AN INTRODUCTION TO

Sectional
properties
 Lesson 2

Presented by Ms. MA Rikhotso

Presentation Produced by Prof BD Ikotun

Civil Engineering Department

 Sectional Properties
Introduction
Various structural sections have the following
properties based on their shapes.
• Cross sectional area
• Position of the centroid
• Second moment of area
• Radius of gyration
• Section modulus (elastic)
• Section modulus (plastic)
These properties are needed in structural design.
 Cross sectional area
This is the total area of the cross section of a
structure.
For complex structure, the cross section can be
divided into simple shapes, the area of the cross
section will be the addition of the area of the
individual simple shapes.

Cross sectional area (A) = Area of segment a (Aa) + Area of segment b (Ab)

A = Aa + Ab

•
 Centroid
The centroid of an area is the central point of that area
which is similar to the centre of gravity of a body.
Calculating the centroid involves only the geometrical
shape of the area. The term centroid is used for two
dimensional shapes. It can be inside or outside of the
section.
Characteristics of a centroid
• If a section has a line of symmetry, the centroid will lie
on that line of symmetry.
Centroid (cont.)
 Centroid (cont.)
• If a section has two lines of symmetry, the
centroid will lie at the intersection of the points.

• The axis that determines the centroid is known as

the neutral axis (N/A).
 Centroid
Hint:
Centroid of a complex shape can be calculated by
dividing the shape into known shapes and use the
following formula:

Take the moments of all areas about top or bottom of the

section for y and left or right of the section for x.
−
Then A y = a1 y1 + a 2 y 2

Centroid to x axis Centroid to y axis

−  Ay −  Ax
y= x=
A A
 Sectional moment of area (I)
Sectional moment of area (I) measures the beams
ability to resist bending. The larger the sectional
moment of area, the higher the ability of a beam to
resist bending.

For rectangular shape, the sectional moment of

area about the centroid is as follows:

3 db 3
I Gy = bd I to x axis IGx = I to y axis
12 12

See formula sheet for other shapes.

Sectional moment of area (I) (cont.)
To calculate the sectional moment of area (I) about
a given axis, parallel axis theorem will be used.

The moment of inertia of an area about an axis is

the moment of inertia about the centroid plus the
product of area and square of the perpendicular
distance between the centroidal axis and the
parallel axis.
I yy = IGx + Ae 2
I xx = IGy + Ae2
I to any y axis
I to any x axis
 Radius of gyration
Radius of gyration of a section is the distance from
the centroid of the section which would give the
same second moment of area if the whole area
were concentrated at the distance.

Radius of gyration is useful in estimating the

stiffness of a column. It can be calculated as
follows:

I
r= I = second moment of area
A A = cross sectional area
 Elastic section modulus
This is based on the understanding that maximum
bending caused by maximum stress occurs at
either the top or the bottom fibres of the section.

The distance from the extreme fibre to the centroid

is incorporated in the calculation. The larger the
elastic section, the stronger the beam. The elastic
section modulus (Z) can be calculated from:
I
Z = I = second moment of area
y y = The extreme fibre distance
from the centroid
 Plastic section modulus
This is used for materials where plastic behaviour
is dominant. This property is calculated based on
the position of plastic neutral axis (PNA).

This is an axis where compression force from the

area in compression equals the tension force from
the area in tension, such that for constant yielding
stress, the area above and below the PNA is
equal.
 Plastic section modulus (cont.)
The plastic section modulus is the first moment of
area about the plastic neutral axis.

It is calculated by summing up the product of the area of

the cross section on each side of the PNA and the distance
from the local centroids of the two areas to the PNA as
shown below.

AC = AT
ZP = ACyC + ATyT