CE 213 – STATICS OF RIGID BODIES

MODULE 7

Chapter 6- Moment of Inertia; Product of Inertia

Introduction

The moment of inertia is a physical quantity which describes how easily a

body can be rotated about a given axis. It is a rotational analogue of mass, which describes
an object's resistance to translational motion.

Inertia is the property of matter which resists change in its state of motion. Inertia is a
measure of the force that keeps a stationary object stationary, or a moving object moving at
its current speed. The larger the inertia, the greater the force that is required to bring some
change in its velocity in a given amount of time. Suppose a heavy truck and a light car are
both at rest, then intuitively we know that more force will be required to push the truck to a
certain speed in a given amount of time than will be needed to push the car to that same speed
in the same amount of time.

Similarly, moment of inertia is that property where matter resists change in its state of
rotatory motion. The larger the moment of inertia, the greater the amount of torque that will be
required to bring the same change in its angular velocity in a given amount of time. Here,
torque and angular velocity are the angular analogues of force and velocity, relating to moment
of inertia in the exact same way that force and velocity relate to mass.

Unlike inertia, moment of inertia depends not only on the mass but also the distribution
of mass around the axis about which the moment of inertia is to be calculated. An object can
have different moments of inertia about different axes. That is, to rotate an object about
different axes with an equal angular acceleration, different torque (or effort) is required. This
concept is relevant and highly necessary throughout mechanics. While life would be simple if
nothing rotated, realistically we need to have a way to deal with both translation and rotation
(often at the same time). This is a necessary piece in analyzing more complex motion.

Objectives:

At the end of this chapter, students are expected to be able to:

1. Understand the concept of moment of inertia by perpendicular axis and parallel axis
theorem;
2. Calculate the moment of inertia for uniformly shapes and compound areas; and
3. Calculate the product of inertia of shapes.

Discussion
General Properties and Ideas
 Moment of inertia is a tenor quantity. It has different values for different axes.
 It depends upon the mass as well as the mass's distribution around its axis.
 A body can have different moments of inertia about different axes.
 It is an inherent property of matter by which it tries to maintain its state of angular
motion unless and until it is compelled by external torques.
 It is an extensive (additive) property: the moment of inertia of a composite system is
the sum of the moments of inertia of its components' subsystems (all taken about the
same axis).
 Perpendicular Axis Theorem

The moment of inertia (MI) of a plane area about an axis normal to the plane is equal
to the sum of the moments of inertia about any two mutually perpendicular axes lying in the
plane and passing through the given axis.

That means the Moment of Inertia Iz = Ix+Iy

Parallel Axis Theorem

The moment of area of an object about any axis parallel to the centroidal axis is the
sum of MI about its centroidal axis and the product of area with the square of distance of
from the reference axis.
Essentially, IXX= IG+Ad2

Where,
A is the cross-sectional area
d is the perpendicular distance between the centroidal axis and the parallel axis.

Parallel Axis Theorem – Derivation

• Consider the moment of inertia Ix of an area A with respect to an axis AA’. Denote by
y, the distance from an element of area dA to AA’.

𝑰𝒙 = ∫ 𝒚𝟐 𝒅𝑨 ⇒ Moment of inertia about the x-axis

𝑰𝒚 = ∫ 𝒙𝟐 𝒅𝑨 ⇒ Moment of inertia about the y-axis
  Consider an axis BB’ parallel to AA’ through the centroid C of the area, known as the
centroidal axis. The equation of the moment inertia becomes:

𝐼𝑥 = ∫ 𝑦 2 𝑑𝐴 = ∫(𝑦 ′ + 𝑑)2 𝑑𝐴
𝐼𝑥 = ∫ 𝑦′2 𝑑𝐴 + 2 ∫ 𝑦 ′ 𝑑 𝑑𝐴 +∫ 𝑑2 𝑑𝐴

The first integral is the moment of inertia about the centroid.

