Engineering Mechanics
Engineering Mechanics. Instructor: Professor Manoj K Harbola, Department of Physics, IIT Kanpur. In this course, we would be studying mechanical interaction between different bodies when they interact through the forces applied on each other. Topics covered in this course include Review of Newton's laws of motion and vector algebra; Equilibrium of bodies; Plane trusses; Friction; Properties of plane surfaces; Method of virtual work; Motion of particles; Momentum; Work and energy; Rotational kinematics and dynamics; Simple harmonic oscillator; and Motion in non-inertial frames. (from nptel.ac.in)
| Lecture 38 - Degrees of Freedom, Constraints and Constraint Forces |
We have learnt in previous lectures on equilibrium of bodies how we calculate forces required to keep a body in equilibrium. Those methods lead to lengthy calculations if a system becomes large. So we need to simplify their application. A method that does it is the method of virtual work. To develop this method, in this lecture I make you familiar with the idea of degrees of freedom, meaning of constraints and constraint forces. You learn that a constraint reduces the degrees of freedom of a system by applying constraint forces.
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