Chapter 3

Static of rigid bodies

3.0 Introduction
Most bodies in elementary mechanics are assumed to be rigid,
i.e., the actual deformations are small and do not affect the
conditions of equilibrium or motion of the body.
Forces acting on rigid bodies are divided into two groups:
External forces
Internal forces
External forces generally cause translation i.e. linear motion
and/or rotation (motion about a pivot) of the rigid body
Chapter 3
Static of rigid bodies
3.1 Principle of Transmissibility
Principle of transmissibility states that the condition of rest or
motion of a rigid body is unaffected if a force, F acting on a point
A is moved to act at a new point, B provided that the point B lies
on the same line of action of that force.
NOTE: F and F are equivalent forces.
Moving the point of application of
the force F to the rear bumper
does not affect the motion or the
other forces acting on the truck.
A
B
Chapter 3
Static of rigid bodies
3.2 Moment of Force scalar formulation
The effect of a force on a rigid body are
the moment of force (also called torque).
This moment of a force provides a
measure of the tendency of the force to
cause a body to rotate about the point or
axis.
Consider horizontal force F
x
, which acts
perpendicular to the handle of the wrench
and is located d
y
from the point O
F
x
tends to turn the pipe about the z axis
The larger the force or the distance d
y
,
the greater the turning effect
Torque tendency of
rotation caused by F
x
or simple moment (M
o
)
z
Chapter 3
Static of rigid bodies
For magnitude of M
O
,
M
O
= Fd
where d = moment arm or perpendicular
distance from the axis at point O to its line
of action of the force
Units for moment is N.m
Direction of M
O
is specified by using right
hand rule
- Fingers of the right hand are curled to
follow the sense of rotation when force
rotates about point O
- Thumb points along the moment axis to
give the direction and sense of the
moment vector
- Moment vector is upwards and
perpendicular to the shaded plane
Chapter 3
Static of rigid bodies
M
O
is shown by a vector arrow with a
curl to distinguish it from force vector
Moment of a force does not always
cause rotation
Force F tends to rotate the beam
clockwise about A with moment
M
A
= Fd
A
Force F tends to rotate the beam
counterclockwise about B with
moment
M
B
= Fd
B
Hence support at A prevents the
rotation
Resultant moment, M
Ro
= addition of
the moments of all the forces
algebraically since all moment forces
are collinear
M
Ro
= Fd
Chapter 3
Static of rigid bodies
3.3 Cross Product (Vector Product)
Concept of the moment of a force about a
point is more easily understood through
applications of the vector product or cross
product.
Vector product of two vectors P and Q is
defined as the vector V which satisfies the
following conditions:
Line of action of V is perpendicular to
plane containing P and Q.
Magnitude of V is
Direction of V is obtained from the right-
hand rule.
Vector products:
- are not commutative,
- are distributive,
- are not associative,
( ) Q P P Q =
( )
2 1 2 1
Q P Q P Q Q P + = +
( ) ( ) S Q P S Q P =
Chapter 3
Static of rigid bodies
( ) ( )
( )k Q P Q P
j Q P Q P i Q P Q P
x y y x
z x x z y z z y

+
+ =
Vector products of Cartesian unit vectors,
0
0
0
= = =
= = =
= = =
k k i k j j k i
i j k j j k j i
j i k k i j i i

Vector products in terms of rectangular
coordinates
( ) ( ) k Q j Q i Q k P j P i P V
z y x z y x

+ + + + =
z y x
z y x
Q Q Q
P P P
k j i


=
A shorthand way to represent this calculation is
by the use of the determinant
Determinant = Sum of Products - Sum of
Products
Chapter 3
Static of rigid bodies
3.4 Moment of Force - vector formulation
Moment of force F about point O can be
expressed using cross product
M
O
= r X F
where r represents position vector from O
to any point
lying on the line of action of F
For magnitude of cross product,
M
O
= rF sin
where is the angle measured between
tails of r and F

x y z
x y z
i j k
A A A
B B B
= C= AB

x y z x y
x y z x y
i j k i j
A A A A A
B B B B B

( )( ) ( )( ) ( )( )
y z z y z x x z x y y x
A B A B i A B A B j A B A B k = + +
Chapter 3
Static of rigid bodies
Treat r as a sliding vector. Since d = r
sin,
M
O
= rF sin = F (rsin) = Fd
Direction and sense of M
O
are
determined by right-hand rule
3.5 Principle of moments
Also known as Varignons Theorem
Moment of a force about a point is
equal to the sum of the moments of the
forces components about the point
For F = F
1
+ F
2
,
M
O
= r X F
1
+ r X F
2
= r X (F
1
+ F
2
)
= r X F
Chapter 3
Static of rigid bodies
Resultant moment of forces
about point O can be
determined by vector addition

