ENGINEERING DYNAMICS

LECTURE 2

Ayaz Mahmood Khan

 Redefining Particle
 A Particle is a body whose physical dimensions are so small
compared with the radius of curvature of its path that we may
treat the motion of the particle as that of a point.
 For Example wingspan of a jet transport flying between Los
Angeles and NewYork is of no consequence compared with the
radius of curvature of its flight path.
 Thus treatment of the airplane as a particle or
point is an acceptable approximation.
Describing Motion of Particle
 The figure shows particle P moving along
some general path in space.
 If the particle is confined to a specific path ,
its motion is said to be constrained
 If there are no physical guides,
the motion is said to be unconstrained
 The motion of P can also be described by
measurements along the tangent t and
normal n to the curve. These measurements
are called path variables
Choice of Coordinates
The position of Particles can be described by
specifying its :
 Rectangular Coordinates (x ,y , z)

 Cylindrical Coordinates (r, θ, z)

 Spherical Coordinates (R, θ, Φ )

Absolute and Relative Motion Analysis
The motion of particles ( or Rigid bodies ) can be
described by :
 Using Coordinates measured from the Fixed

reference Axes ( Absolute Motion Analysis)

 Using Coordinates from moving Reference axes

( Relative Motion Analysis)

INTELLIGENCE CHECK
 When you add two letters , the five letter word
becomes shorter . What is it ?
 Concept of Plane Motion (Rectilinear Motion)
 Rectilinear Motion is a motion along a straight line
 The position of P at any instant
of time t can be specified by its
distance s measured from reference
point O fixed on the line
 At time t+Δt, the particle has moved to PI and its coordinates
become s+Δs.
 The change in position coordinate during interval Δt is called
displacement Δs of the particle
 The displacement would be negative if the particle moved in the
negative s-direction ( As shown in Figure)
 Velocity
 The Average velocity of a particle during the
interval Δt is given by :
 Vav = Δs/Δt
 As Δt becomes smaller and approaches zero in the
limit, the average velocity approaches the
instantaneous velocity of the particle given by :
 Acceleration
 The Average acceleration of a particle during the
Note : Acceleration would be
interval Δt is given by : positive if a particle had a
negative velocity which was
aav = Δv/Δt becoming less negative
 As Δt becomes smaller and approaches zero in the
limit, the average acceleration approaches the
instantaneous acceleration of the particle given by :
 Velocity and Acceleration
 By Eliminating dt from the velocity and acceleration
expressions we obtain a differential equation relating
displacement , velocity and acceleration :

 All the equations presented till now are differential

equations for the rectilinear motion of the particle
Note : positive directions for
v and a are the same as the
positive direction for s
GRAPHICAL INTERPRETATIONS (RECTILINEAR MOTION)
Slope of Curve
 By Constructing Tangent to the curve at any time t ,slope is obtained
,which is velocity : v = ds/dt
 In a similar way velocity can be determined at all points on the
curve and plotted against time (shown in fig(b))

Displacement time graph Velocity time graph

GRAPHICAL INTERPRETATIONS (RECTILINEAR MOTION)
Slope of Curve
 Similarly, the slope dv/dt of the v-t curve at any instance gives the
acceleration at that instant , and a-t curve can therefore be plotted
as shown

Acceleration time graph

GRAPHICAL INTERPRETATIONS (RECTILINEAR MOTION)
Area Under Curve
 The area under the v-t curve during time dt
is vdt.
 vdt is basically the displacement ds
 Consequently the net displacement of the
particle during the interval from t1 to t2
is the corresponding area under the curve ,
which is :
GRAPHICAL INTERPRETATIONS (RECTILINEAR MOTION)
Area Under Curve
 The area under the a-t curve during time dt
is adt.
 adt is basically the velocity dv
 Consequently the net change in velocity of
the particle between t1 and t2 is the
corresponding area under the curve , which
is :
GRAPHICAL INTERPRETATIONS (RECTILINEAR MOTION)
Acceleration a plotted as a function of position coordinate s
 The area under the curve during a
displacement ds is ads.
 We know that ads=vdv
 vdv is d(v2/2 )
 Thus the net area under the curve between
position coordinates s1 and s2 :
GRAPHICAL INTERPRETATIONS (RECTILINEAR MOTION)
Velocity v plotted as a function of position coordinate s
 The slope of curve at any point A is dv/ds
 By Similar Triangles we see CB/v = dv/ds
 We also know that vdv=ads
 Thus CB = a (acceleration)
KEY CONCEPTS for Constant Acceleration
Constant Acceleration
 When a is constant then, the equations below can
be integrated directly :
a=dv/dt and vdv=ads
KEY CONCEPTS for Constant Acceleration
Constant Acceleration
 Substitution of the above derived expression of velocity
into v=ds/dt and integration with respect to t gives :

 The foregoing equations have been integrated for

constant acceleration only. DO NOT use these equations
for problems involving variable acceleration.
INTELLIGENCE CHECK
 What two keys cannot open any door ?
Sample Problem 2/1
SOLUTION
 PART A (STEP 1)
Carryout Successive differentiation to find velocity
and acceleration :
s=2t3 -24t +6
v=ds/dt = 6t2 -24 m/s
a=dv/dt =12t m/s2
SOLUTION
 PART A (STEP 2)
 Substitute v=72m/s into the velocity expression :
72= 6t2 -24
t = + 4 , thus t=4s
SOLUTION
 PART B (STEP 1)
 Substitute v=30m/s in velocity expression :

30= 6t2 -24

NOTE : Do not Confuse s
t = + 3 , thus t=3s (used for seconds) and s
(used for position
coordinate/displacement)
SOLUTION
 PART B (STEP 2)
 Find acceleration by substitution of t=3s :
a=12(3) = 36 m/s2
SOLUTION
 PART C (STEP 1)
 To find the net displacement during the specified
interval substitute t=4s and t=1s in the s expression:
s=2t3 -24t +6
s4 =2(4)3-24(4)+6=38
s1 =2(1)3-24(1)+6=-16
Δs = s4 – s1= 38-(-16)= 54 m
SAMPLE PROBLEM 2/2
x
SOLUTION
 The problem clearly says ‘Constant Acceleration’
and thus the earlier derived expressions can be
safely applied !
 STEP 1
SOLUTION
 vx =90- 10t ft/sec
vx is found at t=8s and t=12s as follows :
vx =90- 10(8)=10ft/sec
vx =90- 10(12)=-30ft/sec
SOLUTION
 STEP 2
x-coordinate is basically the expression of total
distance travelled.
 The total distance travelled will be area under the
v-t curve :
SOLUTION
Solving yields :
 x=-5t2+90t-80 ft

 Now, find x for t=8s and t=12s

For t=8s x=-5(8)2+90(8)-80=320ft

For t=12s x=-5(12)2+90(12)-80=280ft
SOLUTION
 STEP 3 (finding Maximum x-coordinate)
From the graph it can be seen that after t=9s
,motion is in the negative x-direction
Thus we find x at t=9s :
xmax= -5(9)2+90(9)-80=325ft