Engineering Mechanics: Dynamics



Final grades for Section 802


Engineering Mechanics is that engineering science that relates Forces (push, pull) and Torques (twist) to the motion (deformation, acceleration, velocity) of bodies. Understanding such concepts is essential to those who wish to design efficient engineering components ranging from bridges to a wing strut to a robot arm, to the motherboard of a computer. Statics (EMch 11) is the foundation course on which three stems are constructed: Dynamics (EMch 12) for motion, Strength of Materials (EMch 13) for deformation and fracture criteria for solids, and Fluid Mechanics.

Engineering Dynamics is the study of motion. It aims to provide an aspiring engineer with the special insight and analytic skills to be able to a) determine the forces and monents required for known motion, and b) predict resulting motion of a body knowing the resultant force and couple acting on it. The analytical tools, and problem solving skills that will enable you to provide engineering solutions to real problems by building on Statics are arrayed. The course will first consider particles (a body whose size is very small compared to other measurements...for example the Earth is small when compared to the Sun, we are small when compared to the Eiffel Tower) and will move on to ``rigid bodies'' where we will find that the motion of the center of mass is the same as a particle of equal mass, but that the angular orientation of the body will also be of great interest.

TEXT (required): "Engineering Mechanics - Statics" by A. Pytel and J. Kiusalaas

TEXT (Optional):"Study Guide" for Engineering Mechanics - Statics by J. Pytel

Course Objectives

To provide tools and the guidance to allow you to master:

The application of calculus of vectors to solve real--life problems (displacement, velocity, acceleration)

Integration of the accelerations to find velocity and displacement as functions of time

Integration of the angular accelerations to find angular velocity and angular displacement as functions of time

The Free Body Diagram (FBD) and Mass Acceleration Diagram (MAD) concept to illustrate and model the action of one body on another body

The use of Newton's equations of motion to find accelerations of CM as well as angular accelerations

Utilize work--energy principles to find relationships between velocity and position (time is not an explicit factor)

Utilize the impulse--momentum principles in cases of impact to find approximate solutions immediately after the impact

The utilization of the equations of motion, and the FBD and MAD to solve real engineering problems --- i.e., we wish to help you attain the tools, mindset, and approach that are useful in translating a physical situation into an analytic framework, and to use the various tools of mechanics and mathematics to "solve" for desired information.

Expectations

We expect that students in this class will have a working knowledge of:

Trigonometry (sines, cosines, direction cosines, etc.)

Vector calculus and vector algebra

FBDs

Differential and integral calculus

Spatial visualization, engineering sketching

We expect that you will devote appropriate time to study and problem solution (approximately two hours for each hour of class, i.e. about ninety hours for the semester)

We expect you to attend all scheduled classes and attempt all assigned homework.


Get the the Equation sheet
PostScript Version of the Equation Sheet
PDF Version of the Equation Sheet
We gratefully acknowledge the help of Dr. Gary L. Gray in preparing this Equation sheet.
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