O x y z
x y z
i j k
r r r
F F F
= M = r F
M
Ro
= (r x F)
Chapter 3
Static of rigid bodies
3.6 Moment of couple
Two forces F and F are said to
form a couple if they have the
same magnitude, parallel lines of
action but directed in opposite
direction and separated by a
perpendicular distance, d.
The moment produced by a
couple is called a couple moment.
A couple moment is a free vector
that can be applied at any point
with the same effect.
( ) ( ) 0
net
E + = F = F F
F
d
-F
B
A
( )
( )
Fd rF M
F r
F r r
F r F r M
B A
B A
= =
=
=
+ =
u sin

Chapter 3
Static of rigid bodies
Two couples are equivalent if they
produce the same moment
For resultant moment of two
couples at point P,
M
R
= M
1
+ M
2
For more than 2 moments,
M
R
= (r X F)
The combination of the force and
couple is referred to as a force-
couple system.
The three forces may be replaced by
an equivalent force vector and couple
vector.
Chapter 3
Static of rigid bodies
Equivalent Force-Couple
O A
F = F
O A OA A
+ M = M r F
A system of forces may be replaced by a collection of
force-couple systems acting a given point O
The force and
couple vectors may
be combined into a
resultant force
vector and a
resultant couple
vector,
( )

= = F r M F R
R
O

Chapter 3
Static of rigid bodies
3.7 Reactions at Supports and Connections
For a rigid body in static equilibrium, the external forces and moments are balanced and
will impart no translational or rotational motion to the body.
The necessary and sufficient condition for the static equilibrium of a body are that the
resultant force and couple from all external forces form a system equivalent to zero,
Resolving each force and moment into its rectangular components leads to 6 scalar
equations which also express the conditions for static equilibrium,
For two-dimensional problem, the moment about the z-direction must be zero in order to
preserve the static equilibrium condition.
( )

=

= = 0 0 F r M F
O

=

=

=
0 0 0
0 0 0
z y x
z y x
M M M
F F F
Chapter 3
Static of rigid bodies
Reactions equivalent to a
force with known line of
action.
Chapter 3
Static of rigid bodies
Reactions equivalent to a
force of unknown direction
and magnitude.
Reactions equivalent to a
force of unknown direction
and magnitude and a
couple of unknown
magnitude
Chapter 3
Static of rigid bodies
First step in the static equilibrium analysis of a
rigid body is identification of all forces acting
on the body with a free-body diagram.
Select the extent of the free-body and
detach it from the ground and all other
bodies.
3.8 Free-Body Diagram
Indicate point of application, magnitude,
and direction of external forces, including
the rigid body weight.
Indicate point of application and assumed
direction of unknown applied forces.
These usually consist of reactions through
which the ground and other bodies oppose
the possible motion of the rigid body.
Include the dimensions necessary to
compute the moments of the forces.
Chapter 3
Static of rigid bodies
3.9 Equilibrium of a Rigid Body in Two Dimensions
For all forces and moments acting on a
two-dimensional structure,
O z y x z
M M M M F = = = = 0 0
Equations of equilibrium become

= = = 0 0 0
A y x
M F F
where A is any point in the plane of
the structure.
The 3 equations can be solved for no
more than 3 unknowns.
The 3 equations can not be augmented
with additional equations, but they can be
replaced

= = = 0 0 0
B A x
M M F
Chapter 3
Static of rigid bodies
3.10 Statically Indeterminate Reactions
More unknowns
than equations
Fewer unknowns
than equations,
partially constrained
Equal number unknowns
and equations but
improperly constrained
Chapter 3
Static of rigid bodies
3.11 Equilibrium of a Two-Force Body
Consider a plate subjected to two forces F
1
and F
2
For static equilibrium, the sum of moments
about A must be zero. The moment of F
2
must
be zero. It follows that the line of action of F
2
must pass through A.
Similarly, the line of action of F
1
must pass
through B for the sum of moments about B to
be zero.
Requiring that the sum of forces in any
direction be zero leads to the conclusion that
F
1
and F
2
must have equal magnitude but
opposite sense.
Chapter 3
Static of rigid bodies
Consider a rigid body subjected to forces acting
at only 3 points.
3.12 Equilibrium of a Three-Force Body
Assuming that their lines of action intersect, the
moment of F
1
and F
2
about the point of
intersection represented by D is zero.
Since the rigid body is in equilibrium, the sum of
the moments of F
1
, F
2
, and F
3
about any axis
must be zero. It follows that the moment of F
3
about D must be zero as well and that the line of
action of F
3
must pass through D.
The lines of action of the three forces must be
concurrent or parallel.