𝐼̅𝑥 = ∫ 𝑦′2 𝑑𝐴

The second component is the first moment of area about the centroid

̅ 𝐴 = ∫ 𝑦 ′ 𝑑𝐴 ⇒ 𝑦′
𝑦′ ̅ =0
̅𝐴 = 0
⇒ 𝑦′

Modify the equation obtained with the parallel axis theorem:

𝐼𝑥 = ∫ 𝑦′2 𝑑𝐴 + 2 ∫ 𝑦 ′ 𝑑 𝑑𝐴 +∫ 𝑑2 𝑑𝐴

𝑰𝒙 = 𝑰̅𝒙 + 𝒅𝟐 𝑨

Polar Moment of Inertia

The polar moment of Inertia, J, of a cross-section with respect to a polar axis, that is,
an axis at right angles to the plane of the cross-section, is defined as the moment of inertia
of the cross section with respect to the point of intersection of the axis and the plane. The
polar moment of Inertia may be found by taking the sum of the moments of inertia about two
perpendicular axes lying in the plane of the cross-section and passing through this point.
It is basically the moment of inertia about the z-axis, and is calculated using the
formulas:

𝑱 = 𝑰𝒙 + 𝑰𝒚
𝑱 = ∫ 𝒓𝟐 𝒅𝑨
Radius of gyration

Also termed as gyradius of a body about an axis of rotation is defined as the radial
distance to a point which would have a moment of inertia the same as the body’s actual
distribution of mass, if the total mass of the body were concentrated there.

In some structural engineering applications, it is common practice to introduce the

radius of gyration of area. The radii of gyration of an area about the x-axis, the y-axis, and
the origin O are defined as:

𝐼
𝑘= √
𝐴
𝐼 𝐼 𝐼
𝑘𝑥 = √ 𝐴𝑥 𝑘𝑦 = √ 𝐴𝑦 𝑘𝑧 = √ 𝐴𝑧

The dimension of the radius of gyration is [L]. However, the radius of gyration is not a
distance that has a clear-cut physical meaning, nor can it be determined by direct
measurement; its value can be determined only by computation using the above equations.

Moment of Inertia of Common Shapes

Shapes Moment of Inertia

Rectangle
Circle

Right triangle

Semicircle

Isosceles triangle
Triangle

Quarter Circle

Half Parabolic complement

Half parabola
 Ellipse

𝝅𝒂𝒃𝟑
Ix = 𝟒
𝝅𝒂𝟑 𝒃
Ix = 𝟒𝟒
Ixy = 0

Quarter Ellipse

Circular sector

*for other shapes, it can be solve using the formulas given above by integration.

Method of Composite Areas

Consider a plane region, A, that has been divided into the subregions A1, A2, A3, …. The
moment of inertia of the area of A about an axis can be computed by summing the moments
of inertia of the subregions about the same axis. This technique, known as the method of
composite areas, follows directly from the property of definite integrals: the integral of a sum
equals the sum of the integrals. For example, Ix , the moment of inertia about the x-axis,
becomes
𝐼𝑥 = (∫ 𝑦 2 𝑑𝐴)𝐴 = (∫ 𝑦 2 𝑑𝐴)𝐴1 + (∫ 𝑦 2 𝑑𝐴)𝐴2 + (∫ 𝑦 2 𝑑𝐴)𝐴3 + ⋯

Which can be written as

𝑰𝒙 = (𝑰𝒙 )𝟏 + (𝑰𝒙 )𝟐 + (𝑰𝒙 )𝟑 + ⋯

Where (Ix )1 is the moment of the inertia of the area of the subregion A1 with respect to the x-
axis. Obviously, the method of composite areas also applies to the computation of polar
moments of areas:

𝑱𝒐 = (𝑱𝒐 )𝟏 + (𝑱𝒐 )𝟐 + (𝑱𝒐 )𝟑 + ⋯

Where (I𝑱𝒐 )1 is the moment of the inertia of the area of the subregion A1 with respect to point
O.

Examples:

1. The centroid of the plane region is located at C. If the area of the region is 2000 mm2 and
its moment of inertia about the x-axis is Ix = 40 × 106 mm4, determine Iu.

Solution:

Note that we are required to transfer the moment of inertia from the x-axis to the u-
axis, neither of which is a centroidal axis. Therefore, we must first calculate 𝐼̅𝑥 , the moment
of inertia about the centroidal axis that is parallel to the x-axis.

From the parallel-axis theorem we have 𝑰𝒙 = 𝑰̅𝒙 + 𝑨𝒅𝟐 , which gives

𝑰̅𝒙 =𝑰𝒙 − 𝑨𝒅𝟏 𝟐 = (40𝑥106 ) − (2000)(90)2 = 23.8𝑥106 𝑚𝑚4

After 𝐼̅𝑥 has been found, the parallel-axis theorem enables us to compute the moment
of inertia about any axis that is parallel to the centroidal axis. For Iu we have

𝑰𝒖 = 𝑰̅𝒙 + 𝑨𝒅𝟐 𝟐 = (23.8𝑥106 ) + (2000)(70)2 = 𝟑𝟑. 𝟔𝒙𝟏𝟎𝟔 𝒎𝒎𝟒

A common error is to use the parallel-axis theorem to transfer the moment of inertia
between two axes, neither of which is a centroidal axis. In this problem, for example, it is
tempting to write Iu = Ix + A(d1 + d2)2, which would result in an incorrect answer for Iu .

