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SPRINGER BRIEFS IN
APPLIED SCIENCES AND TECHNOLOGY

Andrea L'Afflitto

A Mathematical
Perspective on
Flight Dynamics
and Control

123
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Andrea L’Afflitto

A Mathematical Perspective
on Flight Dynamics
and Control

123
Andrea L’Afflitto
School of Aerospace and Mechanical
Engineering
The University of Oklahoma
Norman, OK
USA

ISSN 2191-530X ISSN 2191-5318 (electronic)

SpringerBriefs in Applied Sciences and Technology
ISBN 978-3-319-47466-3 ISBN 978-3-319-47467-0 (eBook)
DOI 10.1007/978-3-319-47467-0
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Foreword

One of the remarkable aspects that distinguished the Wright brothers from other
flight enthusiasts at the time was their careful analysis of flight dynamics. This
included developing the first wind tunnel to quantify the aerodynamic forces as a
function of wing shape. Their systematic, scientific approach eventually led to the
first successful powered flight under human control. Since the time of the Wright
brothers, the development of novel flight strategies has required a solid under-
standing of flight dynamics and control. The need for scientist and engineers who
understand flight at a deep level has become even more critical with the advent and
rapid development of autonomous unmanned aerial systems (UAS). In the future,
even more sophisticated and agile aerial platforms will be developed, and the design
of successful flight control strategies will require knowledge of attitude represen-
tations that can capture the entire flight envelop, even though these representations
require the designer to employ sophisticated mathematical tools. It will also require
the best available control design strategies.
There currently exist a wide variety of excellent teaching and resource materials
focused on helping scientists and engineers master the mathematical prerequisites to
work on UAS and other flight control areas. To this body of material, the current
monograph is a welcome addition. The monograph focuses on mathematical
aspects of flight dynamics and control. The list of topics include attitude repre-
sentation using Tait–Bryan (Euler 321) angles, and quaternions, a nice derivation
of the equations of motion of a rigid body, a careful analysis of the common flight
modes, and a mathematically rigorous discussion of common strategies used for
flight control. The material is self-contained and highly readable. This monograph
will be helpful for students and practitioners who are looking for a mathematically
rigorous development of the dynamics and control of fixed wing aircraft.

July 2016 Randal W. Beard

Brigham Young University
Provo, UT
USA

v
Preface

Flight dynamics is a fascinating topic in aerospace sciences, since it requires

competences in several branches of engineering, ranging from aerodynamics to
structures and ergonomics. Understanding flight dynamics is a prerequisite to
design effective controls for aircraft and, in particular, unmanned vehicles. In many
cases of practical interest, the dynamics of aircraft can be considered as linear and
the literature on the control of linear-dynamical systems is extremely vast, to say the
least. Nowadays, flight control engineers can rely on ‘classic’ control techniques,
such as the notorious proportional-integral-derivative feedback control and H2 and
H1 control theories. Nonlinear control techniques are becoming preponderant,
especially in advanced applications, such as the design of military aircraft. For
example, adaptive control, sliding mode control, model predictive control, and
backstepping are still open fields of research in aeronautics.
This brief comprises a selection of the complementary material I present in my
flight controls course at The University of Oklahoma. For brevity, many of the
numerical examples I provide in class have been omitted, since herein, I prefer
giving more emphasis to theoretical notions. This monograph does not intend to be
a textbook: I leave this daunting duty to the many excellent books in flight
dynamics currently available. The scope of this brief is to present in a concise,
self-contained, and rigorous manner several aspects of flight dynamics and control,
which are usually omitted or briefly mentioned in textbooks. As a matter of fact, this
monograph has been written for graduate students and practitioners with strong
interest in control theory and applied mathematics, who desire to have a deeper and
different insight into flight dynamics and control.
This brief is characterized by a few distinguished features, such as the definition
of angular velocity, which I borrowed from Prof. T.R. Kane. This definition leaves
no room to ambiguities, in spite of more traditional ones based on infinitesimal
variations. Moreover, in Chap. 1 I endeavored discussing in detail intrinsic rotations
and Tait–Bryan angles, which are commonly used, though very briefly examined,
in numerous books on flight dynamics. In Chap. 1, a section is dedicated to
quaternion algebra and Euler parameters. Specifically, starting from the definition
of imaginary basis units, the most relevant properties of quaternions are discussed,

vii
viii Preface

so that the reader can fully appreciate every detail about the relations between Euler
parameters, rotations, and angular velocity. Although most of the books on
dynamics successfully explain the notion of axis of rotation and the role it plays in
the definition of the Euler parameters, the derivation of the relation between the
angular velocity of a rigid body and the time derivatives of the Euler parameters is
often omitted for brevity or proved starting from some nonintuitive result.
The equations of motion of an aircraft are presented in Chap. 2 both as functions
of the Tait–Bryan angles and the Euler parameters. Since the equations of motion of
an aircraft are a set of implicit nonlinear differential equations, the linearization
of these equations is a delicate process that requires some machinery, which is
discussed in detail in this brief. Chapter 2 is also dedicated to the analysis of the
longitudinal- and lateral- directional dynamics of a vehicle without relying on any
intuition or observation of the physical behavior of aircraft, but dissecting the
properties of the linearized equations of motion.
The proportional-integral-derivative control technique, the linear-quadratic
Gaussian regulator, the optimal state feedback H1 control, and the model refer-
ence adaptive control are presented in Chap. 3 and applied through meaningful
numerical examples to the problem of controlling the attitude of an aircraft. Lastly,
Appendix A is a brief compendium of the mathematical tools needed to compre-
hend the material presented in this brief. Appendix A presents also some advanced
topics, such as the notion of semistability, the Smith–McMillan form of a transfer
function, and the differentiation of complex functions; these concepts are usually
omitted in most reference books for engineers, but are fundamental to appreciate
several details on the dynamics and control design of linear-dynamical systems.
This brief does not pretend to be complete. For instance, stability derivatives are
merely mentioned and aircrafts are modeled as six degrees-of-freedom rigid bodies,
in which center of mass moves at Mach number less than or equal to 3. Moreover,
the results presented in this brief apply only if we assume that the Earth is fixed in
space and locally flat. Lastly, this brief does not pretend to exhaustively illustrate all
the control techniques that can be applied to aircraft. The reader is referred through
this monograph to relevant books and publications for further reading on all the
topics covered herein. Hopefully, at the end of this brief, the readers will be able to
better appreciate the work of the scholars who preceded and will follow us.
Writing a monograph while serving as a first year assistant professor has been a
unique experience. The vibrant enthusiasm of the graduate and undergraduate
students I am proudly advising, as well as of those students attending my AME
4513/5513 ‘Flight Controls’ class, has strongly motivated me; I am indebted to
them for their comments, questions, and suggestions. I also wish to express my
deep gratitude to Prof. R.W. Beard, who provided his invaluable comments and
considerably improved the quality of this work. Finally, I want to thank Mr. Oliver
Jackson, the editor of this book, for his outstanding guidance over the course of the
editorial process.
Preface ix

While elaborating this brief, my mind often went to my academic advisor

Prof. W.M. Haddad, who nurtured and guided my passion for mathematics, control
theory, and rigorous thinking. His pristine enthusiasm for each and every of his
publications will be an everlasting source of inspiration for me. Last, but not least,
I dedicate this work to my parents, Franco and Teresa, and my wife Anh. STD.

