GE210: Engineering Mechanics

Moment of Inertia

Prof. Hanafy Omar

 First Moment of Area

Intergrals of the form  ydA or  xdA are called first moment of area
or static moment (used in centroids) and it can be  ve ( 0) or - ve( 0)
 Second Moment of Area or
(Area) Moment of Inertia

Intergrals of the form  y 2 dA or  x 2 dA are called second moment of area

about the axis in question, because the first moment  ydA or  xdA
are multiplied by the moment arm y or x respectively.

The Second Moment of Area is also called (AREA) MOMENT OF INERTIA

 Note
* Since an area can not have an inertia, moment of inertia of
an area is a misnomer.
* We use the term because of common usage and similarity
with integrals that define the mass moment
of inertia of rotating bodies in the field of dynamics.

* The moment of inertia of an area is a purely mathematical property

of the area and in itself has no physical significance.
* However, it is a geometrical property that is extensively used in
engineering to predict the strrength and the deflections of the members.
 Rectangular and Polar moments of inertia

I x   y 2 dA Rectangula r moment of inertia of area A about x - axis.

I y   x 2 dA Rectangula r moment of inertia of area A about y - axis.

I z   r 2 dA Polar moment of inertia of area A about z - axis.

Relation between Rectangular and Polar Moments of
Inertia

r 2  x2  y 2
I z   r 2 dA   ( x 2  y 2 )dA   x 2 dA   y 2 dA
 Iz  Ix  I y

Unit of Area Moment of Inertia: L4 (e.g. m4, cm4, ft4, in4, mm4)
 Radius of Gyration

Ix
I x  k x2 A or k x 
A

Iy
I y  k y2 A or k y 
A

Iz
I z  k z2 A or k z 
A
The radius of gyration is a measure
Area : A of the distribution of the area from
Moments of Inertia  I x , I y , and I z the axis in question. Higher radius of
gyration means more area is
distributed away from the axis.
 Radius of Gyration (Contd.)

Area : A
Moments of Inertia  I x , I y , and I z

I z  I x  I y  k z2 A  k x2 A  k y2 A  k z2  k x2  k y2
 Effect of Moment of Area

Increasing the moment of area decreases the deflection of the beam

 Parallel Axis Theorem

dA Centroidal Axis
y0
G G
C
Area=A
h

A B
C represents the centroid of the area A.
Non-Centroidal Axis
I GG   y 0 dA
2

I AB   (h  y0 ) 2 dA   (h 2  y 20  2hy0 )dA  I AB   h 2 dA   y 20 dA  2h  y0 dA
 I AB   y 20 dA  h 2  dA  2h  y0 dA  I AB  I GG  Ah 2  0
 I AB  I GG  Ah 2 As total moment of the area about an axis is equal to the area
(A) multiplied by distance between the centroid and the axis (say
x bar); and here distance is measured from the centroid itself.
 Parallel Axis Theorem (contd.)

dA Centroidal Axis
y0
G G
C
Area=A
h

A B
C represents the centroid of the area A.
Non-Centroidal Axis
I AB  I GG  Ah 2

Above equation represent parallel axes formula for moment of inertia of an area.
This may be employed to obtian the inertia of composite areas.
 Moments of Area of the Rectangular Shape

Determine the moments of inertia of the rectangular area about:

(i) The centroidal axis x0- and y0- axes,
(ii) The centroidal polar axis z0 through C,
(iii) The x-axis and y-axis, and
(iv) The polar axis z through O.
 Contd.
The moment of inertia I x about the centroidal x0  axis :
h/2
1
I x0   y dA   y bdy 
2
2
bh3
h / 2
12
Similarly, the moment of inertia I y about the centroidal y0  axis :
b/2
1 3
I y 0   x dA   x hdx 
2
2
hb
b / 2
12

The centroidal polar moment of inertia is :

1 1
I z 0  I x0  I y 0  I z 0  bh3  hb3 
12 12
1
12

bh3  hb3 
 Contd.

