Engineering Mechanics II (Dynamics) (MEng1042 )

Chapter 2: Kinematics of particles

By Haile.S

August 2017
1 08/19/2020
Contents
2.1 Introduction
2.2 Rectangular motion
2.3 Plane curvilinear motion
2.4 Coordinate systems
2.5 Relative motion
2.6 Constrained motion
 Introduction

Kinematics: is the branch of dynamics which

describes the motion of bodies without reference

to the forces that either causes the motion or are

generated as a result of the motion.

 Kinematics is often referred to as the “geometry

of motion”
Examples of kinematics problems that engage

the attention of engineers.

 The design of cams, gears, linkages, and other
machine elements to control or produce certain
desired motions, and

 The calculation of flight trajectory for aircraft,

rockets and spacecraft.

If the particle is confined to a specified path, as with a
bead sliding along a fixed wire, its motion is said to be
Constrained.

Example 1. - A small rock tied to the end of a string and

whirled in a circle undergoes constrained
motion until the string breaks
If there are no physical guides, the motion is
said to be unconstrained.

Example 2. - Airplane, rocket

The position of particle P at any time t can be

described by specifying its:

- Rectangular coordinates; X,Y,Z

- Cylindrical coordinates; r,θ,z

- Spherical coordinates; R, θ,Ф

- Also described by measurements along the tangent t

and normal n to the curve(path variable).
The motion of particles(or rigid bodies) may be

described by using coordinates measured from

fixed reference axis (absolute motion analysis)

or by using coordinates measured from moving

reference axis (relative motion analysis).

Rectilinear motion
Is a motion in which a particle moving along

a straight line(one-dimensional motion)

Consider a particle P moving along a

straight line.
Average velocity: is the time rate of change of displacement

For the time interval Δt, it is defined as the ratio of the

displacement Δs to the time interval Δt.

2.1
s
Vavapproaches
As Δt becomes smaller and = zero in the limit,
t
the average velocity approaches the instantaneous velocity
of the particle.

s ds 2.2
V  lim Vav  lim  S
t  0 t  0 t dt
Average acceleration

For the time interval Δt, it is defined as the ratio

of the change in velocity Δv to the time interval Δt.

a av 
v 2.3
t
Instantaneous acceleration

2.4(a)
v dv 
a  lim  v
t 0 t dt

v dv d  ds  d 2 s
a  lim      2  s
t 0 t dt dt  dt  dt 2.4(b)
Note:-The acceleration is positive or negative depending

on whether the velocity increasing or decreasing.

Considering equation 2.2 and 2.4(a) , we have

ds dv
dt  
v a
 vdv  ads

ds d s   
dt  
 
 s d s  s ds
s s
The above equations are the differential equations for
the rectilinear motion.
General representation of Relationship among
s, v, a & t.

1. Graph of s Vs t

 By constructing tangent to the curve at any time

t, we obtain the slope, which is the velocity
v=ds/dt
2. Graph of v Vs t

The slope dv/dt of the v-t curve at any instant gives the
acceleration at that instant.
The area under the v-t curve during time dt is vdt which is
the displacement ds
The area under the v-t curve is the net

displacement of the particle during the interval

from t1 to t2. s2 t2

 
ds
s1
 vdt
t1

s2  s2  (area under v-t curve )

3. Graph of a vs t

The area under the a-t curve during time dt is the net
change in velocity of the particle between t1 and t2.

v2 t2
v2 - v1=(area under a-t curve)
 dv   adt
v1 t1
4. Graph of a Vs s

 The net area under the curve b/n position coordinates

s1 and s2 is

v2 s2

 vdv   ads
v1 s1

1 2 2
(areas under a-s curve)
(v2 v1 ) 
2
5. Graph of v vs. s

dv
tan   ds  CB
1 v
dv CB
  vdv  CBds
ds v
 The graphical representations described are useful for:-

 visualizing the relationships among the several motion

quantities.

 approximating results by graphical integration or

differentiation when a lack of knowledge of the

mathematical relationship prevents its expression as an

explicit mathematical function .

 experimental data and motions that involve discontinuous

relationship b/n variables.