“O frati,” dissi, “che per cento milia ‘O brothers, who amid a hundred thousand
perigli siete giunti a l’occidente, perils,’ I said, ‘have come unto the West,
a questa tanto picciola vigilia to this so inconsiderable vigil

d’i nostri sensi ch’è del rimanente which is remaining of your senses still
non vogliate negar l’esperïenza, be ye unwilling to deny the knowledge,
di retro al sol, del mondo sanza gente. following the sun, of the unpeopled world.

Considerate la vostra semenza: Consider ye the seed from which ye sprang;

fatti non foste a viver come bruti, ye were not made to live like unto brutes,
ma per seguir virtute e canoscenza.” but for pursuit of virtue and of knowledge.’

Dante, La Divina Commedia,

I, XXVI, vv. 112–120.

Norman, OK, USA Andrea L’Afflitto

July 2016
Contents

1 Fundamentals of Rigid Body Dynamics . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1

1.1 Introduction. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1
1.2 Vectors and Vector Spaces . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1
1.3 The First Derivative of a Vector with Respect to Time . . . . . . . . 5
1.4 Tait–Bryan Angles and Rotations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10
1.4.1 Tait–Bryan Angles . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11
1.4.2 Rotations of Reference Frames and Vectors. . . . . . . . . . . 12
1.4.3 Properties of the Tait–Bryan Angles
and Rotation Matrices. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15
1.5 Euler Parameters, Quaternions, and Rotations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19
1.5.1 Quaternions. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19
1.5.2 Quaternions and Rotations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23
1.5.3 Euler Parameters and Angular Velocity. . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26
1.6 The Second Derivative of a Vector with Respect to Time . . . . . . 28
1.7 Equations of Motion of a Rigid Body. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 30
2 Equations of Motion of an Aircraft . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 35
2.1 Nomenclature . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 35
2.1.1 Body and Inertial Reference Frames . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 35
2.1.2 The Aircraft State Vector . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 37
2.1.3 The Aircraft Control Vector . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 37
2.1.4 Aerodynamic Angles . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 39
2.2 Forces and Moments Acting on an Aircraft . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 41
2.3 Equations of Motion of an Aircraft. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 42
2.4 Flight at Equilibrium . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 45
2.5 Linearization of the Aircraft Equations of Motion. . . . . . . . . . . . 46
2.6 Decoupling of the Linearized Equations of Motion . . . . . . . . . . . 48
2.7 Analysis of the Longitudinal Dynamics of an Aircraft. . . . . . . . . 54
2.8 Analysis of the Lateral-Directional Dynamics of an Aircraft . . . . 59

xi
xii Contents

3 Aircraft Automatic Control. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 65

3.1 Introduction. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 65
3.2 Transfer Functions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 66
3.3 Proportional-Integral-Derivative Control . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 67
3.4 The Linear-Quadratic Gaussian Control. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 75
3.5 Optimal State-Feedback H1 control . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 81
3.6 Model Reference Adaptive Control. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 84
4 Concluding Remarks . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 89
Appendix A: Fundamentals of Dynamical Systems Theory . . . . . . . . . 91
References. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 121
Chapter 1
Fundamentals of Rigid Body Dynamics

1.1 Introduction

One of the main objectives of physics is to understand the fundamental laws of nature
and describe physical events in a rigorous manner. Mathematics provides the tools
needed to accomplish this goal and, in fact, it is not a chance that most of the early
physicists, such as Newton or Lagrange, were also mathematicians. A wide branch of
physics is dynamics, which is concerned with the behavior of physical bodies when
subject to forces or displacements, and a consistent part of this brief is dedicated to
the study of aircraft dynamics.
In this chapter, we define a few mathematical entities, such as vectors, orthonor-
mal basis, quaternions, and rotation matrices, and discuss some of their most relevant
properties. Eventually, these mathematical tools are applied to physics to capture the
motion of rigid bodies in space. Specifically, in Sect. 1.2 we introduce the notions of
vector space and reference frame and in Sect. 1.3 we discuss the problem of comput-
ing the first derivative of vectors with respect to a time-varying basis. The problem
of capturing rotations of reference frames is discussed at length in Sects. 1.4 and
1.5, where we introduce the Tait–Bryan angles and Euler parameters, respectively.
Finally, the problem of computing the second derivative of vectors with respect to a
time-dependent basis is addressed in Sect. 1.6 and the equations of motion for a rigid
body are derived in Sect. 1.7.

1.2 Vectors and Vector Spaces

Vector spaces play a key role in dynamics, as they provide the most suitable frame-
work to describe the displacement of bodies in space. For the statement of the next
definition, let X denote either the set of real numbers R or the set of complex numbers
C. In the following, we will refer to X as the field of scalars and the elements of X
as scalars.
© The Author(s) 2017 1
A. L’Afflitto, A Mathematical Perspective on Flight Dynamics and Control,
SpringerBriefs in Applied Sciences and Technology,
DOI 10.1007/978-3-319-47467-0_1
2 1 Fundamentals of Rigid Body Dynamics

Definition 1.1 (Vector space) A vector space over a field of scalars X is a nonempty
set X, which elements are called vectors, together with two operations called addition,
which is denoted by +, and multiplication of vectors by scalars, which is denoted
by ·. The vector addition associates with every x, y ∈ X a vector x + y, and the
following properties are satisfied for every x, y, z ∈ X:
(i) x + y = y + x (commutative property);
(ii) x + (y + z) = (x + y) + z (associative property);
(iii) there exists a vector, called zero vector, such that x + 0 = x;
(iv) for every x ∈ X, there exists a vector, which we denote by −x, such that
x + (−x) = 0.
The multiplication of vectors by scalars associates with every α ∈ X and x ∈ X
a vector α · x, and the following properties are satisfied for every x, y ∈ X and
α, β ∈ X:
(i) there exists an element in X that we denote by 1 such that 1 · x = x;
(ii) α · (β · x) = (αβ) · x;
(iii) (α + β) · x = α · x + β · x.