The moment of inertia about the x - axis is :

2 2
h 1 h 1
I x  I x0  A   I x  bh3  bh   bh3
2 12 2 3

The moment of inertia about the y - axis is :

2 2
h 1 b 1
I y  I y 0  A   I y  hb3  bh   hb3
2 12 2 3

The polar moment of inertia about O :

Iz  Ix  I y  Iz 
bh3 hb3 1
3

3
 1
 
 bh h 2  b 2  A h 2  b 2
3 3

 Problem-1
Determine the second moments of area of the triangular area about:
(i) The base,
(ii) The parallel axis passing through its centroid,
(iii) The parallel axis passing through its vertex,
 Solution
i. The moment of inertia about the base i.e. x - axis :
h
h
h y  y3 y 4  1 3
I x   y dA   y  bdy  b     bh
2
2

0  h   3 4h  0 12

ii. The moment of inertia I about the centroidal axis

(a distance h/3 above the x - axis) :
2 2
h 1 1 h 1
I  I x  A   bh3  bh   bh3
 3  12 2 3 36

iii. A transfer from the centroiudal axis to the x'-axis

through the vertex gives :
2 2
 2h  1 1  2h  1
I  I  A   bh3  bh   bh3
 3  36 2  3  4
 Problem-2
For the shaded area and the strip shown in the two figures, calculate
the moment of area and radius of gyration about the x-axis (i.e. Ix
and rx)

y y

3m 3m
y = x2 / 12 y = x2 / 12

x x
6m 6m
 Solution
y

3 3

3m A   dA   (6-x) dy   (6-2 3 y1/ 2 )dy

0 0
y = x2 / 12
3
 y3/ 2 
 6 y - 2 3   6 m2
 3/ 2 0
6m x

3 3
I x   y dA   y (6 - x) dy   y 2 (6 - 12 y ) dy
2 2

0 0
3
3
 y3 y7 / 2 
 I x   (6 y - 2 3 y )dy  6
2 5/2
-2 3   7.714 m 4
0  3 7 / 2 0

Radius of gyration about the x - axis :

Ix 7.714
rx    1.339 m
A 6
 Problem-3
Calculate the second moments of area a circle about a diametral axis and
about the polar axis through the center. Specify the radii of gyration.

Solution
r
r 4
I z   r0 dA   r0 (2r0 dr0 ) 
2 2

0
2
Radius of gyration is
Iz r 4 r
kz   
A 2  r 2 2
By symmetry I x  I y and we know I z  I x  I y
1 1 r 4 r 4
 I z  I x  I x  2I x  I x  I z   
2 2 2 4
Radius of gyration is
Ix r 4 r
kx   
A 4  r 2 2
Moment of Inertia of Composite Areas

Important Formulas
 Problem-4
Determine the moment of inertia of the shaded area about the x-axis.
y

Solution 100 mm
20 mm

50 mm
20 mm
1
I x1   20  2403  92.16  106 mm 4
3
170 mm
1
I x 2   60  203  (60  20)  2302  63.52  106 mm 4
20 mm

12 x
O
1
I x 3   20  703  (70  20)  2052  59.41  106 mm 4
12 y

I x  I x1  I x 2  I x 3  215.09  106 mm 4 Ans. 100 mm

20 mm

2 3 50 mm
20 mm

1
170 mm
20 mm

x
O
 Exercise
For the shaded area shown
1. Determine the location of the centroid
2. Determine the second moments of area (Ix, Iy, and Iz) around the axis
passing through the centroid and parallel to the x-y axis
3. Determine the radius of gyrations Kx, Ky, and Kz
 Solution
• Construct the Table
Part x y A A*x A*y A*x^2 A*y^2

2
3
4
5
Sum

x
 Ax , y
 Ay , I x   Ay 2 , I y   Ax 2 , Iz  Ix  I y
A A

I x  I x  Ay , I y  I y  Ax
2 2
 Solution
Moment of Inertia of Composite Shapes
Part x y A A*x A*y A*x^2 A*y^2 Notes
1 27 20 1600 42667 32000 1137778 640000 trianle
2 90 30 11200 1008000 336000 90720000 10080000 rectangle
3 165 40 2512 415680 100480 68785773 4019200 semicircle
4 159 40 -1413 -224820 -56520 -35770724 -2260800 semicircle
5 85 40 -2000 -170000 -80000 -14450000 -3200000 rectangle
Sum 11899 1071527 331960 1.1E+08 9278400

x_bar= 90
y_bar= 28
Ix= 9278400
Iy= 110422827
Ix_bar= 17333
Iy_bar= 13929896
 Second moment of Inertia
• The definitions of second moment of inertia are

The transfer axis

formula is the same s
in the second
Products of Inertia moment of area
 Second moment of Inertia
• For 2D motion, we are interested only in Izz, which is given by

If the thickness (t) is constant and the body is made of the

same material (constant density, ),

dm   tdA
Therefore, the second moment of inertia Izz becomes

I zz   t  ( x 2  y 2 )dA

So, we can use the second moment of area to get Izz

Mass Moment of Inertia
Mass Moment of Inertia