Free body diagram | Feature | Purpose

-

What is a free body diagram?


In mechanics, a graphical, dematerialized, or symbolic representation used to visualize the applied forces, moments, and resulting reactions on a body in a given condition is called a free body diagram.

A free body diagram used to draw a scaled drawing. It is a diagram that is modified as it solves the problem. There are flexibility and art to the process. The iconography of a free body diagram, not only how it is drawn but also how it is interpreted and depends upon how a body is modeled. 

Features of free body diagram:


The free-body diagram consists of the following.
  • A coordinate system
  • A simplified version of a body
  • Force was shown as straight arrows pointing in the direction they act on the body
  • The moment was shown as curved arrows pointing in the direction they act on the body
In order to effectively use a free body diagram to analyze the motion of the body, you must know four skills. 
  • Identify the force acting on the body 
  • Identify the direction of each acting force and draw vectors representing the forces.
  • Create a pair of equations from a free body
  • Do the math. This involves a system of equations. 

Purpose of free body diagram: 


In many types of mechanics problems, free body diagrams are used to represent the forces and moments applied to a body and to calculate the resulting reactions.

These diagrams are often used both to determine the loading of individual structural components and to quantify internal forces within the structure and are used from biomechanics to structural engineering in most engineering disciplines.

Having to draw a free body diagram in the educational environment is an important step in learning other concepts of classical mechanics as well as physics, such as statics, dynamics.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Difference between characteristic and universal gas constant

-
Some important point on the difference between characteristics gas constant and universal gas constant are explained below. Let us check out one by one below. You can also check out characteristics equation of gas , and general gas equation to know more about it. Difference between characteristics gas constant and universal gas constant: Constant gas characteristics vary from gas to gas but the constant of universal gas is fixed. If you working at human scales, then use universal gas constant, whereas if you want to gas constant that defined per unit mass of a specific gas, then use the specific gas constant.  The characteristic gas constant in equation P = RT is the value of R for a given gas for use. It is equal to the constant of universal gas divided by the molar mass of the particular gas. Characteristics gas Constant applicable for an ideal gas, whereas universal gas constant applicable for a real gas.  Units: Characteristics gas constant - k J / kg K and Univers
Read more

Varignon's principle of moments | Varignon's Theorem

-
Image
Varignon's theorem also called the principle of moments.  Varignon's Principle: Varignon's principle states that if a number of concurrent forces acting on a particle are in equilibrium, then the algebraic sum the moments that each force creates about a single point will be equal to the moment of their resultant force about the same point.   Varignon's Theorem From the above figure, F1 and F2 are two concurrent forces and their resultant is R. The moment produced by R with respect to a moment center O is R × d. The moment produced by the force F1 and F2 is respectively F1 × d1 and F2 × d2.  As per varignon's therorem R d = F1 d1 + F2 d2 Notes: This theorem initially stated for two concurrent forces, but, it is true for any system of forces and any number of concurrent or coplanar forces.  One of the practical applications of this theorem is to find the unknown reactions when a system is known to be in equilibrium under the acti
Read more

Difference between moment and couple

-
Moment and couple are two important concepts found in mechanics. They both terms describe the effect and cause of rotation in the system of forces , particle systems, and rigid bodies too.  What is a moment of a force? The turning effect produced by a force applied to a rotational system or on the body at a distance from the axis of rotation is called the moment of force . The moment of a force is the product of the force and the perpendicular distance of the point, about which the moment is required and the line of action of the force. What is a couple OR moment of a couple?   In mechanics, a couple refers to two equal and opposite forces, whose line of action is different from a couple . The couple also called a force couple or pure moment.  Points of difference between moment and couple are discussed below. So let us check out some key differences between them to know more about it.  Difference between moment and couple: The moment is the
Read more