DYNAMICS OF RIGID BODIES

LECTURE NOTES 1

Brief History

Historically, the principles of dynamics developed when it was possible to make an accurate

measurement of time. Galileo Galilei (1564-1642) was one of the first major contributors to this field.

His work consisted of experiments using pendulums and falling bodies. The most significant

contributions in dynamics, however, were made by Isaac Newton (1642-1727), who is noted for his

formulation of the three fundamental laws of motion and the law of universal gravitational attraction.

Shortly after these laws were postulated, important techniques for their application were developed by

Euler, D' Alembert, Lagrange, and others.

Definition of Terms

Mechanics - branch of the physical science that is concerned with the state of rest or motion of bodies

subjected to the action of forces.

• Statics – deals with the equilibrium of a body that is either at rest or moves with constant

velocity

• Dynamics - deals with the accelerated motion of a body.

o Kinematics – the geometry in motion.

- use to define the motion of a particle or body without consideration of the

forces causing the motion.

o Kinetics – analysis of forces causing the motion.

• The object is negligible in size and shape (particle)

• The mass is not considered in the calculations

• Rotation of the object is neglected

RECTILINEAR KINEMATICS

Rectilinear Kinematics – deals with motion of objects along straight line without any reference to forces

that cause the motion to change

• Continuous Motion - characterized by specifying, at any given instant, the particle's

position, velocity, and acceleration.

• Erratic Motion – characterized by erratic or changing motion then changing its position,

velocity and acceleration

Rectilinear Kinematics: Continuous Motion

Definition of Terms

Position – use to specify the location of a particle at any given distance.

Displacement – defined as the change of a particle’s position.

∆𝑠 = 𝑠 ′ − 𝑠
Velocity – change in distance divided by the change in time.

• If the particle moves through a displacement ∆𝑠 during the time interval ∆𝑡, the average

velocity of the particle during this time interval is

∆𝑠
𝑣𝑎𝑣𝑔 =
∆𝑡

• If we take smaller and smaller values of ∆𝑡, the magnitude of ∆𝑠 becomes smaller and smaller.

𝑑𝑠
Consequently, the instantaneous velocity is a vector defined as 𝑣 = lim , or
∆𝑡→0 𝑑𝑡

𝑑𝑠
𝑣=
𝑑𝑡

Acceleration – change in velocity divided by the change in time.

• Provided the velocity of the particle is known at two points, the average acceleration of the

particle during the time interval ∆𝑡 is defined as

∆𝑣
𝑎𝑎𝑣𝑔 =
∆𝑡

• The instantaneous acceleration at time t is a vector that is found by taking smaller and smaller

𝑑𝑣
values of ∆𝑡 and corresponding smaller and smaller values of ∆𝑣, so that 𝑎 = lim , or
∆𝑡→0 𝑑𝑡

𝑑𝑣 𝑑2 𝑠
𝑎= =
𝑑𝑡 𝑑𝑡 2
Derived Kinematic Equations given Constant Acceleration, 𝒂 = 𝒂𝒄

• Velocity as a function of time, 𝑣 = 𝑣𝑜 + 𝑎𝑐 𝑡

𝑑𝑣
𝑑𝑡 (𝑎 = ) 𝑑𝑡
𝑑𝑡
𝑣 𝑡
∫ 𝑑𝑣 = ∫ 𝑎𝑑𝑡
𝑣𝑜 0

𝑣 𝑡
𝑣 = 𝑎𝑡
𝑣𝑜 0

𝑣 − 𝑣𝑜 = 𝑎𝑡

𝑣 = 𝑣𝑜 + 𝑎𝑡
1
• Position as a function of time, 𝑠 = 𝑠𝑜 + 𝑣𝑜 𝑡 + 𝑎𝑐 𝑡 2
2

𝑑𝑠
𝑑𝑡 (𝑣 = ) 𝑑𝑡
𝑑𝑡
𝑠 𝑡
∫ 𝑑𝑠 = ∫ 𝑣𝑑𝑡
𝑠𝑜 0

𝑠 𝑡
∫ 𝑑𝑠 = ∫ (𝑣𝑜 + 𝑎𝑡)𝑑𝑡
𝑠𝑜 0

𝑠 𝑡 𝑡2 𝑡
𝑠 = 𝑣𝑜 𝑡 + 𝑎( )
𝑠𝑜 0 2 0

1
𝑠 − 𝑠𝑜 = 𝑣𝑜 𝑡 + 𝑎𝑡 2
2
1
𝑠 = 𝑠𝑜 + 𝑣𝑜 𝑡 + 𝑎𝑡 2
2

• Velocity as a function of position, 𝑣 2 = 𝑣𝑜 2 + 2𝑎𝑐 (𝑠 − 𝑠𝑜 )

