Chapter 9 Center of Gravity and

Centroids (9.2 only)

Note, center of gravity location =
centroid location for homogenous
material (density or specific weight is
constant throughout the body).
APPLICATIONS (continued)
One of the important factors in determining its stability is the
SUVs center of mass.
Should it be higher or lower to make a SUV more stable?
How do you determine the location of the SUVs center of mass?
One concern about a sport utility vehicle (SUV) is that it might tip
over while taking a sharp turn.
APPLICATIONS (continued)
Integration must be used to
determine total weight of the goal
post due to the curvature of the
supporting member.
How do you determine the
location of its center of
gravity?
To design the ground support
structure for the goal post, it is
critical to find total weight of the
structure and the center of gravity
location.

CONCEPT OF CENTER OF GRAVITY (CG)
A body is composed of an infinite number of
particles, and so if the body is located within a
gravitational field, then each of these particles
will have a weight dW.
From the definition of a resultant force, the sum
of moments due to individual particle weighst
about any point is the same as the moment due
to the resultant weight located at G.
Also, note that the sum of moments due to the individual particles
weights about point G is equal to zero.
The center of gravity (CG) is a point, often
shown as G, which locates the resultant weight
of a system of particles or a solid body.
CONCEPT OF CG (continued)
The location of the center of gravity, measured
from the y axis, is determined by equating the
moment of W about the y axis to the sum of the
moments of the weights of the particles about this
same axis.
~ ~ ~
x W = } x dW
~
_
If dW is located at point (x, y, z), then
Similarly,
y W = } y dW
~
_
z W = } z dW
~
_
Therefore, the location of the center of gravity G with respect to the x,
y,z axes becomes
CONCEPT OF CENTROID
The centroid coincides with the center of mass or the center of gravity only if
the material of the body is homogenous (density or specific weight is constant
throughout the body).
If an object has an axis of symmetry, then the centroid of object lies on that
axis.
In some cases, the centroid is not located on the object (u-shape).
The centroid, C, is a point which defines the geometric center of an object.
x = ( }
A
x dA ) / ( }
A
dA )
~
y = ( }
A
y dA ) / ( }
A
dA )
~
Equations:
Centroids of Common Areas
Note: Centroid = CG for homogenous
body!!!
Centroids of Common Areas
How can we easily determine
the location of the centroid for
a given beam shape?
The I-beam or tee-beam
shown are commonly used in
building various types of
structures.
When doing a stress or
deflection analysis for a beam,
the location of the centroid is
very important.
COMPOSITE BODIES
CONCEPT OF A COMPOSITE BODY
Knowing the location of the centroid, C, or center of gravity, G,
of the simple shaped parts, we can easily determine the location
of the C or G for the more complex composite body.
Many industrial objects can be considered as composite bodies
made up of a series of connected simple shaped parts or holes,
like a rectangle, triangle, and semicircle.
CONCEPT OF A COMPOSITE BODY
(continued)
This can be done by considering each part as a particle and
following the procedure as described in Section 9.1.
This is a simple, effective, and practical method of determining
the location of the centroid or center of gravity of a complex
part, structure or machine.
STEPS FOR ANALYSIS
1. Divide the body into pieces that are known shapes.
Holes are considered as pieces with negative weight or size.
2. Make a table with the first column for segment number, the second
column for weight, mass, or size (depending on the problem), the
next set of columns for the moment arms, and, finally, several
columns for recording results of simple intermediate calculations.
3. Fix the coordinate axes, determine the coordinates of the center of
gravity of centroid of each piece, and then fill in the table.
4. Sum the columns to get x, y, and z. Use formulas like
x = ( E x
i
A
i
) / ( E A
i
) or x = ( E x
i
W
i
) / ( E W
i
)
This approach will become clear by doing examples!
~ ~
EXAMPLE
Solution:
1. This body can be divided into the following pieces:
rectangle (a) + triangle (b) + quarter circular (c)
semicircular area (d). Note the negative sign on the hole!
Given: The part shown.
Find: The centroid of
the part.
Plan: Follow the steps
for analysis.
EXAMPLE (continued)
39.83 76.5 28.0 E
27
4.5
9
- 2/3
54
31.5
9
0
1.5
1
4(3) / (3 t)
4(1) / (3 t)
3
7
4(3) / (3 t)
0
18
4.5
9 t / 4
t / 2
Rectangle
Triangle
Q. Circle
Semi-Circle
y A
( in
3
)
x A
( in
3
)
y
(in)
x
(in)
Area A
(in
2
)
Segment
~ ~ ~ ~
Steps 2 & 3: Make up and fill the
table using parts a, b,
c, and d.
4. Now use the table data results and the formulas to find the
coordinates of the centroid.
EXAMPLE
(continued)
x = ( E x A) / ( E A ) = 76.5 in
3
/ 28.0 in
2
= 2.73 in
y = ( E y A) / (E A ) = 39.83 in
3
/ 28.0 in
2
= 1.42 in
~
~
C
Area A x A y A
28.0 76.5 39.83
~ ~
CONCEPT QUIZ
1. Based on the typical centroid
information, what are the minimum
number of pieces you will have to
consider for determining the centroid of
the area shown at the right?
A) 1 B) 2 C) 3 D) 4
2. A storage box is tilted up to clean the rug
underneath the box. It is tilted up by pulling
the handle C, with edge A remaining on the
ground. What is the maximum angle of tilt
(measured between bottom AB and the
ground) possible before the box tips over?
A) 30 B) 45 C) 60 D) 90
3cm
1 cm
1 cm
3cm
30
G
C
A
B
Examples: Find Centroids for these cross-sections:
Side, CG?
Centroid of Composite Areas
Missing Areas can
be calculated into
the Centroid by
analyzing it as a
negative area.
Sample Problem - Hole
Sample Problem - Hole
2 3
3 3
mm 10 13.828
mm 10 7 . 757

