NATIONAL UNIVERSITY OF SCIENCE AND

TECHNOLOGY

FUCULTY OF ENGINEERING

INDUSTRIAL AND MANUFACTURING

ENGINEERING

LECTURER: W TUMBUDZUKU

NAME: LANGALENKOSI M NCUBE

STUDENT NO: N02219827H

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TOPIC: IN REFERENCE TO THE COURCE
OUTLINE WHY SHOULD ENGINEERS STUDY
SOLID MECHANICS

INTRODUCTION TO ENGINEERING MECHNICS

The state of rest and state of motion of the bodies under the action of different
forces has engaged the attention of philosophers, mathematicians and scientists for
many centuries. The branch of physical science that deals with the state of rest or
the state of motion is termed as mechanics. Starting from the analysis of rigid
bodies under gravitational force and simple applied forces the mechanics has
grown to the analysis of robotics, aircrafts, and spacecraft’s under dynamic forces,
atmospheric forces, temperature forces etc. Archimedes (287–
212 BC), Galileo (1564–1642), Sir Issac Newton (1642–1727) andEinstein (1878–
1955) have contributed a lot to the development of mechanics. Contributions by
Avignon, Euler, D.

CLASSES OF MECHNICS

i. Classic Mechanics.
ii. Quantum Mechanics.
iii. Relativistic Mechanics.

Classic Mechanics

Sir Isaac Newton, the principal architect of mechanics, consolidated the

philosophy and experimental findings developed around the state of rest and state
of motion of the bodies and put forth them in the form of three laws of motion as
well as the law of gravitation. The mechanics based on these laws is called
Classical mechanics.

Relativistic Mechanics
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 Albert Einstein proved that Newtonian mechanics fails to explain the behaviour of
high speed (speed of light) bodies. He put forth the theory of
Relativistic Mechanics.

Quantum mechanics

Schrödinger (1887–1961) and Broglie (1892–1965) showed that Newtonian

mechanics fails to explain the behaviour of particles when atomic distances are
concerned. They put forth the theory of Quantum Mechanics.

How does engineering mechanics help Engineers?

Engineers are keen to use the laws of mechanics to actual field problems.
Application of laws of mechanics to field problem is termed as
Engineering Mechanics. Engineering mechanics help engineers to analyse and calculate the
forces acting on a body of interest. The examples of forces that are analysed are shear forces,
bending moments, concentrated forces, evenly distributed forces, linearly varying forces,
friction and gravitational forces. These forces my act on structures such as stadiums, bridges,
cars, aircrafts, locomotives, buildings etc.

Role of mechanics in bridge construction (method of joints, method of

sections, shear and bending moments and types of supports.

Determining the potential loads or forces that are anticipated to act on a bridge is
related to the bridge location and purpose. Engineers consider three main types of
loads: dead loads, live loads and environmental loads:

 Dead loads include the weight of the bridge itself plus any other permanent
object affixed to the bridge, such as toll booths, highway signs, guardrails,
gates or a concrete road surface.

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  Live loads are temporary loads that act on a bridge, such as cars, trucks,
trains or pedestrians.
 Environmental loads are temporary loads that act on a bridge and that are
due to weather or other environmental influences, such as wind from
hurricanes, tornadoes or high gusts; snow; and earthquakes. Rainwater
collecting might also be a factor if proper drainage is not provided.
Values for these loads are dependent on the use and location of the bridge.
Example: The columns and beams of a multi-level bridge designed for trains,
vehicles and pedestrians should be able to withstand the combined load all three
bridge uses at the same time.
Load Combinations
During bridge design, combining the loads for a particular bridge is an important
step. Engineers use several methods to accomplish this task. After an engineer
determines the highest or most critical load combination, they determine the size of
the members. A bridge member is any individual main piece of the bridge
structure, such as columns (piers) or beams (girders). Column and beam sizes are
calculated independently.
To solve for the size of a column, engineers perform calculations using strengths of
materials that have been pre-determined through testing.
Since the bridge is exposed to several forces, engineers have to calculate the force
acting on each member of the bridge beams. In order to achieve this engineers use
the method of joints and method of sections. In method of joints, forces acting on
joints and their nature can be found. Method of sections can also be used to find
forces acting on each member and it should be noted that the answers should be
identical compared to the ones obtained using the method of joints. In order to
construct a lifelong bridge engineers need to know where there are shear forces and
maximum bending moments and use the correct supports where they are needed.
The supports used are usual pin supports, roller supports and cantilevers.

Role of mechanics in locomotives and aircrafts (friction).

In bodies such as cars, aircrafts and locomotives they are parts that are rubbing
against each other, this is called friction. Friction can be a nuisance or useful. It is
helpful for engineers to know scenarios where friction must be reduced and where
friction must be increased. Friction within the engines is not good because it causes
wear and tear. Engineers use their knowledge to calculate the maximum friction

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that can be allowed and come up with ways of reducing friction such as
lubrication, use of ball bearings and pulley systems.

Centre of gravity and mass

Engineers also use the concept of centre of gravity and centre of mass to construct
vehicles that are more stable for example those used in racing. In order to find the
centre of gravity and centre of mass, engineers has to have the knowledge of
finding the centroids of bodies. For a body to be stable you lower the centre of
mass and in increase the base area.

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