1.

POSITION, VELOCITY AND

ACCELERATION ANALYSIS
ENGD3112S - MACHINES & MECHANISMS

Eng. Deshan Batagoda [B.Tech (Hons), Master of Energy Management]

Lecturer - Department of Mechanical Engineering
Skills College of Technology
Email - deshan@skillscollege.lk
 Fundamentals
Convert following angles in to degrees. [Provide answers for 03
decimal points]
(Q1) 2 radians, (Q2) 4 radians, (Q3) 0.6 radians

SI Units [International System of Units]

Mention the standard units for following quantities.
(Q1) Density (Q2) Force (Q3) Work done

Answer the following questions.

Q1. What is the force responsible for bending the straight path of an
object to a circular path?

Q2. What is the dimensional formula of the centripetal acceleration?

Introduction

Displacement:
• Consider the displacement of a point from
position P (represented by rp) to P' (represented
by rp'), in the x-y coordinate system. The
change in the position of the point, r, is found
by:

 r = rp’- rp (1)

• Equation (1) is a vector equation which can be

resolved into the two coordinates, and solved
for the unknown displacement (magnitude and
direction) provided that both magnitudes and
directions of rp and rp' are defined. 3
 Velocity
• Consider the motion of a point from position
P to P' during a time period of t as shown in
the figure. The change is position is given by
r.
• The velocity is defined as the change in
position with respect to time, and we can
define the average velocity
r
v ave =
t

• When the time change becomes very small,

the limit is taken to get the real (instant)
velocity.
r dr
v = lim =
t →0 t dt 4
Acceleration
• Similarly, the acceleration is defined as the
change in velocity with respect to time,
and we can define the average
acceleration
v
a ave =
t
• When the time period becomes very
small, the limit is taken to get the instant
acceleration

v dv
a = lim =
t →0 t dt
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Static vs. Dynamic Forces
Static force

A force acting on an object is said to be a static force if it does not

change the size, position, or direction of that particular object. The
force applied to a structure acts as a load to that particular structure,
which is why static force is also known as a static load.

Dynamic force

Dynamic force is a force acting on an object that causes it to vary or

change its size, position, or direction. Force and load are two distinct
terms however, they are very much related to each other. A force acting
on an object becomes the load to that particular object. [A dynamic
force will change with the time]

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Kinematics Vs. Kinetics
Kinematics [Study of the real motion]
Ex.
1. Throwing a ball or stone. (vertical motion)
2. Moving objects like car, animals etc. (horizontal motion).
3. Shooting a bullet from the gun (Projectile motion).

Kinetics

• Kinetics It is the study of the forces as it specifically deals with the

forces acting on an object. Therefore the knowledge of kinetics will be
very much important to draw the force diagrams.

• It is focused on understanding the cause of different types of motions

of any object. Examples for kinetics are friction, torque, gas kinetics,
polymerization, combustion etc.

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Rectilinear Motion
Rectilinear motion is defined as a linear motion in which the direction
of the velocity remains constant that results its path along a straight
line.

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Types of velocities

Instantaneous Velocity
It is the velocity of an object at a particular time. Also it can be defined as
the velocity of an object at a specific point of time.”

Average Velocity
It is defined as the change in position or displacement (∆x) divided by the
time intervals (∆t) in which the displacement occurs.

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Types of accelerations
Constant Acceleration
As the average is constant, both the instantaneous and average
acceleration will become equal.

Average Acceleration
It is defined as the rate at which the velocity changes w. r. t time.

Instantaneous Acceleration
It is defined as the acceleration at a specific instant of time. Also it is
defined as the instant or instantaneous velocity considered during an
infinitesimal (very small) interval of time.

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Types of accelerations cont.
Q1.
When the acceleration is constant, mention the three kinematic
equations that can be integrated in-order to find obtain the formulas that
relate the following quantities,
1. Constant acceleration.
2. Velocity.
3. Displacement.
4. Time.

Q1. Answer

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Q2.
A projectile is fired vertically downward into a fluid medium with a starting velocity
of 60 m/s. The resistance caused by the fluid medium is 0.4 times the cube of
particle velocity in standard units. Determine the particle velocity and position
after 04 seconds.
Q1. Answer

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Curvilinear Motion
If an object moves along a curved or a circular path, its motion is called
curvilinear motion.
Examples
1. Motion of a roller coaster.
2. Cycling in an oval-shaped track.
3. Javelin throw.
4. S-shaped/wavy motion of a snake.
5. Running on a curved race track.

Why serpents follow a curvilinear

path?
its S-shaped loops to push off from
irregularities in the ground or
features in the landscape, such as
rocks and logs, resulting
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propulsion.
Curvilinear Motion

Centrifugal force is a phenomena observed from a point on a rotating

object (a rotating system).

It is an apparent force that does not exist when observed from a stationary
point not located on the moving object (such as a stationary system or an
inertial system in uniform motion). 14
Curvilinear Motion
Centrifugal force vs. Centripetal force
Centrifugal force, a fictitious force, peculiar [special, not general] to a
particle moving on a circular path, that has the same magnitude and
dimensions as the force that keeps the particle on its circular path (the
centripetal force) but points in the opposite direction.

Notation Meaning Unit

F_centripetal Centripetal force N
V Tangential velocity 𝒎𝒔−𝟏
r Distance from the centre of the circle to the moving body m
m Mass of the moving body 15 Kg
Derivation of Important Equations cont.
Consider the motion of the particle from the position “P” to “ P’ ”. Polar co-
ordinate system is used to describe the motion of the particle.

The change in angular position w.r.t. the original position is δθ while the
change in the radial displacement is δr.

The change in tangential velocity

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Derivation of Important Equations cont.

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Derivation of Important Equations cont.

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What is coriolis acceleration?

If the slider is moving while the rotating bar is also

rotating, the slider will experience an acceleration that is
referred as the coriolis acceleration. Its value is given by
twice the product of slider velocity and angular velocity.

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