KINEMATICS OF PARTICLES

INSTRUCTOR : WG CDR M BABAR SAEED

COURSE: 74 (A&B) E/C
WEEK NO :2
R E F E R E N C E : T E X T B O O K ( 4 TH E D I T I O N )
ARTICLE 1/3
PA G E 3 8
 Learning Objective

 Definition of motion of points or particles

 Introduction of 3-D motion and coordinates system
 Plane motion
 Rectilinear motion
 Relation between displacement, velocity and
acceleration
 Mathematical formulation of equations for rectilinear
motion
 INTRODUCTION

 Definition
 Kinematics is that branch of dynamics which describes the
motion of bodies without reference to the forces which either
causes the motion or are generated as a result of the motion.

 Kinematics is also referred to as the “Geometry of motion”.

 The design of cams, gears, linkages, and other machine

elements to control or produce certain desired motions and the
calculation of flight trajectories for aircraft, rockets, and
spacecraft are a few examples of kinematics problems.
 MOTION OF POINTS OR PARTICLES

 Particle
 A particles is a body whose physical dimensions are so small
compared with the radius of curvature of its path that we can
treat the motion of the particle as that of a point.

 Example
 The wing span of a jet transport flying between Los Angles
and London is of no consequence compared with the radius of
curvature of its flight path, and the treatment of the airplane as
a particle or point should raise no question.
 MOTION OF A PARTICLE

If the particle is confined to a specified path, t

as with a bead sliding along a fixed wire, its
motion is said to be constrained. B
z P
If there are no physical guides, the motion is
said to be unconstrained. n
A
z
R y
This plane is called osculating plane, which
comes from the Latin word osculari meaning
to kiss. The plane that contains P and the
two points A and B, one on either side of P, Φ x path
becomes the osculating plane as the r
θ y
distance between the points approached x
zero O
 MOTION OF A PARTICLE

 The motion of particles (or rigid bodies) may be

described by using coordinates measured from fixed
reference axes ( absolute motion analysis) or by
using coordinates measured from moving reference
axes (relative motion analysis).

 Both descriptions will be developed and applied in

the theory and problems latter on in this course.
 PLANE MOTION

 Plane motion
 In this case all movements occurs in or can be represented as
occurring in a single plane.

 A large proportion of the motion of machines and structures in

engineering can be represented as plane motion. Plane
motion can be of two types
 Rectilinear motion
 Curvilinear motion
 RECTILINEAR MOTION

O P P’
-s +s

s ∆s

The change in the position coordinate during

the interval ∆t is called the displacement ∆s of
the particle. The displacement would be
negative if the particle moves in the negative s-
direction
 RECTILINEAR MOTION

 The average velocity of the particle during the

interval ∆t is the displacement divided by the time
interval or
vav  s
t
 As ∆t becomes smaller and approaches zero in the
limit, the average velocity approaches instantaneous
velocity of the particle, which is
s ds 
v  lim or v  s    (2 / 1)
t 0 t dt
 RECTILINEAR MOTION
 Velocity
 The velocity is the time rate of change of the position
coordinate s. The velocity is +ve or –ve depending on whether
the corresponding displacement is +ve or –ve.
 Acceleration
 The average acceleration of the particle during the interval ∆t
is the change in its velocity divided by the time interval or
v
aav 
t
Using the same treatment as we used for instantaneous velocity
we can define instantaneous acceleration as
dv  d 2 s 
a  v or a  2  s      (2 / 2)
dt dt
 RECTILINEAR MOTION

 The acceleration is +ve or –ve depending on

whether the velocity is increasing or decreasing.

 Note that the acceleration would be +ve if the

particle had a –ve velocity which was becoming less
negative.

 If the particle is slowing down it is said to be de-

accelerating.
 RECTILINEAR MOTION

 By eliminating the time dt between Eq 2/1 and 2/2, a

differential equation relating displacement, velocity, and
acceleration results which is,
 
v dv  a ds or s d s  s ds    (2 / 3)
 Equation 2/1, 2/2, and 2/3 are the differential equations
for the rectilinear motion of a particle.

 Problems in rectilinear motion involving finite changes in

the motion variables are solved by integration of these
basic differential equations.
 RECTILINEAR MOTION

 Interpretation of the differential equations governing

rectilinear motion is considerably clarified by
representing the relationships among s, v, a and t
graphically.
s

ds 
v s
dt

t
t1 t t2
 RECTILINEAR MOTION

 Thus the velocity may be determined at all points on the curve and
plotted against the corresponding time as shown in the figure below.

dv 
a v
dt

t
t1 dt t2
 RECTILINEAR MOTION

 The slope dv/dt of the v-t curve at any instant gives

the acceleration at that instant, and the a-t curve can
therefore be plotted
a

t
t1 dt t2
 RECTILINEAR MOTION

 The area under the v-t curve during time dt is vdt,

which from eq 2/1 is 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
s2 t2

 ds   vdt
s1 t1
or s2  s1  area under the v  t curve
 RECTILINEAR MOTION

 Similarly the area under a-t curve during time dt is

adt, which, from Eq 2/2 is dv.

