Moment of Inertia

• Moment of inertia about y-axis, I = Ax^2

yy

• Moment of inertia about x-axis, I = Ay^2

xx
Moment of Inertia (I): Moment of inertia does not have an
explicit physical meaning, i.e., one cannot observe it.
However, it represents the bending stiffness of the
structural member, i.e., how difficult it is to bend it. A
higher value for a member's moment of inertia translates
to a stiffer member. Since there are two bending axes in a
two-dimensional space(y and z), we have two values of
moment of inertia defined about each axis. It is usually
measured in units of (mm4 or m4).
Perpendicular Axis theorem
• Izz = I xx + Iyy

• Izz is called as the polar M.I

MI of standard sections
Isoceless Triangle b and h
𝑏ℎ3
• IGX =
36

ℎ𝑏 3
• IGY =
48
 Numericals
• Case I- Non symmetrical sections
• Case II- Symmetrical with respect to X axis with centroid of simple
areas coinciding with centroidal X axis
• Case III-Symmetrical with respect to Y axis centroid of simple areas
coinciding with centroidal Y axis
• Case IV- Calculation of MI about any axis other than centroidal axes
Steps to Solve Any Given Problem
1. Identify the reference axes. If the moment of inertia of the given
figure is to be computed about any given axis, then select that
axis itself as the reference axis. In general, select the symmetrical
axis as the reference axis. If the figure is unsymmetrical, select
the left bottom corner of the figure as the origin.
2. Subdivide the compound figure into known geometric shapes
and identify the centroids of the sub-figures.
3. Write the tabular format as follows and enter the values and
calculate centroid
• Compute the moment of inertia of the given compound figure about
the centroidal X and Y axes using the parallel axis theorem .
Case I- Non symmetrical sections

• 𝐼𝐺𝑋 𝑜𝑟 𝐼𝑋𝑋 = 𝐼𝑠𝑒𝑙𝑓 𝑥𝑖 + 𝐴𝑖(𝑦𝑖 − 𝑦)2

• 𝐼𝐺𝑌 𝑜𝑟 𝐼𝑌𝑌 = 𝐼𝑠𝑒𝑙𝑓 𝑦𝑖 + 𝐴𝑖(𝑥𝑖 − 𝑥)2
Case II- Symmetrical with respect to X axis with
centroid of simple areas coinciding with centroidal X
axis
• 𝐼𝐺𝑋 𝑜𝑟 𝐼𝑋𝑋 = 𝐼𝑠𝑒𝑙𝑓 𝑥𝑖
• 𝐼𝐺𝑌 𝑜𝑟 𝐼𝑌𝑌 = 𝐼𝑠𝑒𝑙𝑓 𝑦𝑖 + 𝐴𝑖(𝑥𝑖 − 𝑥)2
Case II- Symmetrical with respect to Y axis with
centroid of simple areas coinciding with centroidal Y
axis
• 𝐼𝐺𝑋 𝑜𝑟 𝐼𝑋𝑋 = 𝐼𝑠𝑒𝑙𝑓 𝑥𝑖 + 𝐴𝑖(𝑦𝑖 − 𝑦)2
• 𝐼𝐺𝑌 𝑜𝑟 𝐼𝑌𝑌 = 𝐼𝑠𝑒𝑙𝑓 𝑦𝑖
Case I- Non symmetrical sections

• 𝐼𝐺𝑋 𝑜𝑟 𝐼𝑋𝑋 = 𝐼𝑠𝑒𝑙𝑓 𝑥𝑖 + 𝐴𝑖(𝑦𝑖 − 𝑦)2

• 𝐼𝐺𝑌 𝑜𝑟 𝐼𝑌𝑌 = 𝐼𝑠𝑒𝑙𝑓 𝑦𝑖 + 𝐴𝑖(𝑥𝑖 − 𝑥)2
NOTE:
Case II- Symmetrical with respect to X axis with
centroid of simple areas coinciding with centroidal X
axis
• 𝐼𝐺𝑋 𝑜𝑟 𝐼𝑋𝑋 = 𝐼𝑠𝑒𝑙𝑓 𝑥𝑖
• 𝐼𝐺𝑌 𝑜𝑟 𝐼𝑌𝑌 = 𝐼𝑠𝑒𝑙𝑓 𝑦𝑖 + 𝐴𝑖(𝑥𝑖 − 𝑥)2
Case III- Symmetrical with respect to Y axis with
centroid of simple areas coinciding with centroidal Y
axis
• 𝐼𝐺𝑋 𝑜𝑟 𝐼𝑋𝑋 = 𝐼𝑠𝑒𝑙𝑓 𝑥𝑖 + 𝐴𝑖(𝑦𝑖 − 𝑦)2
• 𝐼𝐺𝑌 𝑜𝑟 𝐼𝑌𝑌 = 𝐼𝑠𝑒𝑙𝑓 𝑦𝑖
Determine the moment of inertia about the
horizontal axis of the plane lamina
Ix = = 24.677 X 10^6 mm^4
 Special cases

Symmetrical with respect to x axis, but individual centroid not

coinciding with common centroidal axis
Case IV- Calculation of MI about any axis other
than centroidal axes
• In this case, directly apply parallel axis theorem