Torque

&
Equilibrium
 Objectives

• Define the terms torque, moment arm, and line of

action of a force.
• Calculate the resultant torque about any axis given
the magnitude and locations of forces.
• Define and apply the vector cross product to
calculate torque.
• Apply Newton Laws to the Torque to define
Equilibrium
Torque is a twist
or turn that tends
to produce
rotation.
 Definition of Torque

Torque
Torque isis defined
defined as
as the
the tendency
tendency to
to
produce
produce aa change
change in
in rotational
rotational motion.
motion.
Examples:
 Torque is Determined by Three Factors:
•• The
The magnitude
magnitude of of the
the applied
applied force.
force.
•• The
The direction
direction of
of the
the applied
applied force.
force.
•• The
The location
location of
of the
the applied
applied force.
force.

Magnitude
Locationofofof
Direction force
force
Force
Each
TheThe 40-N
of the
forces force
20-Nthe
nearer
forces
produces
end ofhas
theatwice
different
wrenchthe 20 N 
2020
N
20NN
torque
torque
have asdue
greater does
to the
the
torques.  20
40NN
direction
20-N force.
of force. 20 N
20 N
 Units for Torque
Torque
Torque isis proportional
proportional to to the
the magnitude
magnitude of
of FF
and
and to
to the
the distance
distance rr from
from thethe axis.
axis.

 == Fr
Fr Units: Nm

 = (40 N)(0.60 m)
= 24.0 Nm, cw
6 cm
 == 24.0
24.0 Nm,
Nm, cw
cw 40 N
 Direction of Torque

Torque
Torque isis aa vector
vector quantity
quantity that
that has
has
direction
direction as as well
well as
as magnitude.
magnitude.

Turning the handle of a

screwdriver clockwise and
then counterclockwise will
advance the screw first
inward and then outward.
 Sign Convention for Torque
By convention, counterclockwise torques are
positive and clockwise torques are negative.

Positive torque: ccw

Counter-clockwise,
out of page
cw
Negative torque:
clockwise, into page
 Line of Action of a Force

The
The line
line of
of action
action ofof aa force
force isis an
an imaginary
imaginary
line
line of
of indefinite
indefinite length
length drawn
drawn alongalong the
the
direction
direction ofof the
the force.
force.

F2
F1 Line of F3
action
 The Moment Arm
The
The moment
moment arm arm ofof aa force
force isis the
the perpendicular
perpendicular distance
distance
from
from the
the line
line of
of action
action ofof aa force
force to to the
the axis
axis of
of rotation.
rotation.

F1 r

F2 r
F3
r
 Calculating Torque
•• Draw
Draw aa rough
rough figure.
figure.
•• Extend
Extend line
line of
of action
action ofof the
the force.
force.
•• Draw
Draw and
and label
label moment
moment arm. arm.
•• Calculate
Calculate the
the moment
moment arm arm ifif necessary.
necessary.
•• Apply
Apply definition
definition ofof torque:
torque:

 == Fr
Fr Torque = force x moment arm
Example 1: An 80-N force acts at the end of
a 12-cm wrench as shown. Find the torque.

• Extend line of action, draw, calculate r.

rr == 12
12 cm
cm sin
sin 60
600
0
 == (80
(80 N)(0.104
N)(0.104 m)
m)
=
= 10.4
10.4 cm
cm == 8.31
8.31 N
Nmm
Alternate: An 80-N force acts at the end of
a 12-cm wrench as shown. Find the torque.

positive
12 cm

Resolve 80-N force into components as shown.

Note from figure: rx = 0 and ry = 12 cm

 = (69.3 N)(0.12 m)  == 8.31

8.31 N
Nmm as
as before
before
 Calculating Resultant Torque
•• Draw,
Draw, and
and label
label aa rough
rough figure.
figure.
•• Draw
Draw free-body
free-body diagram
diagram showing
showing all
all forces,
forces,
distances,
distances, and
and axis
axis of
of rotation.
rotation.
•• Extend
Extend lines
lines of
of action
action for
for each
each force.
force.
•• Calculate
Calculate moment
moment arms
arms ifif necessary.
necessary.
•• Calculate
Calculate torques
torques due
due to
to EACH
EACH individual
individual force
force
with
with proper
proper sign.
sign. CCW
CCW (+)(+) and
and CW
CW (-).
(-).
•• Resultant
Resultant torque
torque isis sum
sum of
of individual
individual torques.
torques.
 Example 2: Find resultant torque about axis
A for the arrangement shown below:

Find due
Find due to
to 30 N negative 20 N

each
each force.
force. 300
r
300
Consider
Consider 20-N20-N 6m 2m
force A 4m
force first:
first: 40 N

r = (4 m) sin 300 The torque about A is

= 2.00 m clockwise and negative.
 = Fr = (20 N)(2 m) 2020 == -40
-40 N
Nmm
= 40 N m, cw
Example 2 (Cont.): Next we find torque due
to 30-N force about same axis A.

