Centroids

Centroid
• Center of mass for a system
 The point where all the mass seems to be
concentrated
 If the mass is of constant density this point is
called the centroid. It is considered to be
centered at geometric center

4kg 10kg 6kg

•

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 Centroid
• Each mass in the system has a "moment"
 The product of the mass and the distance
from the origin

4kg 10kg 6kg

 "First moment" is the sum of all the moments

• The centroid is m1 x1  m2 x2
x
m1  m2 3
 Centroid
• Centroid for multiple points
First moment of Also
n

m x
the system notated Mx,
i i Also notated My, moment
about
x i 1
n
moment about
y-axis x-axis

 mi n

Total mass of the

i 1 m y i i
system Also notated m, y i 1
n

m
the total mass

• Centroid about x-axis i 1

i
4
 Centroid
• The location of the centroid is the ordered
pair ( x , y )
My Mx
x y
m m

• Consider a system with 10g at (2,-1), 7g at

(4, 3), and 12g at (-5,2)
 What is the center of mass? 5
 Centroid
• Given 10g at (2,-1), 7g at (4, 3), and 12g
at (-5,2)

7g
12g

10g

M y  10  (2)  7  4  12  (5)
M x  10  (1)  7  3  12  2
m  10  7  12 x ? y ? 6
 Center of Mass vs Center of Gravity

The center of mass is the mean position of the mass in an object.

Then there's the center of gravity, which is the point
where gravity appears to act. For many objects, these two points are in
exactly the same place. But they're only the same when the
gravitational field is uniform across an object.

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 FIRST MOMENT OF AREA

The first moment of area equals the summation of area time's

distance to an axis. It is a measure of the distribution of the area of a
shape in relationship to an axis. First moment of area is commonly
used in engineering applications to determine the centroid of an object
or the statically moment of area.

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 Centroid
• Consider a region under
a curve of a material of
uniform density •
a b
 We divide the region into x
rectangles
 Mass of each considered to be centered at
geometric center
 Mass of each is the product of the density, ρ
and the area
 We sum the products of distance and mass 9
Centroid of Area Under a Curve
Area
• First moment with respect
to the y-axis b
M y     x  f ( x) dx
a

• First moment with respect

to the x-axis 1
b
   f ( x)
2
Mx 
2  a
dx

• Mass of the region

b
m     f ( x) dx
a
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 Centroid of Region Between
Curves
• Moments f(x)

b
g(x)
M y     x   f ( x )  g ( x )  dx
a
b
1
Mx    
2a
 f ( x)  g ( x)  dx
2 2

• Mass Centroid
b
My Mx
m      f ( x)  g ( x)  dx x y
a m m
11
Center of Gravity of a 2D Body
• Center of gravity of • Center of gravity of
a plate a wire

 M y xW   xW
  x dW
 M y yW   yW
  y dW

5 - 12
First Moments of Areas and Lines
• An area is symmetric with respect to an axis
BB’ if for every point P there exists a point
P’ such that PP’ is perpendicular to BB’ and
is divided into two equal parts by BB’.

• The first moment of an area with respect to

a line of symmetry is zero.
• If an area possesses a line of symmetry, its
centroid lies on that axis
• If an area possesses two lines of
symmetry, its centroid lies at their
• An area is symmetric
intersection.
with respect to a
center O if for every element dA at (x,y)
there exists an area dA’ of equal area at
(-x,-y).
• The centroid of the area coincides with
5 - 13 the center of symmetry.
 Try It Out!
• Find the centroid of
the plane region
bounded by
y = x2 + 16 and
the x-axis over
the interval 0 < x < 4
 Mx = ?
 My = ?
 m=?
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 Centroids of Common Shapes of Areas

5 - 15
Centroids of Common Shapes of Lines

5 - 16
 Centroid of Solid of Revolution
f(x)
• Mass = ρ • V
b
m       f ( x)  dx
2

a b

• Moment about x-axis = 0

• Moment about y-axis
b
M y      x   f ( x )  dx
2

a
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Assignments

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