KINEMATICS OF

RIGID BODIES
Introduction
In rigid body kinematics, we use the relationships
governing the displacement, velocity and acceleration,
but must also account for the rotational motion of the
body. Description of the motion of rigid bodies is
important for two reasons:

1) To generate, transmit or control motions by using cams, gears

and linkages of various types and analyze the displacement,
velocity and acceleration of the motion to determine the
design geometry of the mechanical parts. Furthermore, as a
result of the motion generated, forces may be developed
which must be accounted for in the design of the parts.
2) To determine the motion of a rigid body caused by the forces
applied to it. Calculation of the motion of a rocket under the
influence of its thrust and gravitational attraction is an
example of such a problem.
Rigid Body Assumption

A rigid body is a system of particles for which the

distances between the particles and the angle between
the lines remain unchanged. Thus, if each particle of
such a body is located by a position vector from
reference axes attached to and rotating with the
body, there will be no
change in any position
vector as measured from
these axes. Of course this
is an idealization since all
solid materials change shape
to some extent when forces
are applied to them.
Nevertheless, if the movements associated with the
changes in shape are very small compared with the
movements of the body as a whole, then the
assumption of rigidity is usually acceptable.

For example, the displacements due to the flutter of

an aircraft wing do not affect the description of the
aircraft as a whole and thus the rigid body assumption
is acceptable.

On the other hand, if the problem is one of describing,

as a function of time, the internal wing stress due to
wing flutter, then the relative motions of portions of
the wing cannot be neglected, and the wing may not be
considered as a rigid body.
Plane Motion
A rigid body executes plane motion when all parts of
the body move in parallel planes. The plane of motion
is considered, for convenience, to be the plane which
contains the mass center, and we treat the body as a
thin slab whose motion is confined to the plane of the
slab. This idealization adequately describes a very
large category of rigid body motions encountered in
engineering.

The plane motion of a rigid body is divided into several

categories:
 Translation

It is any motion in which every line

in the body remains parallel to its
original position at all times. In
translation, there is no rotation of
any line in the body.

In rectilinear translation, all

points in the body move in parallel
straight lines.

Rocket test sled

In curvilinear translation, all points move on congruent
curves.

In each of the two cases of translation, the motion of the

body is completely specified by the motion of any point in
the body, since all the points have the same motion.
Fixed Axis Rotation

Rotation about a fixed axis is the

angular motion about the axis. All
particles in a rigid body move in
circular paths about the axis of
rotation and all lines in the body which
are perpendicular to the axis of
rotation rotate through the same
angle at the same time.
General Plane Motion
It is the combination of translation
and rotation.
We should note that in each of the examples
cited, the actual paths of all particles in the
body are projected onto the single plane of
motion.

Analysis of the plane motion of rigid bodies is

accomplished either by directly calculating the
absolute displacements and their time
derivatives from the geometry involved or by
utilizing the principles of relative motion.
Rotation
The rotation of a rigid body is described by its angular
motion. The figure shows a rigid body which is rotating as it
undergoes plane motion in the plane of the figure. The
angular positions of any two lines 1 and 2 attached to the
body are specified by q1 and q2 measured from any
convenient fixed reference direction.
Because the angle b is invariant, the
relation q2 = q1 + b upon differentiation
with respect to time gives q2  q1 and
q2  q1 or, during a finite interval,
D q2 = D q1. Thus, all lines on a rigid body
in its plane of motion have the same
angular displacement, the same angular
velocity and the same angular
acceleration.
The angular motion of a line depends only on its angular
position with respect to any arbitrary fixed reference
and on the time derivatives of the displacement. Angular
motion does not require the presence of a fixed axis,
normal to the plane of motion, about which the line and
the body rotate.
Angular Motion Relations
The angular velocity w and angular acceleration a of a rigid body in
plane rotation are, respectively, the first and second time
derivatives of the angular position coordinate q of any line in the
plane of motion of the body. These definitions give

dq 
w q
dt
dw d 2q 
a  w or a  2 q
dt dt
ω dω  α dq or q dq  q dθ
In each of these relations, the positive direction for w and a,
clockwise or counterclockwise, is the same as that chosen for q.
For rotation with constant angular acceleration, the relationships
become

w  w 0  at
w  w0  2a q  q 0 
2 2

1 2
q  q 0  w0t  a t
2
Here q0 and w0 are the values of the angular position coordinate and
angular velocity at time t = 0 and t is the duration of the motion
considered.

