The object of study of statics is to determine the force and moment that act on a body, whose results are zero, in order to establish its equilibrium conditions.
Forces and moments act on a body that cause movements of translation and rotation. Thus, the resulting force causes the translation and the moment, the rotational movement.
Therefore, for a body to be in balance, it is necessary that both principles are fulfilled simultaneously, that is, that the force and the resulting movements are zero.
The study of statics has its practical applications in civil engineering and architecture.
What is static?
The word static comes from the Greek "statikos", which means "stationary" and "statos" which means "to stand in equilibrium."
It is defined as a branch of physical mechanics that is dedicated to the study of the laws of balance.
It is also known as "the study of the bodies on which forces and moments act, the resultants of which are zero"; so that these bodies can remain at rest or in unaccelerated motion.
Statics is responsible for analyzing loads (force, torque or moment) and studies the balance of forces in a physical system that is in static equilibrium. In other words, in a state where the relative positions of the subsystems do not vary with time.
Newton's first law states that the net force and net torque (known as the moment of force) of each body in the system is equal to zero. Quantities such as head or pressure can be derived from this equation.
There are two equilibrium conditions. The first is expressed in the force network equal to zero and the second equilibrium condition, in the net torque equal to zero.
In equilibrium analysis, statics offers a solution to hyperstatic problems in which it is not possible to determine the internal forces of its elements, because the number of unknowns exceeds the number of equations that statics offers. This is done through the use of rigid solid mechanics.
To analyze these problems, it is necessary to state the basic equilibrium conditions, where:
The result of the sum of forces is null and the result of the sum of moments about a point is also null.
Importance and Applications
The study of statics is essential for lifting fixed structures such as buildings, houses, bridges and any other element in the construction industry, to guarantee the safety of these structures and their durability over time.
Structural and civil engineers or architects necessarily need to know in depth about this matter, to avoid accidents during the construction of a structure.
Statics not only studies the balance of a structure, but of each of its parts, as well as the necessary amount of construction material, for example, required by the pillar of a bridge or a building.
Among the main objectives of statics is the obtaining of shear forces, normal force, torsional force and bending moment throughout a part, in any structure.
After the loads, tensions, etc. have been established, the engineering or architecture professional can then decide what type of material to use and in what quantity, for elementary reasons of costs but also of safety. This is done through a materials analysis.
Another field of study of non-mechanical statics is the one referred to static and electrostatic electricity.
References
- Beer, FP and Johnston Jr, ER Statics and Mechanics of Materials. McGraw-Hill, Inc. 1992. Recovered from mheducation.com
- Object of study of statics. Consulted of fisica2judarasa.jimdo.com
- Yrene Mamani. Stresses and strains in hyperstatic systems. Consulted of academia.edu
- Static (mechanical). Consulted of es.wikipedia.org
- Static and dynamic loads. Consulted of arkiplus.com
- Dictionary of architecture and construction. Consulted of parro.com.ar
- Definition of Static. Consulted of conceptdefinition.de