1.

Center of gravity &mass -line

2. Centroid of circular body shapes
3. Moment of inertia-body (parallel axis theorem)
4. Moment of inertia-composite

A report submitted to the

department of water resources engineering
College of engendering
University of Duhok

Student name : Nirozh bashar

Email: ew19.nirojbashar@uodstudent.ac
Year:2019-2020
Course: second course
Instructor: yassamin khalid
Date:4-7-2020

0
Table of contents
Introduction (1)……………………………………………………….2

1.0 Centre of Gravity………………………………………………….3

2.0 Center of Mass………………………………………………………….5

Conclusion (1)……………………………………………………….10

Introduction (2) Centroid of circular body shapes………………………11

D-Centroids…………………………………………….10
Example …………………………………………………..13
Conclusion (2)……………………………………………………14

Introduction(3) Moment of inertia-body (parallel axis theorem)……………15

Parallel Axis Theorem…………………………………………………..15

Parallel Axis Theorem – Derivation…………………………………………….16

Conclusion (3)……………………………………………………...17

1
Introduction (4) Moment of inertia-composite……………………...17

Example ………………………………………………………………21

Conclusion (4)………………………………………………………26

Resources ………………………………………………………27

Introduction (1)

The center of gravity (COG) of the human body is a hypothetical point around

which the force of gravity appears to act. It is point at which the combined
mass of the body appears to be concentrated [1]. Because it is a hypothetical
point, the COG need not lie within the physical bounds of an object or person.
One subjective way (there are objective measures) to approximate the COG of
an object is to visualize it balancing on one finger. When we studied the work-
energy theorem, we found that the main advantage to this approach was the nice
"shortcut" available to us when we selected a system large enough that the energy
within the system was conserved. So it is with the impulse-momentum theorem.
We will therefore largely set aside cases where the system has an external impulse
acting on it, and focus only on systems that conserve momentum. In many cases
we have dealt with so far, our "system" has been only a single object, or perhaps
two objects, where one of them (i.e. the earth) is so large that we can ignore it
because it basically just sits there as it provides a potential energy that affects the
motion the other object. But now we will embrace multiple active objects, meaning
that their masses will not be so different that one object's motion can be ignored.

2
Now we will need to account for the motions of all objects within the defined
system. Note that we make no claims at this point about the relative interactions of
these objects – they may be securely attached to each other in a rigid embrace (a
solid object), or they may be totally free to move independently of one another (a
volume of gas).Consider the impulse-momentum theorem for a system consisting
of several objects. The momentum part of this theorem consists of two pieces: The
mass, which we presume is the sum of the masses of all the objects within the
system; and the velocity of the center of mass of the system.

1.0 Centre of Gravity

What is "center of gravity"?

Throw a ball in the air and gravity pulls it straight back down. Not everything
moves like this when gravity acts on it. Most objects are not nice, neat shapes like
balls. That means gravity acts on them in more complex ways. Even so, all objects
behave as though their mass (the stuff they're made from) is concentrated at a point
called their center of gravity. A simple object like a ball has its center of gravity
in a very obvious place: right at its center. But in a more complex object, like your
body, the center of gravity is slightly higher than your waist because there's more
weight in the top half of your body than in the bottom half.1

What's the best way to balance?

The lower your center of gravity, the easier it is to keep your balance. If you're
sitting on a chair, you can lean over more than if you're standing up. With your

3
center of gravity low, you can lean further to one side or the other without creating
enough turning force to tip you over. That's why racing cars (and military vehicles
like Humvees) are designed with very low centers of gravity: the lower they are to
the ground, the less risk there is that they'll tip over, no matter how fast they go.
Tightrope walkers use a slightly different trick to master their center of gravity. If
you've ever watched a tightrope walker, you'll have noticed they never simply walk
across the rope. Some stretch their arms out or carry a long stick or an umbrella.
Others crouch down or bend their knees. Still others ride bicycles with weights
dangling some way beneath them. These balancing aids help to give tightrope
walkers more control over their center of gravity. If they can keep their center of
gravity directly above the rope at all times, they will never fall off. If they start
moving to one side, a turning force will start to topple them in that direction. So
they have to quickly move part of their body to the other side to make a turning
force in the opposite direction and restore their balance.

