Mechanics of Solids

ESO 202
Instructor: Dr. P. Chakraborty
Department of Aerospace Engineering

3rd August 2023

 Force

 Force is a directed interaction between bodies

 Mathematically, force can be represented as a fixed or

sliding vector

 Classification:
 Contact forces – between bodies in physical contact

Force transmitted via Force transmitted via

contact between hand contact between
and shaft of cart roller and cage

Pulling of a cart Ball bearing

 Force

 Classification:
 Non-contact forces – between physically separated
bodies

Gravitational force Magnetic force

 Force

 Newton’s laws of motion

 1st Law: Effect of force on the motion of a body
 2nd Law: Mathematical relation between force and motion
 3rd Law: Relation of forces between interacting bodies
 Unit of force (derived unit) obtainable from 2nd law in terms of
basic units of mass, distance & time
 SI unit of force – Newton (N)

 A newton is defined as the magnitude of force which when acts

on a body of 1 kg generates an acceleration of 1 m/s2
 1 N = 1 kg-m/s2
 Force

 The net effect of a system of forces acting on a point can be

expressed in terms of the resultant force
F1 F2 Resultant Force:
𝐹 = 𝐹1 + 𝐹2 + 𝐹3 + 𝐹4 + 𝐹5
Y F3 5

X 𝐹 = ෍ 𝐹𝑖
F5 F4 𝑖=1
Z

F2 F4
F3
Can also be obtained from
vector diagram F5
F1 F
 Force

Components of a force in an
orthogonal axis-system

𝐹1 = 𝐹1𝑥 𝑖Ƹ + 𝐹1𝑦 𝑗Ƹ + 𝐹1𝑧 𝑘෠

Components of the resultant force

5 5 5

𝐹𝑥 = ෍ 𝐹𝑖𝑥 𝐹𝑦 = ෍ 𝐹𝑖𝑦 𝐹𝑧 = ෍ 𝐹𝑖𝑧

𝑖=1 𝑖=1 𝑖=1
 Moment of a Force

 Force 𝐹 is applied at point P

 O is a fixed point in space

 𝑟 is the position vector of P with respect to O

 Moment of 𝐹 about O is defined as 𝑀 =𝑟×𝐹

 Moment of a Force

 Moment is a vector with a magnitude and direction

 Construct a plane consisting of vectors r and F

 Fcosf is along OP and doesn’t contribute to
moment (definition of moment)

 Magnitude of moment
𝑀 = 𝐹𝑟𝑠𝑖𝑛𝜙

 Direction of moment determined by right hand screw rule

 Moment of a Force

 Direction is in that of the thumb

of the right hand - when the
fingers curl in the direction that
the force F tends to turn about O

Direction of
moment
 Moment of a Force

 Components of moment
vector in an orthogonal
coordinate system
𝐹𝑥 𝑖Ƹ + 𝐹𝑦 𝑗Ƹ
𝑀 =𝑟×𝐹
= 𝑟𝑥 𝑖Ƹ + 𝑟𝑦 𝑗Ƹ × 𝐹𝑥 𝑖Ƹ + 𝐹𝑦 𝑗Ƹ 𝑟𝑥 𝑖Ƹ + 𝑟𝑦 𝑗Ƹ
= 𝑟𝑥 𝐹𝑦 − 𝑟𝑦 𝐹𝑥 𝑘෠
 Moment of Forces

 Moment about point O due to multiple forces

F1 F2

r1 r2
r5 O r3 F3
r4

F4
F5
𝑀 = 𝑟1 × 𝐹1 + 𝑟2 × 𝐹2 + 𝑟3 × 𝐹3 +𝑟4 × 𝐹4 +𝑟5 × 𝐹5
5

= ෍ 𝑟𝑖 × 𝐹𝑖
𝑖=1
 Couple

 A couple is a system of 2 M 𝑟1 × 𝐹1
parallel non-collinear
forces having equal 𝑟2 × 𝐹2 r1
magnitudes and opposite r2
directions F1
F2 a

𝑀 = 𝑟1 × 𝐹1 + 𝑟2 × 𝐹2 = 𝑟2 × 𝐹1 + 𝐹2 + 𝑎 × 𝐹2 = 𝑎 × 𝐹2

 The moment due to couple is independent of location

of point O
 Equilibrium of a Particle

 A particle is in a state of equilibrium if the resultant of forces

is zero and its acceleration is zero
 Particle can be in rest or constant velocity
 Study of forces in systems at rest is called statics

𝐹 = 𝐹1 + 𝐹2 + 𝐹3 + 𝐹4 + 𝐹5 = 0
F1 F2
𝑁

𝐹 = ෍ 𝐹𝑖 = 0
F3
𝑖=1

F5 F4
𝑁
 Moment about any point
𝑟 × 𝐹 = ෍ 𝑟 × 𝐹𝑖 = 0
due to the resultant force 𝑖=1
 Equilibrium of a Solid Body

Assumptions:
 The solid body is made of large number of infinitesimal particles
 The collective motion of the particles represent the overall
motion of the body
 Particles exert equal and opposite forces on each other on same
line of action

