Free Body Diagram & Static Equilibrium

Mechanical Engineering

How It Works

A free body diagram is a graphical representation used to analyze all external forces and moments acting on an isolated physical body. According to Newton's First Law, a body remains in static equilibrium if the vector sum of all applied forces and net moments equals zero. Normal contact forces, gravitational weight, applied loads, and frictional interface forces balance along all coordinate axes.

Governing Equation
∑ F_x = 0 , ∑ F_y = 0 , ∑ M_z = 0 , F_friction ≤ μ_s · N