Open Educational Resources

Introduction: What is engineering mechanics

Mechanics is a branch of physics that deals with the states of bodies under the action of forces. Engineering mechanics implements the principles of mechanics to solve practical problems. Engineering mechanics has the following branches:

  1. Rigid-body mechanics
    • Statics: deals with the equilibrium of non-deforming bodies at rest or moving with constant velocity (no acceleration).
    • Dynamics: deals with the motion of non-deforming bodies that have acceleration.
  2. Deformable-body mechanics: deals with deformations of solid bodies and their internal forces.
  3. Fluid mechanics: deals with the motion of fluids and their internal forces (pressure or viscous forces).

This course is focused on statics, i.e. mechanics of rigid-bodies at rest.