Topic 6 Area moments of inertia

6/1. Introduction. At calculation of centroids we used the first moment of area

∫ ydA . In mechanics is also used area moment of inertia ∫ y 2 dA , for which a more
fitting term would be second moment of area, since it only describes geometric
property of the area and has no any physical significance.

6/2. Definitions. Recctangular and polar moments of inertia.

The moments of inertia of the elemental area dA about axes
x and y are dIx = y2dA dIy = x2dA.
The moments of inertia of area A about the same axes:
Ix = ∫ y dA Iy = ∫ x dA
2 2
(1)
which are called rectangular moments of inertia.
The moment of inertia of dA about the pole O (z- axis) is
dIz = r2dA
and the moment of inertia of area A about O:
Iz = ∫ r dA
2
(2)
which is called polar moment of inertia.
Because r2 = x2 + y2 it is clear that
Iz = Ix + Iy (3)
In contrast to first moment of the area, area moment of inertia about any axis is
always a positive quantity.
The dimensions of area moments of inertia are L4 (L- length).
In SI units: m4, (mm)4; in the US customary units: (ft) 4, (in)4.

Radius of gyration. Consider an area A whose rectangular and polar moments of

inertia are Ix , Iy and Iz.
We now imagine this area concentrated into: a long narrow horizontal strip of area A
a distance Kx from the x- axis; a long narrow vertical strip of area A at distance K y
from the y- axis; a narrow ring of radius Kz. The distances Kx, Ky and Kz are called radii
of gyration if
Kx2A = Ix Ky2A = Iy K z2 A = I z (4) from which

Kx =
√ Ix
A
Ky =
√ Iy
A
Kz =
Substituting eq-s (4) into (3), we have
√ Iz
A
K z2 = Kx2 + Ky2
Radius of gyration, Kx for example, should not be confused with the coordinate y to
the centroid c (Fig.A/3,a), since the first is the mean of the squares of coordinates
and the second is the mean of the coordinates and thus the first is always greater
than the second.

Transfer of axes. The moment of inertia of an area about a noncentroidal axis may
be expressed in terms of the moment of inertia about a parallel centroidal axis.
In the Figure axes x0, y0 pass through the centroid C of
the area. Determine the moments of inertia about the
parallel x, y axes. The moment of inertia of the element
dA about x axis is dIx = (y0 + dx)2dA
Expanding and integrating give us

Ix = y 2 dA +2dx y dA+dx2 dA
∫ 0 ∫ 0 ∫
The first integral is the moment of inertia I x about the
centroidal axis x0. The second integral is zero , since
∫ y 0 dA =A y 0=0 with the centroid on the x0 axis. The
third term is Adx2. Thus Ix and similarly Iy become:

Ix = I x + Adx2 Iy = I y + Ady2 (5)

Considering eq-n (3) the sum of these two eq-s gives I z=
I z + Ad2 (6)
Eq-s (5), (6) are called parallel axis theorems. It should be noted that when using
them, one of the axes must be centroidal.
These theorems also hold for radii of gyration: K2 = K 2+d2 , where d is the distance
between the two axes.
6/3. Composite areas. The moment of inertia of a composite area about a particular
axis is the sum of the moments of inertia of its component parts about the same
axis.
It is often convenient to regard a composite area as being composed of positive and
negative parts, treating the moment of inertia of a negative area as a negative
quantity.
To calculate moments of inertia of a composite area about the desired axes by the
transfer-of-axis theorem it is convenient to tabulate the results as follows:

Then, the moments of inertia of the composite area about x and y axes will be

Ix = ∑ I x+∑ Adx 2 Iy = ∑ I y +∑ Ady 2

6/4.Products of inertia and rotation of axes.

Definition.
The quantity Ixy = ∫ xydA (7)
is called the product of inertia of the area A with respect
to the x-y axes. Unlike moments of inertia which are
always positive for positive areas, the product of inertia
may be positive, negative or zero.
The product of inertia is zero whenever either of the
reference axes is an axis of symmetry, such as the x- axis
in the figure, where the sum of the terms x(-y)dA and
x(+y)dA due to symmetrically placed elements
vanishes.
Transfer of axes. The product of inertia of the area A
with respect to the axes x, y in terms of the
coordinates x0, y0 to the centroidal axes is

Ixy = ∫ ( x 0 + dy ) ( y 0+ dx ) dA =

= x y dA +dx x dA +dy y dA +dxdy dA

∫ 0 0 ∫ 0 ∫ 0 ∫

The first integral is the product of inertia about the centroidal axes which we write as
I xy . The middle two integrals are both zero because the first moment of the area
about its own centroidal axes is necessarily zero. The fourth term is dxdyA. Thus

