Area moment of inertia-circular cross section

In summary: Area moment of inertia--circular cross sectionFrom the bending beam calculation, the moment of inertia of the cross section with regard to a coplanor axis of rotation is used. If we have a circular "beam", the area moment of inertia of a circular disk of radius a about a diameter is I_d = \frac{\pi a^4}{4} according to two separate references. I believe the integral involved can be generally stated as I_d = \int y^2 dA if y is the distance to the diameter d perpendicular to y which diameter (as all diameters of a uniformly mass distributed disk) passes through the centroid of the disk. Now
  • #1
ichiro_w
13
0
Area moment of inertia--circular cross section

From the bending beam calculation, the moment of inertia of the cross section with regard to a coplanor axis of rotation is used. If we have a circular "beam", the area moment of inertia of a circular disk of radius a about a diameter is [tex] I_d = \frac{\pi a^4}{4}[/tex] according to two separate references. I believe the integral involved can be generally stated as [tex]I_d = \int y^2 dA [/tex] if y is the distance to the diameter d perpendicular to y which diameter (as all diameters of a uniformly mass distributed disk) passes through the centroid of the disk.

Now my stab at actually evaluating this is to do a double integral in polar coordinates and long story short the only way I can come up with the agreed upon answer is [tex] \int_0^\pi\int_0^a r^2\; r\; \mathrm{dr}\;\mathrm{d\theta}[/tex] where [tex] r\;\mathrm{dr}\;\mathrm{d\theta}=dA[/tex] and [tex]r^2[/tex] is the distance to the origin (centroid)

If I were in a creative writing glass I might get a passing grade for this fudge but I really would like to understand what I am doing better than backing into an answer like this. Any help would truly be appreciated.
 
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  • #2
Your formula is non-sense, and seems to have been contrived in order to get the agreed upon answer.

Here's a correct derivation:
We have:
[tex]y=r\sin\theta[/tex]
Hence, you have:
[tex]I=\int_{A}y^{2}dA=\int_{0}^{2\pi}\int_{0}^{a}r^{3}\sin^{2}\theta{drd\theta}=[/tex]
[tex]\frac{\pi{a}^4}{4}[/tex]
as required.
 
Last edited:
  • #3
Thank you arildno,
I did that integral sometime in the past 3 years and was racking my memory to come up with it; I found another nonsense solution that agreed with the known answer but as in the one I posted (after 2 days and maybe 6 hours surfing the web searching for answers), the limits of integration didn't make sense.
Even so , the polar coordinate translations are basic and I am chagrined. It was not a waste however as this is the first time I have heard the term area moment of inertia even though I have done a lot of mass moments and radii of gyration calculations. The Euler-Bernoulli Beam Equation was under review here and it is fascinating:

[tex]\frac{d^2}{dx^2}\left[E I \frac{d^2w}{dx^2}\right]=\rho[/tex] where E is Young's Modulus, I is the area moment of inertia, w is the out of plane displacement and [tex]\rho[/tex] is force acting downward on a very short segment and has units of Force per unit length (distributed loading). The x-axis is the lengthwise polar axis passing through the center of the beam. If E and I do not vary with x, then [tex] E I \frac{d^4w}{dx^4} = \rho [/tex] This is the first ODE I have come across that utilizes the fourth derivative and since the boundary conditions, depending on how the beam is supported include up to the third derivative, I wanted to make sure that I understood what the equation was saying and be able to relate to the area moment integral was critical. Thank you again.
 
  • #4
It's been quite a while since I did bending problems; however, if I remember correctly, 4th derivatives are rather common there.
I think, for example, that the fourth order biharmonic equation occurs naturally (that is "the Laplacian of the Laplacian")
 

1. What is the formula for calculating the area moment of inertia for a circular cross section?

The formula for calculating the area moment of inertia for a circular cross section is I = πr4/4, where r is the radius of the circle.

2. How is the area moment of inertia related to the geometry of a circular cross section?

The area moment of inertia is directly related to the geometry of a circular cross section. It is a measure of the resistance of an object to changes in its rotation around a given axis. For a circular cross section, the area moment of inertia is affected by the radius of the circle, with larger radii resulting in a higher moment of inertia.

3. What is the significance of the area moment of inertia in structural engineering?

The area moment of inertia is an important parameter in structural engineering as it determines the stiffness and strength of a structure. A higher moment of inertia means that the structure is more resistant to bending and torsion, making it more stable and able to withstand larger loads.

4. How is the area moment of inertia different from the moment of inertia?

The area moment of inertia and moment of inertia are often used interchangeably, but they have slightly different meanings. The area moment of inertia is a measure of an object's resistance to changes in its rotation around a given axis, while the moment of inertia is a measure of an object's resistance to changes in its linear motion.

5. How can the area moment of inertia be used to determine the radius of gyration for a circular cross section?

The radius of gyration is the distance from the axis of rotation to a point where the entire mass of an object can be concentrated without changing its moment of inertia. For a circular cross section, the radius of gyration is equal to the square root of the area moment of inertia divided by the area of the cross section, or r = √(I/A). This can be used to determine the appropriate size and shape of a structural element for a given application.

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