Moment of Inertia

Instructor
Engr: Temoor Abbas Larik

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 APPLICATIONS

Many structural members like beams and columns have cross

sectional shapes like an I, H, C, etc..
Why do they usually not have solid rectangular, square, or
circular cross sectional areas?

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 MOMENTS OF INERTIA FOR AREAS

Inertia is the resistance of any physical object to any change in its state
of motion, change in its speed and direction.

Inertia is a way of measuring how hard it is to change the momentum of

an object, whether that's getting it to speed up or getting it to slow down.

That depends on how much mass the object has. Big heavy things have
more inertia than light things. You have to push a bus harder than a
scooter to get it to move.

Moment is a combination of a physical quantity and a distance

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 MOMENTS OF INERTIA FOR AREAS
The moment of inertia of an object is a measure of its
resistance to change in rotation.
In Physics MOI is a quantity expressing a body’s tendency
to resist angular acceleration, which is the sum of the
products of the mass of each particles in the body with the
square of its distance from the axis of rotation.
All rotating objects have an axis, or a point that they rotate
around.
Some objects require more force to change the speed of this
rotation than others.
Those that will change their rotational speed easily have a low
moment of inertia, while those that are difficult to change have
a high one
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The moment of inertia also known as the angular
mass or rotational inertia, of a rigid body determines the
torque needed for a desired angular acceleration about a
rotational axis.

It depends on the body's mass distribution and the axis

chosen, with larger moments requiring more torque to
change the body's rotation.

.
The amount of torque needed for any given rate of change
in angular momentum is proportional to the moment of
inertia of the body. Moment of inertia may be expressed in
terms of (kg·m2) in SI units and (lbm·ft2)
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 Moment of Inertia – Practical Application

Everyday experience tells us that it is harder to start (or stop) a large

wheel turning than a small wheel. It means the large wheel having a
larger moment of inertia

The rotational inertia of an object depends on the mass of the object,

the shape of the object, and how the mass is distributed throughout
the object's shape.

Skaters can reduce their moment of inertia by pulling in their arms,

allowing them to spin faster due to conservation of angular
momentum As she reaches the end of the spin, she put her arms in
and tightens her frame, causing her to spin much more rapidly. She
has consolidated her mass closer to the axis, reduced her moment of
inertia, and reduced the effort needed to spin quickly. With no
change in force, she is able to accelerate her rotational speed. 6
Divers are concerned with which angles they can use to create the lowest
moment and the fastest spin in order to complete the move and seamlessly
enter the water.
Baseball players and golfers both work to create a smooth, effective
swing, to hit the ball with the correct angles and the force required to
make it fly far without excessive muscle use.

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 Swinging a baseball bat from the handle end and the barrel end.
A baseball bat is much easier to swing (rotates easier) when swung
from the barrel end. This is because more of the mass of the bat is
located closer to the axis of rotation -- your hands.
The farther away the mass of an object is from the axis of rotation, the
harder it is to swing the object, and the greater the rotational inertia.

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 Moment of Inertia – Demonstration

C C

The block is easiest to The block is harder to rotate

rotate about its centroid as as the dowel is moved away
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its MoI is minimum. from the centroid.
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 Area Moment of Inertia

The second moment of area, also known as area

moment of inertia is a geometrical property of an
area which reflects how its points are distributed with
regard to an arbitrary axis.

Its unit of dimension is  m4.

In the field of structural engineering, the second

moment of area of the cross-section of a beam is an
important property used in the calculation of the
beam's deflection and the calculation of stress caused
by a moment applied to the beam.
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 Area Moment of Inertia
The Area Moment Of Inertia of a beams cross-sectional
area measures the beams ability to resist bending. The
larger the Moment of Inertia the less the beam will
bend.

The moment of inertia is a geometrical property of a

beam and depends on a reference axis. The smallest
Moment of Inertia about any axis passes through the
centroid.
 DEFINITION OF MOMENTS OF INERTIA FOR AREAS

Consider a plate submerged in a liquid.

The pressure of a liquid at a distance y
below the surface is given by p =  y,
where  is the specific weight of the
liquid.

The force on the area dA at that point is dF = p dA.

The moment about the x-axis due to this force is y (dF).
The total moment is A y dF = A  y2 dA =  A( y2 dA).
The integral term, A( y2 dA), is referred to as the moment of
inertia of the area of the plate about an axis.

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 DEFINITION OF MOMENTS OF INERTIA FOR AREAS

10cm 3cm
10cm 3cm P
10cm
1cm x
(A) (B) (C) R S
1cm
Consider three different possible cross sectional shapes and areas for the
beam RS. All have the same total area and, assuming they are made of same
material, they will have the same mass per unit length.

For the given vertical loading P on the beam, which shape will
develop less internal stress and deflection? Why?
The answer depends on the MoI of the beam about the x-axis. It turns
out that Section A has the highest MoI because most of the area is
farthest from the x axis. Hence, it has the least stress and deflection.
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 Perpendicular axis theorem

For the differential area dA, shown in the

figure:
d Ix = y2 dA ,
d Iy = x2 dA , and,
d JO = r2 dA , where JO is the polar
moment of inertia about the pole O or z axis.

