BIOMECHANICS & ERGONOMICS-

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SHS.306.Lec-22

SABA RIAZ

S E M EST E R : FA L L 2 0 2 0
REFERENCE TEXT:
BA S I C B I O M EC H A N I C S – S U SA N J. H A L L
Angular Kinetics of
Human Movement
• Why sprinters run with more
swing phase of flexion of knee
than long runners?
• Why do dancers or skaters
spin rapidly with arms
closer to body?
• When spinning, however, linear momentum changes to angular
momentum. Angular momentum depends upon angular velocity
and moment of inertia.
• Angular velocity is a measure of how quickly an object is
spinning. Moment of inertia depends upon the mass of an object
and how far the mass extends from the axis of motion.
• The principle of the conservation of angular momentum holds
that an object's angular momentum will stay the same unless
acted upon by an outside force. This explains why a figure skater
spins faster when she tucks her arms in close to her body.
• When she begins spinning with her arms away from her body,
she has a large moment of inertia because more of her mass is
farther away from her axis of movement (her body). When she
tucks her arms in close to her body, her moment of inertia
decreases.
INERTIA Vs MOMENT OF INERTIA??
RESISTANCE TO
ANGULAR
ACCELERATION
 Moment of Inertia

Inertia is a body’s tendency to resist acceleration

Although inertia itself is a concept rather than a quantity that can

be measured in units, a body’s inertia is directly proportional to
its mass

According to Newton’s second law, the greater a body’s mass, the

greater its resistance to linear acceleration. Therefore, mass is a
body’s inertial characteristic for considerations relative to linear
motion
Resistance to angular acceleration is also a function of a body’s

mass.

The greater the mass, the greater the resistance to angular

acceleration. However, the relative ease or difficulty of initiating or

halting angular motion depends on an additional factor: the

distribution of mass with respect to the axis of rotation

 Moment of Inertia
Resistance to angular
motion (like linear
motion) is dependent
on mass.

The more closely mass is therefore: resistance to

distributed to the axis of angular motion is dependent
rotation, the easier it on the distribution of mass
is to rotate.
This resistance is called the
Moment of Inertia.
 Moment of Inertia

• ANGULAR FORM OF INERTIA

• resistance to changes in the state of angular
motion
I = mr2
• for a single particle I is proportional to the
distance squared
• SI unit = kg-m2
Moment of Inertia
Determining the moment of
inertia
Dependent upon RADIUS OF GYRATION:
distance from axis of rotation to a point where the body’s
mass could be concentrated without altering its rotational
characteristics

for a system of particles

I = mk2 where k = ‘radius of gyration’
 Different Axes

• Recognize that rotation can

occur about different axes
• each axis has its own
moment of inertia
associated with it
Whole Body Moment of Inertia
• consider human movement to occur about 3 principal axes
• each principal axis has a principal moment of inertia
associated with it
• when mass is distributed closer to the axis, the moment of
inertia is lower
Pike position among swimmers with change of
moment of inertia from 15 kg.m2 to 6.5 kg.m2
Y

X
Y

X
Y

X
Y
To locate the segment CM
1st measure the length of the
segment

6.8 cm

X
Y
CM of the trunk is 43.8% of the
length of the trunk away from the
suprasternale
43.8% of 6.8 cm = 3.0 cm

3.0 cm

X
Y
to find the whole body CM you need
to express the segmental CM
locations with respect to a common
reference point - we’ll use the origin

xi

yi

X
Y
Do this for every segment
Use these distances and the
segment masses to compute
the whole body CM location

xi

yi

X
Y
Plot the final coordinates of the CM

X-distance = 120 mm

Y-distance = 92 mm

X
Angular Momentum
ANGULAR MOMENTUM

• quantity of angular motion possessed by a body;

measured as the product of moment of inertia and
angular velocity
ANGULAR ANALOGUES
OF NEWTON’S LAWS
OF MOTION
Linear and Angular Kinetic
Quantities
Newton’s First Law
• A rotating body will maintain a state of constant
rotational motion unless acted on by an external
torque.
• E.g; angular momentum
Newton’s Second Law

• A net torque produces angular acceleration of a

body that is directly proportional to the magnitude
of the torque, in the same direction as the torque,
and inversely proportional to the body’s moment
of inertia.
Newton’s Third Law
• For every torque exerted by one body on another,
there is an equal and opposite torque exerted by
the second body on the first.
Centripetal Force
and
Centrifugal Force
 Centripetal Force
• Force directed toward the center of rotation for a body in
rotational motion
• also known as center-seeking force
• Centripetal force prevents the rotating body from leaving
its circular path while rotation occurs around a fixed axis
Consider Newton’s second law of motion:
SF = ma

Now substitute centripetal acceleration. In centripetal motion the

centripetal acceleration is linked to a centripetal force. You can
think of this force as being responsible for holding the object in a
circular path.
 Centripetal Force
• As is evident from both equations, the speed of
rotation is the most influential factor on the
magnitude of centripetal force, because centripetal
force is proportional to the square of velocity or
angular velocity
Formula Summary