2. For a rectangle with base b and height h, compute the following: (1) the moment of inertia
about the y-axis by integration; (2) the moment of inertia about the centroidal axis that is
parallel to the x-axis; and (3) the polar moment of inertia about the centroid.
Solution:

Part 1

The area of the differential element shown in the figure is dA = b dy. Because all
parts of the element are a distance y from the x-axis, we can use:
ℎ ℎ
𝟐 2
𝑏𝑦 3 𝒃𝒉𝟑
𝑰𝒙 = ∫ 𝒚 𝒅𝑨 = 𝑏 ∫ 𝑦 𝑑𝑦 = [ ] =
0 3 0 𝟑
*this result agrees with the information listed for rectangle in the table given above.

If we had chosen to use double integration with dA=dxdy , the analysis would yield:

ℎ 𝑏
𝒃𝒉𝟑
𝑰𝒙 = ∫ 𝒚𝟐 𝒅𝑨 = ∫ ∫ 𝑦 2 𝑑𝑥𝑑𝑦 =
0 0 𝟑
which is identical to the previous result.

Part 2

We can calculate 𝐼̅𝑥 from the parallel-axis theorem and the result of Part 1.
Substituting Ix = bh3/3 into the parallel-axis theorem, and recognizing that the transfer
distance d (the distance between the x-axis and the centroidal x-axis) is h/2, we find that
𝑏ℎ3 ℎ 2 𝒃𝒉𝟑
𝑰̅𝒙 =𝑰𝒙 − 𝑨𝒅𝟐 = − 𝑏ℎ (2) =
3 𝟏𝟐

*This answer also agrees with the result in the table.

Part 3

One method of computing 𝐽̅𝑐 is to use 𝐽̅𝑐 = 𝐼̅𝑥 + 𝐼̅𝑦 . From the results of Part 2 or
from the given table above, we have,
𝑏ℎ3 ℎ𝑏3 𝒃𝒉
𝐽̅𝑐 = 𝐼̅𝑥 + 𝐼̅𝑦 = + = (𝒉𝟐 + 𝒃𝟐 )
12 12 𝟏𝟐

Another method of computing 𝐽̅𝑐 is to first compute the 𝐽𝑜 = 𝐼𝑥 + 𝐼𝑦 and then transfer
this result to the centroid. From the results of part 1, we have

𝑏ℎ3 ℎ𝑏3 𝑏ℎ 2
𝐽𝑜 = 𝐼𝑥 + 𝐼𝑦 = + = (ℎ + 𝑏2 )
3 3 3
 The transfer distance is the distance between point O and the centroid of the
𝑏 ℎ
rectangle; that is, 𝑑 = √(2)2 + ( 2)2. From the parallel-axis theorem, we obtain

2
𝑏ℎ 𝑏 ℎ 𝑏ℎ 2𝑏 2
ℎ
𝐽̅𝑐 = 𝐽𝑜 − 𝐴𝑑2 = 3 (ℎ2 + 𝑏2 ) - 𝑏ℎ [√(2)2 + ( 2)2 ] .= 3 (ℎ2 + 𝑏2 ) - 𝑏ℎ(4 + 4 )
𝒃𝒉
𝑱̅𝒄 = 𝟏𝟐 (𝒉𝟐 + 𝒃𝟐 )

Which agrees with the previous result.

3. For the area shown, calculate the radii of gyration about the x- and y-axes.

Solution:

We consider the area to be composed of the three parts shown below: a triangle,
plus a semicircle, minus a circle. The moments of inertia of each part are obtained in two
steps. First, the moments of inertia about the centroidal axes of the part are found from
Table. The parallel-axis theorem is then used to calculate the moments of inertia about the
x- and y-axes.

