Lecture 12

DEFINITION OF MOMENTS OF INERTIA FOR
AREAS, RADIUS OF GYRATION OF AN AREA
Today’s Objectives:
Students will be able to: In-Class Activities:
a) Define the moments of inertia (MoI) • Check Homework, if any
for an area.
• Reading Quiz
b) Determine the MoI for an area by
integration. • Applications
• MoI: Concept and Definition
• MoI by Integration
• Concept Quiz
• Group Problem Solving
• Attention Quiz
Statics, Fourteenth Edition Copyright ©2016 by Pearson Education, Inc.

R.C. Hibbeler All rights reserved.
APPLICATIONS
Many structural members like beams and columns have cross

sectional shapes like an I, H, C, etc..
Why do they usually not have solid rectangular, square, or
circular cross sectional areas?
What primary property of these members influences design
decisions?
APPLICATIONS (continued)
Many structural members are made

of tubes rather than solid squares or
rounds.
Why?
This section of the book covers some

parameters of the cross sectional area
that influence the designer’s selection.
Do you know how to determine the
value of these parameters for a given
cross-sectional area?

DEFINITION OF MOMENTS OF INERTIA FOR AREAS
(Section 10.1)
Consider a plate submerged in a liquid.

The pressure of a liquid at a distance y
below the surface is given by p =  y,
where  is the specific weight of the
liquid.
The force on the area dA at that point is dF = p dA.

The moment about the x-axis due to this force is y (dF).
The total moment is A y dF = A  y2 dA =  A( y2 dA).
This sort of integral term also appears in solid mechanics when
determining stresses and deflection.
This integral term is referred to as the moment of inertia of the
area of the plate about an axis.
10cm 3cm
10cm 3cm P
10cm
1cm x
(A) (B) (C) R S
1cm
Consider three different possible cross-sectional shapes and areas for the
beam RS. All have the same total area and, assuming they are made of
same material, they will have the same mass per unit length.
For the given vertical loading P on the beam shown on the right,
which shape will develop less internal stress and deflection? Why?
The answer depends on the MoI of the beam about the x-axis. It turns
out that Section A has the highest MoI because most of the area is
farthest from the x axis. Hence, it has the least stress and deflection.
For the differential area dA, shown in the

figure:
d Ix = y2 dA ,
d Iy = x2 dA , and,
d JO = r2 dA , where JO is the polar
moment of inertia about the pole O or z axis.
The moments of inertia for the entire area are obtained by
integration.
Ix = A y2 dA ; Iy = A x2 dA
JO = A r2 dA = A ( x2 + y2 ) dA = Ix + Iy
The MoI is also referred to as the second moment of an area and
has units of length to the fourth power (m4 or in4).
MoI FOR AN AREA BY INTEGRATION
For simplicity, the area element used has a

differential size in only one direction
(dx or dy). This results in a single integration
and is usually simpler than doing a double
integration with two differentials, i.e., dx·dy.
The step-by-step procedure is:

1. Choose the element dA: There are two choices: a vertical strip or a
horizontal strip. Some considerations about this choice are:
a) The element parallel to the axis about which the MoI is to be
determined usually results in an easier solution. For example,
we typically choose a horizontal strip for determining Ix and a
vertical strip for determining Iy.
MoI FOR AN AREA BY INTEGRATION (continued)
b) If y is easily expressed in terms of x (e.g.,

y = x2 + 1), then choosing a vertical strip
with a differential element dx wide may
be advantageous.
2. Integrate to find the MoI. For example, given the element shown in
the figure above:
Iy =  x2 dA =  x2 y dx and
Ix =  d Ix =  (1 / 3) y3 dx (using the parallel axis theorem as
per Example 10.2 of the textbook).
Since the differential element is dx, y needs to be expressed in terms
of x and the integral limit must also be in terms of x. As you can see,
choosing the element and integrating can be challenging. It may
require a trial and error approach, plus experience.
EXAMPLE
Given: The shaded area shown in the

figure.

