STATICS

Chapter 7/8 The Centroid and

Centers of Gravity
5/2/2012 2
Learning Objectives

Understand the concepts of the centroid,
center of mass, and moment of inertia.

Determine the centroid of any geometry.

Compute the moments of inertia about axes
through the centroid.

Transform the moment of inertia between two
parallel axes using the parallel axis theorem.

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Center of Gravity (COG)
Definition--The Point located at an
objects average position of the weight
In other words. The center of an
objects weight
Symmetrical objects, like a baseball
the C of G would be in the exact center
of object
However other oddly shaped objects will find
COG in any number of positions, depending
on weight distribution
COG
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C.O.G.
When objects rotate freely they must
rotate about an axis through the COG







Basically treat the object as if all its weight
is concentrated at that one pt.


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C.O.G. --Balancing

For an object to balance,
and not topple support
must be directly below
C.O.G.
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Where C.O.G. is located
Generally found in the
middle of all the weight
Does not even have to be
within, the object itself
Ex. boomerang
Will be located toward
one side of an object
where most of its mass is
focused
Ex. Weebles


COG
gravity
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Balancing Stuff
Again, all that has to happen to
balance, is for a support to be directly
beneath COG
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Introduction
The earth exerts a gravitational force on each of the particles
forming a body. These forces can be replaced by a single
equivalent force equal to the weight of the body and applied
at the center of gravity for the body.
The centroid of an area is analogous to the center of
gravity of a body. The concept of the first moment of an
area is used to locate the centroid.
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The center of mass of a system of masses is the point where the
system can be balanced in a uniform gravitational field
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Center of Gravity of a 2D Body
Center of gravity of a plate
W
W y
y
W y W y M
W
W x
x
W x W x M
a a
y
a a
y

=
A =
=
A =

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m r I
2
=
mass moment of inertia
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The Centroid
The centroid is a point that locates the geometric center
of an object.

The position of the centroid depends only on the objects
geometry (or its physical shape) and is independent of
density, mass, weight, and other such properties.

The average position along different coordinate axes
locates the centroid of an arbitrary object.
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The Centroid of an Area
We can divide the object into a
number of very small finite elements
A
1
, A
2
, A
n
.

In this particular case, each small
square grid represents one finite area.

Let the coordinates of these areas be
(x
1
, y
1
), (x
2
, y
2
), , (x
n
, y
n
).

The coordinates x
1
and y
1
extend to
the center of the finite area.

Now, the centroid is given by
i i
i
i
i
x A
x =
A

i i
i
i
i
y A
y =
A

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The Centroid
The calculations will result in the
location of centroid C.

Because point C is at the center of
the rectangle, the results intuitively
make sense.

Consider the moment due to the
finite areas (instead of the forces)
about two lines (AA and BB)
parallel to the x- and y-axes
passing through the centroid.

Because the rectangle is
symmetric about these two lines,
the net moment will be zero.
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The Centroid
Centroid always lies
on the line of
symmetry.

For a doubly
symmetric section
(where there are two
lines of symmetry),
the centroid lies at the
intersection of the
lines of symmetry.
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Functional Symmetry

The area is symmetric
about line BB, its
centroid must lie on
this line.

The area is not
symmetric about line
AA.
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Functional Symmetry
The four holes are equidistant
from line AA, and the moments
from the two holes on the top
of line AA counteract that of
the two bottom holes.

Even though the area is not
physically symmetric about line
AA, functionally line AA can be
viewed as the line of
symmetry.

Therefore, the centroid lies on
the intersection of the two
lines.
5/2/2012 19
The Centroid
The calculation of the centroid for a composite
section requires the following three steps:
Divide the composite geometry into simple geometries
for which the positions of the centroid are known or can
be determined easily.

Determine the centroid and area of individual
components.
Apply the equation to determine the centroid location.
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Example 1
Determine the
centroid of the
composite section.
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Example 1
Step 1: Divide the
composite section into
simple geometries
The composite geometry
can be divided into three
parts:

two positive areas

one negative area
(circular cutout).
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Example 1
Step II: Determine the centroid and the area of
individual component
Part Dimensions Area (sq. in) x y
Area 1 24 8 3 5
Area 2 106 60 9 5
Area 3 2 radius 4t 10 5
5/2/2012 23
Example 1
Step III: Determine the centroid location
i i
x A
i i
y A
i
A
55.434
=

i i
x A
438.34
=
i i
y A
277.17
=

Part Dimensions Area (sq.

