ISU MODULE

Subject: CE 223 and Dynamics of Rigid Bodies

1. Title of the Module

Chapter 3: Planar Kinematics of a Rigid Body
2. Introduction
In this chapter, the planar kinematics of a rigid body will be discussed. This study is
important for the design of gears, cams, and mechanisms used for many mechanical operations.
Once the kinematics is thoroughly understood, then we can apply the equations of motion, which
relate the forces on the body to the body's motion.

3. Learning Outcome
Upon successful completion of this module, students should be able to:
 To classify the various types of rigid-body planar motion.
 To investigate rigid-body translation and angular motion about a fixed axis.
 To study planar motion using an absolute motion analysis.
 To provide a relative motion analysis of velocity and acceleration using a translating frame of
reference.
 To show how to find the instantaneous center of zero velocity and determine the velocity of a
point on a body using this method.
 To provide a relative-motion analysis of velocity and acceleration using a rotating frame of
reference.
4. Learning Content

Topic 1 Planar Rigid-Body Motion

The planar motion of a body occurs when all the particles of a rigid body move along paths which
are equidistant from a fixed plane. There are three types of rigid body planar motion, in order of
increasing complexity, they are
 Translation
This type of motion occurs when a line in the body remains parallel to its original
orientation throughout the motion. When the paths of motion for any two points on the
body are parallel lines, the motion is called rectilinear translation, Fig. a. If the paths of
motion are along curved lines which are equidistant, the motion is called curvilinear
translation, Fig. b.

 Rotation about a fixed axis

When a rigid body rotates about a fixed axis, all the particles of the body, except those
which lie on the axis of rotation, move along circular paths, Fig. c.

 General plane motion

When a body is subjected to general plane motion, it undergoes a combination of
translation and rotation, Fig. d. The translation occurs within a reference plane, and the
rotation occurs about an axis perpendicular to the reference plane.
 A. Translation

Position. The locations of points A and B on the body are defined with respect to fixed x, y
reference frame using position vectors rA and rB. The translating x', y' coordinate system is fixed in
the body and has its origin at A, hereafter referred to as the base point. The position of B with
respect to A is denoted by the relative-position vector rB/A ("r of B with respect to A"). By vector
addition, rB = rA + rB/A
Velocity. A relation between the instantaneous velocities of A and B is obtained by taking the time
derivative of this equation, which yields vB = vA + drB/A/dt. Here vA and vB denote absolute velocities
since these vectors are measured with respect to the x, y axes. The term drB/A/dt = 0, since the
magnitude of rB/A is constant by definition of a rigid body, and because the body is translating the
direction of rB/A is also constant. Therefore,
vB = vA
Acceleration. Taking the time derivative of the velocity equation yields a similar relationship
between the instantaneous accelerations of A and B:
aB =aA
The above two equations indicate that all points in a rigid body subjected to either rectilinear or
curvilinear translation move with the same velocity and acceleration.
 B. Rotation about a Fixed Axis

When a body rotates about a fixed axis, any point P located in

the body travels along a circular path. To study this motion, it
is first necessary to discuss the angular motion of the body
about the axis.

Angular Motion. Since a point is without dimension, it cannot have angular motion. Only lines or
bodies undergo angular motion. For example, consider the body shown above and the angular
motion of a radial line r located within the shaded plane.
Angular Position. At the instant shown, the angular position of r is defined by the angle θ ,
measured from a fixed reference line to r.
Angular Displacement. The change in the angular position, which can be measured as a differential
dθ , is called the angular displacement.
This vector has a magnitude of dθ , measured in degrees, radians, or revolutions, where 1 rev = 2 π
rad. Since motion is about a fixed axis, the direction of dθ is always along this axis.

the direction is determined by the right-hand rule; that is, the

fingers of the right hand are curled with the sense of rotation, so
that in this case the thumb, or dθ , points upward, Fig. a. In two
dimensions, as shown by the top view of the shaded plane, in Fig. b,
both θ and dθ are counterclockwise, and so the thumb points
outward from the page.

Angular Velocity. The time rate of change in the angular position is called the angular velocity ω
(omega). Since dθ occurs during an instant of time dt, then,
This vector has a magnitude which is often measured in rad/s,

Angular Acceleration. The angular acceleration α (alpha) measures the time rate of change of the
angular velocity. The magnitude of this vector is

it is also possible to express a as

The line of action of α is the same as that for ω , Fig. a; however, its sense of direction depends on whetherω
is increasing or decreasing. If ω is decreasing, then α is called an angular deceleration and therefore has a
sense of direction which is opposite to ω

Constant Angular Acceleration. If the If the body's angular acceleration is constant, α = αC then the
following equations can be used:

Motion of Point P.

As the rigid body in Fig. c rotates, point P travels along a

circular path of radius r with center at point O. This path is
contained within the shaded plane shown in top view, Fig.
d.
Position and Displacement. The position of P is defined by the position vector r, which extends from 0 to P.
If the body rotates dθ then P will displace ds = rdθ .

Velocity. The velocity of P has a magnitude which can be found by dividing ds = rdθ by dt so that

As shown in Figs. c and d, the direction of v is tangent to the circular path.

Both the magnitude and direction of v can also be accounted for by using the cross product of ω and rp.
Here, rp is directed from any point on the axis of rotation to point P, Fig. c.

Acceleration. The acceleration of P can be expressed in terms of its normal and tangential components.
Since at = dv/ dt and an = v2/ ρ , where ρ = r, v = ω r, and α = dω /dt, we have

The tangential component of acceleration, Figs. e and f,

represents the time rate of change in the velocity's
magnitude. If the speed of P is increasing, then at acts in the
same direction as v; if the speed is decreasing, at acts in the
opposite direction of v; and finally, if the speed is constant,
at is zero.