Find: The MoI of the area about the
(x,y) x- and y-axes.
Plan: Follow the steps given earlier.
Solution:
Ix =  y2 dA
dA = (1 – x) dy = (1 – y3/2) dy
1
Ix = 0 y2 (1 – y3/2) dy
1
= [ (1/3) y3 – (2/9) y9/2 ] 0 = 0.111 m4
EXAMPLE (continued)
Iy =  x2 dA =  x2 y dx
=  x2 (x2/3) dx
 (x,y) 1
= 0 x8/3 dx
1
= [ (3/11) 11/3
x ]0
= 0.273 m 4
In the above example, Ix can be also determined using a

vertical strip.
1
Then Ix =  (1/3) y3 dx = 0  (1/3) x2 dx = 1/9 = 0.111 m 4

CONCEPT QUIZ
1. A pipe is subjected to a bending

moment as shown. Which property M M
y
of the pipe will result in lower stress
(assuming a constant cross-sectional x
area)? Pipe section
A) Smaller Ix B) Smaller Iy
C) Larger Ix D) Larger Iy
y
2. In the figure to the right, what is the y=x3
differential moment of inertia of the
element with respect to the y-axis (dIy)? x,y
A) x2 y dx B) (1/12) x3 dy
C) y2 x dy D) (1/3) y dy x
GROUP PROBLEM SOLVING
Given: The shaded area shown.

Find: Ix and Iy of the area.
(x,y)
Plan: Follow the procedure
described earlier. 
y
dx

GROUP PROBLEM SOLVING (continued)
Solution:
The moment of inertia of the rectangular differential element about the
x-axis is dIx = (1/3) y3 dx (see Case 2 in Example 10.2 in the textbook).
3
1 3
1 ℎ 3
dIx = 𝑦 dx = 𝑥 dx
3 3 𝑏3
(x,y)
Ix = dIx 
y
b
0
ℎ3 9 ℎ3 x10 dx
= 9
𝑥 dx = 9
−2 3𝑏 3𝑏 10
0
1
Ix = 𝑏ℎ3
30
GROUP PROBLEM SOLVING (continued)
The moment of inertia about the y-axis
Iy = x 2 dA
(x,y)
where
h 3 
dA = y dx = 3 𝑥 dx y
𝑏
𝒃 𝒃 dx
h 3 h 5
Iy = x2 3
𝑥 dx = 3
𝑥 dx
𝟎 𝑏 𝟎 𝑏
𝑏
h 𝑥6
= 3
𝑏 6 0
1 3
Iy = 𝑏 ℎ
6
ATTENTION QUIZ
1. When determining the MoI of the

element in the figure, dIy equals
(x,y)
A) x 2 dy B) x 2 dx y2 = x
C) (1/3) y3 dx D) x 2.5 dx
2. Similarly, dIx equals

A) (1/3) x 1.5 dx B) y 2 dA
C) (1 /12) x 3 dy D) (1/3) x 3 dx


Lecture 12

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DEFINITION OF MOMENTS OF INERTIA FOR

AREAS, RADIUS OF GYRATION OF AN AREA

Statics, Fourteenth Edition Copyright ©2016 by Pearson Education, Inc.

Many structural members like beams and columns have cross

Many structural members are made

This section of the book covers some

Statics, Fourteenth Edition Copyright ©2016 by Pearson Education, Inc.

Consider a plate submerged in a liquid.

The force on the area dA at that point is dF = p dA.

For the differential area dA, shown in the

For simplicity, the area element used has a

The step-by-step procedure is:

b) If y is easily expressed in terms of x (e.g.,

Given: The shaded area shown in the

In the above example, Ix can be also determined using a

Statics, Fourteenth Edition Copyright ©2016 by Pearson Education, Inc.

1. A pipe is subjected to a bending

Given: The shaded area shown.

Statics, Fourteenth Edition Copyright ©2016 by Pearson Education, Inc.

The moment of inertia about the y-axis

1. When determining the MoI of the

2. Similarly, dIx equals

Statics, Fourteenth Edition Copyright ©2016 by Pearson Education, Inc.

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