The moments of inertia for the entire area are obtained by

integration. R x
2= 2
+ y 2

Ix = A y2 dA ; Iy = A x2 dA
JO = A r2 dA = A ( x2 + y2 ) dA = Ix + Iy

The MoI is also referred to as the second moment of an area

and has units of length to the fourth power (m4 or in4).
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 PARALLEL-AXIS THEOREM FOR AN AREA

The Parallel-Axis Theorem relates the

moment of inertia (MoI) of an area about
an axis passing through the area’s centroid
to the MoI of the area about a
corresponding parallel axis. This theorem
has many practical applications, especially
when working with composite areas.

Consider an area with centroid C. The x' and y' axes pass through C.
The MoI about the x-axis, which is parallel to, and distance dy from
the x ' axis, is found by using the parallel-axis theorem.

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 PARALLEL-AXIS THEOREM (continued)
I x   y 2 dA    y'  d 
2
y dA zero
A A

I x   y'2 dA  2d y  y' dA  d y  dA
2

A A A

 y' dA
but since y'  A  is the definition of a centroid
 dA
A
A

and since y' goes through the centroid, then y'  0,

so  y' dA  0 (or the middle integral on the second line must be 0).
A

So, I x   y'2 dA  0  d y   dA  d y A
2 2
dA  y'2

A A A
2
Or I x  I x '  d y A (similar result for I y )

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Ix  Ix '  d y A
Parallax-Axis where Ix‘ = IxC = centroidal value
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Theorem Iy  Iy '  dx A (generally found in a table)

J0  JC  d 2A 21
Methods for Determining the MoI of an Object

Moments of Inertia (MoI) can be found using three methods:

1. Composites – If an object can be divided up into relatively simple
shapes with known moments of inertia, then the moment of inertia
of the entire object is the sum of the moments of inertial of the parts.
2. Integration – If the area or volume of an object can be described by
mathematical equations, then the moment of inertia can be
determined through integration.
3. Solid modeling software – Software such as AutoCAD, Inventor, and
SolidWorks can be used to construct 3D models of objects. The
software can also determine the moment of inertia of the objects (as
well as volumes, radii of gyration, centroids, etc.)

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 Finding the MoI for an area by integration

For simplicity, the area element used has a

differential size in only one direction
(dx or dy). This results in a single integration
and is usually simpler than doing a double
integration with two differentials, i.e., dx·dy.

The step-by-step procedure is:

1. Choose the element dA: There are two choices: a vertical strip or a
horizontal strip. Some considerations about this choice are:
a) The element parallel to the axis about which the MoI is to be
determined usually results in an easier solution. For example,
we typically choose a horizontal strip for determining Ix and a
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vertical strip for determining I .
 MOMENT OF INERTIA FOR A COMPOSITE AREA
(Section 10.4)

Moments of inertia are additive.

A composite area is made by adding or
subtracting a series of “simple” shaped
areas like rectangles, triangles, and
circles.
For example, the area on the left can be
made from a rectangle minus a smaller
rectangle plus a triangle.

Ix(total) = Ix(large rectangle) + Ix(triangle) – Ix (small rectangle)

Iy(total) = Iy(large rectangle) + Iy(triangle) – Iy (small rectangle)

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 STEPS FOR ANALYSIS – Finding MoI using Composite Shapes

1. Divide the given area into its simpler shaped parts.

2. Locate the centroid of each part and indicate the perpendicular
distance from each centroid to the desired reference axis.
3. If you wish to find the MoI about the centroidal axes of the entire
object, find the centroid of the entire object. If you wish to find the
MoI about fixed axes, proceed to the next step.
4. Determine the MoI of each simpler shaped part (generally about its
centroid) using the table provided in the text.
5. Use the Parallel-Axis Theorem to find the desired axes.
6. The MoI of the entire object is the sum of the MoI’s for each simpler
shape. Don’t forget that the MoI is negative for shapes to be
subtracted.

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EXAMPLE 10-100

Given: The pendulum consists of a slender

rod with a mass 10 kg and sphere
with a mass of 15 kg.
Find: The pendulum’s MMI about an axis
perpendicular to the screen and
passing through point O.

Plan: Follow steps similar to finding the

MoI for a composite area.

Solution:
1. The wheel can be divided into a slender rod
(r) and sphere (s).
 EXAMPLE (continued)
2. The center of mass for rod is at point Gr, 0.225 m
from Point O. The center of mass for sphere is at Gs,
0.55 m from point O.
Gr O
3. The MMI data for a slender rod and sphere are given
on the inside back cover of the textbook. Using
those data and the parallel-axis theorem, calculate the
following.
Gs
IO = IG + (m) (d) 2
IOr = (1/12) (10)(0.45)2 +10 (0.225)2 = 0.675 kg·m2
IOs = (2/5) (15) (0.1)2 + 15 (0.55)2 = 4.598 kg·m2
4. Now add the three MMIs about point O.
IO = IOr + IOs = 5.27 kg·m2