CH12.doc-Bama.ua.edu.docVIP

CH 12 – Equilibrium In this chapter we will first examine the conditions for equilibrium of a rigid body. Then we will briefly describe how we characterize the extent to which a body can be deformed. An object is in equilibrium when both the forces and torque add to zero. That is, Both the force and torque are vectors. As defined in an earlier chapter, torque is and the magnitude of the torque is , where ( is the angle between r and F. The direction of ( is perpendicular to the plane formed by r and F as given by the ‘right-hand rule’. So, if r and F are in the x-y plane, then ( is along the + or – z axis. In component form, the conditions for equilibrium are In this chapter we will only deal with 2-dimensional problems where the forces are in the x-y plane. Then Note: While torque depends on choice of axis (pivot), if the net torque is zero about one axis, then it is zero about any other axis. This means that we can selectively choose the pivot when working a problem to best simplify the solution. Center of mass and center of gravity Solving equilibrium problems often requires knowing the center of gravity of a body. Center of mass is the mass-weighted average position of the object. For an object of uniform density, this is just the geometric center of the object (the volume-weighted average position). Center of gravity is the weight-weighted average position. Since g is typically constant over the structure of interest, then center of gravity and center of mass are the same and will be used interchangeably. Example 1: A 75-kg diver stands on the end of a 3-m diving board which has a mass of 60 kg and has a uniform rectangular structure. The diving board is clamped at the end opposite the diver and 1 m from this end. What are the forces exerted by the clamps on the diving board? Solution: The weight of the board can be treated as a single force acting at the center of the board. Since we have two unknowns, F1 and F2, we need two independe