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Moment of Inertia
Moment of Inertia
Moment of Inertia
Definition
In everyday speech, the word “moment” refers to a short amount
of time. In physics and engineering mechanics, moment is the
product of a quantity and the distance from that quantity to a given
point or axis. For example, in Statics, a force acting on a wrench
handle produces a torque, or moment, about the axis of a bolt:
M = P ! L . This is the moment of a force.
We can also describe moments of areas. Consider a beam with a
rectangular cross-section. The horizontal neutral axis of this beam
is the x-x axis in the drawing. Take a small area “a” within the
cross-section at a distance “y” from the x-x neutral axis of the
beam. The first moment of this area is a ! y . The second moment
of this area is Ix = ( a ! y ) ! y = ay 2 . In Strength of Materials, “sec-
ond moment of area” is usually abbreviated “moment of inertia”.
If we divide the total area into many little areas, then the moment
of inertia of the entire cross-section is the sum of the moments of
inertia of all of the little areas.
We can calculate the moment of inertia about the vertical y-y neu-
tral axis: Iy = ( a ! x ) ! x = ax 2 . The “x” and “y” in Ix and Iy refer
to the neutral axis.
Ix = a1y12 + a 2 y 22 + a 3 y 23 + a 4 y 24 + a 5 y 25 + a 6 y 26 + a 7 y 27 + a 8 y 28
= 10 cm 2 ! ( 7 cm ) +10 cm 2 ! ( 5 cm ) +10 cm 2 ! ( 3 cm )
2 2 2
+10 cm 2 ! ( 5 cm ) +10 cm 2 ! ( 7 cm )
2 2
= 1680 cm 4
Ix = a1y12 + a 2 y 22 + a 3 y 23 + a 4 y 24 + a 5 y 25 + a 6 y 26 + a 7 y 27 + a 8 y 28
+a 9 y 29 + a10 y10
2
+ a11y11
2
+ a12 y12
2
+ a13 y13
2
+ a14 y14
2
+ a15 y15
2
+ a16 y16
2
+5 cm 2 ( 7.5 cm )
2
= 1704.525 cm 4
As the size of the segments drops, the estimates get closer to the
actual solution. If we split the beam into an infinite number of
infinitely-small segments, we’ll get the actual solution, derived
bh 3
from calculus: Ix = , where b is the width and h is the depth.
12
The exact solution for the moment of inertia of a 5 cm wide, 16
cm deep rectangular beam is
bh 3 5 cm (16 cm )
3
Ix = = = 1706.7 cm 4 .
12 12
= = 1834.7 cm 4
12
=
12
= 1471 cm 4
We can use the same technique for finding the moment of inertia
of a hollow tube. From calculus, the moment of inertia of a circle
!d 4
is Ix = , therefore the moment of inertia of a hollow circle is
64
Ix = Ix1 ! Ix2 = ! = .
64 64 64
A standard 2" steel pipe has dimensions d1 = 2.375 in. and
d 2 = 2.067 in. , so:
Ix =
(
! ( 2.375 in.) " ( 2.067 in.)
4 4
) = 0.6657 in.
4
64
Step 1 Divide the compound beam into simple shapes, and label
the segments. This compound beam can be divided into two seg-
ments, but this method also works for complex shapes made up of
many simple shapes.
Step 2 Calculate the area, a, of each segment. Enter the areas and Seg- a
their sum into a table. Be sure to list the units, because in some ment (in.2)
#1 24
problems, you may need to include a conversion factor in the cal-
#2 48
culation. Sum 72
a1 = 8 in.! 3 in. = 24 in.2
a 2 = 4 in.!12 in. = 48 in.2
Step 4 Draw the distance from the Reference Axis to the centroi-
dal axes of the segments, x1-x1 and x2-x2. Label these distances y1,
y2, etc. Enter these values into the table.
Seg- a y
ment (in.2) (in.)
#1 24 13.5
#2 48 6
Sum 72
Step 5 Calculate the product a ! y for each component area. Enter Seg- a y ay
ment (in.2) (in.) (in.3)
these values and their sum into the table. #1 24 13.5 324
#2 48 6 288
Sum 72 612
Step 6 Draw the distance from the Reference Axis to the x-x cen-
troidal axis of the complex shape. Calculate this distance as
!ay 612 in.3
y= = = 8.5 in.
!a 72 in.2
Seg- a y ay d
ment (in.2) (in.) (in.3) (in.)
#1 24 13.5 324 5.0
#2 48 6 288 2.5
Sum 72 612
Step 9 Calculate I for each segment about its centroidal axis: Seg- a y ay d ad2 Io
ment (in.2) (in.) (in.3) (in.) (in.4) (in.4)
bh 3 8 in. ( 3 in.)
3
#1 24 13.5 324 5.0 600 18
Io1 = = = 18 in.4 #2 48 6 288 2.5 300 576
12 12 Sum 72 612 900 594
bh 3 4 in. (12 in.)
3
Step 1 Divide the compound beam into simple shapes, and label
the segments. Segment #1 is a solid rectangle measuring 8 cm
wide by 6 cm deep; Segment #2 is a hole measuring 6 cm wide by
2 cm deep.
Step 4 Draw the distance from the Reference Axis to the centroi-
dal axes of the segments, x1-x1 and x2-x2. Label these distances y1,
y2, etc. Enter these values into the table.
Seg- a y
ment (cm2) (cm)
#1 48 3
#2 -12 4.5
Sum 36
Step 5 Calculate the product a ! y for each component area. Enter Seg- a y ay
ment (cm2) (cm) (cm3)
these values and their sum into the table. #1 48 3 144
#2 -12 4.5 -54
Sum 36 90
Step 6 Draw the distance from the Reference Axis to the x-x cen-
troidal axis of the complex shape. Calculate this distance as
!ay 90 cm 3
y= = = 2.5 cm
!a 36 cm 2
Step 9 Calculate I for each segment about its centroidal axis: Seg- a y ay d ad2 Io
ment (cm2) (cm) (cm3) (cm) (cm4) (cm4)
bh 3 8 cm ( 6 cm )
3
#1 48 3 144 0.5 12 144
I1 = = = 144 cm 4 #2 -12 4.5 -54 2 -48 -4
12 12 Sum 36 90 -36 140
6 cm ( 2 cm )
3
bh 3
I2 = ! =! = !4 cm 4
12 12
Enter these values and their sum into the table.
Step 10 Use the Transfer Formula to calculate I for the compound
shape.
I = !I o + !ad 2 = 140 cm 4 " 36 cm 4 = 104 cm 4
Some problems have more than two segments; the 10-step proce-
dure is the same, with more rows in the table.