Inertia (the tendency still objects have to stay still and moving objects to keep
moving) helps too. A tightrope walker weighs quite a lot. That means they have a
certain amount of inertia and it takes quite a bit of time for their body to move to
one side or the other. If they feel themselves tipping, they have enough time to
move another part of their body (or a stick or umbrella they're carrying) to the
other side. That produces a tipping force in the opposite direction that keeps them
balanced. Looking at a tightrope walker who's momentarily stationary, you might
think no forces are acting—but you'd be wrong. Gravity acting on a walker's left
arm will try to make him tip to the left, while the weight of his right arm will tip
him to the right. The walker stays perfectly upright, perfectly motionless when all
the different turning forces are exactly balanced and canceling one another out.

Centre of Gravity in the Human Body

4
 In the anatomical position, the COG lies approximately anterior to the second
sacral vertebra. However, since human beings do not remain fixed in the
anatomical position, the precise location of the COG changes constantly with
every new position of the body and limbs. The bodily proportions of the
individual will also affect the location of the COG.

Stability and the Centre of Gravity

The direction of the force of gravity through the

body is downward, towards the center of the earth
and through the COG. This line of gravity is
important to understand and visualize when
determining a person's ability to successfully maintain Balance. When the line
of gravity falls outside the Base of support (BOS), then a reaction is needed in
order to stay balanced. 2

When the line of gravity is within the BOS, an object or person is said to
be stable. When the line of gravity falls outside the BOS, the object or person is
said to be unstable. Given that the line of gravity must fall within the BOS in
order to satisfy the criteria for stability, the following factors should be
considered:

 A larger BOS increases stability (the line of gravity must move a greater
distance to fall outside the BOS)
 A lower COG increases stability (it's unlikely that the line of gravity will fall
outside the BOS) 3

5
 2.0 Center of Mass

Center of Mass (of a Collection of Particles)

In some sense, one can think about the center of mass of a single object as its
"average position." Let's consider the simplest case of an "object" consisting of two
tiny particles separated along the xx-axis, as in Figure 4.2.1.

If the two particles have equal mass, then it's pretty clear that the "average
position" of the two-particle system is halfway between them.

Alert

Center of mass is a mathematical construct, not an actual position that resides

on a physical object. The center of mass of a system often lands at a position
consisting of empty space, whether that is because the system consists of
multiple objects, or because the single object in the system is bent or has a
hole in it.

If the masses of the two particles are different, would the "average position" still be
halfway between them? Perhaps in some sense this is true, but we are not looking
for a geometric center, we are looking for the average placement of mass.
If m1m1 has twice the mass of m2m2, then when it comes to the average
placement of mass, m1m1 gets "two votes." With more of the mass concentrated at

6
the position x1x1 than at x2x2, the center of mass should be closer
to x1x1 than x2x2. We achieve the perfect balance by "weighting" (no pun
intended) the positions by the fraction of the total mass that is located there.
Accordingly, we define as the center of mass:

If there are more than two particles, we simply add all of them into the sum in the
numerator. To extend this definition of center of mass into three dimensions, we
simply need to do the same things in the by and so directions. A position vector for
the center of mass of a system of many particles would then be:

Center of Mass (of a Collection of Objects)

Suppose now we want to know the center of mass of multiple extended objects,
where all the heavy-lifting has already been done – the centers of mass of the
objects are already known (see below for how to do this heavy-lifting). How do we
determine the center of mass of such a system? It turns out to be pretty easy when
you know the locations of the centers of mass of the two objects – just treat them
as if they are point particles with all of their mass concentrated at their own centers
of mass, and then do the calculation above.

