CV1011 Mechanics of Materials

Topic 3: Geometric Properties

and Distributed Loads

A/P Yang En-Hua

Office: N1-01b-56
: 6790 5291
: [email protected]
 Learning Objectives
 Center of gravity (1-D, 2-D)
 Centroid
 Composite body
 Distributed load
 Equivalent force
 Centroid of the distribution
 Moment of inertia
 Parallel-axis theorem
 Composite body

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Geometric Properties are related to the calculation of loads (area and
centroid) and stress (area and 1st /2nd moment of area)

https://civiconcepts.com/blog/types-of-load

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How can we determine the support reaction of the beams
under distributed load?

The way to do
this is to
consider an
equivalent force
acting at the
centroid of the
distribution.

https://learnaboutstructures.com/Common-Load-Types-for-Beams-and-Frames

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Centroid C or geometric center of an
Terms
object is the arithmetic mean position of all
its points in all the coordinate directions.

Centre of Gravity (CG) is the point which

locates the resultant weight of an object
without rotation.

The centroid coincides with the CG of a

body only if the material composing the
body is uniform or homogenous (density is
constant).

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 CG of Particles in 1-D
𝑥1 𝑥2 𝑥𝑛 CG (𝑥 )

x
= × x
O W2 O
W1
Wn WR
An equivalent system:
Consider n particles in 1-D The equivalent force acting at CG shall
with corresponding coordinate 𝑥𝑖 lead to the same force and moment

The weights of each particle can be replaced by a single resultant Weight

WR acting at point CG.
WR = ∑ Wi

To find the coordinates of CG, take moments of each Wi w.r.t. an arbitrary

point (taking O in this example)

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 CG of a Body in 1-D
CG (𝑥 )
𝑥
x
= × x
O dW O
wR

Consider a body (line) in 1-D. A rigid body is made of an infinite number of

particles. To apply the same principles to the body, it is necessary to use
integration rather than a discrete summation of terms. We get the
coordinates of G by simply replacing Σ by ∫ and W by dW.

The weights of the body can be replaced by a single resultant Weight WR

acting at point CG, where dW is the weight of a small segment.
WR =

The coordinate of G can be calculated with the following,

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 (𝑥1 , 𝑦1 ) y
CG of Particles in 2-D 𝐶𝐺(𝑥 , 𝑦)
× (𝑥𝑛 , 𝑦𝑛 )
W1
Consider n particles in 2-D (𝑥2 , 𝑦2 )
with corresponding coordinate (𝑥𝑖 , 𝑦𝑖 ) Wn
W2
x
The weights of each particle can be O
replaced by a single resultant Weight (𝑥𝑛 , 𝑦𝑛 ) x
WR acting at point 𝐶𝐺(𝑥 , 𝑦) 90o CCW
rotation
WR = ∑ Wi Wn
(𝑥2 , 𝑦2 )
To find the x coordinate of CG,
𝐶𝐺(𝑥 , 𝑦)
W2

×
To find the y coordinate of CG, y O
(𝑥1 , 𝑦1 )

W1

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 CG of a Body in 2-D
Consider a body (area or line) in 2-D
y
The weights of the body can be
𝐶𝐺(𝑥 , 𝑦)
replaced by a single resultant Weight
WR acting at point 𝐶𝐺(𝑥 , 𝑦).
×
(𝑥 , 𝑦)
WR =
dW

The coordinates of CG can be x

calculated with the following O

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 Centroid (C) of a Body in 2-D
If the body is made of homogenous material of specific
weight γ, we can replace dW by γdA. The resulting formulas
define the centroid of an area.

CG: y
𝐶(𝑥 , 𝑦)
W=γ·A ×
(𝑥 , 𝑦)
dW = dγ · A + γ · dA
dA
dγ = 0 for homogenous material
dW = γ · dA x
O

C:

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 Important Points
1. are called the first moments of area about the
y and the x axis, respectively. Its values may be positive,
negative or zero depending on the coordinate system used.
2. Where a shape has an axis of symmetry, its centroid lies on
that axis, where a shape has two or three axes of symmetry,
the centroid lies at the intersection of these axes.
3. In the case of lines or curved surface, the centroids will in
general not lie on the shape.

Line with 1 axis of symmetry Area with 2 axes of symmetry Volume with 3 axes of symmetry

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 Procedure for Analysis
1. Select a differential element (vertical, horizontal or
polar) that requires the least computational work for
integration.
2. For areas the element dA is either a thin rectangle
or a sector.
3. The coordinates of the centroid C equal to the
integral of first moments of the element about each
of the coordinate axes divided by the total volume,
area or length of the shape. Centroids of common
shapes of areas are provided in the textbook.

