Information About

Catalog description

Friction. Kinetics of rigid bodies in planar motion. Equilibrium of rigid bodies. Mass centers and moments of inertia of rigid bodies, dynamics of rigid bodies in planar motion. Kinetics of particles. Moments of inertia of rigid bodies.

Prerequisite: GEN ENG 205-4

Who takes it

This course is usually taken by undergraduate Mechanical Engineering students during their sophomore year.

What it's about

This course introduces students to the basic physical laws governing the the interaction of bodies. This course is essential for all future engineers, since all the objects in the world obey these laws, and no machine may be built without their knowledge.

Lectures:

This course meets 4 times per week, for 50 minute lectures.

Topics include:

• Newton's law F=ma, free body diagrams
• Relationship of v and w for two points of one rigid body
• Pure translation; instantaneous centers
• Relationship of a and a for two points of one rigid body
• Rolling
• Relationship between velocities of one point in two frames
• Relationship between accelerations of one point in two frames
• Coriolis acceleration
• Angular momentum, review of moment of inertia
• Euler's second law (M = Ia)
• Rigid body dynamics problems
• Conservation of energy - kinetic, potential
• Conservation of momentum, impulse
• Point mass and rigid body dynamics problems

Textbook:

Vector Mechanics for Engineers - Dynamics, by Beer & Johnston, 6th ed., vol 2.

Assessment/Evaluation:

Quizzes, Homework, Final Exam.

Contact:

Professor: John Walker
e-mail: jwalker@northwestern.edu

[ Detailed Syllabus ]