Engineering Mechanics II:

KINEMATICS OF A PARTICLE: Dynamics

CURVILINEAR MOTION ME114

22nd October, 2020
Dr. Sana Waheed
Section 12.4, 12.5, 12.6
R. C. Hibbeler (2016) Engineering Mechanics Dynamics, 14th Ed, Prentice Hall
 KINEMATICS OF PARTICLES

Road Map

Kinematics of particles

Rectilinear motion Curvilinear motion

x-y coord. n-t coord. r- coord.

Dr. Sana Waheed - Fall 2020 - SMME, NUST

 APPLICATIONS
The path of motion of each plane in this formation
can be tracked with radar and their x, y, and z
coordinates (relative to a point on earth) recorded
as a function of time.

How can we determine the velocity or

acceleration of each plane at any instant?

A roller coaster car travels down a fixed,

helical path at a constant speed.

How can we determine its position or

acceleration at any instant?
Dr. Sana Waheed - Fall 2020 - SMME, NUST
 General Curvilinear Motion
POSITION AND DISPLACEMENT

A particle moving along a curved path undergoes curvilinear motion.

Since the motion is often three-dimensional, vectors are used to
describe the motion.

A particle moves along a curve

defined by the path function, s.

The position of the particle at any instant is designated by the vector

r = r(t). Both the magnitude and direction of r may vary with time.

If the particle moves a distance Ds along the

curve during time interval Dt, the
displacement is determined by vector
subtraction: D r = r’ - r

Dr. Sana Waheed - Fall 2020 - SMME, NUST

 VELOCITY
Velocity is the rate of change in the position of a particle.

• The average velocity of the particle

during the time increment Dt is
vavg = Dr/Dt
• The instantaneous velocity is the time-
derivative of position
v = dr/dt

• The velocity vector, v, is always tangent to

the path of motion.

The magnitude of v is called the speed. As t→0, the

speed can be obtained by differentiating the path
function (v = ds/dt). Note that this is not a vector!
 ACCELERATION
Acceleration represents the rate of change in the velocity of a particle.

If a particle’s velocity changes from v to v’

over a time increment Dt, the average
acceleration during that increment is:
Δ𝒗 𝒗’ − 𝒗
𝒂𝒂𝒗𝒈 = =
Δ𝑡 Δ𝑡
The instantaneous acceleration is the time-
derivative of velocity:
𝑑𝒗 𝑑2𝒓
𝒂 = = 2
𝑑𝑡 𝑑𝑡

HODOGRAPH: It is a plot of the velocity of a particle as a function of

time. The velocity is represented by the vector from the origin to a point
on the hodograph.
 Example 1
Given: A particle travels along the curve from A to B in 2s. It takes 4s
for it to go from B to C and then 3s to go from C to D.
Find: Determine its average speed when it goes from A to D.
r1=10m, d=15m, r2=5m.
Solution:

1 1
st = (2 )(10) + 15 + (2 )(5) = 38.56
4 4

st 38.56
( AvgVelocity )vsp = =
tt 2 + 4 + 3
( AvgVelocity )vsp = 4.28 m s

Dr. Sana Waheed - Fall 2020 - SMME, NUST

 Example 2
Given: A car travelling along the straight portion of the road has the
velocities indicated in the figure when it arrives at a points A,B and C.
If it takes 3s to go from A to B and 5s from B to C.
Find: Determine the average acceleration between points A-B and A-C.
tAB=3s. tBC=5s. vA=20m/s, vB=30m/s vC=40m/s, θ =45 deg.

Solution:

vA = 20i
vB = 21.21i + 21.21 j
vC = 40i
Dv 21.21i + 21.21 j − 20i
a AB = =
Dt 3
a AB = {0.404i + 7.07 j} m s 2
If a particle’s velocity changes from v to v’ over
Dv 40i − 20i a time increment Dt, the average acceleration
a AC = = = 2.50i
Dt 8 during that increment is:
aavg = Dv/Dt = (v’ - v)/Dt
Dr. Sana Waheed - Fall 2020 - SMME, NUST
 KINEMATICS OF PARTICLES

Road Map

Kinematics of particles

Rectilinear motion Curvilinear motion

x-y coord. n-t coord. r- coord.

When the motion can be conveniently

expressed in terms of its x,y & z compts
Dr. Sana Waheed - Fall 2020 - SMME, NUST
 CURVILINEAR MOTION:
RECTANGULAR COMPONENTS
Dr. Sana Waheed - Fall 2020 - SMME, NUST
 Curvilinear Motion: Position
When position vector of
particle P is given by its
rectangular components

Dr. Sana Waheed - Fall 2020 - SMME, NUST

 Velocity

The magnitude of the velocity is

given by:

And it has a direction specified by

where the unit vector 𝒖𝒗 = 𝒗/𝑣
This direction is always
tangential to the path
 Acceleration

ua = a/a
Direction of a is not tangent to the path of the particle

Dr. Sana Waheed - Fall 2020 - SMME, NUST

CURVILINEAR MOTION: IMPORTANT POINTS
• Curvilinear motion can cause changes in both the magnitude
and direction of the position, velocity and acceleration vectors
• The velocity vector is always directed tangent to the path
• Acceleration vector is not necessarily tangent to the path but
rather, it is tangent to the hodograph
• If the motion is described using rectangular coordinates, then
the coordinate axes are fixed, i.e. there is no change in
direction of 𝑖෡, 𝑗෡ and 𝑘෠
• By considering the component motions, the change in
magnitude and direction of the particle’s position and velocity
are automatically taken into account
 Example 3