+
= =

A
A x
X
mm 8 . 54 = X
2 3
3 3
mm 10 13.828
mm 10 2 . 506

+
= =

A
A y
Y
mm 6 . 36 = Y
Compute the coordinates of the area
centroid by dividing the first moments by
the total area.
CG / CM OF A COMPOSITE BODY
By replacing the W with a M in these equations, the coordinates
of the center of mass can be found.
Summing the moments about the y-axis, we get
x W
R
= x
1
W
1
+ x
2
W
2
+ .. + x
n
W
n

where x
1
represents x coordinate of W
1
, etc..
~ ~
~
~
Consider a composite body which consists of a
series of particles(or bodies) as shown in the
figure. The net or the resultant weight is given
as W
R
= W.
Similarly, we can sum moments about the x- and z-axes to find
the coordinates of G.
Example: Center of Gravity, 3D with different densities:
Solution
1. In this problem, the blocks A and B can be considered as two
pieces (or segments).
Given: Two blocks of different
materials are assembled as
shown.
The densities of the materials are:

A
= 150 lb / ft
3
and

B
= 400 lb / ft
3
.
Find: The center of gravity of this
assembly.
Plan: Follow the steps for analysis.
GROUP PROBLEM SOLVING (continued)
56.25 53.12 29.17 19.79
E
6.25
50.00
3.125
50.00
12.5
16.67
2
3
1
3
4
1
3.125
16.67
A
B

zA
(lb in)
yA
(lb in)
xA
(lb in)
z (in) y (in) x (in) w (lb) Segment
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
Weight = w = (Volume in ft
3
)
w
A
= 150 (0.5) (6) (6) (2) / (12)
3
= 3.125 lb
w
B
= 400 (6) (6) (2) / (12)
3
= 16.67 lb
GROUP PROBLEM SOLVING (continued)
~
x = (E x w) / ( Ew ) = 29.17/19.79 = 1.47 in
y = (E y w) / ( Ew ) = 53.12/ 19.79 = 2.68 in
z = (E z w) / ( Ew ) = 56.25 / 19.79 = 2.84 in
~
~
EW (lb) x w y w z w
(lb in) (lb in) (lb in)
19.79 29.17 53.12 56.25
~ ~ ~
Table Summary
Substituting into the equations: