Sec. 3.

3] Methodology of modelling by means of balance laws 101

length undergoes changes. It would not be justified when to accept length as physical
property. Conclusions from the example is as follows: a physical property of a body is a
relative notion and depends upon the adopted physical model of the body. The physical
model, in turn depends on the phenomenon considered and on the purpose of modelling.
In spite of the difficulties in defining the notion of property of a body, mentioned
before, we define the following statement: the physical properties of a body are those
physical quantities characterizing this body which do not depend upon its state (e.g. upon
position, velocity, temperature, deformation, etc.).
Thus within the framework of a rigid body model the following quantities can be
regarded as physical properties: mass m, density p, volume fi, while within the frame-
work of a deformable body some examples are mass in, Young's modulus E, Poisson's
ratio v.
Similarly such characteristics as momentum or kinetic energy of a body, or volume of
a compressible fluid cannot be regarded as physical properties since they depend upon
the current state of the body.
Thus, the group known as body contains notions, definitions, relations and theorems
concerning physical properties of the objects considered.
A good example for the elements of the group body is provided by considerations
concerning inertia of a rigid body in general motion.
B-l. Notion of the moment of inertia. When considering the dynamics of particles or
translational motion of bodies the only and sufficient measure of the inertia property of
these objects is the mass. This quantity, though, is not sufficient for describing the inertia
property in the case when we are dealing with rotational motion of a body.
Consider a small mass Am mounted on a rod of negligible mass which may rotate
freely about an axis I fixed in space (Fig. 3.5). If a constant couple is applied to the
system, the rod and mass, assumed initially at rest, will start rotating about /. The time
required for the system to reach a given speed of rotation is proportional to the mass Am
and to the square of the distance r. The product r'Am provides a measure of the inertia of

Fig. 3.5.
102 Modelling by means of balance laws [Ch. 2

the system, i.e. of the resistance the system offers to motion. For this reason, the product
r^Am is called the moment of inertia of the mass Am with respect to the axis I.
B-2. Moments of inertia of a rigid body and relevant relations. Consider now a body
of mass m which is to be rotated about an axis I (Fig. 3.6). Dividing the body into
elements of mass Amj, Am2, etc., we find that the resistance offered by the body is
measured by the sum r2Aml +r^A/n 2 +... • This s u m defines, therefore, the moment of
inertia of the body with respect to the axis /. Increasing the number of elements, we find
that the moment of inertia is equal, at the limit, to the integral

Jr 2 dm, (3.40)
where r denotes the perpendicular distance from the element of mass dm to the axis /.

Fig. 3.6.

The radius of gyration k of the body with respect to the axis / is defined by the relation
I = k2m or Jfc = V(//m). (3.41)
The radius of gyration it therefore represents the distance at which the entire mass of the
body should be concentrated if its moment of inertia with respect to / is to remain
unchanged (Fig. 3.7).
The moments of inertia of a body with respect to the coordinate axes may easily be
expressed in terms of the coordinates x, y, z of an element of mass dm. Noting, for
example that the square of the distance r from the element dm to the .x-axis is y2 + z2, we
express the moment of inertia of the body with respect to the x-axis as
2
+z2)dm. (3.42a)
Similar expressions may be obtained for the moments of inertia with respect to the y- and
z-axes. We write
Sec. 3.3] Methodology of modelling by means of balance laws 103

Fig. 3.7.

Iy=j(x2+z2)dm, (3.42b)
Iz=j(x2+y2)dm. (3.42c)
The moment of inertia of a body with respect to the origin of the coordinate system may
also be expressed in terms of the coordinates x, y, z- Since the square of the distance r of
the element of mass dm from the origin 0 is x2 + y2 + z2, we have
2
+y2 + z2)dm. (3.43)

Comparing (3.42a-c) and (3.43) we easily find that

2/ 0 = lx + Iy + rz. (3.44)
B-3. Mass products of inertia. In many instances not only moments of inertia but
also other inertia characteristics are required. To introduce some of them, let us calculate
the moment of inertia of a body with respect to an arbitrary axis I through the origin 0
(Fig. 3.8), in terms of the moment of inertia with respect to the three coordinate axes, as
well as certain other quantities to be defined below.
The moment of inertia of the body with respect to / is represented by the integral
/; = J p dm, where p denotes the perpendicular distance from the element of mass dm to
the axis /. But, denoting by X the unit vector along / and by r the position vector of the
element dm, we observe that the perpendicular distance p is equal to the magnitude
r sin 6 of the vector product A. x r. We therefore write

/, = J p2 dm = J (A x r) 2 dm. (3.45)
Expressing the square of the vector product in terms of its rectangular components, we
have
2+
h - j[(^xy- V) ( V ~ V ) 2 + ( V - Z-xZ)2] dm. (3-46)