Methods for determining the velocity and
displacement functions

a) Constant acceleration, (a=const.)

- boundary conditions

at t=0 , s=s0 and v=v0

using integrating
dv
a  adt  dv
dt
v t

 dv
vo
  adt
0
 v  v o  at

 v  v o  at
 v s
Using vdv  ads   vdv   ads
vo so
2
v 2
v  vo 2
 a  s  so 
v s
  as so 
2 vo
2
Using 2
 v  vo  2a(s  s0 )
2

ds
v   ds  vdt
dt
s t
 
s
ds   o
( v o  at ) dt
0

2
at
 s  s o  v o t 
2
1
 s  s o  v o t  at 2

2
These relations are necessarily restricted to

the special case where the acceleration is

constant.

The integration limits depend on the initial

and final conditions and for a given problem

may be different from those used here.

Typically, conditions of motion are specified by the

type of acceleration experienced by the particle.

Determination of velocity and position requires two

successive integrations.

 Three classes of motion may be defined for:

- acceleration given as a function of time, a = f(t)

- acceleration given as a function of position, a = f(x)

- acceleration given as a function of velocity, a = f(v)

 b) Acceleration given as a function of time,
a=f(t)
v t  t t
dv
 a  f t dv  f  t  dt  dv   f  t  dt v t   v0   f  t  dt
dt v0 0 0
x t  t t
dx
 v t  dx  v t  dt  dx   v t  dt x t   x0   v t  dt
dt x0 0 0

c) Acceleration given as a function of position, a = f(x)

dx dx dv dv
 or
v  a
dt  or

av
fx

dt v dt dx
v x x
v
dvx
f  dx
 
v 
dv
f 
x dx2v
12 12
2v
0
fx
d
v
0 x
0 x
0
d) Acceleration given as a function of velocity, a = f(v)

v t
dv dv dv
 a  f v  dt    dt
dt f v v0
f v 0
v
dv

v0
f v
t

x v
dv v dv v dv
v  a  f v dx   dx  
dx f v x0 v0
f v
v
v dv
x  x0  
v0
f v
Class work 1
• Consider a particle moving in a straight line, and

assuming that its position is defined by the

equation
s  6t  t
2 3

• Where, t is express in seconds and s is in

meters. Determine the velocity and acceleration

of the particles at any time t.
 Assignment 1
• The acceleration of a particle is given by ,

a  4t  30 where a is in meters per second squared

and t is in seconds. Determine the velocity and
displacement as function time. The initial displacement
at t=0 is so=-5m, and the initial velocity is vo=30m/s.

Plot the velocity v and acceleration vs time t graph for

the first 10 seconds.
 Plane curvilinear motion
Curvilinear motion of a particle
When a particle moves along a curve other than
a straight line, we say that the particle is in
curvilinear motion.
Plane curvilinear motion
 The analysis of motion of a particle along a

curved path that lies on a single plane.

Consider the continuous motion of a particle along

a plane curve.

- At time t, the particle is at position P, which

is located by the position vector r measured
from some convenient fixed origin o.
- At time t   t , the particle is at P’ located by the
position vector r   r .
- The vector Δr joining p and p’ represents the change in the
position vector during the time interval Δt (displacement)
.
The distance traveled by the particle as it moves

along the path from P to P’ is the scalar length Δs

measured along the path.
The displacement of the particle, that represents

the vector change of position and is clearly

independent of the choice of origin.
 The average velocity of the

particle between P and P’

defined as: r
V av 
t
 which is a vector whose

direction is that of  r.
 The instantaneous velocity, v
r dr 
v lim
t  0
v av  lim
t  0 t

dt
r
Note: As ∆t approaches zero, the direction of
 rapproaches to the tangent of the path.
Hence the velocity V is always a vector tangent to the
path.
ds 
v  v   s
dt

The derivative of a vector

is itself a vector having both

a magnitude and a direction.

Note: there is a clear distinction between the
magnitude of the derivative and the derivative of
the magnitude.

- The magnitude of the derivative.


dr
 r  v  v  speed
dt
- The derivative of the magnitude

d r dr 
  r
dt dt

r -The rate at which the length of the

position r vector is changing.