Find due
Find due to
to 30 N r
negative
20 N

each
each force.
force. 300 300
Consider
Consider 30-N
30-N 6m 2m
force A 4m
force next.
next. 40 N

r = (8 m) sin 300 The torque about A is

= 4.00 m clockwise and negative.
 = Fr = (30 N)(4 m) 3030 == -120
-120 N
Nmm
= 120 N m, cw
 Example 2 (Cont.): Finally, we consider the
torque due to the 40-N force.

Find due
Find due to
to 30 N positive 20 N

each
each force.
force. 300 r 300
Consider
Consider 40-N
40-N 6m 2m
force A 4m
force next:
next: 40 N

r = (2 m) sin 900 The torque about A is

= 2.00 m CCW and positive.
 = Fr = (40 N)(2 m) 4040 == +80
= 80 N m, ccw +80 N
Nmm
 Example 2 (Conclusion): Find resultant torque
about axis A for the arrangement shown below:

30 N 20 N
Resultant
Resultant torque
torque
isis the 300
the sum
sum of
of 300
individual
individual torques.
torques. 6m 2m
A 4m
40 N

R = 20 + 20 + 20 = -40 N m -120 N m + 80 N m

RR == -- 80
80 N
Nmm Clockwise
 The Vector Product
Torque can also be found by using the vector
product of force F and position vector r. For
example, consider the figure below.

Torque
F Sin 
F The effect of the force
F at angle  (torque)
r  is to advance the bolt
out of the page.
Magnitude:
Direction = Out of page (+).
(F Sin )r
 Definition of a Vector Product
The magnitude of the vector (cross) product
of two vectors A and B is defined as follows:
A x B = l A l l B l Sin 

In our example, the cross product of F and r is:

F x r = l F l l r l Sin Magnitude only
F Sin 
F In effect, this becomes simply:

r (F Sin ) r or F (r Sin )
 Example
C
The direction of a
vector product is
determined by the
right hand rule. B
A
R x F = τ (up)

F x R = -τ (Down)
 Summary
Torque
Torque isis the
the product
product of
of aa force
force and
and its
its
moment
moment arm
arm as
as defined
defined below:
below:

The
The moment
moment arm arm ofof aa force
force isis the
the perpendicular
perpendicular distance
distance
from
from the
the line
line of
of action
action ofof aa force
force to to the
the axis
axis of
of rotation.
rotation.

The
The line
line of
of action
action of
of aa force
force isis an
an imaginary
imaginary line
line of
of
indefinite
indefinite length
length drawn
drawn along
along thethe direction
direction of
of the
the force.
force.

 == Fr
Fr Torque
Torque == force
force xx moment
moment arm
arm
Rotational Equilibrium
The Golden Gate
Bridge provides
an excellent
example of
balanced forces
and torques.
Engineers must
design such
structures so that
rotational and
translational
equilibrium is
maintained. Photo © EP 101 Photodisk/Getty
 Translational Equilibrium

Car at rest Constant speed

a  0;  F  0; No change in v

The linear speed is not changing with time.

There is no resultant force and therefore zero
acceleration. Translational equilibrium exists.
 Rotational Equilibrium
Wheel at rest Constant rotation

  0; No change in rotation.

The angular speed is not changing with time.

There is no resultant torque and, therefore,
zero change in rotational velocity. Rotational
equilibrium exists.
 Equilibrium
• An object is said to be in equilibrium if and
only if there is no resultant force and no
resultant torque.

First
Condition: 
 F
F 
 0;
0;
xx 
 0
F
F 
 0 yy

Second
Condition: 
 0

 
 0
 Statics or Total Equilibrium

Statics is the physics that treats objects at

rest or objects in constant motion.
 Translational Equilibrium Only
If all forces act at the same point, then there
is no torque to consider and one need only
apply the first condition for equilibrium:
• Construct free-body diagram.
• Sum forces and set to zero:
Fx= 0; Fy= 0
• Solve for unknowns.
 Total Equilibrium

In general, there are six degrees of freedom

(right, left, up, down, ccw, and cw):

Fx= 0 Right = left

Fx= 0 Up = down


ccw (+) cw (-) (ccw)= (ccw)
 General Procedure:
• Draw free-body diagram.
• Choose axis of rotation at point where least
information is given.
• Extend line of action for forces, find moment
arms, and sum torques about chosen axis:

• Sum forces and set to zero: Fx= 0; Fy= 0
• Solve for unknowns.
Example 3: Find the forces exerted by supports
A and B. Neglect the weight of the 10-m boom.