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 Example
Locate the y centroid for the area of the triangle.
Solution:
Consider a horizontal strip of length x and thickness dy.
The area of the element is dA = x dy and its centroid is
located at a distance from the x-axis.
Integration:

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Geometric Properties of Line and
Area Elements

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Geometric Properties of Line and
Area Elements
Centroid location Centroid location Area Moment of Inertia

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 Centroid of Composite Area
A composite body may be divided into several parts, each part having a
simpler shape, such as a rectangle, triangle or semicircle.
Examples of such composite areas are the cross sections of beams
and columns.
Knowing the location of centroids of the individual parts, we can treat
each part like a segment and determine the centroid of the composite
body using the principle of moments.

This plate can be divided into

four parts: A rectangle (a), a
triangle (b), a quarter circle (c)
& a semicircular hole (d). The
hole is considered as a part
with negative area.

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y

(𝑥𝑎 , 𝑦𝑎 )
(𝑥𝑐 , 𝑦𝑐 )
× (𝑥𝑏 , 𝑦𝑏 )
(𝑥𝑑 , 𝑦𝑑 )
(𝑥, 𝑦)
x

𝑥𝑖 𝐴𝑖 𝑥𝑎 𝐴𝑎 + 𝑥𝑏 𝐴𝑏 + 𝑥𝑐 𝐴𝑐 − 𝑥𝑑 𝐴𝑑
𝑥= =
𝐴𝑖 𝐴𝑎 + 𝐴𝑏 + 𝐴𝑐 − 𝐴 𝑑

𝑦𝑖 𝐴𝑖 𝑦𝑎 𝐴𝑎 + 𝑦𝑏 𝐴𝑏 + 𝑦𝑐 𝐴𝑐 − 𝑦𝑑 𝐴𝑑
𝑦= =
𝐴𝑖 𝐴𝑎 + 𝐴𝑏 + 𝐴𝑐 − 𝐴𝑑

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 Distributed Loads

In many cases, a surface area of a body is subjected to a distributed

load. Such forces may be caused by the weight of items on the beam
or by the pressure of wet concrete on the formwork.
How do we reduce each force system to a single force that will exert
the same external effect at the supports?

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 Distributed Loads
To determine the support
reaction, one can consider The beam is subjected to a
an equivalent force of the distributed load w, which is a
distributed loads acts at the function of x and has unit of force
centroid of the distribution. per unit length.
Magnitude of resultant force:
Consider an element of force of
length dx. The force magnitude dF
is dF = w(x)⋅dx. The total load on
the beam is

Hence, the magnitude of the

resultant force is the total area A
under the loading curve.
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 Distributed Loads
FR acts through a point C under
the area of the loading curve. The
distance x can be located by
equating the moments of FR and
the distributed load about point O.

Therefore, the resultant force has

a line of action which passes
through the centroid C of that area.
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 Example
Determine the magnitude and location of the equivalent
resultant force on the beam.

Solution:
1. Consider the trapezoidal loading as two separate loads (one
rectangular and one triangular)
2. Find F1 and F2 for each of these two loadings and the
respective line of action.
3. Find the magnitude and location of the resultant force FR
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 F1 = ½×50×9=225 kN x1= 9/3 = 3 m
F2 = 50×9 =450 kN x2=½×9 =4.5 m
Resultant load FR = F1 + F2 = 675 kN

Alternatively, divide the trapezoidal loading into two triangular areas

F1= ½×100×9=450 kN x1= 9/3 =3 m

F2= ½×50×9 =225 kN x2=9(2/3)=6 m
→ FR = 675 kN, x=4m

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Important points:
1. The resultant FR is equivalent to the given distributed
load, only as far as the external forces are concerned.
2. The resultant FR may be used for determining support
reactions (where these are statically determinate).
3. It must NOT be used for determining internal forces or
deflections.

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 Moment of Inertia
The (area) moment of inertia, or the second moment of
the area about an axis, is used in formulas related to
strength and stability of structural members.
Consider the area A which lies in the x-y
plane. By definition, the moments of
inertia (Ix , Iy) of the area are determined
by the integral

Ix is called the second moment of area A about the x-axis.

Iy is called the second moment of area A about the y-axis.

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 Moment of Inertia
We can also formulate the second moment of area about
an axis ⊥ar to the plane of the area (at pole O) using the
integral JO = ∫r2 dA. JO is called the polar moment of inertial.

