as non-zero and you know on 2
dimensional analysis, we have put this as ω and I have also returned on these expression
in terms of ω.
774
In 3 dimension you know people also give, this as a (capital omega). So, I have body
rotating with some angular velocity and you have the axis rotating with an angular
velocity . Just for

convenience, see we solve
problems with several
omegas and I said that you
should be alert in using the
particular omega; it is
again a notational change.
There is nothing, different

from the conceptual point
of view. So, I have a
rotating reference axis
attached and you distinguish there could be some part of the 3-dimensional body will be
rotating with some angular velocity, the axis angular velocity, keep it as , you reserve
that as a symbol. So, it makes your life simple, when you write those expressions and
substitute the relevant
quantities.
I have the position vector

smart and I also see
, just repeating
those expression ,
And you have a similar expression like what you have got in 2 dimensions, from a
notational point of view we write it as a and each of these vectors will have 3
components. So, you have the angular velocity of the axes and I have the angular
acceleration is written down like this.
775
So, this is the Coriolis component of acceleration and I can also visualize, I have written
it for acceleration, you can write it for velocity also. Just to emphasize, I choose my
rotating reference axes. So, that I am in a position to easily measure the velocity Vrel,
which is nothing, but, Vxyz here and arel which is nothing but, a small xyz here, another
left-hand side I have referred with respect to the fixed axis, capital xyz. The difference is
in the 2 dimension we had only xy, here I have xyz. Otherwise, there is absolutely no
change.
The mathematics will be little involved and a problem complexity can be little higher,
other than that it is just an extension of what you have learnt in 2-dimensional analysis, I
have written down, this form of expression for acceleration, you can write it for velocity
as well. So, when I say Vrel,
it is Vxyz.
So, let us solve some

interesting problems and
just observe the animation.
So, that you recognize
what are all the motions
that are available to the
mechanism. So, you
perceive and write them clearly in this sketch, one is I can see that it is rotating about this
vertical axis, it is very clear.
So, I have a rotation about z axis, then observe that this disc is not stationary, this is
rotating which way, this is rotating anti clockwise, that is also very clear and you know
this also has a provision, when I have this motor, this motor can be kept at any angle,
there is also a provision like this for this and you are given the capital XYZ in the
problem statement itself and you are also given small xyz for the problem under
consideration.
776
So, write down the problem statement. So, the motor housing and it is bracket rotate
about the Z axis at the
constant rate of
and you have

the spin of this disc is 12
rad/s and you are also
given what is the rotating
frame of reference, it has
made your life simpler, it
is listed in the problem
statement and this axis
located at an angle gamma,
if gamma is 30o, determine
the velocity and acceleration of point A at the top of the disk.
So, it is a straight extension of what you have done as a 2 dimensional analysis to 3 a

dimensional analysis and you could see very clearly, when I have a motor, when I sit on
point B, I would perceive the rotation very comfortably and I can find out, what is Vrel
and arel very easily. So, even though you do not decide what is the coordinate system that
you should choose, even
though it is given in the
problem, from the problem
you can understand, that
you are in a position to
find out arel and Vrel
comfortably with this.
Leaving that apart
everything is in 3
dimension, that is all the
difference ok. So, let us get
into the solution of the problem, this diagram also we will be repeated again and again.
777
So, that you will have an opportunity to fill in the blanks and one of the important aspect
in this problem because, we have not done that in detail in 2 dimension, I thought I
would at least solve one problem where you have a coordinate axis is inclined and this it
is better that we get the interrelationship between coordinates up front. So, that the
mathematics becomes much simpler.
So, the way the coordinates are aligned the, this plane that small y is a plane is actually
merging with the Y is at plane, it is only at a height of 100 millimetre that is given in the
problem. So, the x axis is small x is aligned to capital X. So, I have , I have not
shown the unit vectors here, for the capital XYZ you have capital IJK, small xyz I have
small ijk and I would like you to fill in this matrix, do you know that you can write, the
small unit vectors in terms of capital J and K in a matrix fashion ok, please fill in that
and then check your, check your matrix with mine, I will just show that. It is easier way
of writing things ok; I can get small j and k from capital J and K because, what I have is
the axis y and z are rotated about the x axis by an angle gamma.
So, you can easily write this as a rotation matrix, . I can also find an
interrelationship between capital J K and small j k, you can do the reverse office also. So,
you just change γ to - γ, I get this expression. So, the idea is when you have access which
are displaced like this, it is better to find the interrelationship upfront, before you start
doing the mathematical calculation, then you can figure out which way you would
simplify the mathematics.
So, then I can write I have written what is the relation between I capital I to small i, i will
follow the same trend, capital J to small j and k, capital K in terms of small j and k and
you know in the problem you have the rotation about the capital Z axis. So, you will have
necessity to get and capital , . So, I also get those relationships upfront.
So, that I can do the mathematical simplification easily and when I look at , small i
and capital I are same. So, I get this as capital J and capital J is . So, you
can do that for the .
778
See normally if I say, it will be 0, but here it is fine. So, you have to be alert
you should not switch off your mind and solve the problem, that turns out to be
. Once I have
these quantities, then the
problem the solution to the
problem is fairly
straightforward.
So, I have this coordinate
angular velocity is . So, I