The normal component of acceleration represents the time

rate of change in the velocity's direction. The direction of an
is always toward 0, the center of the circular path, e and f.

Since at and an are perpendicular to one another, if needed

the magnitude of acceleration can be determined from the
Pythagorean theorem; namely
 C. Absolute Motion Analysis

A body subjected to general plane motion undergoes a simultaneous translation and rotation. If the body is
represented by a thin slab, the slab translates in the plane of the slab and rotates about an axis
perpendicular to this plane. The motion can be completely specified by knowing both the angular rotation of
a line fixed in the body and the motion of a point on the body. One way to relate these motions is to use a
rectilinear position coordinate s to locate the point along its path and an angular position coordinate θ to
specify the orientation of the line. The two coordinates are then related using the geometry of the problem.
By direct application of the time-differential equations v = ds/dt, a = dv/dt, ω = dθ /dt, and a = dω / dt, the
motion of the point and the angular motion of the line can then be related.
Topic 2 Relative-Motion Analysis: Velocity

The general plane motion of a rigid body can be described as a

combination of translation and rotation. To view these
"component" motions separately we will use a relative-motion
analysis involving two sets of coordinate axes. The x, y
coordinate system is fixed and measures the absolute position
of two points A and B on the body, here represented as a bar,
Fig. a.
Position The position vector rA in Fig. a specifies the location of the "base point" A, and the relative-
position vector rB/A locates point B with respect to point A. By vector addition, the position of B is
then rB = rA + rB/A
Displacement During an instant of time dt, points A and B undergo displacements drA and drB as
shown in Fig.b. If we consider the general plane motion by its component parts then the entire bar
first translates by an amount drA so that A, the base point, moves to its final position and point B moves to
B’, Fig. c. The bar is then rotated about A by an amount dθ so that B' undergoes a relative displacement drB/A
and thus moves to its final position B. Due to the rotation about A, drB/A = r B/A dθ and the displacement of B
is
Velocity To determine the relation between the velocities of points A and B, it is necessary to take
the time derivative of the position equation, or simply divide the displacement equation by dt.

the equation states is that the velocity of B, Fig. d, is determined by considering the entire bar to translate
with a velocity of vA, Fig. e, and rotate about A with an angular velocity ω , Fig. f. Vector addition of these two
effects, applied to B, yields vB, as shown in Fig. g. Since the relative velocity vB/A represents the effect of
circular motion, about A, this term can be expressed by the cross product vB/A = ω x rB/A ,
Topic 3 Instantaneous Center of Zero Velocity

The velocity of any point B located on a rigid body can be obtained in a very direct way by choosing the base
point A to be a point that has zero velocity at the instant considered. In this case, vA = 0, and therefore the
velocity equation, vB = vA + ω x rB/A, becomes vB = ω x rB/A . For a body having general plane motion, point A so
chosen is called the instantaneous center of zero velocity (IC), and it lies on the instantaneous axis of zero
velocity.

Location of the IC. To locate the IC we can use the fact that the velocity of a point on the body is always
perpendicular to the relative position vector directed from the IC to the point. Several possibilities exist:

• The velocity vA of a point A on the body and the angular velocity ω of the body are known, Fig. a. In this
case, the IC is located along the line drawn perpendicular to vA at A, such that the distance from A to the IC is
rA/IC = vA/ω . Note that the IC lies up and to the right of A since vA must cause a clockwise angular velocity ω
about the IC.
• The lines of action of two nonparallel velocities vA and vB are known, Fig b. Construct at points A and B line
segments that are perpendicular to vA and vB . Extending these perpendiculars to their point of intersection
as shown locates the IC at the instant considered.
• The magnitude and direction of two parallel velocities vA and vB are known. Here the location of the IC is
determined by proportional triangles. Examples are shown in Fig. c and d. In both cases r A/IC = vA/ω and rB/IC =
vB/ω If d is a known distance between points A and B, then in c, rA/IC + rB/IC = d and in Fig. d, rB/IC - rA/IC = d.
Topic 4 Relative – Motion Analysis: Acceleration

An equation that relates the accelerations of two points on a bar (rigid

body) subjected to general plane motion may be determined by
differentiating vB = vA + vB/A with respect to time. This yields
Since the relative-acceleration components represent the effect of circular motion observed from translating
axes having their origin at the base point A, these terms can be expressed as (aB/A)t = α x rB/A and (aB/A)n = -ω
2
rB/A.
Topic 5 Relative – Motion Analysis using Rotating axes

Rigid bodies (mechanisms) are constructed such that sliding will occur at their connections. The kinematic
analysis for such cases is best performed if the motion is analyzed using a coordinate system which both
translates and rotates.

Position
Consider the two points A and B shown in the Fig a. Their location is specified by the position vectors rA and
rB which are measured with respect to the fixed X, Y, Z coordinate system. As shown in the figure, the "base
point" A represents the origin of the x, y, z coordinate system, which is assumed to be both translating and
rotating with respect to the X, Y, Z system. The position of B with respect to A is specified by the relative-
position vector rB/A. The components of this vector may be expressed either in terms of unit vectors along the
X, Y axes, i.e., I and J, or by unit vectors along the x, y axes, i.e., i and j. For the development which follows,
rB/A will be measured with respect to the moving x, y frame of reference. Thus, if B has coordinates (x B, yB),
Fig. 16-32a, then

Velocity
Acceleration