The magnitude of the vector v is called
the speed of the particle.

pp ' s
v  lim t  0 t
 lim
t  0 t

ds
v 
dt
 Consider the following figure
- let the velocity at p be v

- let the velocity at p’ be v 
Let us draw both vectors v and v’ from the same
origin o’.
The vector ∆v joining Q and Q’ represents the
change in the velocity of the particle during the
time interval ∆t. v’=∆v+v………..(how?)
Average acceleration, of the particle between P
 v
and P’ is defined as  t , which is a vector and

whose direction is that of ∆v.

v
a av 
t
Instantaneous acceleration, a

 
v d v
a  lim aav  lim  vr
t dt
Note: The direction of the acceleration of a
particle in curvilinear motion is neither
tangent to the path nor normal to the
path.
 Suppose we take the set of velocity vectors and trace

out a continuous curve; such a curve is called a

hodograph.
 The acceleration vector is tangent to the hodograph,
but this does not produce vectors tangent to the path
of the particle.
 Rectangular co-ordinates (x-y-z)

This is particularly useful for describing motions

where the x, y and z-components of acceleration are
independently generated.
When the position of a particle P is defined at any
instant by its rectangular coordinate x,y and z, it is
convenient to resolve the velocity v and the
acceleration a of the particle into rectangular
components.
Resolving the position vector r of the particle
into rectangular components,
r=xi+yj+zk
Differentiating


 dr d ˆ ˆ
v  ( xi  yj  zkˆ)
dt dt
  
v  xi  y j  z k
 • All of the following are equivalent:


 dr d ˆ ˆ
v  ( xi  yj  zkˆ)
dt dt
dx ˆ dy ˆ dz ˆ
 i j k
dt dt dt
 x iˆ  y ˆj  z kˆ

 v x iˆ  v y ˆj  v z kˆ
• Since the speed is defined as the magnitude of the velocity, we
have:

v  v x2  v y2  vz2
 Similarly,


 dv d ˆ
a   (vxi  vy ˆj  vz kˆ)
dt dt
dvx ˆ dvy ˆ dvz ˆ
 i j k
dt dt dt
 v x iˆ  v y ˆj  v z kˆ
 xiˆ  yˆj  zkˆ
• The magnitude of the acceleration vector is:

a  a a a 2
x
2
y
2
z
From the above equations that the scalar components of the
velocity and acceleration are

 

v  x v y  y v  z
x z

 
a  y  z
a x  x y a z

The use of rectangular components to describe the position,

the velocity and the acceleration of a particle is particularly
effective when the component ax of the acceleration
depends only upon t, x and/or vx, similarly for ay and az.
The motion of the particle in the x direction, its
motion in the y direction, and its motion in the z
direction can be considered separately.

Projectile motion

An important application of two – dimensional

kinematic theory is the problem of projectile

motion.
 Assumptions
Neglect the aerodynamic drag, the earth
curvature and rotation,
The altitude range is so small enough so that the

acceleration due to gravity can be considered

constant, therefore;
 Rectangular coordinates are useful for the trajectory
analysis.
In the case of the motion of a projectile, it can
be shown that the components of the
acceleration are
  
ax  x  0 ay  y  g az  z  0

Boundary conditions

at t=0 ; x=x0 ,y=y0; vx=vxo and vy=vy0

x  x  v t
Position 0 x 0

1
y  y 0  v y 0 t  gt 2

2
z  z o  v z o t
Velocity

v x  x  v x0 • In all these expressions,
the subscript zero

denotes initial conditions
v y  y  v y 0  gt

v z  z  v zo
2 2
v y  v yo  2 g ( y  yo )

But for two dimensional motion of the projectile,

x  x0  v x0t 
vx  x  vx0
1
y  y0  v y0t  gt 2

2 v y  y  v y 0  gt
, 2 2
v y  v yo  2 g ( y  y o )
 If the projectile is fired from the origin O, we have

xo=yo=0 and the equation of motion reduced to

x  v x0t v v
x x0
1
y v y0t  gt 2
v y  v y 0  gt
2
Curvilinear motion
Normal and tangential coordinates (n-t)
 Normal and tangential coordinate

When a particle moves along a curved

path, it is sometimes convenient to

describe its motion using coordinates
other than Cartesian.
When the path of motion is known, normal
(n) and tangential (t) coordinates are often
used.
They are path variables, which are
measurements made along the tangent t and
normal n to the path of the particle.
The coordinates are considered to move along

the path with the particle.