As seen, the relationships given for the rotary motion of rigid

bodies are analogous to those derived for the particle.
Rotation About a Fixed Axis
When a rigid body rotates about a fixed
axis, all points other than those on the axis
move in concentric circles about the fixed
axis. Thus, for the rigid body in the figure
rotating about a fixed axis normal to the
plane of the figure through O, any point
such as A moves in a circle of radius r. So
the velocity and the acceleration of point A
can be written as

v  rw
an  rw  v / r  vw
2 2

at  ra
These quantities may be expressed alternatively using the cross
product relationship of vector notation. The vector formulation is
especially important in the analysis of three dimensional motion. The
angular velocity
 of the rotating body may be expressed by the
vector w normal to the plane of rotation and having a sense
governed by the right hand rule. From the definition of
 the vector

cross product, the vector v is obtained by crossing w into r. This
cross product gives the correct magnitude and direction for v .

   
v  r  wr
The order of the vectors to be
crossed must be retained. The
reverse order gives
  
r  w  v
 The acceleration of point A is obtained by differentiating the cross
product expression for v , which gives

     
a  v  wr wr
    
 w  w  r   w  r
   
 w v a r
 
Here a  w stands for the angular
acceleration of the body. Thus, we can
write   
v  wr
   
an  w  w  r 
  
at  a  r
For three dimensional motion of a rigid body,

the angular velocity vector w may change
direction as well as magnitude, and in this
case, the angular acceleration, which is the
 
time derivative of angular velocity, a  w ,

will no longer be in the same direction as w .
PROBLEMS
1. The angular velocity of a gear is controlled according to
w = 12 – 3t2, where w in rad/s is positive in the clockwise
sense and where t is the time in seconds. Find the net angular
displacement Dq from the time t = 0 to t = 3 s. Also find the
total number of revolutions N through which the gear turns
during the three seconds.

dw dq
 a  6t w dq  wdt
dt dt

 
3
q
q  12t  t 3  12 3  33  9 rad
3 3
0 dq  0 12  3t 2
dt ,
3 0
Dq  9 rad
PROBLEMS
Does the gear stop between t = 0 and t = 3 seconds?

w  12  3t 2  0 12  3t 2 t  2 s (it stops at t  2 s )
2


q1

0
2

dq   12  3t 2 dt
0
 , q1  12t  t  122   23  16 rad
3 3
3 0
3

 0
q2 3
 
dq   12  3t 2 dt
2
,
3 3
q 2  12t  t  7 rad
3 2
16   7  23 rad
1 revolution  2 rad
N revolutions  23 rad , N  3.66 revolutions
PROBLEMS
2. Load B is connected to a double pulley by one of the two
inextensible cables shown. The motion of the pulley is controlled by
cable C, which has a constant acceleration of 9 cm/s2 and an initial
velocity of 12 cm/s, both directed to the right. Determine,
a) The number of revolutions executed by the inner pulley for t = 2
seconds.
b) The velocity and change in position of the load B after 2 seconds.
c) The acceleration of point D on the rim of the inner pulley at t = 0.

30 cm

50 cm
a) The number of revolutions executed by the inner pulley for t = 2 seconds.

vCO  v DO  12 cm / s a Dt  9 cm / s 2
30 cm
rD  30 cm
50 cm
v DO 12
v DO  wo rD wo    0.4 rad / s (cw)
rD 30
a Dt 9
a Dt  arD a   0.3 rad / s 2
rD 30
w  w o  at w  0.4  0.3(2)  1 rad / s
1 1
q  q o  w o t  at 2 q  0  0.4(2)  0.3(2) 2  1.4 rad (cw)
2 2
Number of revolutions 1 rev  2 rad
1.4
x rev  1.4 rad , x   0.223 rev
2
b) The velocity and change in position of the load B after 2 seconds.

v B  wrB  1(50 ) cm / s
Dy B  rBq  ( 50 )(1.4 )  70 cm (upwards) 
c) The acceleration of point D on the rim of the inner pulley at t = 0.

