Area moment of inertia-circular cross section

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Discussion Overview

The discussion revolves around the area moment of inertia for a circular cross-section, particularly in the context of bending beam calculations. Participants explore the derivation of the moment of inertia using polar coordinates and engage in clarifying the mathematical expressions involved.

Discussion Character

  • Technical explanation
  • Debate/contested
  • Mathematical reasoning

Main Points Raised

  • One participant presents the area moment of inertia for a circular disk about a diameter as I_d = \frac{\pi a^4}{4} and attempts to derive this using a double integral in polar coordinates.
  • Another participant challenges the initial derivation, suggesting it appears contrived and provides an alternative derivation using the relationship y = r sin(θ), leading to the same result.
  • A third participant expresses gratitude for the clarification and reflects on their previous confusion regarding the limits of integration, noting their prior experience with mass moments and radii of gyration.
  • This participant also discusses the Euler-Bernoulli Beam Equation and its implications, particularly the significance of the fourth derivative in the context of bending problems.
  • A later reply mentions that fourth derivatives are common in bending problems and references the biharmonic equation.

Areas of Agreement / Disagreement

There is disagreement regarding the initial derivation of the moment of inertia, with one participant asserting it is nonsensical while another provides a different derivation that aligns with the known answer. The discussion remains unresolved regarding the correctness of the initial approach.

Contextual Notes

Participants express uncertainty about the limits of integration and the application of polar coordinates in their calculations. The discussion also touches on the complexity of the Euler-Bernoulli Beam Equation and its derivatives.

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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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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:
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.
 
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")
 

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