2 General

Engineering and
Science

Contents
2.1 BASIC MECHANICS (STATICS AND
DYNAMICS) 2-2
2.2 FLUID MECHANICS 2-19
2.3 STRENGTH OF MATERIALS 2-27
2.4 THERMODYNAMICS 2-32
2.5 GEOLOGICAL ENGINEERING 2-69
2.6 ELECTRICITY 2-91
2.7 CHEMISTRY 2-100
2.8 ENGINEERING DESIGN 2-129
2-2 GENERAL ENGINEERING AND SCIENCE
2.1 BASIC MECHANICS (STATICS
AND DYNAMICS)
Mechanics is the physical science that deals with the effects
of forces on the state of motion or rest of solid, liquid, or
gaseous bodies. The field may be divided into the mechanics
of rigid bodies, the mechanics of deformable bodies, and the
mechanics of fluids.
A rigid body is one that does not deform. True rigid
bodies do not exist in nature; however, the assumption
of rigid body behavior is usually an acceptable accurate
simplification for examining the state of motion or rest
of structures and elements of structures. The rigid body
assumption is not useful in the study of structural failure.
Rigid body mechanics is further subdivided into the study
of bodies at rest, statics, and the study of bodies in motion,
dynamics.
2.1.1 Definitions, Laws, and Units
2.1.1.1 Fundamental Quantities
All of Newtonian mechanics is developed from the inde-
pendent and absolute concepts of space, time, and mass.
These quantities cannot be exactly defined, but they may
be functionally defined as follows:
Space. Some fixed reference system in which the posi-
tion of a body can be uniquely defined. The concept of
space is generally handled by imposition of a coordinate
system, such as the Cartesian system, in which the position
of a body can be stated mathematically.
Time. Physical events generally occur in some causal
sequence. Time is a measure of this sequence and is
required in addition to position in space in order to fully
specify an event.
Mass. A measure of the resistance of a body to changes in
its state of motion.
2.1.1.2 Derived Quantities
The concept of space, time, and mass may be combined to
produce additional useful measures and concepts.
Particle. An entity which has mass, but can be considered
to occupy a point in space. Rigid bodies that are not subject
to the action of an unbalanced couple often may be treated
as particles.
Body. A collection of particles. A rigid body is a rigidly
connected collection of particles.
Force. The action of one body on another. This action will
cause a change in the motion of the first body unless coun-
teracted by an additional force or forces. A force may be
produced either by actual contact or remotely (gravitation,
electrostatics, magnetism, etc.). Force is a vector quantity.
Couple. If two forces of equal magnitude, opposite direc-
tion, and different lines of action act on a body, they produce
a tendency for rotation, but no tendency for translation.
Such a pair of forces is called a couple. The magnitude of the
moment produced by a couple is calculated by multiplying
the magnitude of one of the two forces times the perpendic-
ular distance between them. Moment is a vector quantity,
and its sense of direction is considered to be outwardly
perpendicular to the plane of counterclockwise rotation of
the couple. The moment of a single force about some point
A is the magnitude of the force times the perpendicular
distance between A and the line of action of the force.
Velocity. A measure of the instantaneous rate of change of
position in space with respect to time. Velocity is a vector
quantity.
Acceleration. A measure of the instantaneous rate of
change in velocity with respect to time. Acceleration is a
vector quantity.
Gravitational acceleration. Every body falling in a vacuum
at a given position above and near the surface of the earth
will have the same acceleration, g. Although this acceleration
varies slightly over the earth’s surface due to local variations
in its shape and density, it is sufficiently accurate for most
engineering calculations to assume that g = 32.2 ft/s2 or
9.81 m/s2 at the surface of the earth.
Weight. A measure of the force exerted on a body of mass
M by the gravitational attraction of the earth. The magnitude
of this force is
W = Mg [2.1.1]
where W is the weight of the body. Strictly speaking, weight
is a vector quantity since it is a force acting in the direction
of the gravitational acceleration.
2.1.1.3 General Laws
The foregoing defined quantities interact according to the
following fundamental laws, which are based upon empirical
evidence.
Conservation of mass. The mass of a system of particles
remains unchanged during the course of ordinary physical
events.
Parallelogram law for the addition of forces. Two forces,
F1 and F2 , acting on a particle may be replaced by a sin-
gle force, R, called their resultant. If the two forces are
represented as the adjacent sides of a parallelogram, the
diagonal of the parallelogram will represent the resultant
(Figure 2.1.1).
Principle of transmissibility. A force acting at a point on a
body can be replaced by a second force acting at a different
point on the body without changing the state of equilibrium
or motion of the body as long as the second force has the
same magnitude and line of action as the first.
2.1.1.3.1 Newton’s Laws of Motion
1. A particle at rest will remain at rest, and a particle in
motion will remain in motion along a straight line with no
acceleration unless acted upon by an unbalanced system
of forces.
2. If an unbalanced system of forces acts upon a particle,
it will accelerate in the direction of the resultant force at a
rate proportional to the magnitude of the resultant force.
This law expresses the relationship between force, mass,
and acceleration and may be written as
F = Ma [2.1.2]
where F is the resultant force, M is the mass of the
particle, and a is the acceleration of the particle.
3. Contact forces between two bodies have the same magni-
tude, the same line of action, and opposite direction.
Gravitation. Two particles in space are attracted toward
each other by a force that is proportional to the product
of their masses and inversely proportional to the square
of the distance between them. Mathematically this may be
stated as
Gm1 m2
|F| = [2.1.3]
r2
F2 R
FI
Figure 2.1.1 Parallelogram law for addition of forces.
 BASIC MECHANICS (STATICS AND DYNAMICS) 2-3