Triangle
𝑏ℎ 90(100)
𝐴= = = 4500𝑚𝑚2
2 2

𝑏ℎ3 90(100)3
𝐼̅𝑥 = = = 2.50 𝑥 106 𝑚𝑚4
36 36
 𝐼𝑥 = 𝐼̅𝑥 + 𝐴𝑦̅ 2 = (2.50 𝑥 106 ) + 4500(66.7)2 = 22.5𝑥106 𝑚𝑚4

ℎ𝑏3 100(90)3
𝐼̅𝑦 = = = 2.025𝑥106 𝑚𝑚4
36 36

𝐼𝑦 = 𝐼̅𝑦 + 𝐴𝑥̅ 2 = (2.025 𝑥 106 ) + 4500(60)2 = 18.225𝑥106 𝑚𝑚4

Semicircle
𝜋𝑟 2 𝜋(45)2
𝐴= = = 3180.86 𝑚𝑚2
2 2

𝐼̅𝑥 = 0.1098𝑟 4 = 0.1098(45)4 = 0.450𝑥 106 𝑚𝑚4

𝐼𝑥 = 𝐼̅𝑥 + 𝐴𝑦̅ 2 = (0.450 𝑥 106 ) + 3180.86(119.1)2 = 45.57𝑥106 𝑚𝑚4

𝜋𝑟 4 𝜋(45)4
𝐼̅𝑦 = = = 1.61𝑥106 𝑚𝑚4
8 8

𝐼𝑦 = 𝐼̅𝑦 + 𝐴𝑥̅ 2 = (1.61 𝑥 106 ) + 3180.86(45)2 = 8.05𝑥106 𝑚𝑚4

Circle
𝐴 = 𝜋𝑟 2 = 𝜋(20)2 = 1256.637 𝑚𝑚2

𝜋𝑟 4 𝜋(20)4
𝐼̅𝑥 = = = 0.1257𝑥 106 𝑚𝑚4
4 4
𝐼𝑥 = 𝐼̅𝑥 + 𝐴𝑦̅ 2 = (0.1257 𝑥 106 ) + 1256.637(100)2 = 12.692𝑥106 𝑚𝑚4

𝜋𝑟 4 𝜋(20)4
𝐼̅𝑦 = = = 0.1257𝑥 106 𝑚𝑚4
4 4

𝐼𝑦 = 𝐼̅𝑦 + 𝐴𝑥̅ 2 = (0.1257 𝑥 106 ) + 1256.637(45)2 = 2.67𝑥106 𝑚𝑚4

Composite Area
To determine the properties for the composite area, we superimpose the foregoing
results (taking care to subtract the quantities for the circle) and obtain

𝐴 = ∑ 𝐴 = 4500 + 3180.86 − 1256.637 = 6427.223 𝑚𝑚2

𝐼𝑥 = ∑ 𝐼𝑥 = ( 22.5 + 45.57 − 12.692 ) 𝑥106 = 55.378 𝑥 106 𝑚𝑚4
𝐼𝑦 = ∑ 𝐼𝑦 = ( 18.225 + 8.05 − 2.67 ) 𝑥106 = 23.605 𝑥 106 𝑚𝑚4

Therefore, for the radii of gyration we have

𝐼 55.378 𝑥 106
𝑘𝑥 = √ 𝐴𝑥 = √ 6427.223
= 𝟗𝟐. 𝟖𝟐𝟑 𝒎𝒎

𝐼𝑦 23.605 𝑥 106
𝑘𝑦 = √ = √ = 𝟔𝟎. 𝟔𝟎𝟐 𝒎𝒎
𝐴 6427.223
Product of Inertia

The product of inertia of a plane area (also called the product of area) about the x-
and y-coordinate axes is defined by

𝐼𝑥𝑦 = ∫ 𝑥𝑦 𝑑𝐴

where A is the area of the plane region shown in Fig. 9.3, and x and y are the coordinates of
dA.

The dimension of product of inertia is [L4], the same as for moment of inertia and polar
moment of area. Whereas moment of inertia is always positive, the product of inertia can be
positive, negative, or zero, depending on the manner in which the area is distributed in the xy-
plane.

If an area has an axis of symmetry, that axis and the axis perpendicular to it constitute
a set of axes for which the product of inertia is zero.

Transfer Formula for Product of Inertia

The parallel-axis theorem for products of inertia can be written as

𝑰𝒙𝒚 = 𝑰̅𝒙𝒚 + 𝑨𝒙
̅𝒚̅

To reiterate, the symbol 𝑰𝒙𝒚 is to be read as “the product of inertia relative to centroidal
x- and y-axes” (axes through the centroid and parallel to the x- and y-axes).