write each term, what we
have done in the 2
dimension, similarly you do that. So, you write , find out each of these
quantities VB is the coordinate velocity. So, which you can find out from the diagram
easily so, it is and so, this is the values in numbers. So, I have . So,
becomes I. So, I can write this as -2.36i m/s. So, essentially, I am writing all these
quantities in terms of the rotating frame of reference, small xyz.
So, I know what is VB, then I do . So, the r is you are given this value
and you know , then you also have this interrelationship which
between the coordinates. So, when I use this, I get because, I am going to have this,
that is why put what is and and so on and so forth, all that you have. So, I can
easily simplify and this turns out to be an expression like this. So, it just algebra is very
similar, you have to be alert and handle the coordinate system carefully. Then we go and
find out what is Vrel. So, is -1.35i m/s.
779
And Vrel you can find out based on the spin velocity ok. So, . So, thankfully
the problem statement itself has different symbols for omega, it makes you less burdened
in solving the problem ok.
So, I know Vrel. So, when I

substitute for all of these
quantities, I get the
velocity of point A
comfortably as -1.55i m/s.
So, one of the challenges
in this problem has been
how to handle the
coordinate system, other
than that it is simple and
straightforward to handle.
Similarly, we move on to
acceleration. So, have a
mnemonic way of
remembering this
expression, you have to
remember this otherwise
you cannot solve any
problem and find out the
coordinate acceleration.
So, this is ,
we have already written down all these quantities earlier. So, I get this as
. So, that turns out to be and I always expressed the final

expression in terms of the rotating frame of reference. So, I write it in terms of j and k.
780
So, similarly you do it for each of the terms, I have a B obtained like this, then I have ,
this is having a constant angular velocity. So, and I have . So, you have this
expression.
And you can simplify that

quite comfortably because,
we have all the
interrelationships available
and then you also
need that is also

available. So, I express
everything in terms of
small ijk. So, you look at this interrelationship and finally, you get . So, it is very
straightforward and simple provided you handle the interrelationship between
coordinates systematically
fine.
And I have this Coriolis