In the n-t coordinate system, the origin is

located on the particle (the origin moves with

the particle).
The t-axis is tangent to the path (curve) at the

instant considered, positive in the direction of

the particle’s motion.
The n-axis is perpendicular to the t-axis with

the positive direction toward the center of

curvature of the curve.
The coordinate n and t will now be used to
describe the velocity v and acceleration a.
• Similarly to the unit vectors i and
j introduced for rectangular
coordinate system, unit vectors
for t-n coordinate system can be
used.

• For this purpose we introduce

unit vector
• et in the t-direction
• en in the n-direction.
et - directed toward the
direction of motion.
en-directed toward the center
of curvature of the path.
 During the differential

increment of time dt, the

particle moves a differential

distance ds along the curve

from A to A’.
 With the radius of curvature

of the path at this position

designated by ρ, we see that

ds = ρdβ
 velocity
The magnitude of the velocity is:-
 ds d d
v v   
dt dt dt
Since it is unnecessary to consider the

differential change in  between A and A’,

  
v  vet  et ........................(1)

 Acceleration
The acceleration a of the particle was defined
by:  dv d
a    vet 
dt dt
 Now differentiate the velocity by applying the

ordinary rule (chain rule) for the differentiation of

the product of a scalar and a vector.
 dv d dv det
a    vet   et  v
dt dt dt dt
  
a  v et  v et
 de t
To find the derivative of consider the following
dt
figure
Using vector addition
e’t = et + ∆et
Since the magnitude
| e’t |= | et | = 1
 The unit vector et correspondingly changes to e’t and the
 .

vector difference d et

 Magnitude of d et equal to t d  = d  the arc length

e
 
de en
The direction of t and is given by
    
   d et  d  
d et  en d  en  d e
 et   en
d dividing by dt d t
t
  en
 dt 

Substitution,
v s d  1 ds
 , d  
  d t  dt
 v 
et  en

The acceleration becomes

 v 2  
a  en  v et

  
a  a n  a t

2 2
a  an  at

v2
a n



dv
at  dt  v
Circular Motion
Circular motion is an important special case of plane
curvilinear motion where the radius of curvature ρ becomes
the constant radius r of the circle and the angle β is
replaced by the angle θ measured from any convenient
radial reference to OP.
The velocity and the acceleration of the particle P
becomes:
Note:

• an is always directed towards the center of curvature

of the path.

• at is directed towards the positive t-direction of the

motion if the speed v is increasing and towards the

negative t-direction if the speed v is decreasing.

2
• v
At the inflection point in the curve, the normal

acceleration, goes to zero since ρ becomes infinity.

APPLICATIONS

Cars traveling along a

clover-leaf interchange
experience an acceleration
due to a change in speed as
well as due to a change in
direction of the velocity.
Polar coordinate(r- ѳ)
The third description for plane
curvilinear motion.
Where the particle is located by the

radial distance r from a fixed pole and

by an angular measurement ѳ to the
radial line.
• Polar coordinates are particularly useful

when a motion is constrained through the

control of a radial distance and an angular
position,
• or when an unconstrained motion is
observed by measurements of a radial
distance and an angular position.
• An arbitrary fixed line,

such as the x-axis, is

used as a reference for
the measurement ѳ.
• Unit vectors er and eѳ
are established in the
positive r and ѳ
directions, respectively.
 to the particle at A has a
The position vector
r
magnitude equal to the radial distance r and a
direction specified by the unit vector er.
We express the location of the particle at A by

the vector

 
• r  r.er
 Velocity
 The velocity is obtained by differentiating the vector r.
  
dr dr.er dr  der
v   er  r
dt dt dt dt
  
v  r .er  r. er
 Where the unit vector er now has a derivative because its
direction changes.
 We obtain the derivation in exactly the same way that we

derived for et.