in)
x y (in
3
) (in
3
)
Area 1 24 8 3 5 24 40
Area 2 106 60 9 5 540 300
Area 3 2 radius 4t 10 5 40t 20t
5/2/2012 24
Example 1
i i
i
i
i
x A
x =
A

i i
i
i
i
y A
y =
A

438.34
x = 7.91in
55.434
=
277.17
y = 5.00in
55.43
=



5/2/2012 25
Centroids of Common
Shapes of Areas
5/2/2012 26
Locate the centroid of the composite area. Set
a = 150 , b = 450 , d = 70 , h = 210 .
xbar = a = 150 mm
Triangle (area 1)
ybar = 2/3 h =2/3(210)=140
730-140= 590 mm
Hollow Tube (area 2)
by symmetry
ybar = (d+b) = ( 70 + 450)
=260
xbar = a = 150
Hole (area 3)
xbar = a =15=
ybar = b/2 = 450/2 = 225
5/2/2012 27
PART AREA XBAR YBAR XA YA

AREA 1 31,500 150 590 4725000 18585000
AREA 2 156,000 150 260 23400000 40560000
AREA 3 60,800 150 225 -9120000 -13680000

SUM 126,700 19,005,000 45,465,000

XBAR 150

YBAR 358.839779
5/2/2012 28
a1
a2
a3
a4
5/2/2012 29
5/2/2012 31
MOMENTS OF INERTIA
-IS AN ABTRACT, MATHEMATICAL CONCEPT, IS NOT SOMETHING
YOU CAN SEE OR TOUCH
-IS ABSOLUTELY CRUCIAL TO UNDERSTANDING STRENGTH
IN MATERIALS
-THE MOMENT OF INERTIA OF A COMPONENTS CROSS SECTION HAS
A DIRECT RELATIONSHIP TO ITS STRENGTH.
HOW WELL IT RESISTS:
BENDING
BUCKLING
TORSION
5/2/2012 32
MOMENT OF INERTIA
-MOMENTS OF INERTIA ARE ALWAYS
COMPUTED RELATIVE TO A SPECIFIC
AXIS
THERE WILL BE 2 DIFFERENT
RECTANGULAR MOMENTS OF INERTIA
THE MOMENT RELATIVE TO AXIS
X-X, CALLED I
X
THE MOMENT RELATIVE TO AXIS
Y-Y, CALLED I
Y
=
2
ay I
X
=
2
ax I
Y IS SOMETIMES CALLED THE SECOND MOMENT OF AREA
5/2/2012 33
5/2/2012 34
LETS SAY BEAM 1 = 3 X 3
BEAM 2 = 4 X 4 OD
3.5 X 3.5 ID
AREA BEAM 1= 9 IN
2
AREA BEAM 2 = 4 X 4 3.5 X 3.5
=3.75 IN
2
4
3 3
75 . 6
12
) 3 ( 3
12
in
bh
I = = =
82 . 8
12
150 256
12
3
1 1
3
=

=
d b bd
I
5/2/2012 35
1in diameter
2 in OD
1.625 in ID
A = 3.14 in
2
A=1.067 in2
2
4 4
049 .
64
) 1 ( 14 . 3
64
in
d
I = =
H
=
0667 .
64
) (
4 4
1
=
H
=
d d
I
5/2/2012 36
5/2/2012 37
TRANSFER FORMULA
-USED TO FIND THE MOMENT OF INERTIA OF AN AREA ABOUT
A NONCENTROIDAL AXIS, PARALLEL TO THE CENTROIDAL AXIS
I = I
O
+ ad
2
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COMPOSITE SECTIONS
5/2/2012 39
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DISTANCE FROM REFERENCE AXIS
TO CENTROIDAL AXIS
5/2/2012 41
5/2/2012 42
Radius of Gyration of an Area
Consider area A with moment of inertia
I
x
. Imagine that the area is
concentrated in a thin strip parallel to
the x axis with equivalent I
x
.
A
I
r A r I
x
x x x
= =
2
r
x
= radius of gyration with respect
to the x axis
similarly
larger r = greater resistance to buckling
5/2/2012 43
The steel columns shown below all have areas of 3-1/8 in
2
. The safe loads for an 8 ft length are
shown. The only difference between them is the way in which the cross-sectional area is
distributed about the centroid.
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Polar Moment of Inertia
The polar moment of inertia is an important
parameter in problems involving torsion of
cylindrical shafts and rotations of slabs.
= dA r J
2
0
The polar moment of inertia is related to the
rectangular moments of inertia,
( )
x y
I I J
dA y dA x dA y x dA r J
+ =
+ = + = = } } } }
0
2 2 2 2 2
0
5/2/2012 47
5/2/2012 48
Calculate Rectangular
Moments of inertia
Transfer Inertia to
composite centroid
5/2/2012 49
Radius of Gyration
Polar Inertia
5/2/2012 54
Example 3
Locate the centroid of
the line whose
equation is