component, which can also
be written terms in terms
of small ijk. So, I get the
final expression like this
and arel you can learn write
it in terms of spin velocity
and there is only constant spin velocity is given. So, z is at find out this. So, when I put
all these quantities, I get the acceleration at point A.
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And we can also find out the magnitude, it turns out to be 28.28 m/s2. So, this is the
straight translation from 2 dimension to 3 dimension, only thing is the coordinates where
little difficult to handle but,
you had solved a similar
problem in 2 dimension
also. What is the problem
you solved? You solve the
problem when this gamma
was 90o ok, that is the
problem you solved, when
I change the gamma it
looks a very complicated
problem and thankfully, I
had a good animator who
could make this visually
possible ok.
Then we move on to
another interesting
problem, it is a very
interesting problem, a first
observe what is the kind of
motion this has, what are
all the motions because,
once you understand the
motions first, then you can attempt to make a solution. Let us see what are the things that
you can see easily; I have this rotating about this axis that is the simplest one to see.
So, I have label this as ω2, it is rotating about this axis, no difficulty at all anti clockwise
and what way this arm is rotating, that is also anti clockwise, that is also easy to see, it is
also rotating in anti clockwise motion also, it is rotating in clockwise motion you can see,
that it is rotating like this ok, rotating clockwise and look at what way this disk is
782
rotating, this disk what way it is rotating, at this position, you have to worry only about
what happens at this position.
First observe this mechanism that is rotating clockwise. So, I have given the spin angular
velocity in the symbol p. So, this is a very interesting problem, see we have looked at
when I select the rotating frame of reference, it can just rotate or it can rotate in space
which we have looked at it. Now, you have learnt in 3-dimensional kinematics, I can
have fixed point rotation. So, here I am going to select my rotating frame of reference,
which is also given which is attached to the arm at the centre of the disk. So, this rotating
frame rotates with this sum as well as it has 2 angular velocities, ω1 and ω2, which are
perpendicular like this.
So, the rotating frame of reference has the fixed-point rotation now. So, you can also
have that, fine that is why I chose this problem and if I sit on this disc here, I just see the
disc simply spinning and it is easier for me to get the Vrel and arel. So, to remove your
mental block, I particularly chose this problem, a rotating frame of reference can have a
very complicated motion.
There is no harm in selecting an axis like this as long as I am able to get arel and Vrel, if
you understand this rest of it is very simple. So, you have to appreciate the motions in the
body, these are all you know of fictitious problems where you get trained to look at
different types of motions. See to effect this, it will be a very difficult circus to device the
gadget to have all these motions packed in a small fashion and you are also given the
values of these velocities, the spin velocity p is given as 0.8 rad/s, both ω1 and ω2 have
0.4 rad/s.
So, you are asked to find out the velocity v and acceleration a of point A on the rim of
the disk as it passes the position shown and in order to have simplicity because, the
problem is complex, the problem statement itself dictates, what is the capital XYZ, what
is the small xyz, even if it is not given you are sufficiently trained how to choose the
rotating frame of reference, The choice is I should get arel and Vrel, mean V and
acceleration arel comfortably with the quantities specified in the problem, that is possible
only if I sit on this disk and move with it ok.
783
Once you understand this, rest of it is straightforward. So, we have fixed point rotation.
So, the angular velocity of
x y z axis, we have already
seen that I can have a
vectorial addition. So, I put
the symbol denoting

that this is the angular
velocity of the rotating
frame of reference, I have
ω1 and ω2 and you should
also note that all the axis,
there is no confusion and
axis, that is why I chose the problem because, the problem is complex from a different
perspective, I wanted to make other quantities as simple as possible. So, that you get the
idea behind it. So, I have this as but, So, I can rewrite as,
and you also know how to get the acceleration.
So, whatever you have learnt in fixed point rotation, those concepts you have to stretch
here and then do it systematically. So, I have this disk and this is same as small x as well
as capital X and I have this capital Y axis here and I have the small y axis here, I have the
point B marked at the centre of the disk and I have the point A and this has a spin
velocity clockwise and I can easily find out the Vrel as well as arel.
So, you choose the rotating frame of reference, such that you can measure these
quantities or determine these quantities comfortably and I have VB as the coordinate
velocity. So, this is the position vector I have this as b i and b is also given, it is given as
350 mm. I know when I say , I must recognize that it has combination of ω1 and
ω2. So, I have the expression translated into numbers and finally, I miss some
substitutions, please verify this, verify them and if there are any typographical error,
please bring it to my attention. I get VB as -0.14k m/s.
784
And we would also determine, when we find out Vrel we will also find out arel and I have
to get the coordinate
acceleration. So, r as bi so,
I have this as
and I should recognize that
I will have and this I can
write it in terms of ,
which we have always
been doing to simplify the
calculations and how do I
write go back to your

fixed-point rotation. So, I have to have ω2 × ω, ω2 × ω1 is what I want but, I can also
write it in terms of this because, this j cross j will go to 0.
So, essentially, I get,
. So, you should

recognize even though
these angular velocities are
constant because, of the
directional change you still
have , it is not 0. So, it is

a very nice problem
combining the fixed-point
rotation and rotating frame
of reference. So, once we
have solved a problem like this, then you have many recipes for you to attack a problem.
So, I have this value substituted and I get this as 0.16k rad/s2.
785
So, all the other quantities I can put and so on and so forth. So, I have this as 0.056j
and I get , the values are substituted and this turns out to be . So, I
finally, get
so, I have
been able to get the
coordinate acceleration.
Then I have this
the
standard expression and
, I can also write

Vrel, 0.06i m/s and
. So, the choice of your rotating frame of reference is selected. So, that you
comfortably evaluate Vrel and arel without any difficulty.
But I can have a very complicated motion of the rotating frame of reference, it has a
fixed-point rotation this time and you can write what is r, it is given in the problem
statement what is the size. So, I can get and substitute these values, I get this as -
0.03k m/s. So, I have VA as in terms of expressions, when I substitute the values, I have
this as . I have missed some steps, please fill in those blanks, substitute
and then verify that the final expression is correct.
So, we have been able to find out what is VA, in a similar fashion we will also find out
the acceleration, you have to recognize that the rotating frame of reference can have
fixed point rotation, there is no mental block in selecting that kind of a axis of reference,
that is the message in this problem.
786
So, I have this expression for acceleration and I know what is r, and we have
already determined what is aB and we have also determined and when I put
, I can get the value

like this, -0.012 and I have
expression is also given.

So, I can write what is
, is this
quantity, turns out

to be like this, then I can
also write we know what is
Vrel, we know what is arel,
Vrel is so much and arel also
we had determined it earlier. So, I have all these quantities. So, I can easily compute
, as well as put the value for a rel. So, turns out to be -0.048k.
So, when I put all these quantities, I get the acceleration finally, as
. So, it is a very nice problem which combines rotating frame

of reference and fixed point rotation and if you are systematic, there is no difficulty in
solving this problem, it is fairly straightforward but, you have to be extremely
systematic, like what I have shown intermediate steps, if you develop this kind of a habit,
it is also easy for us to grade your paper. Rather than you write the final expression with,
if the final expression is correct there is no difficulty, if there are mistakes how to give
partial marks it becomes so difficult for us to do that ok.
So, in this class what we have looked at is extension of problems in 3 dimensions, we

have looked at non rotating translating axis attached to the 3-dimensional body, then a
rotating frame of reference attached to a 3-dimensional body. First, we solve the simple
problem, where there was the axis where little difficult to handle.
787
So, we have also learned how to handle those interrelationships comfortably, then we
looked at another very interesting problem, wherein we combined fixed point rotation
and rotating frame of reference. The rotating frame of reference can in general have even
fixed-point rotation, there is no necessity that it should be a simpler axis, it can have a
complicated rotation.
Thank you.
788

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INDEX

S.No. Topic Page No.

1 Introduction to Engineering Mechanics - I 1

31 Rotating Frame of Reference V – Understanding 161

37 3D Kinematics III 196

(Refer Slide Time: 00:33)

So, welcome to the course

(Refer Slide Time: 02:17)

And I would like you to

(Refer Slide Time: 02:34)

And many of you know

(Refer Slide Time: 03:20)

And you should also know

(Refer Slide Time: 04:05)

And all of this happen

(Refer Slide Time: 05:30)

And if you look at history;

(Refer Slide Time: 05:44)

Then what you find Greeks

(Refer Slide Time: 06:29)

And what you find is

(Refer Slide Time: 06:46)

And you should know

(Refer Slide Time: 07:28)

And you can see here the

(Refer Slide Time: 07:41)

And it was a sense of pride

(Refer Slide Time: 07:58)

And it is also surprising to

(Refer Slide Time: 08:39)

We also had parallel

(Refer Slide Time: 08:54)

And this is not a short

(Refer Slide Time: 09:17)

(Refer Slide Time: 09:21)

And when you look at the

(Refer Slide Time: 10:16)

And we also had several

(Refer Slide Time: 10:26)

So, if you look at the

(Refer Slide Time: 10:48)

And if you go back to

(Refer Slide Time: 12:15)

But if you look at what

(Refer Slide Time: 12:36)

So, the idea what I am

(Refer Slide Time: 13:13)

Funding is available only

(Refer Slide Time: 14:18)

As in Roman era to fix the

(Refer Slide Time: 14:56)

And he was also a great

(Refer Slide Time: 15:33)

(Refer Slide Time: 16:26)

We had this knowledge

(Refer Slide Time: 16:56)

And the questions that

(Refer Slide Time: 18:05)

And let us get back to the

by its nature somewhere. Time is a numeration of continuous movement; very abstract

(Refer Slide Time: 18:44)

What did he say about

Can you imagine for how