7
Figure 4.2.2 – Center of Mass for Two extended objects

For proof of this, let's treat two extended objects (A and B) as collections of lots of
point particles (atoms, if you like), and write down their centers of mass (measured
from a common origin) in terms of the masses and positions of their atoms.

Example 

Two thin circular disks made from the same material lie flat on a horizontal
surface, with their outer edges in contact with each other. One disk has a larger
radius (RR) than the other (err), and have equal thicknesses. Find how far the
center of mass of the two-disk system lies from the center of the larger disk.

Solution

The disks are made from the same uniform material, so they have equal
mass densities. That means that the mass of the larger disk is larger than that

8
 of the smaller disk by the same factor as the ratio of their areas. That is, if
the larger disk has twice the area of the smaller one, then it has twice as
much mass. We therefore have the following relationship between the
masses and radii of the disks:

Let's choose the center of the larger disk as the origin, and have the center of the
other disk lie on the +x-axis. The disks are uniform, so their individual centers of
mass lie at their geometric centers, and we can compute the center of mass of the
system by treating the disks as point masses located at these centers. The distance
of the center of mass from the origin is what we are looking for, so:

We can double-check this answer by looking at an obvious special case: R=err=r.

If the disks are identical, then the center of mass must be halfway between their
centers, which is the point where they are in contact, a distance RR from the center
of the larger disk. Plugging in RR for err indeed gives this answer.4

9
Conclusion (1)

All objects, irrespective of their mass, experience the same acceleration g when

falling freely under the influence of gravity at the same point on the Earth. Close to
the Earth's surface, g=9.8 m s−2. The weight of an object is the force F g due to
gravity acting on the object, and for an object with mass m the weight is given
by F g=mg.

If the height of an object of mass m changes by Nh, the change in gravitational

energy is ΔE g=mg.

If gravity is the only force acting on an object, the sum of kinetic energy and
gravitational energy is constant. Increases in kinetic energy are balanced by
decreases in gravitational energy, and vice versa.

There are various forms of potential energy, all of which depend on the position of
an object rather than on its motion. The potential energy of an object increases as it
moves in the opposite direction to that of the force acting on it. Strain energy
depends on the extension or compression of an object.

Introduction (2) Centroid of circular body shapes

The following is a list of centroids of various two-dimensional and three
dimensional objects. The centroid of an object  in -dimensional space is the
intersection of all hyperplanes that divide  into two parts of equal moment about
the hyperplane. Informally, it is the "average" of all points of . For an object of
uniform composition, the centroid of a body is also its center of mass. In the case
of two-dimensional objects shown below, the hyperplanes are simply lines.5
5

10
D-Centroids
For each two-dimensional shape below, the area and the centroid
coordinates  are given:6

11
12
 D-Centroids

Example
Centroid of a circle is very easy to determine. Centroid of circle lies at the center
of a circle that is also called as the radius of circle from edges of a circle. As shown
below.

Q/  Find the center of gravity (centroid) of circular wheel whose diameter is

20cm.
Solution:

 Find the centroid of hollow circular section whose outer diameter

is 20cm and 16cm inner diameter.

Solution

13
centroid of circular section lies at D/2 from each side of a circle.

Hence, with respect to outer diameter centroid lies at;

D/2 = 20/2 = 10cm
With respect to inner diameter centroid lies at;
D/2 = 16/2 = 8cm = Answer7
Conclusion (2)
Therefore, the centroid is always in the center and never moves out of any of the
vertices of the triangle. Also we see that the ratio of the midpoint to the centroid to
the centroid to the opposite vertex from the midpoint is 1/2. And if we switch the
ratios and did the segment from the vertex to the centroid over the centroid to the
midpoint the ratio would be 2. Finally, I looked at the area of the six triangles that
are formed when we construct the centroid. I found that the area of the six triangles
constructed area are of equal area.