In the following, we will omit the symbol · to denote the multiplication of vectors
by scalars. There exist many examples of vector fields, such as the real column vectors
Rn , the real matrices Rn×m , the complex column vectors Cn , and the complex matrices
Cn×m . It is important to note that the set of real column vectors Rn is a subset of the
set of real matrices, since a vector in Rn is a matrix with one column and n rows.
Henceforth, we will consider column vectors only and therefore we will no longer
specify that vectors are column vectors.
For the statement of the next definition, let X denote R or C.

Definition 1.2 (Linearly independent vectors and basis) Let M  {x1 , . . . , xm } ⊂

Xn and α1 , . . . , αm ∈ X. The set M is linearly independent if

α1 x1 + · · · + αm xm = 0 (1.1)

if and only if α1 = · · · = αm = 0. If M is linearly independent and m = n, then M

is a basis for Xn . If xi  = 1, i = 1, . . . , n, then M is a normal basis for Xn .

Remarkably, there exist infinitely many vector bases for Rn and for Cn . Moreover,
the order of the vectors forming the basis M = {x1 , x2 , . . . , xn } ⊂ Xn is immaterial.
Indeed, if M is a basis, then also M = {x2 , x1 , . . . , xn } is a basis of Xn .

Remark 1.1 If m = n, then (1.1) is equivalent to

Aα = 0, (1.2)
1.2 Vectors and Vector Spaces 3

where ⎡ ⎤
α1
  ⎢ ⎥
A = x1 , . . . , xn , α = ⎣ ... ⎦ . (1.3)
αn

Therefore, it follows from Theorems A.8 and A.9 that M is a basis for Rn if and only
if A is nonsingular, that is, if and only if det(A) = 0.
Proposition 1.1 ([28, pp. 54–55]) Let M = {x1 , . . . , xn } be a basis of Rn . Then, for
all x ∈ Rn there exist α1 , . . . , αn ∈ R such that x = α1 x1 + · · · + αn xn .
Definition 1.3 (Vector components) Let M = {x1 , . . . , xn } be a basis of Rn and x ∈
Rn . If x = α1 x1 + · · · + αn xn , then the scalars α1 , . . . , αn are the components of x in
the basis M. Consider the basis M = {x1 , . . . , xn } of Rn and x⎡ = ⎤ α1 x1 + · · · + αn xn .
α1
⎢ ⎥
If we fix the order of the elements of M, then we write x = ⎣ ... ⎦ = [α1 , . . . , αn ]T ,
αn
and we say that x is expressed in the basis M.
Definition 1.4 (Scalar product) Let x = [x1 , . . . , xn ]T ∈ Rn and y = [y1 , . . . , yn ]T
∈ Rn . The scalar product of x and y is given by
n
xT y  xi yi . (1.4)
i=1

The vectors x and y are orthogonal if x T y = 0.

n n
Since x T y = i=1 xi yi = i=1 yi xi = y T x, the scalar product is commutative.
In this brief, the scalar product is intended as a special case of the product of two
matrices, namely the product of the matrix x T ∈ R1×n by the matrix y ∈ Rn×1 .
Definition 1.5 (Orthonormal basis) Let M  {x1 , . . . , xn } be a normal basis of Rn .
If xiT x j = 0, i, j = 1, . . . , n, i = j, then M is an orthonormal basis for Rn .
Exercise 1.1 Let {x1 , . . . , xn } be an orthonormal basis for Rn . Prove that xiT xi = 1
for all i = 1, . . . , n. 
Exercise 1.2 Prove that {e1 , e2 , . . . , en } is an orthonormal basis for Rn , where e1 =
[1, 0, . . . , 0]T , e2 = [0, 1, . . . , 0]T , . . . , en = [0, 0, . . . , 1]T . 
The vector basis presented in Exercise 1.2 is the canonical basis of R3 .
Definition 1.6 (Cross product) Given x  [x1 , x2 , x3 ]T ∈ R3 and y = [y1 , y2 , y3 ]T
∈ R3 , define ⎡ ⎤
0 −x3 x2
x ×  ⎣ x3 0 −x1 ⎦ (1.5)
−x2 x1 0
4 1 Fundamentals of Rigid Body Dynamics

and the cross product of x and y as

⎡ ⎤⎡ ⎤ ⎡ ⎤
0 −x3 x2 y1 x2 y3 − y2 x3
x × y  ⎣ x3 0 −x1 ⎦ ⎣ y2 ⎦ = ⎣ y1 x3 − x1 y3 ⎦ . (1.6)
−x2 x1 0 y3 x1 y2 − x2 y1

Exercise 1.3 Prove that the cross product is anti-commutative, that is, x × y =
−y × x. 

Exercise 1.4 Prove that x × x = 0 for all x ∈ R3 . 

Exercise 1.5 Let x, y ∈ R3 . Prove that x T x × y = y T x × y = 0. 

Exercise 1.6 Given x, y ∈ R3 , prove that


x × y =
2
x2 y2 − x T y , (1.7)

Exercise 1.7 Given x, y, z ∈ R3 , prove that

x × y × z = x T zy − x T yz, (1.8)
x × y × z = −y × z × x − z × x × y. (1.9)

Equations (1.8) and (1.9) are known as Lagrange formula and Jacobi identity, respec-
tively. 

Next, we extend the notion of vector basis to introduce reference frames.

Definition 1.7 (Orthonormal reference frame) Let O ∈ R3 , X ∈ R3 , Y ∈ R3 , and

Z ∈ R3 . The set I  {O; X, Y, Z } is an orthonormal reference frame centered at O
if {X, Y, Z } is an orthonormal basis.

Definition 1.8 (Right-handed reference frame) Let O ∈ R3 , X ∈ R3 , and Y ∈ R3

be such that X  = Y  = 1 and X T Y = 0. If Z = X × Y , then the orthonormal
reference frame I = {O; X, Y, Z } is a right-handed reference frame.

In this brief, we will consider right-handed reference frames only.

Exercise 1.8 Let I = {O; X, Y, Z } be an orthonormal reference frame centered at

O ∈ R3 , and let v ∈ R3 . Apply Proposition 1.1 to prove that vT X , vT Y , and vT Z are
the components of v in I. 

Given an orthonormal reference frame I = {O; X, Y, Z } centered at O ∈ R3 and

a vector v ∈ R3 , it follows from Exercise 1.8 and Proposition 1.1 that

v = vT X X + vT Y Y + vT Z Z . (1.10)
1.2 Vectors and Vector Spaces 5

Now, consider the orthonormal reference frame J = {P; x, y, z} centered at P ∈ R3 .

Then,
v = vT X X + vT Y Y + vT Z Z = vT x x + vT yy + vT zz. (1.11)

However, vT X = vT x, vT Y = vT y, and vT Z = vT z, which implies that the vector

components depend on the reference frame chosen.

