Mechanics Flashcards
What is scalar quantity ?
Has only magnitude and specified by a number and unit.
Examples are speed, distance, time, mass, volume, temperature and frequency.
What is a vector quantity ?
Has both magnitude and direction.
Examples are force, velocity, acceleration, momentum and displacement.
What is resolving a vector?
When a vector is replaced by two or more others, creating components of the initial vector.
The components are normally always perpendicular to each other.
What are coplanar forces ?
Forces whose line of action act in the same plane.
What is translational equilibrium?
Where two forces are equal in magnitude and opposite in direction.
What is a couple ?
When two equal but opposite forces are present, whose lines of action are not coincident they will create a rotation termed a couple.
What is the moment of a couple?
Equal to the magnitude of the force, multiplied by the distance between them.
What is rotational equilibrium?
if the two forces equal in magnitude but opposite in direction act along a common line of action.
what are concurrent forces ?
Where three forces in translational equilibrium pass through a common point so that the object is also in rotatinal equlibrium.
What is a moment?
The turning effect of a force. It can be either clockwise (CWM) or anti-clockwise (ACWM)
How is a moment measured?
Moment (Nm) = Force x Perpendicular Distance from the line of action of the force to the point.
If a body is at equilibrium, what conditions must apply ?
The components of the forces in both directions must balance.
The sum of the CWM of any point equals the sum of the ACWM about the same point.
What is weight (N) ?
The gravitational force by which the object is attracted to the earth’s centre. The product of an object’s mass and its acceleration due to gravity.
Weight equation?
Weight = mass x gravity
N = kg x 9.8
What is the centre of gravity (CofG) ?
A unique point in an extended rigid body at which the total gravitational force (weight) appears to act.
Why is deteremining the Centre of Gravity a complicated procedure?
The mass and weight may not be uniformly distrubuted throughout an object.
If the mass is uniformly distrubted the problem is greatly simplified.
How do components fail ?
From being over-stressed, not overloaded.
What is stress defined as?
The force (N) acting on a unit cross-sectional area.
stress equation ?
Stress (Pa) = force / area
What are the 5 types of stress in a mechanical body?
Tension, Compression, Torsion, Bending and Shear.
what is tensile stress?
Describes the effect of a force that tends to pull an object apart.
An example is a flexible steel cable.