C.2.

Moments of Inertia
We now consider the second moment or moment of inertia of an area (a relative
measure of the manner in which the area is distributed about any axis of
interest). The moments of inertia of a plane area Awith respect to
the x and y axes, respectively, are defined by the following integrals:

Equation C.4

where x and y are the coordinates of the element of area dA (Fig. C.1).
Similarly, the polar moment of inertia of a plane area A with respect to an axis
through O perpendicular to the area is given by

Equation C.5

Here is the distance from point O to the element dA, and 2 = x2 + y2.
The product of inertia of a plane area A with respect to the x and y axes is
defined as

Equation C.6

In the foregoing, each element of area dA is multiplied by the product of its

coordinates (Fig. C.1). The product of inertia of an area about any pair of axes
is zero when either of the axes is an axis ofsymmetry.
From Eqs. (C.4) and (C.5), it is clear that the moments of inertia are always
positive quantities because coordinates x and y are squared. Their dimensions
are length raised to the fourth power; typical units are meters 4, millimeters 4, and
inches 4. The dimensions of the product of inertia are the same as for the
moments of inertia; however, the product of inertia can be positive, negative, or
zero depending on the values of the product xy.
The radius of gyration is a distance from a reference axis or a point at which the
entire area of a section may be considered to be concentrated and still possess

the same moment of inertia as the original area. Therefore, the radii of gyration
of an area A about the x and y axes and the origin O (Fig. C.1) are defined as
the quantities rx, ry, and ro, respectively:

Equation C.7

Substituting I x, I y, and Jo from Eqs. (C.7) into Eq. (C.5) results in

Equation C.8

The radius of gyration has the dimension of length, expressed in meters.