ADDIS ABABA UNIVERSITY

ADDIS ABABA INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY (AAiT)

Area Moments of Inertia

Chapter-Six

Given by the School of Civil and Environmental Engineering

Target group: Pre-engineering students
Year- two
Semester-I
Lecturer: Hiwot H.
Academic Year 2023/24 1
 Area Moments of Inertia
 The area moment of inertia -is a measure of the resistance of
a cross-section to bending, due to the shape of the x-section.
 It is a key parameter for the analysis of beams and columns.
 It is also called the Second Moment of Area.
 has units of length4
 It is always a positive quantity.
 Two identical elements can have completely different
moments of inertia, depending on how the shape is
distributed around the axis.
• A shape with most of its area close to the axis has a
smaller moment of inertia.
…Cont’d
100 Kg
100 Kg

• Section-2 is stiffer than

section-1, b/c the load is
applied to the shorter side.
Section-1
Section-2
 Moving a shape a way from the axis increases its moment of inertia,
and vice versa.

bending axis

 The I-beam locates the majority of the

material as far as possible from the bending
Fig. I-beam
axis, and so it is a very efficient cross-
section.
…Cont’d
 I-beam is so commonly used in construction.
 The minimum moment of inertia occurs when the centroid of
the shape falls on the axis. When this occurs, the moment of
inertia is called the Centroidal moment of inertia (𝐈).
 How the area moment of Inertia can be calculated for an
arbitrary x-section?
 The area moment of inertia quantifies the resistance to
bending about a particular axis, and so its value changes
depending on where we place this reference axis.

y Reference
axis
…Cont’d
 Each element contributes to the total area moment of inertia
by a quantity dA*y2, where y is the distance to the reference
axis.
 We can sum up the values for all of the small elements to
obtain the area moment of inertia for the entire x-section.

𝐼𝑥 = 𝑦 2 𝑑𝐴 𝐼𝑦 = 𝑥 2 𝑑𝐴

Where the subscripts x and y denote the reference axes, which

are the x-axis and y-axis, respectively.
Area Moment of Inertia of common shapes
Area Moment of Inertia of common shapes
Area Moment of Inertia of common shapes
 Parallel Axis Theorem
 It relates the moment of inertia of a shape about an arbitrary
axis to its moment of inertia about a parallel centroidal axis.
 Is a method used to calculate an adjusted area moment of
Inertia for any axis that is parallel to a centroidal axis.
𝑦𝑐

C
𝑥𝑐 𝐈𝐗 = 𝐈𝐱𝐜 + 𝐀𝐝𝟐
d
x
Where 𝑰𝑿 is the adjusted area moment of inertia
𝑰𝒙𝒄 is the moment of inertia of the centroidal axis
A is the cross-sectional area
d is the distance between both axes
Example
Determine the moments of inertia of the Z-section about its
centroidal xo-and yo-axes.
 Solution
1. Determine the centroid location. A1

Width, Depth, Area,

Part mm mm A Xc Yc A*Xc A*Yc

A1 100 20 2000 50 150 100000 300000 A2

A2 20 120 2400 90 80 216000 192000

120
A3 100 20 2000 130 10 260000 20000 mm

Sums 6400 576000.00 512000.00

𝐴𝑋𝐶 576000 A3
𝑥= = = 𝟗𝟎 mm
𝐴 6400

𝐴𝑌 512000
𝑦= = = 𝟖𝟎 mm
𝐴 6400
 Solution
2. Determine moment of Inertia

𝐼𝑥𝑜 = 𝐼𝑋 + 𝐴𝑑𝑦 2 = 𝟐𝟐. 𝟔𝟏 ∗ 𝟏𝟎𝟔 𝑚𝑚4

𝐼𝑦𝑜 = 𝐼𝑦 + 𝐴𝑑𝑥 2 = 𝟗. 𝟖𝟏 ∗ 𝟏𝟎𝟔 𝑚𝑚4

 Products of Inertia and Rotation of Axes

Products of Inertia
𝐼𝑥𝑦 = 𝑥𝑦𝑑𝐴

 Measures warping for beam.

 is zero for any symmetrical cross-section about either x or y
axis.
 integration using double integrals.
 composite bodies most common.
 Parallel axis: 𝐼𝑥′𝑦′ = 𝐼𝑥𝑦 + 𝐴𝑑𝑥 𝑑𝑦
 …Cont’d
 Product of Inertia for any symmetrical cross-section is zero.
 Prove: for rectangular Section.
Product of Inertia about centroidal axis
A2 A1
1. Area-1, A1
h/2 𝑏 ℎ 𝑏ℎ
c.g2 c.g1 𝐼𝑥𝑦 = 𝐴1 𝑑𝑥1 𝑑𝑦1 = 𝐴1 = 𝐴1
𝐴1 4 4 16
c.g 2. Area-2, A2
A3 A4 −𝑏 ℎ −𝑏ℎ
𝐼𝑥𝑦 = 𝐴2 𝑑𝑥2 𝑑𝑦2 = 𝐴1 = 𝐴2
𝐴2 4 4 16
h/2 c.g3 c.g4 3. Area-3, A3
−𝑏 −ℎ 𝑏ℎ
𝐼𝑥𝑦 = 𝐴3 𝑑𝑥3 𝑑𝑦3 = 𝐴3 = 𝐴3
𝐴3 4 4 16
b/2 b/2 4. Area-3, A4
𝑏 −ℎ −𝑏ℎ
𝐼𝑥𝑦 = 𝐴4 𝑑𝑥4 𝑑𝑦4 = 𝐴4 = 𝐴4
𝒃𝒉 𝐴4 4 4 16
𝐴1 = 𝐴2 = 𝐴3 = 𝐴4 =
𝟒 𝟒

