Lecture #6

Moments, Couples, and Force

Couple Systems

Equivalent Forces
We defined equivalent forces as being forces
with the same magnitude acting in the same
direction and acting along the same line of
action (this is through the Principle of
Transmissibility), but why do the forces need
to act along the same line?

4.1 Introduction to Moments

The tendency of a force to rotate a rigid body
about any defined axis is called the Moment
of the force about the axis

MOMENT OF A FORCE - SCALAR FORMULATION (Section 4.1)

The moment, M, of a force about a point provides a measure of the tendency for
rotation (sometimes called a torque).
M=F*d

Moment caused by a Force

The

Moment of Force (F) about an axis

through Point (A) or for short, the Moment of
F about A, is the product of the magnitude of
the force and the perpendicular distance
between Point (A) and the line of action of
Force (F)

MA = Fd

Units of a Moment
The

units of a Moment are:

Nm in the SI system
ftlbs or inlbs in the US Customary system

APPLICATIONS

Beams are often used to bridge gaps in walls. We have to

know what the effect of the force on the beam will have on
the beam supports.
What do you think those impacts are at points A and B?

APPLICATIONS

Carpenters often use a hammer in this way to pull a stubborn nail.

Through what sort of action does the force FH at the handle pull the nail?
How can you mathematically model the effect of force FH at point O?

Properties of a Moment

Moments not only have

a magnitude, they also
have a sense to them.

The sense of a moment

is clockwise or counterclockwise depending
on which way it will
tend to make the object
rotate

Properties of a Moment
The

sense of a Moment is defined by the

direction it is acting on the Axis and can be
found using Right Hand Rule.

Varignons Theorem
The

moment of a Force about any axis is

equal to the sum of the moments of its
components about that axis
This means that resolving or replacing forces
with their resultant force will not affect the
moment on the object being analyzed

MOMENT OF A FORCE - SCALAR FORMULATION (continued)

In the 2-D case, the magnitude of the moment is Mo = F d

As shown, d is the perpendicular distance from point O to the line of action of

the force.
In 2-D, the direction of MO is either clockwise or
counter-clockwise, depending on the tendency for rotation.

READING QUIZ

F = 12 N

1. What is the moment of the 10 N force about point A

(MA)?
A) 3 Nm
D) (12/3) Nm

B) 36 Nm
E) 7 Nm

C) 12 Nm
A

d=3m

Example #1

A 100-lb vertical force is applied to

the end of a lever which is attached
to a shaft at O.
Determine:
a)
b)
c)
d)

e)

Moment about O,
Horizontal force at A which
creates the same moment,
Smallest force at A which
produces the same moment,
Location for a 240-lb vertical
force to produce the same
moment,
Whether any of the forces from
b, c, and d is equivalent to the
original force.

Example #1
a) Moment about O is equal to the product of the
force and the perpendicular distance between the
line of action of the force and O. Since the force
tends to rotate the lever clockwise, the moment
vector is into the plane of the paper.
M O Fd

d 24 in. cos 60 12 in.

M O 100 lb 12 in.
M O 1200 lb in

Example #1
b) Horizontal force at A that produces the same
moment,
d 24 in. sin 60 20.8 in.
M O Fd

1200 lb in. F 20.8 in.

1200 lb in.
F
20.8 in.
F 57.7 lb

Example #1
c) The smallest force at A to produce the same
moment occurs when the perpendicular distance is
a maximum or when F is perpendicular to OA.
M O Fd
1200 lb in. F 24 in.
1200 lb in.
F
24 in.
F 50 lb

Example #1
d) To determine the point of application of a 240 lb
force to produce the same moment,
M O Fd
1200 lb in. 240 lb d
1200 lb in.
d
5 in.
240 lb
OB cos60 5 in.
OB 10 in.

Example #1
e) Although each of the forces in parts b), c), and d)
produces the same moment as the 100 lb force, none
are of the same magnitude and sense, or on the same
line of action. None of the forces is equivalent to the
100 lb force.

4.4 Principle of Moments

Varignons

Theorem: The moment of a force

about a point is equal to the sum of moments
of the components of the force about the
point:

MOMENT OF A FORCE - SCALAR FORMULATION (continued)

F

For example, MO = F d and the

direction is counter-clockwise.

O
d

Often it is easier to determine MO by using the components of F as shown

(Varignons Theorem).

Fy

Fx

O
Then MO = (FY a) (FX b). Note the different signs on the terms! The typical
sign convention for a moment in 2-D is that counter-clockwise is considered
positive. We can determine the direction of rotation by imagining the body
pinned at O and deciding which way the body would rotate because of the
force.

