MECHANICAL

ENGINEERING
DYNAMIC

CHAPTER 1 – INTRODUCTION TO
DYNAMICS

MICHAEL RODELO
 CHAPTER 1
INTRODUCTION TO DYNAMICS

CHAPTER OUTLINE
1/1 History and Modern Applications
1/2 Basic Concepts TI-Nspire™ Ecosystem

1/3 Newton’s Laws

1/4 Units
1/5 Gravitation
1/6 Dimensions
1/7 Solving Problems in Dynamics
NASA SPACEX
Article 1/1 History and Modern Applications
Dynamics is the branch of mechanics which deals with the motion of bodies under the action of forces, and usually follows
after statics.
Dynamics has two distinct parts:
Kinematics – deals with the study of motion without reference to the forces which cause motion.
Kinetics – relates the action of forces on bodies to their resulting motions.
Article 1/2 Basic Concepts (1 of 2)
Space – the geometric region occupied by a body.
Inertial Reference Frame – a set of rectangular axes assumed to have no translation or rotation in space. It is
also referred to as an astronomical frame of reference and is the basic frame of reference for the laws of
Newtonian mechanics.
Time – a measure of the succession of events (considered absolute in Newtonian mechanics)
Mass – a measure of the inertia or resistance to change in motion of a body. It is also a measure of the quantity of
matter in a body.
Article 1/2 – Basic Concepts (2 of 2)
Force – the vector action of one body on another.
Particle – a body of negligible dimensions.
Rigid Body – a body whose changes in shape are negligible compared with the overall dimensions of the body or
with the changes in position of the body as a whole.
Vector – a quantity with a magnitude and a direction, e.g., force, velocity, acceleration, torque, etc.
Scalar – a quantity with only a magnitude, e.g., time, volume, density, energy, mass, etc.
Article 1/3 Newton’s Laws
Law I - Law of Inertia
A particle remains at rest or continues to move with uniform velocity (in a straight line with a constant speed) if there is no
unbalanced force acting on it.
Law II – Motion Law
The acceleration of a particle is proportional to the vector sum of forces acting on it and is in the direction of this vector sum.
Law III - Action-Reaction Law
The forces of action and reaction between interacting bodies are equal in magnitude, opposite in direction, and collinear (they
lie on the same line).
Article 1/4 Units
Fundamental Quantities of Mechanics and their Units
Article 1/5 Law of Gravitation
Mathematical Expression

F = the mutual force of attraction between two particles

G = a universal constant known as the constant of gravitation
m1, m2 = the masses of the two particles
r = the distance between the centers of the particles

Constant of Gravitation, G
SI Units: G = 6.673(10-11) m3/(kg·s2)
U.S. Units: G = 3.439(10-8) ft4/(lb-sec4)
Article 1/5 – Effect of Altitude
Acceleration of Gravity at Altitude h

g0 = absolute acceleration of gravity at sea level (9.825 m/s2 or 32.23 ft/sec2)

h = altitude above the surface of the earth
R = the radius of the earth (6371 km or 3959 mi.)
This equation can be used to determine the acceleration of gravity at altitude above other celestial bodies, e.g.,
the moon, Jupiter, the Sun, etc.
 Article 1/5 – Effect of a Rotating Earth
1980 International Gravity Formula
g = 9.780 327(1 + 0.005 279 sin2 γ + 0.000 023 sin4 γ + …)
γ = the latitude
g is expressed in m/s2

Nonrotating Earth Variation

Add 3.382(10-2) cos2 γ m/s2 to previous
Removes the Effect of Rotation

Relative to a Rotating Earth at Sea Level and at a Latitude of 45°

SI Units: g = 9.806 65 m/s2
U.S. Units: g = 32.1740 ft/sec2

Values for Most Problems in Mechanics

SI Units: g = 9.81 m/s2
U.S. Units: g = 32.2 ft/sec2
 Article 1/5 – Apparent Weight
Apparent Weight, W = mg
SI Problems
Mass m is always in kilograms (kg) and is almost always provided in the book.
2
Acceleration of gravity g = 9.81 m/s (unless stated otherwise).
Weight W is in newtons (N).
Kilogram (kg) is not a force!

U.S. Problems
Mass m is always in slugs (slugs) and is almost never provided in the book.
2
Acceleration of gravity g = 32.2 ft/sec (unless stated otherwise).
Weight W is in pounds (lb) and is usually what you are provided.
Pound (lb) is not a mass!
 Article 1/6 Dimensions
Dimension
A quantity that can be expressed in a number of different units, e.g., length could be expressed in mm, m, ft, miles,
etc.
Principle of Dimensional Homogeneity
• All physical relations must be dimensionally homogeneous within an equation.
• Useful for checking the dimensional correctness of a derived physical relation.
• This is a necessary condition for correctness, but not a sufficient condition.

Teorema π de Vaschy-Buckingham

Joseph Louis François Bertrand

Aimé Vaschy Edgar Buckingham