 A body is considered to be in equilibrium if every constituent

particle is in a state of equilibrium OR resultant force on every
particle is zero
 Equilibrium of a Solid Body

 Isolation of a system of particles from a body (sub part)

External force on a particle

– due to surrounding
particles outside this
isolated system

Internal force on a particle

– due to surrounding
particles inside this isolated
system
 Equilibrium of a Solid Body

 For a particle (say 1) to be in equilibrium

𝑁1

෍ 𝐹𝑖𝐼1 + 𝐹 𝐸1 = 0
𝑖=1

 This is true for every particle (j) in the system

𝑁𝑗
𝐼𝑗
෍ 𝐹𝑖 + 𝐹𝐸𝑗 = 0
𝑖=1
 Equilibrium of a Solid Body

 For a M-particle system in equilibrium

𝑀 𝑁𝑗 𝑀
𝐼𝑗
෍ ෍ 𝐹𝑖 + ෍ 𝐹𝐸𝑗 = 0
𝑗=1 𝑖=1 𝑗=1

 According to the assumption – each internal force has an

equal and opposite collinear force in the system
𝑀 𝑁𝑗
𝐼𝑗
෍ ෍ 𝐹𝑖 =0
𝑗=1 𝑖=1
 Equilibrium of a Solid Body

 Hence, for equilibrium of the isolated system of particles,

sum of all the external forces
𝑀

෍ 𝐹𝐸𝑗 = 0
𝑗=1

 Total moment of all the forces about a point O

𝑀 𝑁𝑗 𝑀
𝐼𝑗
෍ ෍ 𝑟𝑗 × 𝐹𝑖 + ෍ 𝑟𝑗 × 𝐹𝐸𝑗 = 0
𝑗=1 𝑖=1 𝑗=1
 Equilibrium of a Solid Body

F
F
 Equal and opposite internal
forces for every particle pair
𝑟1 𝑟2  Net moment about O is zero
𝑀 𝑁𝑗
𝐼𝑗
O ෍ ෍ 𝑟𝑗 × 𝐹𝑖 =0
𝑗=1 𝑖=1

 Hence, for equilibrium of the 𝑀

isolated system of particles, ෍ 𝑟𝑗 × 𝐹𝐸𝑗 = 0
the total moment of all the
𝑗=1
external forces about any
point must be zero
 Equilibrium of a Solid Body

 The conditions
𝑀 𝑀

෍ 𝐹𝐸𝑗 = 0 ෍ 𝑟𝑗 × 𝐹𝐸𝑗 = 0
𝑗=1 𝑗=1

are necessary but not sufficient to ensure equilibrium of a

body

 For an isolated system of 2

particles these conditions along
with assumption of interacting
forces imply
 Equilibrium of a Solid Body

 Clearly internal and external forces need not be equal and

the particles can have relative motion

 For rigid bodies, particles cannot have relative motion

 Adjustment of internal forces to satisfy this condition

The necessary and sufficient conditions for a perfectly rigid

body to be in equilibrium are that the sum of all the external
forces should be zero and the sum of all the moments of all the
external forces about an arbitrary point together with any
external applied moments should be zero
 Equilibrium of a Solid Body

 For deformable bodies relative motion between particles

can occur

The necessary and sufficient conditions for a deformable body

to be in equilibrium are that the sum of all the external forces
should be zero and the sum of all the moments of all the
external forces about an arbitrary point together with any
external applied moments should be zero on the body and on
every possible subpart isolated from the body.
 Two Force Member

 A body under the action of 2 forces can be in equilibrium iff

they are collinear, equal and opposite
 Three Force Member

 A body under the action of 3 forces can be in equilibrium iff

they are coplanar and their lines of action intersect at a
common point
 Free Body Diagram

 A critical step in the analysis of structures and sub-systems

is the identification of all external forces, moments due to
forces and isolated moments (from couples) that are acting
on them
 The best approach is to obtain the Free Body Diagram (FBD)

Steps to obtain FBD:

 Isolate the structure or member from the supports and/or
joints
 As the supports/joints restraint certain motion (translation
or rotation) of the body, it applies certain forces and/or
moments on the supports/joints
 Free Body Diagram

Steps to obtain FBD:

 The supports/joints apply reactive forces and/or moments
on the body
 If the body is not isolated then these forces and/or
moments (body on support/joint & support/joint on body)
balances
 Once the body is isolated, the reactive forces and/or
moments (support/joint on body) must be incorporated in
the FBD at the location of the support/joint
 Free Body Diagram

Block pushed horizontally on

a frictionless surface and
restrained by a frictionless
rigid wall

RH
P RH

RV
RV
Reactive forces on
Idealization the block
 Free Body Diagram

Steps to obtain FBD:

 Non-contact forces due to gravity, magnetism, etc. must be
included in the FBD
 Any other externally applied forces and/or moments must
be included in the FBD

RH P RH
W W

RV RV

Weight of the block Applied contact force

– non-contact force