Example:

1. Calculate the product of inertia of the triangle shown (a) about the x- and y axes using (1)
single integration; and (2) double integration.
Solution:
For the horizontal element shown:

𝑑𝐴 = 𝑥𝑑𝑦
𝑥
𝑥̅𝑒𝑙 =
2
𝑦̅𝑒𝑙 = 𝑦

̅ = 0 (By symmetry)
𝑑𝐼𝑥𝑦
𝑥 𝑥 2𝑦
𝑑𝐼𝑥𝑦 = 𝑑𝐴 𝑥̅𝑒𝑙 𝑦̅𝑒𝑙 = (𝑥𝑑𝑦) ( ) (𝑦) = 𝑑𝑦
2 2

By the property of similar triangle:

𝑥 𝑏
=ℎ
ℎ−𝑦
𝑏
𝑥 = (ℎ − 𝑦)
ℎ

Substitute and integrate

𝑥 2𝑦
𝑑𝐼𝑥𝑦 = 𝑑𝑦
2
2
𝑏
ℎ [ (ℎ − 𝑦)] 𝑦
𝐼𝑥𝑦 = ∫ ℎ 𝑑𝑦
0 2

𝑏2 ℎ
𝐼𝑥𝑦 = ∫ (ℎ − 𝑦)2 𝑦𝑑𝑦
2ℎ2 0

𝒃𝟐 𝒉𝟐
𝑰𝒙𝒚 =
𝟐𝟒

For the vertical element shown:

 𝑑𝐴 = 𝑦𝑑𝑥
𝑥̅𝑒𝑙 = 𝑥
𝑦
𝑦̅𝑒𝑙 =
2
̅ = 0 (By symmetry)
𝑑𝐼𝑥𝑦
𝑦 𝑥𝑦 2
𝑑𝐼𝑥𝑦 = 𝑑𝐴 𝑥̅𝑒𝑙 𝑦̅𝑒𝑙 = (𝑦𝑑𝑥)(𝑥) ( ) = 𝑑𝑥
2 2

By the property of similar triangle:

𝑏−𝑥 𝑏
=ℎ
𝑦
ℎ
𝑦 = (𝑏 − 𝑥)
𝑏

Substitute and integrate

𝑥𝑦 2
𝑑𝐼𝑥𝑦 = 𝑑𝑦
2
2
ℎ
𝑏 𝑥 [ (𝑏 − 𝑥)]
𝐼𝑥𝑦 = ∫ 𝑏 𝑑𝑥
0 2

ℎ2 𝑏
𝐼𝑥𝑦 = ∫ 𝑥(𝑏 − 𝑥)2 𝑑𝑥
2𝑏2 0

𝒃𝟐 𝒉𝟐
𝑰𝒙𝒚 =
𝟐𝟒

̅ , the product of inertia of the triangle

2. Using the result in the above example, calculate𝐼𝑥𝑦
shown about centroidal axes parallel to the x-and y- axes.
Solution:

𝑏2 ℎ2
From the solution to the last example, we have 𝐼𝑥𝑦 = 24 . The parallel axis
theorem yields:
𝑏2 ℎ2 𝑏ℎ 𝑏 ℎ
̅ = 𝐼𝑥𝑦 − 𝐴𝑥̅ 𝑦̅ =
𝐼𝑥𝑦 − ( )( )
24 2 3 3
Which simplifies to

𝒃𝟐 𝒉𝟐
𝑰̅𝒙𝒚 =
𝟕𝟐

3. Calculate the product of Inertia for the angle shown by the method of composite areas.

Solution:

We may view the angle as a composite of the two rectangles shown:

For each rectangle, 𝐼𝑥𝑦 can be computed using the parallel-axis theorem for products of
̅ = 𝐼𝑥𝑦 − 𝐴𝑥̅ 𝑦̅ . Note that 𝐼𝑥𝑦
inertia: 𝐼𝑥𝑦 ̅ = 0 for each rectangle, by symmetry.

For the 20mm x 140 mm rectangle,

𝐼𝑥𝑦 = 0 + (140𝑥20)(10)(70) = 1. 9𝑥106 𝑚𝑚4

For the 160mm x 20 mm rectangle,

𝐼𝑥𝑦 = 0 + (160𝑥20)(100)(10) = 3.20𝑥106 𝑚𝑚4

Therefore, the product of inertia for the angle is:

𝐼𝑥𝑦 = ∑ 𝐼𝑥𝑦 = (1. 9 + 3.20) 𝑥106 = 𝟓. 𝟏𝟔𝒙𝟏𝟎𝟔 𝒎𝒎𝟒

Self-Assessment Questionnaire

Solve the given problems:

1. For the area shown, calculate the radii of gyration about the x- and y-axes.

2. Compute the product of inertia with respect to the x- and y-axes.

3. Compute the moment of inertia of the shade region about the y-axis by integration
and check answer by composite area method.

4. Determine 𝐼𝑥 for the triangular region shown. Use any method.