Faculty of Engineering and

Technical Studies

Mechanical engineering science

Centroids and Moment of Inertia

Dr. Kavian O. Cooke

Mechanical Engineering Dept.
University of Technology, Jamaica

Outline
Introduction
Objectives
Centre of Gravity and Centre of Mass for

System of Particles

Centre of Gravity
Centre of Gravity for a System with n Particles

Centre of Mass

Centre of Mass, Centre of Gravity and Centroid

for Composite Body

Procedure for Analysis

Summary
2

Centre of Gravity and Centre of Mass for a

System of Particles
Centre of Gravity
The center of gravity, G for a body is a point which locates the

gravity or weight of the body.

The gravity or weight of the body is normally represented by

W. Theoretically, a body can be thought to consist of particles

and the gravity will act on each particle in the body.
Therefore, this gravity force can be represented by a small

force W. This small force is uniformly distributed throughout

the body.

Centre of Gravity and Centre of Mass for a

System of Particles
Centre of Gravity for a System of n Particles
The weights of the particles comprise a system of parallel forces

which can be replaced by a single equivalent resultant weight having

the defined point G of application.

To find the x , y , z coordinates of

G, we must use the moment
principle. For a body to be in
static equilibrium, the resultant
weight must be equal to the total
weights of all n particles, i.e.,

WR W
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Centre of Gravity and Centre of Mass for

a System of Particles
Centre of Gravity for a System of n Particles
The sum of the moment of the weights of all the particles

about the x, y and z is equal to the moment of the resultant

x the coordinate of
weight about these axes. Thus, to calculate
G, we can take the sum of moments about the y axis. This will
give
xW ~
xW ~
x W ~
xW
R

y summation of moments about the x

Similarly, by taking the
axis, we will get the coordinate, i.e.
yWR ~
y1W1 ~
y2W2 ~
ynWn

z
5

Centre of Gravity and Centre

of Mass
for a System of
Particles
Centre of Gravity for a System of n Particles
Thus, to calculate the z coordinate of G, we can take
the sum of moments about the y axis. This will give

z WR ~z1W1 ~z2W2 ~
z nWn (3)
Equations (1) to (3) can be presented in a generalized
form and symbolically written in
y

~y m
m

~
xm

x
m

~
zm

z
m
(5.4)

Centre of Gravity and Centre

of Mass
for a System of

Centre of Mass
Particles
Center of mass is necessary to determine when we are dealing with the

problems related to dynamics, i.e. the motion of matter under the

influence of force.
Provided that the acceleration of a body due to gravity g for every

particle is constant, thus we will have W = mg. Substituting into

equation 3 and by canceling g from the denominator and numerator, we
will have
~
xm

x
m

~
ym

y
m

~
zm

z
m

By comparison then, the center of gravity coincides with the center of

mass. From general principles of Statics, we already know that particles

will have weight only under the influence of gravitational force. The
center of mass, on the other hand is independent of gravity.
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Centre of Mass, Centre of

Gravity and Centroid for
Composite body is a body
that is made from several common shape
Composite
Body
segments. Its center of gravity, G can be determined by expressing
the moment about O of its total weight is equal to the sum of the
moments about O of the weights of various component parts.
The following equations can be used to determine the center of
gravity, center of mass and centroid of composite body.
~
xm

x
m

~
ym

y
m

~
zm

z
m

(5.12)
where
x , ythe
, z coordinates of the center of mass of the composite body.
are
are the coordinates of the center of mass of each segment of the
x , y, z
composite
body.
m is the sum of the mass of the composite parts of the body.
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Centre of Mass, Centre of

Gravity and Centroid for
Composite
Equation 5.12 can also beBody
used for composite body that consists of lines,
areas and volume. Equations 5.13 to 5.15 can be utilize to determine the
center of gravity, center of mass and centroid for lines, areas and volumes.
For line:

For line:

~
xL

x
L

~
yL

y
L

~
zL

z
L

~
xA

x
A

~
yA

y
A

~
zA

z
A

~
xV

x
V

~y V

y
V

~z V

z
V

For line:

Centre of Mass, Centre of

Gravity and Centroid for

Composite
Procedure for AnalysisBody
1. Identify the composite body to be analyzed.
2. Clearly identify the parts that make up the composite body. These

parts are objects of basic shapes. They can be a triangle, rectangle,

circular arc, semicircular arc, hemisphere, cylinder and etc.

3. Identify the center of gravity or center of mass or centroid of each

parts, which is also called segments.

4. Locate this center of gravity or center of mass or centroid of this

part with respect to the coordinate axes given in the question.

5. Tabulate and write these coordinates of the center of gravity, center

of mass or centroid in the table and determine the center of gravity

or center of mass or centroid using the appropriate equations.

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Example 5.7
Calculate the coordinates of the centroid (
x, y

area shown in Figure Example 5.17 (a).

