Professional Documents
Culture Documents
Prepared by
Dr. P. Venkata Reddy
M. Tech, Ph. D (IISc Bangalore)
Verified by
Dr. Dinesh Keloth Kaithari
Module Leader
Approved by
Head of the Department
Mechanical and Industrial Engineering
Moment of a Force
The moment M of a force F about a fixed point A is defined as the product of the magnitude of force F and the
perpendicular distance d from point A to the line of action of force F.
MA = F x d
Where force F is in Newtons, N and distance d is in meters, m
Thus moment MA is in Newton-meter, N-m.
Moment Sign Convention
Direction using right hand rule
Anti-clock
wise:
+ VE
(Counter-clockwise)
Clockwise: -
VE
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Academic Year 2014-15 - semester A
Resultant Moment
Solution:
Since the perpendicular distance from the force to the axis point A is 1.5 m, from
MA = F x d = - 500 x 1.5 = - 750 Nm = 750 Nm
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Academic Year 2014-15 - semester A
Example 2:
Calculate the moment about point A caused by the 500 N force as shown in the diagram.
Solution:
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Academic Year 2014-15 - semester A
Example 3:
Determine the resulting moment about point A of the system of forces on bar ABC as shown in the diagram.
Solution:
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Academic Year 2014-15 - semester A
Example 4:
For each case, determine the moment of the force about point O.
Solution:
Line of action is extended as a dashed line to establish moment arm d. Tendency to rotate is indicated and the orbit
is shown as a colored curl.
(a ) M o (100 N )(2m) 200 N .m(CW )
(c) M o (40 N )(4m 2 cos 30 m) 229 N .m(CW )
Varignons Theorem:
Varignons Theorem states that the moment of a force about any point is equal to the sum of the moments of its
components about the same point.
To calculate the moment of any force with a slope or at an angle to the x or y-axis, resolve the force into the Fx and
the Fy components, and calculate the sum of the moment of these two force components about the same point.
Example 5:
Re-Calculate Example 3 Above Employing Varignons Theorem.
Solution:
Couple
A couple consists of a pair of two forces which has the
following properties:
-Equal magnitude and opposite in direction
-Act along parallel lines of action
-Separated by a perpendicular distance d.
A couple causes a body to rotate only without translational motion since the two forces cancels out each other
giving zero resultant. A couple acting in a system of forces will only contribute to the resulting moment but not to
the resulting force.
Magnitude of a Couple:
Consider a light bar acted upon by a couple as shown:
The moment of the couple about A is
MA = F x d2 - F x d1 = F x (d2 - d1) = F x d
What is the total moment of the couple about point B?
MB = F x d/2 + F x d/2 = F x (d/2 + d/2) = F x d
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Academic Year 2014-15 - semester A
Solution:
(a) MA = (2000 sin 30 x 2.5) (2000 cos 30 x 1.5) + ( 3000 x 0) + 120 80
= 2500 2598 + 0 +120 80 = - 58 Nm = 58 Nm
(b) MB = (2000 sin 30 x 0) (2000 cos 30 x 1.5) + (3000 x 0) + 120 80 = -2558 Nm = 2558 Nm
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Academic Year 2014-15 - semester A
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Academic Year 2014-15 - semester A
Example 7:
Determine the force-couple equivalent at point A for the single force of 20 kN acting at point C on the bracket
ABC.
Solution:
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Academic Year 2014-15 - semester A
Example 8:
Determine the force-couple equivalent at point A for Multiple force system of 20 kN acting at point C and another
30 kN horizontal force is acting at point B on the bracket ABC.
Solution:
Rx = Fx = 20 cos 40 + 30 = 45.32 kN
Therefore R = (45.322 + 12.862) = 47.11 kN
Ry
tan 1
Rx
Ry = Fy = 20 sin 40 = 12.86 kN
12.86
o
tan 1
15.84
45.32
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Academic Year 2014-15 - semester A