1.3 The First Derivative of a Vector with Respect to Time

In this brief, time is the only independent variable and is denoted by t. Without loss
of generality, we assume that time is always nonnegative, that is, t ≥ 0.

Theorem 1.1 (Chain rule) Let x : [0, ∞) → R3 and y : [0, ∞) → R3 be continu-

ously differentiable. Then,

d d x(t) dy(t)
[x(t) + y(t)] = + , t ≥ 0, (1.12)
dt dt dt
d  T  d x T (t) dy(t) d x(t) dy(t)
x (t)y(t) = y(t) + x T (t) = y T (t) + x T (t) ,
dt dt dt dt dt
(1.13)
 ×
d  ×  d x(t) dy(t) dy(t) d x(t)
x (t)y(t) = y(t) + x × (t) = x × (t) − y × (t) .
dt dt dt dt dt
(1.14)

Example 1.1 (Time derivative of a vector in a fixed reference frame) Let I = {O; X,
Y, Z } be an orthonormal reference frame centered at O ∈ R3 and

r (t) = r x (t)X + r y (t)Y + r z (t)Z , t ≥ 0, (1.15)

where r x , r y , r z : [0, ∞) → R are continuously differentiable. Applying the “chain

rule,” the time derivative of r in I can be computed as follows

dr (t)  d
 = [r x (t)X + r y (t)Y + r z (t)Z ]
dt I dt
dr x (t) dr y (t) dr z (t) dX dY dZ
= X+ Y+ Z + r x (t) + r y (t) + r z (t)
dt dt dt dt dt dt
dr x (t) dr y (t) dr z (t)
= X+ Y+ Z, t ≥ 0. (1.16)
dt dt dt

6 1 Fundamentals of Rigid Body Dynamics

dr (t) 
Note that is expressed in the reference frame I. Next, we introduce the
dt I
notion of angular velocity. This tool allows computing the time derivative of vectors
which components are known in a reference frame that varies in time.

Definition 1.9 (Angular velocity) Let I = {O; X, Y, Z } be an orthonormal refer-

ence frame centered at O ∈ R3 and J = {P(·); x(·), y(·), z(·)} be an orthonormal
reference frame centered at P : [0, ∞) → R3 , where x, y, z : [0, ∞) → R3 are con-
tinuously differentiable. Then, the angular velocity of J with respect to I is defined
as
  
I J dy T (t)  dz T (t)  d x T (t) 
ω (t)  z(t)x(t) + x(t)y(t) + y(t)z(t), t ≥ 0.
dt I dt I dt I
(1.17)

Classic textbooks in dynamics define the angular velocity as the instantaneous

rate of change due to an infinitesimal rotation; for details, [4, Chap. 2], [17, Chap.
2], and [49, Chap. 1].

Remark 1.2 The angular velocity of the reference frame J with respect to I is
expressed in the reference frame J.

The relevance of Remark 1.2 can be appreciated considering the following appli-
cation. Let O be a point fixed in space, and X, Y, Z be orthonormal vectors fixed in
space. Let J = {P(·); x(·), y(·), z(·)} be an orthonormal reference frame fixed with
an aircraft, that is, let P(·) be a point fixed in the aircraft, and x(·), y(·), z(·) be three
orthonormal vectors that are fixed with the aircraft. The aircraft angular velocity with
respect to an inertial reference frame I, that is, I ωJ (·), is measured by the gyroscopes
installed on the aircraft and is expressed in the reference frame J.
It follows from (1.17) that to define the angular velocity of the reference frame
J with respect to the reference frame I, it is irrelevant whether the axes of I are
functions of time or not; the notion of angular velocity regards the relative motion of
two reference frames. Next, we discuss a key application of angular velocities, that
is, we compute the time derivative of a vector fixed in a moving reference frame. For
the proof of this result, given x ∈ R3 and y ∈ R3 , we denote by x y a dyadic, that is,
a matrix such that z T x y = z T (x y) for any z ∈ R3 [26, p. 67].

Theorem 1.2 Let I = {O; X, Y, Z } be an orthonormal reference frame centered at

O ∈ R3 and J = {P(·); x(·), y(·), z(·)} be an orthonormal reference frame centered
at P : [0, ∞) → R3 , where x, y, z : [0, ∞) → R3 are continuously differentiable.
Let
r (t) = r x x(t) + r y y(t) + r z z(t), t ≥ 0, (1.18)

where r x , r y , r z ∈ R are constants. Then,


dr (t)   ×
 = I ωJ (t) v(t), t ≥ 0, (1.19)
dt I
1.3 The First Derivative of a Vector with Respect to Time 7

where I ωJ (t) denotes the angular velocity of J with respect to I.

Proof It follows from the “chain rule” that

 
dr (t)  d 
 = [r x x(t) + r y y(t) + r z z(t)]
dt I dt I
  
dr x dr y dr z d x(t)  dy(t)  dz(t) 
= x(t) + y(t) + z(t) + r x + ry + rz
dt dt dt dt I dt I dt I
  
d x(t)  dy(t)  dz(t) 
= rx  + ry  + rz , v(0) = v0 , t ≥ 0.
dt I dt I dt I
(1.20)

Next, it follows from Definition 1.9 that

  
I × dy T (t)  × dz T (t)  × d x T (t) 
ωJ (t) x(t) = z(t)x (t)x(t) + x(t)y (t)x(t) + y(t)z × (t)x(t)
dt I dt I dt I
 
dz T (t)  × d x T (t) 
= x(t)y (t)x(t) + y(t)z × (t)x(t)
dt I dt I
 
dz T (t)  d x T (t) 
=− x(t)z(t) + y(t)y(t), t ≥ 0. (1.21)
dt I dt I

Since x T (t)x(t) = 1, applying the “chain rule” it follows that

 
d T d[x T (t)x(t)]  d x T (t) 
0= [x (t)x(t)] =  = 2 x(t), t ≥ 0, (1.22)
dt dt I dt I

that is, 
d x T (t) 
0= x(t), t ≥ 0. (1.23)
dt I

Similarly, since z T (t)x(t) = 0, applying the “chain rule” it follows that

  
d T d[z T (t)x(t)]  dz T (t)  d x(t) 
0= [z (t)x(t)] =  = x(t) + z T
(t) , t ≥ 0,
dt dt I dt I dt I
(1.24)

that is,  
dz T (t)  d x(t) 
− x(t) = z T
(t) , t ≥ 0. (1.25)
dt I dt I
8 1 Fundamentals of Rigid Body Dynamics