2m 7m 3m
Draw free-body
diagram A B
40 N 80 N
Rotational Equilibrium:
B
Choose axis at point 2m A 7m 3m
of unknown force.
40 N 80 N
At A for example.
Example 3 (Cont.)
B
2m A 7m 3m

(ccw) = (cw) 80 N
40 N
we need only the
Torques about axis ccw
absolute (positive)
are equal to those cw.
magnitudes of each
torque.
 (+) =  (-) ccw (+) cw (-)

Essentially,
Essentially, the
the torques
torques are
are balanced
balanced about
about
aa chosen
chosen axis.
axis.
 Example 3: (Cont.)
2m 7m 3m
Rotational Equilibrium:
A B
 40 N 80 N
or B
2m A 7m 3m
(ccw) = (cw)
40 N 80 N
With respect to Axis A:

CCW Torques: Forces B and 40 N.

CW Torques: 80 N force.
Force A is ignored: Neither ccw nor cw
Example 3 (Cont.)
2m 7m 3m
First: (ccw) A B
40 N 80 N
1 = B (10 m)
B
2m A 7m 3m
2 = (40 N) (2 m)
= 80 Nm 40 N 80 N

Next: (cw) (ccw) = (cw)

B(10 m) + 80 Nm = 560 Nm
3 = (80 N) (7 m) =
560 Nm BB == 48.0
48.0 NN
 Example 3 (Cont.)
2m 7m 3m
Translational A B
Equilibrium 40 N 80 N
B
FFxx== 0;
0; FFyy== 00 2m A 7m 3m

F(up) = F(down) 40 N 80 N

A + B = 40 N + 80 N Recall that B = 48.0 N

A + 48 N = 120 N
A + B = 120 N AA == 72.0
72.0 NN
Example 3 (Cont.)
2m 7m 3m
Check answer by A B
summing torques 40 N 80 N
about right end to B
2m A 7m 3m
verify A = 72.0 N
40 N 80 N
(ccw) = (cw)

(40 N)(12 m) + (80 N)(3 m) = A (10 m)

480 Nm + 240 Nm = A (10 m)

AA == 72.0
72.0 NN
Reminder on Signs:
2m 7m 3m
Absolute values
apply for: A B
40 N 80 N
F(up) = F(down) B
2m A 7m 3m
We used absolute (+)
values for both UP 40 N 80 N
and DOWN terms.

Instead of: Fy = A + B – 40 N - 80 N = 0

We wrote: A + B = 40 N + 90 N
Example 4: Find the tension in the rope T
and the force by the wall on the boom.
The 10-m boom weighing 200 N. Rope is 300
2 m from right end.
800 N

For
For purposes
purposes ofof summing
summing torques,
torques, we
we consider
consider
entire
entire weight
weight to
to act
act at
at center
center of
of board.
board.

Fy T
T
Fx
300
300 3m 2m
5m
200 N 800 N
200 N 800 N
 Example 4 F r
y T
T (Cont.)
Fx 300
300 3m 2m
5m
200 N 800 N
200 N 800 N
Choose axis of rotation at wall (least information)
(ccw): Tr = T (8 m)sin 300 = (4 m)T

(cw): (200 N)(5 m) + (800 N)(10 m) = 9000 Nm

(4 m)T = 9000 Nm TT == 2250

2250 NN
 Example 4 T
(Cont.) Fy Ty
T
Fx Tx 3030
0 0
300 3m 2m
5m
200 N 800 N
200 N 800 N

F(up) = F(down): Ty + Fy = 200 N + 800 N

Fy = 200 N + 800 N - Ty ; Fy = 1000 N - T sin 300

Fy = 1000 N - (2250 N)sin 300 Fy = -125 N

F(right) = F(left): Fx = Ty = (2250 N) cos 300

Fx = 1950 N or FF == 1954
1954 N,
N, 356.3
356.300
b) What is the minimum coefficient of friction between the block and the inclined
surface to prevent the block from sliding down the incline?
 Summary
Conditions for Equilibrium:

An
An object
object isis said
said to
to FFxx  00
be
be in
in equilibrium
equilibrium ifif
and
and only
only ifif there
there isis FFyy  00
no
no resultant
resultant forceforce
and
and nono resultant
resultant
torque.   00
torque.
 Summary: Procedure
• Draw free-body diagram and label.
• Choose axis of rotation at point where least
information is given.
• Extend line of action for forces, find moment
arms, and sum torques about chosen axis:

• Sum forces and set to zero: Fx= 0; Fy= 0
• Solve for unknowns.