GROUP PROBLEM SOLVING

y
x

Given: A 20 lb force is applied to the

hammer.
Find: The moment of the force at A.
Plan:

Since this is a 2-D problem:

1) Resolve the 20 lb force along the
handles x and y axes.
2) Determine MA using a scalar
analysis.

GROUP PROBLEM SOLVING (cont.)

y
x

Solution:
+ Fy = 20 sin 30 lb
+ Fx = 20 cos 30 lb

+ MA = {(20 cos 30)lb (18 in) (20 sin 20)lb (5 in)}

= 351.77 lbin = 352 lbin (clockwise)

Moments in 3D
4.5 Moment of a Force about a
Specific Axis
In

2D bodies the moment is due to a force

contained in the plane of action perpendicular
to the axis it is acting around. This makes the
analysis very easy.
In 3D situations, this is very seldom found to
be the case.

Moments in 3D
The

moment about an axis is still calculated

the same way (by a force in the plane
perpendicular to the axis) but most forces are
acting in abstract angles.
By resolving the abstract force into its
rectangular components (or into its
components perpendicular to the axis of
concern) the moment about the axis can then
be found the same way it was found in 2D
M = Fd (where d is the distance between the
force and the axis of concern)

Notation for Moments

In

simpler terms the Moment of a Force about

the y-axis (My) can be found by using the
projection of the Force on the x-z Plane

The

Notation used to denote Moments about

the Cartesian Axes are (Mx, My, and Mz)

3D Moments Example:

Given the tension in cable BC is 700 N, find Mx, My, and Mz about point A.

Force Couples
A

Couple is defined as two Forces having the

same magnitude, parallel lines of action, and
opposite sense
In this situation, the sum of the forces in each
direction is zero, so a couple does not affect
the sum of forces equations
A force couple will however tend to rotate the
body it is acting on

Moment Due to a Force Couple

By multiplying the magnitude of one Force by the

distance between the Forces in the Couple, the
moment due to the couple can be calculated.

M = Fdc

The couple will create a moment around an axis

perpendicular to the plane that the couple falls in.
Pay attention to the sense of the Moment (Right
Hand Rule)

Moment of a Couple
Two couples will have equal moments if
F1d1 F2 d 2
the two couples lie in parallel planes, and
the two couples have the same sense or
the tendency to cause rotation in the same
direction.

Why do we use Force Couples?

The

reason we use Force Couples to analyze

Moments is that the location of the axis the
Moment is calculated about does not matter

The

Moment of a Couple is constant over the

entire body it is acting on

Couples are Free Vectors

The

point of action of a Couple does not

matter
The plane that the Couple is acting in does
not matter
All that matters is the orientation of the plane
the Couple is acting in
Therefore, a Force Couple is said to be a
Free Vector and can be applied at any point
on the body it is acting

Resolution of Vectors
The

Moment due to the Force Couple is

normally placed at the Cartesian Coordinate
Origin and resolved into its x, y, and z
components (Mx, My, and Mz).

Vector Addition of Couples

By applying Varignons Theorem to the Forces in the

Couple, it can be proven that couples can be added
and resolved as Vectors.

Force Couple System

Two opposing force can be added to a rigid body

without affecting the equilibrium of it.
If there is a force acting at a distance from an axis,
two forces of equal magnitude and opposite
direction can be added at the axis with out affecting
the equilibrium of the rigid body.
The original force and its opposing force at the axis
make a couple that equates to a moment on the
rigid body.
The other force at the axis results in the same force
acting on the body

Force Couple Systems

As a result of this it can be stated that any
force (F) acting on a rigid body may be
moved to any given point on the rigid body as
long as a moment equal to moment of (F)
about the axis is added to the rigid body.

Force Couple Systems

The

reverse of this is also true, any force and

moment acting at a point on a rigid body can
be represented as one force at a distance
from the original point where the moment of
the force about the original point is equal to
the original moment

Resultant of a System of
Coplanar Forces

Given a system of forces acting on a rigid body,

each force can be resolved into a force-couple
system acting at one point.
The Forces can then be added as Vectors and the
Moments can be added as scalars as long as the
sense of each moment is taken into account.
This will reduce the system of forces to a single
force-moment system acting on the rigid body.
This can be reduced further to one force at a
distance Mr/Fr from the point of interest.

Resolution of a Force into a

Force Couple System in 3D
The

same principles used in 2D apply in 3D

also
The method used to resolve a force in 3D into
a Force-Couple system acting at one point is
to draw the rectangular coordinate system at
the point of interest.
Resolve the force in the plane it is in into the
force acting on one axis and moment about
the axis for each axis one at a time.

Resolution of a System of
Forces in 3D
Each

Force can be Resolved into a Force

and Moment at the point of interest using the
method just discussed.
The Resultant Force can then be found by
Vector Addition.
The Resultant Moment must also be found
using Vector Addition.