 Thus the net change in velocity between t1 and t2 is

the corresponding area under the curve, which is

v2 t2

 ds   adt
v1 t1
or v2  v1  area under the a  t curve
 RECTILINEAR MOTION
 When the acceleration a is plotted as a function of
the position coordinate s, the area under the curve
during a displacement ds is ads which from eq 2/3 is
a
v dv  d (v 2) 2

s
s1 ds s2
 RECTILINEAR MOTION

 Thus the net area under the a-s curve between

position coordinates s1 and s2 is
v2 s2
1 2
 vdv   ads or (v2  v1 )  area under the a  s curve
2

v1 s1
2
 RECTILINEAR MOTION

 When the velocity v is plotted as a function of the

position coordinates, the slope of the curve at any
point A is dv/ds.
CB dv dv
v   CB  v( )  a
v ds ds

dv
A ds

v
B C s
s1 a s2
 RECTILINEAR MOTION

 The graphical representations described are useful

not only in visualizing the relationships among the
several motion quantities but also in approximating
results bt graphical integration or differentiation when
a lack of knowledge of the mathematical
relationships prevents its expression as an explicit
mathematical function.

 Experimental data and motions that involve

discontinuous relationships between the variables
are frequently analyzed graphically.
 RECTILINEAR MOTION

 If the position coordinates s is known for all values of

the time t, then successive mathematical or
graphical differentiation with respect to t gives the
velocity v and acceleration a.

 If the functional relationship between s and t is

unknown then it is determined from successive
integration of a.
 Accelerations is determined from the equations of
kinetics, which we will study in the latter part of this
course.
 RECTILINEAR MOTION

 Depending on the nature of the forces, a may be

specified as a function of t, v, or s, or as a combined
functions of these quantities. The procedure for
integrating the differential equation in each case is
indicated as follows.
 Constant acceleration
 Acceleration as a function of time a=f(t)
 Acceleration as a function of velocity a=f(v)
 Acceleration as a function of displacement a=f(s)
 CONSTANT ACCELERATION

 When a is constant, the Eqs 2/2 and 2/3 may be be

integrated directly. For simplicity with s=s0, v=v0 and
t=0 designated at the beginning of the interval, than
for a lapse time t the integrated equations become
v t

 dv  a  dt
v0 0
or v  v0  at

v s

    v0  2a( s  s0 )
2 2
vdv a ds or v
v0 s0
 CONSTANT ACCELERATION

 Substitution of the integrated expression for v into Eq

2/1 and integration with respect to t give
s t
1
 ds   (v0  at )dt or
s0 0
s  s0  v0t  at 2
2

 These relations are necessarily restricted to the

special case of constant a.
 ACCELERATION AS A FUCTION OF TIME

 a=f(t)
 Substitution of the function into the Eq 2/2 gives

f (t )  dv / dt
Multiplying by dt separates the variables and permits integration. Thus

v t t

 dv   f (t )dt
v0 0
or v  v0   f (t )dt
0
 ACCELERATION AS A FUCTION OF TIME

 From this integrated expression for v as a function of

t, the position coordinate s is obtained by integrating
Eq 2/1, which, in form, would be
s t t

 ds   vdt
s0 0
or s  s0   vdt
0

 If desired the displacement coordinate s may be

obtained by direct solution

of the second order
differential equation s  f (t )

obtained by substitution of f(t)into eqn 2/2

ACCELERATION AS A FUCTION OF VELOCITY

 a = f(v)
 Substitution of the function into the Eq 2/2 gives,
f (v)  dv
dt

which permits separating the variables and

integrating. Thus,

t v
dv
t   dt  
0 v0
f (v )
ACCELERATION AS A FUCTION OF VELOCITY

 This result gives t as function of v. then it would be necessary to solve

for v as a function of t so that Eq 2/1 can be integrated to obtain s as a
function of t.

 Alternatively the function a=f(v) can be substituted into Eq 2/3 giving

vdv=f(v)ds. The variables are now separated and the equation
integrated in the form

v s v
vdv vdv

v0
  ds or
f (v ) s0
s  s0  
v0
f (v )
 Note that the equation gives s in terms of v without explicit reference to
t.
 ACCELERATION AS A FUCTION OF DISPLACEMENT

 a=f(s)
 Substitution of the function into Eq 2/3 and
integrating give the form
v s s

    v0  2  f ( s)ds
2 2
vdv f ( s ) ds or v
v0 s0 s0
 ACCELERATION AS A FUCTION OF DISPLACEMENT

 Next we solve for v to give v=g(s), a function of s.

Now we can substitute for ds/dt for v, separate
variables and integrate in the form

s t s
ds ds
s g (s)  0 dt or t  s g (s)
0 0

 Which gives t as a function of s. Finally we can

rearrange to obtain s as a function of t
 RECTILINEAR MOTION

 In each of the foregoing cases when the acceleraton

varies according to some functional relationship, the
ability to solve the equations by direct mathematical
integration will depend on the form of the function.

 In case of excessively or awkward or difficult

integration, graphical or numerical or computer aided
methods are used.
 CONCLUSION

 What is the notion of a particle

 What is rectilinear motion
 How displacement, velocity and acceleration are
related
 How equations of motion for plane rectilinear motion
are derived.