To find the derivative of der consider the
following figure dt
Using vector addition
e’r = er + ∆er
e’ѳ = eѳ + ∆eѳ
Since the magnitude
|e’r| = |er| = |e’ѳ|= |eѳ| = 1
Dividing both sides by dt, we have

  
der d  der 
 e    .e
dt dt dt
 
de d  de  
 er     .er
dt dt dt
Therefore the velocity equation becomes;

 
dr  der   
v  er  r  r .er  r. e
dt dt
Where
 and 
vr  r v  r.
2 2
v  vr  v
 v 
  tan 
1

 vr 
The r-component of v is merely the rate at which

the vector r stretches.

The ѳ-component of v is due to the rotation of r.
Acceleration
Differentiating the expression for v to obtain the
acceleration a.
 2
 dv d r d     

a  2   r er  r  e 
dt dt dt  
   
 dr   der dr   d   de
a  fromer the
But  derivation
 r previous e  r e  r 
dt dt dt dt dt

der   de  
  .e , and    .er
dt dt
Substituting the above and simplifying

           
  
a  r er  r  e  r  e  r  e  r     er
 
    2         
 a   r  r  er   r   2 r  e
   
Where

   2  2
a  a r  a
2
ar   r  r  
   a 
  tan 
1

    
a   r   2 r    ar 
 
• For motion in a circular path
• Velocity
 
v  r .er  r. e
Where, because r=constant

r 0

v
• Acceleration  r. e
where,
 
r r 0

 2
 

 a    r  er   r  e
   
Relative motion
Relative motion analysis : is the motion analysis of
a particle using moving reference system
coordinate in reference to fixed reference
system.
• In this portion we will confine our attention to:-

– moving reference systems that translate but do not

rotate.
– The relative motion analysis is limited to plane

motion.
• Note: in this section we need

1. Inertial(fixed) frame of reference.

2. Translating(not rotating) frame of

reference.
Consider two particles A and B that may have
separate curvilinear motion in a given plane or in
parallel planes.
X,Y : inertial frame of reference
X,y : translating coordinate system
• Using vector addition:
• position vector of particle B is

r B  r A  r B/ A
Where: rA, rB – absolute position vectors

rB/A – relative position vector of particle B

(B relative to A or B with respect
to A)
Differentiating the above position vector once we

obtain the velocities and twice to obtain

accelerations. Thus,
- Velocity - Acceleration

dr B dr A dr B/ A dv B dv A dv B/ A
   
dt dt dt dt dt dt
v B  v A  v B/ A a B  a A  a B/ A
• Note: In relative motion analysis, we employed
the following two methods,

1. Trigonometric(vector diagram) – A sketch of

the vector triangle is made to reveal the
trigonometry

2. Vector algebra – using unit vector i and j,

express each of the vectors in vector form.
Example 1
• A 350m long train travelling at a constant speed of 40m/s crosses

over a road as shown below. If an automobile A is traveling at 45m/s

and is 400m from the crossing at the instant the front of the train
reaches the crossing, determine
a) The relative velocity of the train with respect to the automobile,
and
b) The distance from the automobile to the end of the last car of the
train at the instant.
Example 2
 For the instant represented, car A has a speed of

100km/h, which is increasing at the rate of 8km/h

each second. Simultaneously, car B also has a speed of
100km/h as it rounds the turn and is slowing down at
the rate of 8km/h each second. Determine the
acceleration that car B appear to have an observer in
car A.
Example 3
• For the instant represented, car A has an acceleration

in the direction of its motion and car B has a speed of

72km/h which is increasing. If the acceleration of B
as observed from A is zero for this instant,
• Determine the acceleration of A and the rate at
which the speed of B is changing.
 Example 4
 Airplane A is flying horizontally with a constant speed

of 200km/h and is towing the glider B, which is gaining

altitude. If the tow cable has a length r=60m and
is increasing at the constant rate of 5 degrees per
second, determine the velocity and acceleration of the
glider for the instant when =15
 THANK YOU VERY MUCH!

89 By Haile.S 08/19/2020