a Dt  9 cm / s 2 
at t  0 wo  0.4 rad / s 30 cm

50 cm

a Dn  rDwo  (30 )( 0.4)  4.8 cm / s 

2 2 2

 2
a D  a Dn  a Dt 
2 1/ 2
 10 .2 cm / s 2
PROBLEMS
3. The motor shown is used to turn a wheel by the pulley A attached to it.
If the pulley starts rotating from rest with an angular acceleration of aA=2
rad/s2, determine the magnitudes of the velocity and acceleration of point
P on the wheel, after the wheel has turned 10 revolutions. Assume the
transmission belt does not slip on the pulley and the wheel.
q B  20  62.83 rad w A 2  wO 2  2a q1  q O  10 rev  20 rad 
s  q A rA  q B rB w A 2  0  2(2)167.6
q A 0.15  62.83(0.4) w A  18.31 rad / s C
q A  167.6 rad

vC  w A rA  w B rB 18.31( 0.15 )  w B (0.4) w B  6.87 rad / s

vP  w B rB  6.87(0.4)  2.75 m / s

aC t  a A rA  a B rB a A rA  aC t  aP t  0.3 m / s 2
0.3 s s
aB   0.75 rad / s 2
0.4 qB qA
aP n  rBw B  0.4(6.87) 2  18.88 m / s 2 rB
2
rA
aP  aP n  aP t  18.90 m / s 2
2 2
Absolute Motion
In the first approach in rigid body kinematics, the absolute
motion analysis, we make use of the geometric relations which
define the configuration of the body involved and then proceed
to take the time derivatives of the defining geometric relations
to obtain velocities and accelerations.

The constrained motion of connected particles is also an absolute

motion analysis. For the pulley configurations, the relevant
velocities and accelerations were determined by successive
differentiation of the lengths of the connecting cables. In rigid
body motion, the defining geometric relations include both linear
and angular variables and, therefore, the time derivatives of
these quantities will involve both linear and angular velocities and
linear and angular accelerations.
PROBLEM
A wheel of radius r rolls on a flat surface without slipping.
Determine the angular motion of the wheel in terms of the linear
motion of its center O. Also determine the acceleration of a point
on the rim of the wheel as the point comes into contact with the
surface on which the wheel rolls.
The wheel rolls to the right from the
dashed to the full position without
slipping. The linear displacement of the
center O is s, which is also the arc length
C'A along the rim on which the wheel
rolls. The radial line CO rotates to the
new position C'O' through the angle q,
where q is measured from the vertical
direction.
If the wheel does not slip, the arc C'A must equal the distance s, since in a
rigid body all points will have the same displacement. Thus, the displacement
relationship and its two time derivatives give

s  rq (q is in radians)

s  vo  rq  rw
s  a  rq  ra
o
 If the wheel is slowing down, a0 will
be directed opposite to v0 and w and
a will have opposite directions.
When point C has moved along its
cycloidal path to C’, its new
coordinates and their time
derivatives become

x  s  r sin q  rq  r sin q  r q  sin q  y  r  r cos q  r 1  cos q 

x  rq  rq cos q  r w cos q  v0 1  cos q 
w  r y  rq sin q  v0 sin q
v0 v0 rw  v0

x  rq  rq cos q  rq 2 sin q y  rq 2 cos q  rqsin q
a  r
 r a cos q  rw 2 sin q  rw 2 cos q  r
a sin q  rw 2 cos q  a0 sin q
a0 a0 a0

 a0 1  cos q   rw 2 sin q
 For the desired instant of
contact, q = 0 and

x  0 y  rw 2

Thus the acceleration of point C on the rim at the instant of contact with
the ground depends only on r and w and is directed toward the center of
the wheel. If desired, the velocity and acceleration of C at any position q
  
may be obtained by writing the expressions v  x i  y j and
  
a  xi  yj .

If the wheel slips as it rolls, the foregoing relations will no longer be

valid.
Relative Velocity
The second approach to rigid body kinematics uses the principles
of relative motion. In kinematics of particles for motion relative
to translating axes, we applied the relative velocity equation
  
v A  vB  v A / B
to the motions of two particles A and B.