where |F| is the magnitude of the force of gravitational
attraction, G is the universal gravitational constant (6.673 ×
10−11 m3 /kg − s2 or 3.44 × 10−8 ft4 /lb − s4 ), m1 and m2 are
the masses of particles 1 and 2, and r is the distance between
the two particles.
Breaking down the diagram into the various forces
(Figure 2.1.2b):
● Force balance in the y direction:

Fy = −100 + TAC sin 45◦ + TAB sin 15◦ = 0

2.1.1.4 Systems of Units 0.707TAC + 0.259TAB = 100 [a]

Two systems of units are in common usage in mechanics.
The first, the SI system, is an absolute system based on
the fundamental quantities of space, time, and mass. All other
quantities, including force, are derived. In the SI system the
basic unit of mass is the kilogram (kg), the basic unit of
length (space) is the meter (m), and the basic unit of time is
the second (s). The derived unit of force is the Newton (N),
which is defined as the force required to accelerate a mass
of 1 kg at a rate of 1 m/s2 .
The U.S. customary or English system of units is a grav-
itational system based upon the quantities of space, time,
and force (weight). All other quantities including mass are
derived. The basic unit of length (space) is the foot (ft), the
basic unit of time is the second (s), and the basic unit of force
is the pound (lb). The derived unit of mass is the slug, which
is the unit of mass that will be accelerated by a force of one
pound at a rate of 1 ft/s2 . To apply the slug in practice, as
in Equation 2.1.2, the weight in pounds mass must first be
divided by g = 32.2 ft/s2 , thus generating a working mass
in units of lb − s2 /ft, or slugs.
2.1.2 Statics
If there are no unbalanced forces acting on a particle, the
particle is said to be in static equilibrium, and Newton’s
second
 law reduces to
F=0 [2.1.4]
Solving a problem in particle statics reduces to finding the
unknown force or forces such that the resultant force will be
zero. To facilitate this process it is useful to draw a diagram
showing the particle of interest and all the forces acting on it.
This is called a free-body diagram. Next a coordinate system
(usually Cartesian) is superimposed on the free-body dia-
gram, and the forces are decomposed into their components
along the coordinate axes. For the particle to be in equilib-
rium, the sum of the force components along each of the
axes must be zero. This yields a set of algebraic equations
to be solved for the forces in each coordinate direction.
Example 2.1.1
Block W, weighing 100 lb (see Figure 2.1.2) is attached at
point A to a cable, which is, in turn, attached to vertical walls
at points B and C. What are the tensions in segments AB
and AC.
● Force balance in the x direction:

Fx = TAC cos 45◦ − TAB cos 15◦ = 0
0.707TAC − 0.966TAB = 0 [b]
and solving Example 2.1.1 Equations a and b simultane-
ously yields
TAB = 81.6 lb
TAC = 111.5 lb
If there are no unbalanced forces and no unbalanced
moments acting on a rigid body, the rigid body is said to be
in static equilibrium. That is, Equation 2.1.4 must be satisfied
just as for particles, and furthermore

MA = 0 [2.1.5]

where MA is the sum of the vector moments of all the
forces acting on the body about any arbitrarily selected
point A. In two dimensions this constitutes an algebraic
equation because all moments must act about an axis per-
pendicular to the plane of the forces. In three dimensions
the moments must be decomposed into components paral-
lel to the principal, axes, and the components along each
axis must sum algebraically to zero.
Example 2.1.2
A weightless beam 10 ft in length (see Figure 2.1.3a)
supports a 10-lb weight, W, suspended by a cable at point C.
The beam is inclined at an angle of 30◦ and rests against a
step at point A and a frictionless fulcrum at point B, a dis-
tance of L1 = 6 ft from point A. What are the reactions at
points A and B?
Breaking the diagram down into the various forces
(Figure 2.1.3b):
● Force balance in the x direction:

Fx = RAx − 10 Cos 60◦ = 0
RAx = 5 lb

y
C
x
B TAC

15° 45° TAB 15° 45°

A

W 100 Ib
(a) (b)
Figure 2.1.2 Diagram for Example 2.1.1.
2-4 GENERAL ENGINEERING AND SCIENCE

t
L2 4f
C y
x
60°
10 lb
t
LI 6f
B W RBy

30°
A RAx RAy

(a) (b)
Figure 2.1.3 Diagram for Example 2.1.2.