Now, it follows from (1.21), (1.23), and (1.25) that

 
I J
× dz T (t)  d x T (t) 
ω (t) x(t) = 0 − x(t)z(t) + y(t)y(t)
dt I dt I
  
d x T (t)  d x T (t)  d x T (t) 
= x(t)x(t) + y(t)y(t) + z(t)z(t)
dt I dt I dt I

d x T (t) 
= [x(t)x(t) + y(t)y(t) + z(t)z(t)] , t ≥ 0. (1.26)
dt I

Since x(t), y(t), and z(t), t ≥ 0, are mutually orthogonal unit vectors, it holds that
[26, p. 67]

[x(t)x(t) + y(t)y(t) + z(t)z(t)] = [X X + Y Y + Z Z ] , t ≥ 0, (1.27)

and hence

I J
× d x T (t) 
ω (t) x(t) = [x(t)x(t) + y(t)y(t) + z(t)z(t)]
dt I

d x T (t) 
= [X X + Y Y + Z Z ]
dt I
  
d x T (t)  d x T (t)  d x T (t) 
= XX + YY + ZZ
dt I dt I dt I

d x(t) 
= , t ≥ 0. (1.28)
dt I

Similarly,
 
I J
× dy(t)  I J
× dz(t) 
ω (t) y(t) = , ω (t) z(t) = , t ≥ 0. (1.29)
dt I dt I

Therefore, it follows from (1.20) that

   
dr (t)  d x(t)  dy(t)  dz(t) 
= rx + ry + rz ,
dt I dt I dt I dt I
 ×  ×  ×
= r x I ωJ (t) x(t) + r y I ωJ (t) y(t) + r z I ωJ (t) z(t)
 ×  ×  ×
= I ωJ (t) r x x(t) + I ωJ (t) r y y(t) + I ωJ (t) r z z(t)
 ×  
= I ωJ (t) r x x(t) + r y y(t) + r z z(t)
 ×
= I ωJ (t) r (t), t ≥ 0, (1.30)

which concludes the proof. 

1.3 The First Derivative of a Vector with Respect to Time 9

In Example 1.1, the components of r (·) are expressed in the reference frame I,
whereas in Theorem 1.2 the components of r (·) are known in J.
Remark 1.3 Equation (1.19) provides the derivative of r (·) with respect to the refer-
ence frame I expressed in the reference frame J.
The next result extends Theorem 1.2 to the case of r (·) not fixed in J. For the state-
ment of the next result, let J = {P(·); x(·), y(·), z(·)} be an orthonormal reference
frame centered at P : [0, ∞) → R3 , where x, y, z : [0, ∞) → R3 are continuously
differentiable, and

dr (t)  dr x (t) dr y (t) dr z (t)
  x(t) + y(t) + z(t), t ≥ 0, (1.31)
dt J dt dt dt

represents the time derivatives with respect to J of

r (t) = r x (t)x(t) + r y (t)y(t) + r z (t)z(t). (1.32)

Theorem 1.3 Consider the orthonormal reference frames I = {O; X, Y, Z } and J =

{P(·); x(·), y(·), z(·)}. If r : [0, ∞) → R3 is continuously differentiable, then
 
dr (t)  dr (t)   ×
 =  + I ωJ (t) r (t), t ≥ 0, (1.33)
dt I dt J

where I ωJ (t) denotes the angular velocity of J with respect to I.

Proof It follows from the “chain rule” and Theorem 1.2 that
 
dr (t)  d 

= [r (t)x(t) + r (t)y(t) + r (t)z(t)]
dt I 
x y z
dt I
  
d  d  d 
= [r x (t)x(t)] + [r y (t)y(t)] + [r z (t)z(t)]
dt I dt I dt I
dr x (t) dr y (t) dr z (t)
= x(t) + y(t) + z(t)
dt  dt dt 
d x(t)  dy(t)  dz(t) 
+ r x (t) + r (t) + r (t)
dt I dt I dt I
y z
    ×  ×
dr (t)  ×
=  + r x (t) I ωJ (t) x(t) + r y (t) I ωJ (t) y(t) + r z (t) I ωJ (t) z(t)
dt J
  ×
dr (t) 
=  + I ωJ (t) [r x (t)x(t) + r y (t)y(t) + r z (t)z(t)], t ≥ 0, (1.34)
dt J

which concludes the proof. 

Alternative proofs of Theorem 1.3 can be found in [17, Chap. 2], [4, Chap. 1], and
[49, Chap. 1], where the notion of angular velocity, defined as the time rate of change
of an infinitesimal rotation, is exploited. These references provide also numerous
illustrative examples to better comprehend Theorem 1.3 and its applications.
10 1 Fundamentals of Rigid Body Dynamics

Remark 1.4 Equation (1.33) provides the derivative of r (·) with respect to the refer-
ence frame I expressed in the reference frame J.
The next result allows us to compute the angular velocities using auxiliary refer-
ence frames.
Theorem 1.4 Let I = {O; X, Y, Z } be an orthonormal reference frame centered
at O ∈ R3 , J = {P(·); x(·), y(·), z(·)} be an orthonormal reference frame centered
at P : [0, ∞) → R3 , and J = {P (·); x (·), y (·), z (·)} be an orthonormal refer-
ence frame centered at P : [0, ∞) → R3 , where x, y, z, x , y , z : [0, ∞) → R3
are continuously differentiable. Then,
I
ωJ (t) = I ωJ (t) + J ωJ (t), (1.35)

for all t ≥ 0.
Proof It follows from Theorems 1.2 and 1.3 that for all r (t) = r x x(t) + r y y(t) +
r z z(t), where r x , r y , r z ∈ R are constant,

dr (t)   ×
= I ωJ (t) r (t), t ≥ 0, (1.36)
dt I
  ×
dr (t) 
 = J ωJ (t) r (t), (1.37)
dt J
   ×
dr (t)  dr (t)  I J
= + ω (t) r (t). (1.38)
dt I dt J

Hence,
I ×  ×  ×
ωJ (t) r (t) = J
ωJ (t) r (t) + I
ωJ (t) r (t), t ≥ 0, (1.39)

that is,
I
ωJ (t) = J ωJ (t) + I ωJ (t), t ≥ 0, (1.40)

which proves the result. 