Ixy = I xy + dxdyA (8)

Rotation of axes. The product of inertia is useful when we need to calculate the
moment of inertia of an area about inclined axes.
As is seen from the Figure moments of inertia of the area about axes x I and yI are
2
I x =∫ y I dA =∫ ¿ ¿ - xsin Ɵ) dA Iy =
2

I I

∫ x I dA=¿ ∫ ¿ ¿ +xcos Ɵ ¿ ¿2dA

2

Expanding and substituting the trigonometric

identities
1−cos 2 Ɵ 1+ cos 2Ɵ
Sin2 Ɵ = cos2 Ɵ =
2 2
and the defining relations for Ix, Iy, Ixy give us
I x + I y I x −I y
Ix = I + cos 2 Ɵ - I xy sin 2Ɵ
2 2

I x + I y I x −I y
Iy = I - cos 2 Ɵ + I xy sin 2Ɵ (9)
2 2

In a similar way we write

=∫ x y dA=¿ ¿ ∫ ¿ ¿
I I
Ix I
yI Expanding and substituting the
1
trigonometric identities sin Ɵ cos Ɵ =
2
sin 2 Ɵ
cos2 Ɵ - Sin2 Ɵ =cos 2 Ɵ and the defining
relations for Ix, Iy, Ixy give us
I x −I y
Ix I
yI = sin 2 Ɵ + I xy cos 2 Ɵ (10)
2

Adding eq-s (9) gives I x + I y = Ix + Iy = Iz

I I

The angle which makes I x and I y either maximum or minimum may be found by
I I

setting the derivative of either I x or I y with respect to Ɵ equal to zero. Thus

I I

dIx
= (Iy –Ix)sin 2 Ɵ - 2 I xy cos 2 Ɵ = 0
I

dƟ
2 I xy
Denoting this critical angle by ∝ gives tan2∝ = (11)
I y– Ix
Eq-n (11) gives two values for 2∝ which differ by π since tan2∝=tan(2∝ + π ).
π
Consequently the two solutions for ∝ will differ by 2 . One value defines the axis of
maximum moment of inertia, and the other - the axis of minimum moment of
inertia. These two rectangular axes are called the principal axes of inertia.
When we substitute eq-n (11) for the critical value of 2 Ɵ in eq-n (10) we see that
the product of inertia is zero for the principal axes of inertia. Substitution of sin2∝
and cos2 ∝ obtained from (11), for sin 2 Ɵ and cos 2 Ɵ in eq-n (9) gives the
expressions for the principal moments of inertia
I x+ I y 1 I x+ I y 1
I max=
2
√ 2 2
+ 2 ( I x −I y ) + 4 I xy I min=
2
√ 2 2
- 2 ( I x −I y ) + 4 I xy (12)

Mohr’s circle of inertia. We may represent the relations in eq-s (9), (10), (11) and
(12) graphically by a diagram called Mohr’s circle.
For given values of I x , I y and I xy the corresponding values of I x , I y and I x y may be
I I I I

determined from the diagram for any desired angle Ɵ . A horizontal axis for the
measurement of moments of inertia and a vertical axis for the measurement of
products of inertia are first selected. Next, point A with the coordinates ( I x , I xy ¿ and
point B with the coordinates (Iy, -Ixy) are located. We draw a circle with these two
points as the extremities of a diameter. The angle from the radius OA to the
horizontal axis is 2∝ or twice the angle from the x-axis of the area to the axis of
maximum moment of inertia. The angle on the diagram and the angle on the area
are both measured in the same sense.
The coordinates of any point C are ( I x , I x y ¿and those of the corresponding point
I I I

D are ( I y , - I x y ). Also, the angle between OA and OC is 2Ɵ or twice the angle

I I I

from the x- axis to the xI – axis. Again we measure both angles in the same sense.

Mass moment of inertia. Because this quantity is studied in Dynamics we only

present a brief definition here, so that the student can appreciate the basic
differences between area and mass moments of inertia.
The mass moment of inertia of a body of mass m about the axis o is defined as I=
∫ r 2 dm
where r is perpendicular distance of the mass element dm from the axis O.
For a given rigid body the mass moment of inertia is a measure of the distribution of
its mass relative to the axis o.
Dimensions (mass)(length)2 are in SI units: kgm2;
 2 lb . sec 2
in US customary units: lb-ft-sec , because mass(slug) is:
ft