Introduction(3) Moment of inertia-body (parallel axis theorem)

The parallel axis theorem, also known as Huygens–Steiner theorem, or
just as Steiner's theorem,[1] named after Christiaan Huygens and Jakob
Steiner, can be used to determine the moment of inertia or the second
moment of area of a rigid body about any axis, given the body's moment of
inertia about a parallel axis through the object's center of gravity and
the perpendicular distance between the axes.

Parallel Axis Theorem

14
  The moment of area of an object about any
axis parallel to the centroidal axis is the sum
of MI about its centroidal axis and the
product of area with the square of distance
of from the reference axis.
 A is the cross-sectional area. d is the
perpendicular distance between the
centroidal axis and the parallel axis.

 Essentially,

Parallel Axis Theorem – Derivation

Consider the moment of inertia Ix of an area A with respect to an axis AA’. Denote
by y, the distance from an element of area day to AA’.

15
Example
Find the moment of inertia of the body using the same procedure illustrated
previously.

Find the MI of the whole rectangle (120mm*180mm) and then subtract the MI of
the white rectangle (120mm*80mm) from the total area.

16
Conclusion (3)
Based on the results, the Moment of Inertia of an object is constant. You can change
the force applied to it, hence changing its acceleration but it will still not affect the
Moment of Inertia. In the experiment, the additional weight on the pan which
causes rotational motion causes the disk to accelerate faster, but based on the
result, it is still near the actual value of the Moment of Inertia. Even though there is
a little percent error, this is still accurate because this inaccuracy is caused by some
disregarded circumstances like, the friction of the rotating body, the exact flat
surface, and the inaccurate smart timer. All in all, the Moment of inertia is the
resistance of an object to change its current state. It is dependent on the mass of the
object, the heavier the object, the greater the external force needed to change the
objects current state.

Introduction (4) Moment of inertia-composite

The given analytical formulas for the calculation of moments of inertia usually
cover, just a handful of rather simple cases. The possible shape geometries one
may encounter however, are unlimited, but most of the times, these complex areas
can be decomposed to more simple subareas. In this article, it is demonstrated how

17
to calculate the moment of inertia of complex shapes, using the Parallel Axes
Theorem.

In general, the steps for the calculation of the moment of inertia of a composite
area, around an axis (called global axis hereafter), are summarized to the
following:

1. Identify simply shaped subareas the composite area can be decomposed to.

2. Determine the distance from global axis of the centroid of each one of the
subareas.

3. Determine the moment of inertia of each subarea, around a parallel axis,

passing through subarea centroid.

4. Apply the Parallel Axes Theorem to find the moment of inertia of each
subarea around the global axis.

5. Add (or subtract for negative subareas, see examples) the moments of inertia
from the last step.

With step 1 we aim to divide the complex area under investigation to smaller and
more manageable subareas. While doing so, we must ensure that we can efficiently
obtain the moment inertia of each subarea, around a parallel axis. Efficiency is
important, because sometimes there are many ways to decompose an area, but not
all of them are equally easy for calculations. The following picture demonstrates a
case of a composite area, that is decomposed to smaller subareas, using three
different methods (among many others possible). The global axis of rotation is
indicated with red dashed line. With method 'a', the number of subareas is 4, with
method 'b' it is 5 and with method 'c', 6.

18
Method 'a' seems simpler, and employs the least number of subareas, but the
calculation of the moment of inertia of the central inclined rectangle is rather hard.
No formula is available for this particular angle of inclination of the rectangle that
gives its moment of inertia around an axis parallel to the global one. Firstly, we
have to find the moments of inertia Ix and Iy around the inclined centroidal axes of
the rectangle, and then transform them around a horizontal axis, using the formulas
for axis rotation. Surely, it can be done this way, but it is not very efficient
calculation wise. Methods 'b' and 'c' on the other hand, do not present such a
problem. For each one of their subareas, there are easily available analytical
formulas, we can use to calculate their moments of inertia around a parallel to
global axis. In particular, method 'b' seems a bit more efficient, since it employs
one less subarea, compared to method 'c'.