1.4 Tait–Bryan Angles and Rotations

In this section, we introduce Tait–Bryan angles, which provide an intuitive framework

to describe the rotation of reference frames. In Sect. 1.5, we discuss an alternative,
more efficient, but less intuitive approach to the problem of describing rotations of
reference frames, which is based on Euler parameters. It is worth to mention that
there exist additional techniques to describe rotations, several of which are discussed
in the survey paper [44].
1.4 Tait–Bryan Angles and Rotations 11

1.4.1 Tait–Bryan Angles

In the following, we provide an intuitive definition of rotations and Tait–Bryan angles;

a formal mathematical definition is provided in Sect. 1.4.2. Let I = {O; X, Y, Z }
and J = {O; x, y, z} be orthonormal reference frames centered at O ∈ R3 . In order
to describe the orientation of J with respect to I, one can assume without loss of
generality that initially both reference frames coincide and then I is transformed
applying a sequence of rotations about the axes of J. In this brief, we consider the
following rotation sequence: we rotate I about the z axis of an angle ψ, then we
rotate I about the y axis of an angle θ , and finally we rotate I about the x axis of an
angle φ.
The angles ψ, θ , and φ are the Tait–Bryan angles and, more specifically, ψ is the
yaw angle, θ is the pitch angle, and φ is the roll angle. This sequence of rotations is
known as the 3-2-1 rotation sequence, since the first rotation occurs about the third
axis of J, the second rotation occurs about the second axis of J, and the third rotation
occurs about the first axis of J.
Remark 1.5 Consider the orthonormal reference frame I = {O; X, Y, Z } fixed in
space and the orthonormal reference frame J = {O; x(·), y(·), z(·)}, where x, y, z :
[0, ∞) → R3 . Then, applying a 3-2-1 rotation sequence, one captures the orientation
of J with respect to I by describing the apparent motion of I with respect to J.
The 3-2-1 rotation sequence is quite common in aeronautical applications, since
it allows describing the attitude of an aircraft in space as a function of the rotations
about the axes of the reference frame J, which is rigidly attached to the aircraft.
The 3-2-1 sequence is not the only possible one. For instance, applying the 3-1-2
rotation sequence, the first rotation occurs about the third axis of J, the second rotation
occurs about the first axis of J, and the third rotation occurs about the second axis of
J. However, given the orthonormal reference frames I and J, the Tait–Bryan angles
for a 3-2-1 rotation sequence are different than the Tait–Bryan angles for a 3-1-2
sequence.
It is common practice in dynamics to describe the relative attitude of two reference
frames using a different convention. Specifically, rotations are assumed to occur about
the axes of the reference frames generated by each rotation; for details, see [4, p.
100].
In this brief, we assume that ψ ∈ [0, 2π ) and φ ∈ [0, 2π ). In fact, if ψ ∈ R, then
both ψ and ψ + 2kπ , k ∈ Z, capture the same rotation, which may lead to ambi-
guities. The same reasoning applies to φ. Moreover, in order to avoid trivial and
pathological cases in the use of Tait–Bryan angles, we make the following assump-
tion.
Assumption 1.10 For any rotation sequence, two rotations cannot occur about the
same axis.
This assumption and the fact that two distinct pitch angles cannot capture the
same rotation imply that θ ∈ − π2 , π2 . In fact, if |θ | = π2 , then the first and the third
rotation in a 3-2-1 rotation sequence occur about the same axis.
12 1 Fundamentals of Rigid Body Dynamics

1.4.2 Rotations of Reference Frames and Vectors

Given ψ ∈ [0, 2π ), θ ∈ − π2 , π2 , φ ∈ [0, 2π ), and an orthonormal reference frame

I = {O; X, Y, Z }, define

[x, y, z]  R321 (ψ, θ, φ)[X, Y, Z ], (1.41)

where

R321 (ψ, θ, φ)  Φ T (φ)Θ T (θ )Ψ T (ψ) (1.42)

and
⎡ ⎤
cos ψ − sin ψ 0
Ψ (ψ)  ⎣ sin ψ cos ψ 0⎦ , (1.43)
0 0 1
⎡ ⎤
cos θ 0 sin θ
Θ(θ )  ⎣ 0 1 0 ⎦ , (1.44)
− sin θ 0 cos θ
⎡ ⎤
1 0 0
Φ(φ)  ⎣0 cos φ − sin φ ⎦ . (1.45)
0 sin φ cos φ

Remarkably, x, y, and z in (1.41) are expressed in the reference frame I.

Exercise 1.9 Prove that Ψ (·), Θ(·), and Φ(·) given by (1.43), (1.44), and (1.45) are
rotation matrices, that is,

Ψ −1 (ψ) = Ψ T (ψ), Θ −1 (θ ) = Θ T (θ ), Φ −1 (φ) = Φ T (φ), (1.46)

for all ψ ∈ [0, 2π ), θ ∈ − π2 , π2 , and φ ∈ [0, 2π ), and

det(Ψ (ψ)) = 1, det(Θ(θ )) = 1, det(Φ(φ)) = 1. (1.47)

Prove also that R321 (·) is a rotation matrix. Hint: Recall Exercise A.5. 

For details on orthogonal and rotation matrices, refer to Sect. A.6.2. In light of
Exercise 1.9, we define (1.43)–(1.45) as the yaw, pitch, and roll rotation matrices,
respectively. The next result is quite relevant, since it proves that x, y, and z in (1.41)
can be used to form an orthonormal reference frame.

Theorem 1.5 Let I = {O; X, Y, Z } be an orthonormal reference frame centered at

O. Then, J = {O; x, y, z}, where x, y, z satisfy (1.41), is an orthonormal reference
frame centered at O.
1.4 Tait–Bryan Angles and Rotations 13

Proof It follows from Theorem A.6 that

det (R321 (ψ, θ, φ)[X, Y, Z ]) = det (R321 (ψ, θ, φ)) det ([X, Y, Z ]) , t ≥ 0,
(1.48)
and it follows from Remark 1.1 that det ([X, Y, Z ]) = 0. Furthermore, it follows from
Exercise 1.9 that det (R321 (ψ, θ, φ)) = 1. Therefore, it follows from (1.41) that

det ([x, y, z]) = 0, (1.49)

which implies that {x, y, z} is a basis of R3 .

Next, note that
−1
x T y = X T R321
T
R321 Y = X T R321 R321 Y = X T Y = 0 (1.50)

and similarly x T z = 0, and y T z = 0. Therefore, {x, y, z} is a normal basis of R3 .

Finally,
x2 = x T x = X T R321
T
R321 X = X T X = X 2 = 1, (1.51)

and it can be proven in a similar manner that y2 = z2 = 1. Thus, J is an ortho-
normal reference frame. 

In the following, we correlate (1.42) with rotations sequences as described in

Sect. 1.4.1.

Example 1.2 Let I = {O; X, Y, Z } be an orthonormal reference frame centered

at O and assume, without loss of generality, that X = [1, 0, 0]T , Y = [0, 1, 0]T ,
and Z = [0, 0, 1]T . Given ψ : [0, ∞) → [0, 2π ), consider the reference frame
J = {O; x(·), y(·), z(·)} such that

[x(t), y(t), z(t)] = Ψ T (ψ(t))[X, Y, Z ], t ≥ 0, (1.52)

where Ψ (·) is given by (1.43).