𝑑𝑣 𝑑𝑠
𝑎= 𝑣=
𝑑𝑡 𝑑𝑡

𝑑𝑣 𝑑𝑠
𝑑𝑡 = 𝑎
𝑑𝑡 = 𝑣

𝑑𝑣 𝑑𝑠
=
𝑎 𝑣
 𝑣 𝑠
∫ 𝑣𝑑𝑣 = ∫ 𝑎𝑑𝑠
𝑣𝑜 𝑠𝑜

𝑣2 𝑣 𝑠
2( = 𝑎𝑠 )2
2 𝑣𝑜 𝑠𝑜

𝑣 2 − 𝑣𝑜 2 = 2𝑎(𝑠 − 𝑠𝑜 )

𝑣 2 = 𝑣𝑜 2 + 2𝑎(𝑠 − 𝑠𝑜 )

SAMPLE PROBLEMS:

1. A car is traveling at 15 m/s, when the traffic light 50 m ahead turns yellow. Determine the required

constant deceleration of the car and the time needed to stop the car at the light.

2. A train changes its speed uniformly from 60 mi/hr to 30 mi/hr in a distance of 1500 ft. what is its

acceleration?

3. A man rides his bike 5 miles to work at a steady rate. If he were to pedal 2 miles per hour faster, he

would make the trip 5 fewer minutes. What is his speed?

4. A car has an initial speed of 25 m/s and a constant deceleration of 3 m/s2. Determine the velocity of

the car when t = 4 S. What is the displacement of the car during the 4-s time interval? How much time is

needed to stop the car?

5. The car moves in a straight line such that for a short time its velocity is defined by 𝑣 = (3𝑡 2 + 2𝑡)

ft/s, where t is in seconds. Determine its position and acceleration when t = 3 s. When t = 0, s = 0.

6. a metallic particle is subjected to the influence of a magnetic field as it travels downward through a

fluid that extends from plate A to plate B. If the particle is released from rest at the midpoint C,
s=100mm, and the acceleration is 𝑎 = 4𝑠 𝑚/𝑠 2 , where s is in meters, determine the velocity of the

particle when it reaches plate B, s=200mm and the time it takes to travel from C to B.

7. A particle travels along a straight line with an acceleration of 𝑎 = ( 1 0 − 0.2𝑠) 𝑚/𝑠 2 , where s is

measured in meters. Determine the velocity of the particle when s = 10 m if v = 5 m/s at s = O.

Graphing provides a good way to handle complex motions that would be difficult to describe with

formulas. Graphs also provide a visual description of motion and reinforce the calculus concepts of

differentiation and integration as used in dynamics.

The approach builds on the facts that slope and differentiation are linked and that integration can be

thought of as finding the area under a curve.

S-T GRAPH

Plots of position vs. time can be used to find velocity vs. time curves. Finding the slope of the line

tangent to the motion curve at any point is the velocity at that point (or v = ds/dt).

Therefore, the v-t graph can be constructed by finding the slope at various points along the s-t graph.
V-T GRAPH

Plots of velocity vs. time can be used to find acceleration vs. time curves. Finding the slope of the line

tangent to the velocity curve at any point is the acceleration at that point (or a = dv/dt).

Therefore, the a-t graph can be constructed by finding the slope at various points along the v-t graph.

Also, the distance moved (displacement) of the particle is the area under the v-t graph during time Δt.

A-T GRAPH

Given the a-t curve, the change in velocity (Δv) during a time period is the area under the a-t curve.

So we can construct a v-t graph from an a-t graph if we know the initial velocity of the particle.
A-S GRAPH

This equation can be solved for v1, allowing you to solve for the velocity at a point. By doing this

repeatedly, you can create a plot of velocity versus distance.

A more complex case is presented by the a-s graph. The area under the acceleration versus position

curve represents the change in velocity (recall ∫ a ds = ∫ v dv ).

𝑠2
1
(𝑣1 2 − 𝑣𝑜 2 ) = ∫ 𝑎𝑑𝑠 = 𝑎𝑟𝑒𝑎 𝑢𝑛𝑑𝑒𝑟 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑎 − 𝑠 𝑔𝑟𝑎𝑝ℎ
2 𝑠1

This equation can be solved for v1, allowing you to solve for the velocity at a point. By doing this

repeatedly, you can create a plot of velocity versus distance.

V-S GRAPH

Another complex case is presented by the v-s graph. By reading the velocity v at a point on the curve

and multiplying it by the slope of the curve (dv/ds) at this same point, we can obtain the acceleration at

that point.

𝑑𝑣
𝑎 = 𝑣( ) = 𝑠𝑙𝑜𝑝𝑒 𝑜𝑓 𝑣 − 𝑠 𝑔𝑟𝑎𝑝ℎ
𝑑𝑠
SAMPLE PROBLEMS

1. A bicycle moves along a straight road such that its position is described by the graph shown below.

Construct the v-t and a-t graphs for 0 ≤ 𝑡 ≤ 30 𝑠.

and then decelerates at 2 m/s2. Draw the v-t and s-t graphs and determine the time t' needed to stop

the car. How far has the car traveled?

3. The v-s graph describing the motion of a motorcycle is shown below. Construct the a-s graph of the

motion and determine the time needed for the motorcycle to reach the position s = 400 ft.