Note that Ix, Iy and JO are always positive and the dimension is
[L4]. Therefore, the units are in mm4, m4.
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 Example
Determine the moment of inertia for the rectangular area
about (a) the centroidal axes, (b) the base, and (c) the z’
axis passing through C.
Solution:
(a) Moment of Inertia about x’ axis:
Consider a horizontal strip of thickness dy’.
Since dA = b⋅ dy’, then

Moment of inertia about y’ axis:

Iy’ may be found by interchanging the
dimensions b and h in the above result. i.e.,

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(b) The I about axis xb passing
through the base of the rectangle
is determined in the same way as
in (a) but with a different integral
limit.

(c) The polar moment of inertia

about C:

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 Concept of Moment of Inertia

From Mechanics of Materials, Deflection (δ) of the

beam depends on
 External load (P)
 Material type
 Geometry
• Span (S)
• Cross-sectional area (A)
• Cross-sectional shape (I)

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 P
P
P

δA δB δC

Consider three different cross-sectional shapes for the beam RS.

All sections have the same area and are made of same material.
For a given load P at the mid-span, which beam will develop less deflection?
δA < δB < δC
Corresponding moment of inertia of each cross-sectional shape,
IA > IB > IC
Moment of Inertia: A quantity to measure the Resistance to Deformation
of a cross-sectional shape w.r.t. a rotational axis due to various types of
external loads (e.g., bending, torsion, etc.)
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 X’ axis
y’ axis

C axis

𝐽𝐶 > 𝐼𝑥′ > 𝐼𝑦′

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 How about this?
How to Determine the moment of inertia of
composite shape?

Rotational axis of shape

1 (passing through the
centroid of shape 1 C1 )
Shape 1
∙
× Shape 2
Rotational axis of
shape 2 (passing
∙ Rotational axis of the
composite shape (passing
through the centroid
of shape 2 C2 ) through the overall centroid C)

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 Parallel-axis Theorem
Consider an area with the centroid C.
The x’ and y’ axes pass through C.
We want to determine the moment of
inertia of the area about the x-axis,
which is parallel to, and located at a
centroid distance dy from the x’ axis.

∫A y’2 dA = moment of inertia about the centroidal x’ axis (Ix’)

∫A y’ dA = 0, because C is the centroid of the area
∫A dy2 dA = A dy2
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 Parallel-axis Theorem

𝐼𝑥 = 𝐼𝑥′ + 𝐴𝑑𝑦2
𝐼𝑦 = 𝐼𝑦′ + 𝐴𝑑𝑥2
𝐽𝑂 = 𝐽𝑐 + 𝐴𝑑2

The theorem states that the moment of inertia of an area

about an axis is equal to the moment of inertia about a
parallel centroidal axis plus Area×d2, where d is the
distance between the // axes. This theorem is very useful
especially when working with composite areas.
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Moment of Inertia for Composite Area

Consider a composite area A made of

several common shapes A1, A2, etc. The
I of A1, A2 … about their centroidal axes
are given in most engineering
handbooks

Using these data and the parallel-axis theorem, the I for the entire
area A about a reference axis equals to the algebraic sum of the I of
the areas A1, A2, etc., with respect to the same axis.

If a composite area has a hole, its I is found by subtracting the I for

the hole from the I of the entire area without hole.

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 𝑥𝑖 𝐴𝑖 𝑥1 𝐴1 + 𝑥2 𝐴2 + 𝑥3 𝐴3
y 𝑥= =
𝐴𝑖 𝐴1 + 𝐴2 + 𝐴3

𝑦𝑖 𝐴𝑖 𝑦1 𝐴1 + 𝑦2 𝐴2 + 𝑦3 𝐴3
𝑦= =
𝐴𝑖 𝐴1 + 𝐴2 + 𝐴3

(𝑥1 , 𝑦1 )
(𝑥2 , 𝑦2 )
𝐼1𝑥 = 𝐼1𝑥′ + 𝐴1 𝑑12
𝑑1
𝑑2
× x 𝐼2𝑥 = 𝐼2𝑥′ + 𝐴2 𝑑22
(𝑥, 𝑦) 𝑑3
𝐼3𝑥 = 𝐼3𝑥′ + 𝐴3 𝑑32
(𝑥3 , 𝑦3 )

𝐼𝑥 = 𝐼1𝑥 + 𝐼2𝑥 + 𝐼3𝑥

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 Example
Determine the moment of inertia about the x-
axis of the rectangular area with and without the
central circular hole.

Solution: Apply the parallel-axis theorem to

each area.
Circle:

MoI for rectangular area:

MoI for rectangular area with hole:

Ix = 112.5×106 - 11.4×106 =101×106 mm4
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 Recap
 Center of gravity (1-D, 2-D)
 Centroid
 Composite body
 Distributed load
 Equivalent force
 Centroid of the distribution
 Moment of inertia
 Parallel-axis theorem
 Composite body

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