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) of the shaded

Example 5.7
Solution
Shaded area shown in Figure Example 5.7 (a) can be divided into three basic segments;
rectangle, triangle and semicircle as shown in Figure Example 5.17 (b).

Thus,

A~x

1720812
x

86.7mm
A 19845
12

A~
y 1411148

71.1mm
A
19845

Sample Problem
SOLUTION:

Divide the area into a triangle, rectangle, and semicircle

Calculate
the first
moments of each area with respect to the
with a circular
cutout.
axes.

Find the total area and first moments of the triangle,

rectangle, and semicircle. Subtract the area and first

For the plane area shown, determine the first

moments with respect to the x and y axes and the
location of the centroid.

moment of the circular cutout.

Compute the coordinates of the area centroid by dividing the

first moments by the total area.

5 - 13

Sample Problem

Find the total area and first moments of the triangle, rectangle, and
semicircle. Subtract the area and first moment of the circular cutout.

Qx 506.2 103 mm 3
Q y 757.7 103 mm 3
5 - 14

Sample Problem 5.1

Compute the coordinates of the area centroid by dividing the first moments by the total area.

x A 757.7 103 mm 3

13.828 10 3 mm 2
X 54.8 mm

y A 506.2 10 3 mm 3

A 13.828 103 mm 2
Y 36.6 mm
5 - 15

Moment of Inertia
The second moment of area, also known as moment of inertia of plane area,

area moment of inertia, or second area moment, is a geometrical property of

an area which reflects how its points are distributed with regard to an

arbitrary axis.
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Moments of Inertia for Composite Areas

Composite area consist of a series of connected

simpler parts or shapes

Moment of inertia of the composite area =
algebraic sum of the moments of inertia of all its
parts
Procedure for Analysis
Composite Parts
Divide area into its composite parts and indicate
the centroid of each part to the reference axis
Parallel Axis Theorem
Moment of inertia of each part is determined
about its centroidal axis

Moments of Inertia for Composite Areas

Procedure for Analysis
Parallel Axis Theorem
When centroidal axis does not coincide with
the reference axis, the parallel axis theorem
is used
Summation
Moment of inertia of the entire area about
the reference axis is determined by
summing the results of its composite parts

Parallel Axis Theorem for an

Area

For moment of inertia of an area known

about an axis passing through its centroid,

determine the moment of inertia of area
about a corresponding parallel axis using the
parallel axis theorem
Consider moment of inertia
of the shaded area
A differential element dA is
located at an arbitrary distance
y from the centroidal x axis

 Second integral = 0 since x passes through the

areas centroid C

y ' dA y dA 0;

y0

Third integral represents the total area A

I x I x Ad y2
Similarly

I y I y Ad x2

Example
Example 10.5
Compute the moment of
inertia of the composite
area about the x axis.

Solution
Composite Parts
Composite area
obtained by subtracting
the circle form the
rectangle
Centroid of each area is
located in the figure

Solution
Parallel Axis Theorem
Circle
I x I x ' Ad y2

1
4
2
2
25 25 75 11.4 106 mm 4
4

Rectangle

I x I x ' Ad y2

1
100150 3 100150 75 2 112.5 106 mm 4

12

Solution
Summation
For moment of inertia for the composite
area,

I x 11.4 10 112 .5 10
6

101 10 mm
6

Example 10.6
Determine the moments
of inertia of the beams
cross-sectional area
about the x and y
centroidal axes.

Solution
Composite Parts
Considered as 3 composite
areas A, B, and D
Centroid of each area is
located in the figure

Solution
Parallel Axis Theorem
Rectangle A
I x I x ' Ad y2
1
3
2
100 300 100 300 200 1.425109 mm 4

12
I y I y ' Ad x2
1
3
2
300100 100 300 250 1.90109 mm 4

12

Solution
Parallel Axis Theorem
Rectangle B
I x I x ' Ad y2

1
3
600100 0.05 109 mm 4

12
I y I y ' Ad x2

1
100 600 3 1.80 109 mm 4

12

Solution
Parallel Axis Theorem
Rectangle D
I x I x ' Ad y2
1
3
2
100 300 100 300 200 1.425109 mm 4

12
I y I y ' Ad x2
1
300100 3 100 300 250 2 1.90109 mm 4

12

Solution
Summation
For moment of inertia for the entire crosssectional area,

2.9010 mm
I 1.9010 1.8010 1.9010
5.6010 mm
I x 1.425 10 0.05 10 1.425 10
9

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Summary
Chapter 5 concentrates on the center of gravity, center of mass and

centroid.

The concept was introduced for a composite bodies. A simpler

approach is graphically discussed, where the bodies were

segmented into several basic shapes and tabulated in the form of a
table.

Using the appendix of center of gravity, center of mass and centroid

for basic objects, the center of gravity, center of mass and centroid
were determined from an algebraic summation.

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Thank You

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