Table 2.1.1 Centroids of Common Lines

Shape Diagram x̄ ȳ Length

2r 2r pr
Quarter-circular arc
p p 2
2r
Semicircular arc 0 pr
p

r sin a
Arc of circle 0 2ar
a

From Reference 2.

● Moment balance about point A: in Tables 2.1.1, 2.1.2, and 2.1.3. For a composite body made
 up of elementary shapes with known centroids and known
+
MA = (10)(10) sin 60◦ − 6RBy = 0 weights the center of gravity can be found from
RBy = 14.43 lb Si x̄i Wi
x̄ = [2.1.9]
● Force balance in the y direction: Si Wi

Fy = RAy + RBy − 10 sin 60◦ = 0 Si ȳi Wi
ȳ = [2.1.10]
Si Wi
◦
RAy = 10 sin 60 − RBy
Si z̄i Wi
z̄ = [2.1.11]
RAy = −4.43 lb Si Wi
Note that although the direction assumed for RAy was incor-
Example 2.1.3
rect, the sign of the result indicates the correct direction.
A mallet is composed of a section of a right circular cylinder
Whenever the weight of a body is significant in comparison
welded to a cylindrical shaft, as shown in Figure 2.1.4a and
to the external forces, the weight, or body force, must be
b. Both components are steel, and the density is uniform
considered in both the force and moment balances.
throughout. Find the centroid of the mallet.
The weight W of the body acts at the center of gravity, the
Cartesian coordinates of which are found by
 r = 2 in. d = 1 in.
1
x̄ = xdw [2.1.6] L1 = 6 in. L2 = 5 in.
W v
 L3 = 1.5 in. g = 0.283 lb/in.3
1
ȳ = ydw [2.1.7] Letting the center of the bottom of the handle be the origin,
W v the centroid of section 1, the handle, can be found by
 inspection as
1
z̄ = zdw [2.1.8]
W v x̄1 = 0
The foregoing are volume integrals evaluated over the L1
entire volume of the rigid body and dw is an infinites- ȳ1 = = 3 in.
2
imal element of weight. If the body is of uniform den-
sity, then the center of gravity is also called the centroid. p
w1 = d2 L1 g = 1.33 lb
Centroids of common lines, areas, and volumes are shown 4
 BASIC MECHANICS (STATICS AND DYNAMICS) 2-5

Table 2.1.2 Centroids of Common Areas

Shape Diagram x̄ ȳ Area

h bh
Triangular area
3 2

4r 4r pr 2
Quarter-circular area 3p 4
3p
Semicircular area 4r pr 2
0
3p 2

4a 4b pab
Quarter-elliptical area
3p 3p 4
4b pab
Semielliptical area 0
3p 2
3a 3h 2ah
Semiparabolic area
8 5 3
3h 4ah
Parabolic area 0
5 3

3a 3h ah
Parabolic spandrel
4 10 3

n+1 n+1 ah
General spandrel a h
n+2 4n + 2 n+1

2r sin a
Circular sector 0 ar 2
3a

From Reference 2.

 
In section 2, the integral formula, 2.1.7, is applied r − L3
q1 = sin−1 = 14.5◦ = 0.253 rad
x̄2 = 0 r
 p
1 b q2 = 90◦ = rad
ȳ2 = a + ydW2 2
W2 L1
cos q1 = 0.968 rad
where  q2
a = L1 − (r − L3 ) 2L2 g r 3
ȳ2 = L1 − (r − L3 ) + sin q cos q dq
b = L1 + L3 W2 q1

Transforming the integral to polar coordinates as shown in 6.85

Figure 2.1.4c: ȳ2 = 5.5 +
W2
dW2 = L2 g 2r cos q dy  L1 +L3  q2
W2 = dW = 2r 2 L2 g cos2 q dq
y = r sin q L1 q1

dy = r cos q dq W2 = 6.09 lb
2-6 GENERAL ENGINEERING AND SCIENCE

Table 2.1.3 Centroids of Common Volumes

Shape x̄ Volume

3a 2 3
Hemisphere pa
8 3

3h 2 2
Semiellipsoid of revolution pa h
8 3

h 1 2
Paraboloid of revolution pa h
3 2

h 1 2
Cone pa h
4 3

h 1
Pyramid abh
4 3

From Reference 2.

Substituting W2 into the equation for ȳ2 When two bodies are in contact and there is a tendency
ȳ2 = 6.62 in. for them to slide with respect to each other, a tangential
friction force is developed that opposes the motion. For
For the entire body dry surfaces this is called dry friction or coulomb friction.
x̄ = 0 For lubricated surfaces the friction force is called viscous
friction or lubricated, and it is treated in the study of fluid
ȳ1 W1 + ȳ2 W2 3 × 1.33 + 6.62 × 6.09 mechanics. Consider a block of weight W resting on a flat
ȳ = = surface as shown in Figure 2.1.5. The weight of the block is
W1 + W 2 1.33 + 6.09
balanced by a normal force N that is equal and opposite to the
ȳ = 5.97in. body weight. If some sufficiently small sidewise force P is