with x ranging from 0
to 1
2
y=1- x
5/2/2012 55
Example 3
( ) ( )
2
2 2 y
L x + y 1 x
x
d
d d d d
d
| |
= == +
|
\ .
y
=- 2x
x
d
d
2
L 1 4 x d x d = +
5/2/2012 56
Example 3
L
L
x L
x =
L
d
d
}
}
L
L
y L
y =
L
d
d
}
}
1
2
0
1
2
0
x 1 4x x
x =
1 4x x
d
d
+
+
}
}
( )
1
2 2
0
1
2
0
1 x 1 4x x
y =
1 4x x
d
d
+
+
}
}



x =0.8667 y = 0.2861

5/2/2012 57
The Center of Mass
The center of mass is a point that locates the
average position of the mass of an object.

For an object with uniform density, it coincides
with the centroid.

It is often called the center of gravity because
the gravitational pull on an object can be
represented as a concentrated force acting at
this point.
5/2/2012 58
The Center of Mass
The equation for finding the center of mass of a volume takes the
form of



For a three-dimensional surface of uniform thickness and density,
the center of mass coincides with the centroid of the surface.



The same concepts can be used to determine the center of mass of
a line. The equation takes the form of



m
m
x m
x =
m
d
d
}
}
m
m
y m
y =
m
d
d
}
}
m
m
m
z =
m
zd
d
}
}



A
A
x A
x =
A
d
d
}
}
A
A
y A
y =
A
d
d
}
}
A
A
z A
z =
A
d
d
}
}



L
L
x L
x =
L
d
d
}
}
L
L
y L
y =
L
d
d
}
}
L
L
L
z =
L
zd
d
}
}



5/2/2012 59
The Moment of Inertia
2
A
y A
x
I d =
}
2
A
x A
y
I d =
}
2
A
r A
O
J d =
}
Moment of inertia
about x-axis:
Moment of inertia
about y-axis:
Polar moment of
inertia:
Product of inertia:
A
x y A
xy
I d =
}
A
g
I
R =
The moment of inertia is sometimes expressed in terms of the
radius of gyration. The radius of gyration determines how the
area is distributed around the centroid.
5/2/2012 60
Example 4
Determine the
moments of inertia
about the x- and y-
axes. Also, determine
the polar moment of
inertia.
5/2/2012 61
Example 4
( )
d d
2 2
2 2 2
d d
A
2 2
y A y b. y b y y
x
I d d d

= = =
} } }
3
bd
12
x
I =
3
db
12
y
I =
O x y
J I I = +
( )
2 2
bd
b +d
12
O
J =
5/2/2012 62
Parallel Axis Theorem
( )
2
A
2
y
A
2 2
y y
A A A
2
y y
A A
y A
y +d A
y A 2 y d A d A
2d y A d A
x
x
x
I d
I d
d d d
I d d
'
=
' =
' ' = + +
' = + +
}
}
} } }
} }
2
y
Ad
x x
I I
'
= +
2
x
Ad
y y
I I
'
= +
In the second term, is equal to zero as the x-axis
passes through the centroid.

2
Ad
O C
J J = +
5/2/2012 63
Example 5
Determine the
moments of inertia
about the x'- and y'-
axes about the
centroid.

Also, determine the
polar moment of
inertia.
5/2/2012 64
Example 5
5/2/2012 65
Example 5
Part
Dimen
-sions
Area
(sq.
in)
x y (in
3
) (in
3
) I
x'
I
y'
d
x
d
y

Area
1
24 8 3 5 24 40 10.67 2.67 4.91 0 192.86 0
Area
2
106 60 9 5 540 300 180 500 1.09 0 71.286 0
Area
3
2
radius
4t 10 5 40t 20t -0.785 -0.785 2.09 0 -54.89 0
Summation 55.43 438.34 189.89 501.89 209.26
i i
x A
i i
y A
2
x
Ad
2
y
Ad
277.17
5/2/2012 66
Example 5
2
y
Ad
x x
I I
'
= +
2
x
Ad
y y
I I
'
= +
4
189.89 in
x
I =
4
711.15 in
x
I =
O x y
J I I = +
4
901.04 in
O
J =