It follows from (1.52) that
⎡ ⎤
cos ψ(t)
x(t) = Ψ T (ψ(t))X = ⎣− sin ψ(t)⎦ , t ≥ 0, (1.53)
0
⎡ ⎤
sin ψ(t)
y(t) = Ψ T (ψ(t))Y = ⎣cos ψ(t)⎦ , (1.54)
0
z(t) = Ψ T (ψ(t))Z = Z , (1.55)

which imply that the axes X , Y , and Z are obtained from x(·), y(·), and z(·), respec-
tively, through a rotation about the axis z(·) of an angle ψ(·); see Fig. 1.1. As discussed
14 1 Fundamentals of Rigid Body Dynamics

Fig. 1.1 The reference y(t)

frame I is obtained from the Y
reference frame J through a
rotation of an angle ψ(t)
about the z axis
X
cos ψ(t)
ψ(t)
O x(t)
− sin ψ(t)

in Remark 1.5 and as can be observed from Fig. 1.1, (1.52) captures the apparent rota-
tion about z(t) of the reference frame I, which is fixed in space, with respect to the
moving reference frame J of an angle ψ(t). Alternatively, (1.52) captures the actual
rotation of J about z(t) of an angle −ψ(t). 

Exercise 1.10 Let I = {O; X, Y, Z } be an orthonormal reference frame centered at

O. Given θ : [0, ∞) → − π2 , π2 , consider the reference frame J = {O; x(t), y(t),
z(t)} such that

[x(t), y(t), z(t)] = Θ T (θ (t))[X, Y, Z ], t ≥ 0, (1.56)

where Θ(·) is given by (1.44). Show that X , Y , and Z are obtained from x(·), y(·),
and z(·), respectively, through a rotation about the axis y(·) of an angle θ (·). 

Exercise 1.11 Let I = {O; X, Y, Z } be an orthonormal reference frame centered at

O. Given φ : [0, ∞) → [0, 2π ), consider the reference frame J = {O; x(t), y(t),
z(t)} such that

[x(t), y(t), z(t)] = Φ T (φ(t))[X, Y, Z ], t ≥ 0, (1.57)

where Φ(·) is given by (1.45). Show that X , Y , and Z are obtained from x(·), y(·),
and z(·), respectively, through a rotation about the axis x(·) of an angle φ(·). 

It follows from Example 1.2 and Exercises 1.10 and 1.11 that if

[x(t), y(t), z(t)] = R321 (ψ(t), θ (t), φ(t))[X, Y, Z ], t ≥ 0, (1.58)

where

R321 (ψ(t), θ (t), φ(t)) = Φ T (φ(t))Θ T (θ (t))Ψ T (ψ(t)), (1.59)

1.4 Tait–Bryan Angles and Rotations 15

ψ : [0, ∞) → [0, 2π ), θ : [0, ∞) → − π2 , π2 , and φ : [0, ∞) → [0, 2π ), then the

attitude of J = {O; x(·), y(·), z(·)} with respect to I = {O; X, Y, Z } is captured by
a 3-2-1 rotation sequence. In fact, Ψ T (ψ(t))[X, Y, Z ] implies that the axes X , Y ,
and Z are obtained from x(t), y(t), and z(t), respectively, t ≥ 0, through a rota-
tion about the axis z(t) of an angle ψ(t). Moreover, Θ T (θ (t))Ψ T (ψ(t))[X, Y, Z ]
implies that Ψ T (ψ(t))X , Ψ T (ψ(t))Y , and Ψ T (ψ(t))Z are obtained from x(t),
y(t), and z(t), respectively, through a rotation about y(t) of an angle θ (t). Lastly,
Φ T (φ(t))Θ T (θ (t))Ψ T (ψ(t))[X, Y, Z ] implies that Θ T (θ (t))Ψ T (ψ(t))X , Θ T (θ (t))
Ψ T (ψ(t))Y , and Θ T (θ (t))Ψ T (ψ(t))Z are obtained from x(t), y(t), and z(t), respec-
tively, through a rotation about x(t) of an angle φ(t).

1.4.3 Properties of the Tait–Bryan Angles and Rotation

Matrices

It follows from Exercise 1.9 that R321 (·), defined in (1.42), is a rotation matrix.
Hence, it follows from Theorem A.14 that an eigenvalue of R321 (·) is equal to one,
that is, 1 ∈ spec(R321 (ψ, θ, φ)), for all ψ ∈ [0, 2π ), θ ∈ − π2 , π2 , and φ ∈ [0, 2π ).
Moreover, it follows from Theorem A.12 that there exists p ∈ R3 such that

R321 (ψ, θ, φ) p = p. (1.60)

This vector p is not affected by the rotation captured by R321 (·) and hence character-
izes the subspace of all vectors that are transformed by the R321 (·) into themselves.

Definition 1.11 (Rotation axis) Consider the rotation matrix R321 (·) defined in
(1.42). The rotation axis of R321 (·) is the eigenvector p ∈ R3 of R321 (·) associated
to the unit eigenvalue of R321 (·) such that  p = 1.

Note that if ψ(·), θ (·), and φ(·) are functions of time, then R321 (·) is a function
of time; for details, see (1.59). Consequently, also the rotation axis p(·) varies with
time.
In the following, we discuss the role of rotation matrices in the problem of express-
ing vectors in different reference frames. The first of these results establishes a rela-
tion between rotating reference frames and constant vectors.

Theorem 1.6 Let I = {O; X, Y, Z } and J = {O; x(·), y(·), z(·)} be orthonormal
reference frames centered at O, such that (1.58) is satisfied. Then,

r = r X X + rY Y + r Z Z

can be expressed in the reference frame J as

16 1 Fundamentals of Rigid Body Dynamics
⎡ T ⎤
T
R321 (ψ(t), θ (t), φ(t)) (r X X + rY Y + r Z Z ) X
⎢ T T ⎥
r (t) = ⎣ R321 (ψ(t), θ (t), φ(t)) (r X X + rY Y + r Z Z ) Y ⎦ , t ≥ 0. (1.61)
 T T
R321 (ψ(t), θ (t), φ(t)) (r X X + rY Y + r Z Z ) Z

Proof It follows from Exercise 1.8 and (1.41) that r can be expressed in the reference
frame J as

r (t) = [r X X + rY Y + r Z Z ]T x(t)x(t) + [r X X + rY Y + r Z Z ]T y(t)y(t)

+ [r X X + rY Y + r Z Z ]T z(t)z(t)
= [r X X + rY Y + r Z Z ]T R321 (ψ(t), θ (t), φ(t))X x(t)
+ [r X X + rY Y + r Z Z ]T R321 (ψ(t), θ (t), φ(t))Y y(t)
+ [r X X + rY Y + r Z Z ]T R321 (ψ(t), θ (t), φ(t))Z z(t)
 T T
= R321 (ψ(t), θ (t), φ(t)) (r X X + rY Y + r Z Z ) X x(t)
 T T
+ R321 (ψ(t), θ (t), φ(t)) (r X X + rY Y + r Z Z ) Y y(t)
 T T
+ R321 (ψ(t), θ (t), φ(t)) (r X X + rY Y + r Z Z ) Z z(t), t ≥ 0,
(1.62)

which implies (1.61). 

