STATICS (ME 111)

Fall 2021

Lecture 20

Chapter 9: Center of Gravity and Centroid

Faculty of Mechanical Engineering

Chapter 9: Center of Gravity and Centroid
 CHAPTER OBJECTIVES
 To discuss the concept of the center of gravity,
center of mass, and the centroid.
 To determine the location of the center of gravity
Today’s Class

and centroid for a body of arbitrary shape and

 To determine the location of the center of gravity
and centroid for a body composed of composite
parts.
 To use the theorems of Pappus and Guldinus for
finding the surface area and volume for a body
having axial symmetry. Upcoming Class
 To present a method for finding the resultant of a
general distributed loading and to show how it
applies to finding the resultant force of a
pressure loading caused by a fluid.
 Center of Gravity
 A body is composed of an infinite number of particles of differential size,
and so if the body is located within a gravitational field, then each of these
particles will have a weight dW
 These weights will form an approximately parallel force system, and the
resultant of this system is the total weight of the body, which passes
through a single point called the center of gravity, G
Center of Gravity
Total weight of the rod is the sum of the weights of all of
its particles

The location of the center of gravity, measured from the y

axis, is determined as
Center of Gravity
 Center of Mass
 Centre of mass is the point at which the distribution of mass is equal
in all directions, and does not depend on gravitational field
 In order to study the dynamic response or accelerated motion of a
body, it becomes important to locate the body’s center of mass Cm

 Condition: ‘g’ should be uniform or constant over the entire object

 Center of Volume
• The centroid of volume is the geometric center of a body
• If the body is made from a homogeneous material, then its density r(rho)
will be constant

 Condition: ‘ρ’ should be constant in the entire object, homogenous material

Centroid of an Area
 Centroid of a line
 If a line segment (or rod) lies within the x–y plane and it can be
described by a thin curve y =f(x), then its centroid is determined from

OR
Centroid of a line
Example 9.1
Example 9.2
Example 9.2
Example 9.5
Example 9.5
Practice Problems
Examples 9.1, 9.2, 9.3, 9.4, 9.5, 9.6, 9.7
9-1, 9-4, 9-6, 9-9, 9-14, 9-19, 9-20, 9-25, 9-39, 9-45,
9-49