Dr. Sana Waheed - Fall 2020 - SMME, NUST

 Example 3

Dr. Sana Waheed - Fall 2020 - SMME, NUST

 Example 3

Dr. Sana Waheed - Fall 2020 - SMME, NUST

 Example 3

Dr. Sana Waheed - Fall 2020 - SMME, NUST

 Example 4
Given: The flight path of the helicopter as it takes off from A is defined by
the parametric equations x=2t2 and y=0.04t3, where t is the time in
seconds after takeoff.
Find: Determine the distance the helicopter is from point A and the
magnitude of its velocity and acceleration when t= 10s.
Solution:

x = 2t 2 y = 0.04t 3
At t =10s. x = 200m y =40m

d = (200) 2 + (40) 2 = 204m.

dx dy
vx = = 4t v y = = 0.12t 2 At t =10s.
dt dt
dv x dv y v = (40)2 + (12) 2 = 41.8 m s
ax = = 4 ay = = 0.24t
dt dt a = (4) 2 + (2.4)2 = 4.66 m s 2
Dr. Sana Waheed - Fall 2020 - SMME, NUST
 Example 5

Dr. Sana Waheed - Fall 2020 - SMME, NUST

 Example 5

Dr. Sana Waheed - Fall 2020 - SMME, NUST

 Example 5

Dr. Sana Waheed - Fall 2020 - SMME, NUST

 Example 5

Dr. Sana Waheed - Fall 2020 - SMME, NUST

MOTION OF A PROJECTILE
Dr. Sana Waheed - Fall 2020 - SMME, NUST
 Motion of a Projectile
(Rectangular Components of Velocity & Acceleration)

A projectile is any object propelled through space by the exertion of a

force which ceases after launch
Dr. Sana Waheed - Fall 2020 - SMME, NUST
 Motion of a Projectile
(Rectangular Components of Velocity & Acceleration)

• Projectile motion is a form of motion in which an object or

particle (called a projectile) is thrown obliquely near the earth's
surface, and it moves along a curved path under the action
of gravity.

• Projectile motion only occurs when there is one force applied at

the beginning of the trajectory, after which there is no force in
operation apart from gravity
• The path followed by a projectile is called its trajectory which is
directly influenced by gravity

• Free flight motions are studied in terms of rectangular component

since projectile’s acceleration always acts vertically

Dr. Sana Waheed - Fall 2020 - SMME, NUST

 Motion of a Projectile
APPLICATIONS

A kicker should know at what angle, , and initial velocity, vo, he

must kick the ball to make a field goal.
For a given kick “strength”, at what angle should the ball be
kicked to get the maximum distance?

Dr. Sana Waheed - Fall 2020 - SMME, NUST

 APPLICATIONS (continued)

A fireman wishes to know the maximum height on the wall he can

project water from the hose. At what angle, , should he hold the
hose?

Dr. Sana Waheed - Fall 2020 - SMME, NUST

 CONCEPT OF PROJECTILE MOTION
Projectile motion can be treated as two rectilinear motions,
• one in the horizontal direction experiencing zero acceleration
• and the other in the vertical direction experiencing constant
acceleration (i.e., gravity).
For illustration, consider the two balls on the left.
The red ball falls from rest, whereas the yellow
ball is given a horizontal velocity. Each picture in
this sequence is taken after the same time
interval.
• Notice both balls are subjected to the same
downward acceleration since they remain at
the same elevation at any instant.
• Also, note that the horizontal distance
between successive photos of the yellow ball
is constant since the velocity in the horizontal
Dr. Sana Waheed - Fall 2020 - SMME, NUST
direction is constant.
 Projectile Motion : KINEMATIC EQUATIONS

Consider a projectile launched at (xo, yo)

Only force acting on the projectile is its weight, resulting in constant
downward acceleration
• Air resistance is neglected Dr. Sana Waheed - Fall 2020 - SMME, NUST
 KINEMATIC EQUATIONS: HORIZONTAL MOTION

Since 𝑎𝑥 = 0, the velocity in the horizontal direction remains

constant (𝑣𝑥 = 𝑣𝑜𝑥) and the position in the x direction can be
determined by:
𝑥 = 𝑥𝑜 + (𝑣𝑜𝑥)(𝑡)

v = ds/dt a = dv/dt a ds = v dv
s = so + vct v = vo + acDr.
t Sana Waheed
s = s- oFall+2020
vot- +
SMME, NUST
(1/2) act2 v2 = (vo)2 + 2ac (s - so)
 KINEMATIC EQUATIONS: VERTICAL MOTION

Since the positive y-axis is directed upward, 𝑎𝑦 = −𝑔. Application

of the constant acceleration equations yields:
𝑣𝑦 = 𝑣𝑜𝑦 – 𝑔(𝑡)

𝑦 = 𝑦𝑜 + (𝑣𝑜𝑦)(𝑡) – ½𝑔 𝑡 2 For any given problem, only two of

these three equations are independent.
𝑣𝑦2 = 𝑣𝑜𝑦 2 – 2𝑔(𝑦 – 𝑦𝑜)

v = ds/dt a = dv/dt a ds = v dv
s = so + vct v = vo + acDr.
t Sana Waheed
s = s- oFall+2020
vot- +
SMME, NUST
(1/2) act2 v2 = (vo)2 + 2ac (s - so)
Horizontal motion: Velocity in x direction is const

Vertical Motion,
Dr. Sana Waheed - Fall 2020 - SMME, NUST
Dr. Sana Waheed - Fall 2020 - SMME, NUST
Dr. Sana Waheed - Fall 2020 - SMME, NUST
Dr. Sana Waheed - Fall 2020 - SMME, NUST
Dr. Sana Waheed - Fall 2020 - SMME, NUST