+ A free-body diagram (abbreviated as FBD, also called force diagram) is a diagram used to show the magnitude and direction of all applied forces, moments, and reaction and constraint forces acting on a body. They are important and necessary in solving complex problems in mechanics. +
++ What is and is not included in a free-body diagram is important. Every free-body diagram should have the following: +
+ ++ A free-body diagram should not include the following: +
+ ++ Always assume the direction of forces/moments to be positive according to the appropriate coordinate system. The calculations from Newton/Euler equations will provide you with the correct direction of those forces/moments. Things that should not follow this are: +
++ If forces/moments are present, always begin with a free-body diagram. Do not write down equations before drawing the FBD as those are often simple kinematic equations, or Newton/Euler equations. +
+What happens when we step on the gas or brake in a car? The car pushes against the road to either accelerate (gas pedal) @@ -207,8 +269,7 @@ import PrairieDrawCanvas from "../../components/PrairieDrawCanvas.astro"
- To study this problem we need a - model. Let's start with the simplest model and then + To study this problem we need a model. Let's start with the simplest model and then gradually consider more complex models.
+ Turning in a circle requires a vehicle to have a centripetal acceleration inwards on the turn, and so there must be some centripetal force that produces this acceleration. For a vehicle driving on flat ground, this force must be produced by a sideways friction force on the tires. This introduces two problems: +
+ ++ To avoid both of these problems, the road can be banked inwards, so that the outer edge of the road is higher than the inner edge. This is called superelevation and means that some of the centripetal force can be provided by the normal force with the road, reducing the friction force and minimizing the risk of slip or roll. +
+ ++ The figure below shows a bus driving around a sharp corner at high speed on a heavily banked road. To understand the dynamics of this vehicle and the design tradeoffs for cornering on banked turns, we need a model. We will start below with a simple point mass model, which will be enough to understand friction and sliding, and then move on to a 2D rigid-body body to understand roll behavior. +
+ +
Consider a spherical object, such as a baseball, moving
@@ -392,7 +488,7 @@ import PrairieDrawCanvas from "../../components/PrairieDrawCanvas.astro"
-
A dimensionless parameter that is very useful in fluid
@@ -495,6 +591,12 @@ import PrairieDrawCanvas from "../../components/PrairieDrawCanvas.astro"