𝐈𝐱𝐲 =𝟎
𝐜𝐠
𝐢=𝟏
…Cont’d
Products of Inertia by composite bodies

𝐼𝑥𝑦 = 𝐼𝑥′𝑦′ + 𝐴𝑑𝑥 𝑑𝑦

Where Ix′y′ − product of inertia of individual part about its own

centroidal axis
A − area of individual parts
dx − distance from x-axis to individual part’s centroid
dy − distance from y-axis to individual part’s centroid
 Products of Inertia and Rotation of Axes
 Product of inertia is useful in calculating moment of inertia
about inclined axes.
 Moments and product of inertia with respect to new axes x
and y.
y
Y’
𝐼𝑥 = 𝑦 2 𝑑𝐴
X’
dA
Y’
𝐼𝑦 = 𝑥 2 𝑑𝐴
θ X’
Y

𝐼𝑥𝑦 = 𝑥𝑦𝑑𝐴 θ
o X
X
…Cont’d
 Moments and product of inertia with respect to new axes x’
and y’.
y
Y’
𝐼𝑥′ = 𝑦′2 𝑑𝐴
X’
dA
𝐼𝑦′ = 𝑥′2 𝑑𝐴 Y’

θ X’
𝐼𝑥′ 𝑦′ = 𝑥 ′ 𝑦′𝑑𝐴 Y

𝑥 ′ = 𝑥 cos 𝜃 + 𝑦 sin 𝜃 θ
o X
𝑦 ′ = 𝑦 cos 𝜃 − 𝑥 sin 𝜃 X

𝐈𝐱 + 𝐈𝐲 𝐈𝐱 − 𝐈𝐲
𝐈𝐱′ = + 𝐜𝐨𝐬 𝟐𝛉 − 𝐈𝐱𝐲 𝐬𝐢𝐧 𝟐𝛉
𝟐 𝟐
 …Cont’d
𝐈𝐱 + 𝐈𝐲 𝐈𝐱 − 𝐈𝐲
𝐈𝐲′ = − 𝐜𝐨𝐬 𝟐𝛉 + 𝐈𝐱𝐲 𝐬𝐢𝐧 𝟐𝛉
𝟐 𝟐
y
Y’
X’
dA
Y’
𝐈𝐱 − 𝐈𝐲
𝐈𝐱′𝐲′ = 𝐬𝐢𝐧 𝟐𝛉 + 𝐈𝐱𝐲 𝐜𝐨𝐬 𝟐𝛉 θ X’
𝟐 Y

θ
o X
X
…Cont’d
 The polar moment of inertia about O
Ix′ + Iy′ = 𝐼𝑥 + 𝐼𝑦 = 𝐼𝑧

 The critical angle which makes Ix′ 𝑎𝑛𝑑 Iy′ either maximum or
minimum may be determined by setting the derivative of
either Ix′ 𝑜𝑟 Iy′ w.r.t θ equal to zero.
𝐈𝐱 + 𝐈 𝐲 𝐈𝐱 − 𝐈 𝐲
𝑑Ix′ 𝑑 𝟐
+
𝟐
𝐜𝐨𝐬 𝟐𝛉 − 𝐈𝐱𝐲 𝐬𝐢𝐧 𝟐𝛉
= =0
𝑑𝜃 𝑑𝜃

= Iy − Ix sin 2θ − 2Ixy cos 2θ = 0

𝟐𝑰𝒙𝒚
𝐭𝐚𝐧 𝟐𝜽 =
𝑰𝒚 − 𝑰𝒙
…Cont’d
 two values of 2θ which differ by π since tan2θ = tan(2θ + π).
 two solutions for θ will differ by π /2.
 One value of θ will define the axis of maximum MI and the
other defines the axis of minimum MI.
 These two rectangular axes are called the principal axes of
inertia.
 The principal moments of inertia
𝐈𝐱 + 𝐈𝐲 𝟏 𝟐
𝐈𝒎𝒂𝒙 = + 𝐈𝐱 − 𝐈𝐲 + 𝟒𝐈𝐱𝐲 𝟐
𝟐 𝟐  Substituting sin2θ
and cos2θ in the
𝐈𝐱 + 𝐈𝐲 𝟏 𝟐 above equations.
𝐈𝒎𝒊𝒏 = − 𝐈𝐱 − 𝐈𝐲 + 𝟒𝐈𝐱𝐲 𝟐
𝟐 𝟐