19
With step 2, we determine the centroid of each subarea, specifically its distance
from the global axis. The work we have to do in this step, depends on the way the
subareas have been defined, in the first step. Simpler subareas, generally require
less calculations to find their centroid, but also the position of subarea, relative to
the global axis is important. Visiting again the rectangular tube (Figure 3), if the
global axis is a centroidal one (passing through middle height of the section), then
using method 'b', the centroids of the two rectangular subareas, are located on
middle height too, and therefore feature zero distance from the global axis. To the
contrary, with method 'a', the centroids of top and bottom subareas feature non-
zero distance from global axis, which we have to find. Consequently, going with
method 'b', not only we avoid any calculation, but as an additional benefit, the
work we must do for step 4 (Parallel Axis Theorem) should be less.

With step 3, we calculate the moment of inertia of each subarea around the
parallel axis passing through its centroid. Normally, we use available formulas
(tables with moments of inertia of common shapes can be handy, check this one)
but if none is available, we have to calculate the definite integral, , over the whole

20
subarea, where variable y is the distance from the axis. Again, the definition of the

subareas in step 1, heavily affects the work we have to do here.

With step 4, we apply the Theorem of Parallel Axes to all subareas, so that their
moments of inertia, get all transferred around the global axis:

Example

Step 1

21
We divide the composite area to smaller subareas as shown in the following
schematic. Three subareas are defined, one rectangular and two triangular. These
will be referred as, subareas 1,2 and 3, as depicted in the figure.

No convenient axis of rotation exists, common to all three subareas. We will

continue with the remaining steps of the procedure (see Figure 1).

22
Step 2
For each subarea, we find the distance of its centroid from the global axis. As described
in the beginning, the global axis is passing through the middle of h1. 

The negative sign indicates a position below the axis. Note that the sign of distance
is not important, since by definition, it gets squared, and as a result, subareas at
either sides of the axis, contribute positively to the moment of inertia.

Step 3
For each subarea, we find the moment of inertia around a parallel to x axis passing
through subarea centroid. We use available formulas from this table.

23
24
For subarea 3:

Due to symmetry around the global axis, the result for subarea 3 should not be
different than that of subarea 1:

25
Conclusion (4)
Moment of inertia is a calculation of the required force to rotate an object. The
value can be manipulated to either increase or decrease the inertia. In sports such
as ice skating, diving and gymnastics athletes are constantly changing their body
configuration. 8

26
Resources

1. https://www.explainthatstuff.com/center-of-gravity.html
2. Hall SJ. Equilibrium and Human Movement. In: Hall SJ. eds. Basic Biomechanics,
8e New York, NY: McGraw-Hill;
http://accessphysiotherapy.mhmedical.com/content.aspx?
bookid=2433&sectionid=191511590. (Accessed June 12, 2019).
3. mstateathletics. Physics of Football - Center of Gravity. Available
from: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2WUdHBso3Vk  [last accessed 09/03/13]

4. https://phys.libretexts.org/Courses/University_of_California_Davis/UCD
%3A_Physics_9A_%E2%80%93_Classical_Mechanics/4%3A_Linear_Momentum/
4.2%3A_Center_of_Mass
5. Quarter Circle". eFunda. Retrieved 23 April 2016.
6. "Circular Half". eFunda. Retrieved 23 April 2016.

7. https://www.engineeringintro.com/mechanics-of-structures/centre-of-gravity/centroid-of-
circle/
8. https://web.iit.edu/sites/web/files/departments/academic-affairs/academic-resource-
center/pdfs/Moment_Inertia.pdf
9. https://www.quinticsports.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/06/Case-Study-14-Moment-of-
Inertia.pdf

27