Department of Civil Engineering

 Main principles of statics

✓ External loads
o Surface forces: direct contact
of one body with the surface
of another
o Concentrated force (idealized,
wheels)
o Linear distributed load
(narrow strip, intensity of
force/length, resultant force
FR that acts through the
centroid C or geometric
center of the area)

 Main principles of statics

✓ External loads
▪ Body forces: developed when
one body exerts a force on
another body without direct
physical contact
o Earth’s gravitation or its
electromagnetic field
o Represented by a single
concentrated force (weight)

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 Main principles of statics
✓ Support reactions
▪ Reactions: surface forces that develop at the supports or
points of contact between bodies
▪ Two-dimensional problems (coplanar force systems)
▪ If the support prevents translation in a given direction, then
a force must be developed on the member in that direction.
▪ If a rotation is prevented, a couple moment must be exerted
on the member

 Main principles of statics

✓ Support reactions

 Main principles of statics

✓ Equations of equilibrium
▪ Balance of forces: prevent of the body from translation

F  0
M  0 O

F  0 F  0 F  0
x y z

M  0 M  0 M  0
x y z

F  0 F
x y 0
(Coplanar forces)
M  0 O

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 Main principles of statics
✓ Equations of equilibrium

F  0 F
x y 0
(Coplanar forces)
M  0 O

 Example 1.1
Determine the external reactions at the points A and B.

30 kip

7 ft 3 ft

w = 2 kip/ft

A B

 Solution:

30 kip

7 ft 3 ft

w = 2 kip/ft
A
B
Ax

Ay By

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 Solution:

F  0 F
x y 0
M  0 O

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 Example 1.2
Determine the external reactions at the supports.

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 Example 1.3
Determine the external reactions at points A and B.

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