It follows from Theorem 1.6 that the components of

T
R321 (ψ(t), θ (t), φ(t))(r X X + rY Y + r Z Z ), t ≥ 0,

in the reference frame I are the components of r (t), expressed in the reference frame
J. It is crucial to note that the components of v in the reference frame J vary with
t because the basis vectors x(t), y(t), and z(t) vary with t. The following result
concerns the effect of the rotation of J with respect to I on a vector r that is constant
in J.

Exercise 1.12 Let I = {O; X, Y, Z } and J = {O; x(·), y(·), z(·)} be orthonormal
reference frames centered at O, such that (1.58) is satisfied. Prove that

r (t) = r x x(t) + r y y(t) + r z z(t), t ≥ 0, (1.63)

can be expressed in the reference frame I as

⎡ T ⎤
R321 (ψ(t), θ (t), φ(t)) r x x(t) + r y y(t) + r z z(t) x(t)
⎢  ⎥
r (t) = ⎣ R321 (ψ(t), θ (t), φ(t)) r x x(t) + r y y(t) + r z z(t) T y(t)⎦ . (1.64)
 T
R321 (ψ(t), θ (t), φ(t)) r x x(t) + r y y(t) + r z z(t) z(t)


1.4 Tait–Bryan Angles and Rotations 17

It follows from Exercise 1.12 that the components of

R321 (ψ(t), θ (t), φ(t))[r x x(t) + r y y(t) + r z z(t)], t ≥ 0,

in the reference frame J are the components of r (t), expressed in the reference frame
I. Theorem 1.6 and Exercise 1.12 show the central role of of the rotation matrix
R321 (·) in the problem of expressing vectors in different reference frames.
Numerous examples on the applications of Theorem 1.6 and Exercise 1.12 can be
found in the literature on dynamics. For instance, refer to [4, Chap. 2], [17, Chap.
2], and [49, Chap. 1].
Consider the rotating reference frames I and J. In the following, we prove some
relations between the angular velocity I ωJ (·) and the time derivatives of the Tait–
Bryan angles ψ(·), θ (·), φ(·). To this goal, it is key to recall that a 3-2-1 rotation
sequence captures the apparent rotation of the fixed reference frame I with respect
to the moving reference frame J.

Example 1.3 Let the attitude of the reference frame I = {O; X (·), Y (·), Z (·)} with
respect to I = {O; X, Y, Z } be captured by the Tait–Bryan angles ψ : [0, ∞) →
[0, 2π ), θ (t) = 0, t ≥ 0, and φ(t) = 0, where ψ(·) is continuously differentiable.
Then it follows from (1.41) that

X (t) = cos ψ(t)X − sin ψ(t)Y, (1.65)

Y (t) = sin ψ(t)X + cos ψ(t)Y, (1.66)
Z (t) = Z . (1.67)

Consequently, it follows from Definition 1.9 that

  
I dY T (t)  d Z T (t)  d X T (t) 
ωI (t) = Z (t)X (t) + X (t)Y (t) + Y (t)Z (t)
dt I dt I dt I
= ψ̇(t) [cos ψ(t)X − sin ψ(t)Y ]T Z X (t) + 0 · Y (t)
+ ψ̇(t) [− sin ψ(t)X − cos ψ(t)Y ]T [sin ψ(t)X + cos ψ(t)Y ] Z (t)
= −ψ̇(t)Z , t ≥ 0. (1.68)

As discussed in Example 1.2 and in Remark 1.5, (1.65)–(1.67) capture the rotation
of the reference frame I with respect to I of an angle −ψ(·). Hence, for a positive
rotation ψ(·), it holds that
I
ωI (t) = ψ̇(t)Z , t ≥ 0. (1.69)

Equation (1.69) implies that the angular velocity due to the rotation of the reference
frame I with respect to I of an angle ψ(t), t ≥ 0, about the axis z is a vector parallel
to Z , whose magnitude is equal to ψ̇(t). 
18 1 Fundamentals of Rigid Body Dynamics

Exercise 1.13 Let the attitude of the reference frame I = {O; X (·), Y (·), Z (·)}
with respect to I = {O; X , Y , Z } be captured by the Tait–Bryan angles
θ : [0, ∞) → − π2 , π2 , ψ(t) = 0, t ≥ 0, and φ(t) = 0, where θ (·) is continuously
differentiable. Prove that
I
ωI (t) = θ̇ (t)Y (t), t ≥ 0. (1.70)

Exercise 1.14 Let the attitude of the reference frame J = {O; x(·), y(·), z(·)} with
respect to I = {O; X , Y , Z } be captured by the Tait–Bryan angles φ : [0, ∞) →
[0, 2π ), ψ(t) = 0, t ≥ 0, and θ (t) = 0, where φ(·) is continuously differentiable.
Prove that
I J
ω (t) = φ̇(t)x(t), t ≥ 0. (1.71)

The next result is quite relevant for aerospace applications as it expresses the
angular velocity of a moving reference frame as a function of the time derivatives of
the Tait–Bryan angles.

Theorem 1.7 Let I = {O; X, Y, Z } and J = {O; x(·), y(·), z(·)} be orthonormal
reference frames centered at O. If (1.58) is satisfied by the continuously differentiable
functions ψ(·), θ (·), and φ(·), then
⎡ ⎤⎡ ⎤
1 0 − sin θ (t) φ̇(t)
ω (t) = ⎣0 cos φ(t) cos θ (t) sin φ(t) ⎦ ⎣ θ̇ (t) ⎦ ,
I J
t ≥ 0, (1.72)
0 − sin φ(t) cos θ (t) cos φ(t) ψ̇(t)

Proof By proceeding as in Example 1.3 and Exercises 1.13 and 1.14, introduce
the auxiliary orthonormal reference frames I = {O; X (·), Y (·), Z (·)} and I =
{O; X (·), Y (·), Z (·)}, where X , Y , Z , X , Y , Z : [0, ∞) → R3 are continu-
ously differentiable. The reference frame I is obtained from I through a rotation of
ψ(·) about the z axis, whereas I is obtained from I through a rotation of θ (·) about
the y axis.
It follows from Theorem 1.4 that
I
ωJ (t) = I ωI (t) + I ωI (t) + I ωJ (t) = ψ̇(t)Z + θ̇ (t)Y (t) + φ̇(t)x(t), t ≥ 0,
(1.73)
and it follows from Example 1.2 and Exercises 1.10 and 1.11 that
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