STATICS OF RIGID BODIES

A. Course Code / Title : Statics 213 / Statics of Rigid Bodies

B. Module Number : Module 1 - Introduction

C. Time Frame : 1st week - 3 hours

D. Description :

This module looks into the importance of Mechanics to Civil Engineering students,
particularly,the fundamental principles of Mechanics, system of units, conversion factors and SI
prefixes.

E. Objectives:

At the end of this module, the learner should be able to:

1. Establish better understanding of the basic concept of Mechanics based on experiment

evidences.

2. Convert units from one system to another.

F. Contents
 Introduction

Mechanics is a branch of Physical Science which describes and predicts the conditions of
rest or motion of bodies under the action of forces.

 Three Divisions of Mechanics

 Mechanics of Rigid Bodies

 Mechanics of Deformable Bodies

 Mechanics of Fluids

 Two Divisions of Mechanics of Rigid Bodies

 Statics - dealing with bodies at rest

 Dynamics - dealing with bodies in motion

 Six fundamental principles of Mechanics based on experiments evidences:

 The Parallelogram Law for the Addition of Forces

This states that two forces acting on a particle maybe replaced by a single force,
called the resultant, obtained by drawing the diagonal of the parallelogram which has sides
equal to the given forces.
  The Principle of Transmissibility

This states that the conditions of equilibrium or of motion of a rigid body will
remain unchanged if a force acting at a given point of the rigid body is replaced by a force of
the same magnitude and same direction, but acting at a different point, provided that the
two forces have the same line of action.

 Newton’s Three Fundamental Laws

 First Law

If the resultant forces acting on a particle are zero, the particle will remain at rest (if
originally at rest) or will move with constant speed in a straight line (if originally in motion).

 Second Law

If the resultant force acting on a particle is not zero, the particle will have
acceleration proportional to the magnitude of the resultant and in the direction of this
resultant force. F = ma.

 Third Law

The forces of action and reaction between bodies in contact have the same
magnitude, same line of action and opposite sense.

 Newton’s Law of Gravitation

This states that two particles of mass M and m are mutually attracted with equal and
opposite forces F and F’ of magnitude F given by the formula

GMm
F
r2
Where:

r r = distance between two particles

G = universal constant called the constant of

M F F’ m gravitation

11 m3
G  6.67 x10
 System of Units: kg  s 2

International System of Units (SI units)

 Length

The meter had its origin in the metric system. By international agreement, the
standard meter had been defined as the distance between two fine lines on a bar of
platinum - iridium alloy. The 1960 conference redefined the meter as 1, 650, 763. 73
wavelengths of the reddish - orange light emitted by the isotope krypton - 86. The meter
 was again redefined in 1983 as the length of the path traveled by light in vacuum during a
time interval of 1 / 299, 792, 458 of a second.

 Mass

When the metric system was created, the kilogram was defined as the mass of 1
cubic decimeter of pure water at the temperature of its maximum density (4.0˚C / 39.2˚F).
A solid cylinder of platinum was carefully made to match this quantity of water under the
specified conditions. Later it was discovered that a quantity of water as pure or as stable as
required could not be provided. Therefore the primary standard of mass became the
platinum cylinder, which was replaced in 1889 by a platinum - iridium cylinder of similar
mass. Today this cylinder still serves as the international kilogram, and the kilogram in SI is
defined as a quantity of mass of the international prototype of the kilogram.

 Time

For centuries, time has been universally measured in terms of the rotation of the
earth. The second, the basic unit of time, was defined as 1 / 86, 400 of a mean solar day (see
Day) or one complete rotation of the earth on its axis. Scientists discovered, however, that
the rotation of the earth was not constant enough to serve as the basis of the time standard.
As a result, the second was redefined in 1967 in terms of the resonant frequency of the
cesium atom - that is, the frequency at which this atom absorbs energy, or 9, 192, 631, 770
hertz (cycles per second).

 SI Prefixes

Multiplication Factor Prefix Symbol

1,000,000,000,000,000,000 = 1 x 1018 Exa E

1,000,000,000,000,000 = 1 x 1015 Peta P

1,000,000,000,000 = 1 x 1012 Tera T

1,000,000,000 = 1 x 109 Giga G

1,000,000 = 1 x 106 Mega M

1,000 = 1 x 103 Kilo K

100 = 1 x 102 hecto h

10 deka da

0.10 = 1 x 10 -1 deci d

0.01 = 1 x 10 -2 centi c

0.001 = 1 x 10 -3 milli m

0.000001 = 1 x 10 -6 micro μ

0.000000001 = 1 x 10 -9 nano η

0.000000000001 = 1 x10 -12 pico р

 Conversion of Units:

 Length 1 foot = 12 inches

1 mile = 5280 feet

1 inch = 2.54 centimeters

1 foot = 0.3048 meter

1 meter = 3.281 feet = 39.37 inches

 Time 1 day = 24 hours

1 hour = 60 minutes

1 minute = 60 seconds

 Mass 1 slug = 14.59 kilograms

 Force 1 pound = 4.448 Newton

 Angle 2πradians = 360 degrees

Example:

9 Mg = 9000 kg

10 GPa = 10 x 103 MPa

12 μm = 12 x 10- 9 km

23 ηg = 23 x 10- 6 mg

1 day = 86, 400 sec

1 mile = 1.6098 km
 Principal SI units used in Mechanics

Quantity Unit Symbol Formula

Meter per second m

Acceleration
squared s2

Angle radian rad

Radian per second rad

Angular acceleration
squared s2

rad
Angular velocity Radian per second
s

Area Square meter m2

Kilogram per cubic kg

Density
meter m3

Energy joule J N-m

kg  m
Force Newton N
s2

Frequency Hertz Hz s -1

Length meter m

Mass kilogram kg

Moment of a force Newton - meter N-m

Power Watt W J/s

N
Pressure Pascal Pa
m2

N
Stress Pascal Pa
m2

Time Second s

m
Velocity meter per second
s

Volume cubic meter m3

Work Joule J N-m

G. References:

1. Vector Mechanics for Engineers 10th Edition, Beer, F.P., Johnston, E.R.Jr, Mazurek, D.F.,
Cornwell, P.J.2013

2. Engineering Mechanics Statics 13th Edition, Hibbeler, R.C.,2013

3. Engineering Mechanics Statics 14th Edition, Hibbeler, R.C.,2016