We now choose two points on the same rigid body for our two
particles. The consequence of this choice is that the motion of
one point as seen by an observer translating with the other point
must be circular since the radial distance to the observed point
from the reference point does not change. This observation is
the key to the successful understanding of a large majority of
problems in the plane motion of rigid bodies.
The figure shows a rigid body
moving in the plane of the
figure from position AB to A'B'
during time Dt. This movement
may be visualized as occurring
in two parts. First, the body
translates to the parallel
position A''B' with

the
displacement DrB . Second, the
body rotates about B' through
the angle Dq, from the
nonrotating reference axes
x'-y' attached to the reference
point B', giving rise
 to the
displacement DrA / B of A with
respect to B.
To the nonrotating observer
attached to B, the body appears
to undergo fixed axis rotation
about B with A executing circular
motion.

Point B is arbitrarily chosen as

the reference point for
attachment of the nonrotating
reference axes x-y. Point A could
have been used just as well, in
which case we would observe B to
have circular motion about A
considered fixed. In this case,
the sense of the rotation,
counterclockwise direction, is
the same whether we choose A or
B as the reference, and we see

that DrB / A = - DrA / B .
With B as the reference point, the total displacement of A is
  
DrA  DrB  DrA / B

Where DrA / B has the magnitude rDq as  Dq approaches zero. We
note that the relative linear motion DrA / B is accompanied by the
absolute angular motion Dq, as seen from the translating axes
x' -y'. Dividing the expression for DrA by the corresponding
time interval Dt and passing to the limit, we obtain the relative
velocity equation
  
v A  vB  v A / B
We should note that in this expression the distance r between A
and B remains constant.
The magnitude of the relative velocity is thus seen to be

  DrA / B / Dt   lim

vA/ B  lim  rDq / Dt 
Dt 0 Dt 0
which, with w  q becomes
v A / B  rw
 
Using r to represent the vector rA / B , we may write the
relative velocity as the vector
  
vA/ B  w  r
Therefore, the relative velocity equation becomes
   
v A  vB  w  r
 
Here, w is the angular velocity vector normal to the plane of
the motion in the sense determined by the right hand rule.

It should be noted that the direction of the relative velocity

will always be perpendicular to the line joining the points A
and B.

Interpretation of the Relative Velocity Equation

We can better understand the relative velocity equation by

visualizing the translation and rotation components separately.

translation Fixed axis

rotation
 ┴AB

translation Fixed axis

rotation

In the figure, point B is chosen as the reference point and the

velocity of A is the vector sum
 of thetranslational
 portion v B ,
plus the rotational portion v A / B  w  r , which has the

magnitude vA/B=rw, where w  q , the absolute angular velocity
of A B . The fact that the relative linear velocity is always
perpendicular to the line joining the two points A and B is an
important key to the solution of many problems.
Solution of the Relative Velocity Equation

Solution of the relative velocity equation may be

carried out by scalar or vector algebra or by graphic
interpretation. In the scalar approach, each term in
the relative
 motion
 equation may be written in terms
of its i and j components, from which we will
obtain two scalar equations.
Relative Acceleration
Consider the equation
  
v A  vB  v A / B
which describes the relative velocities of two points A and B in
plane motion in terms of nonrotating reference axes. By
differentiating the equation with respect to time, we obtain the
  
relative acceleration equation, which is v A  vB  v A / B or

  
a A  aB  a A / B
This equation states that the acceleration of point A equals the
vector sum of the acceleration of point B and the acceleration
which A appears to have to a nonrotating observer moving with B.
Relative Acceleration Due to Rotation
If points A and B are located on the same rigid body and in the
plane of motion, the distance r between them remains constant
so that the observer moving with B perceives A to have circular
motion about B. Because the relative motion is circular, it
follows that the relative acceleration term will have both a
normal component directed from A toward B due to the change

of direction of v A / B and a tangential component perpendicular

to A B due to the change in magnitude of v A / B . Thus, we may
write,
   
a A  a B  a A / B n  a A / B t

Where the magnitudes of the relative acceleration components

are
a A / B n  v A / B 2 / r  rw 2
a A / B t  v A / B  ra
In vector notation the acceleration components are
   
a A / B n  w  w  r 
  
a A / B t  a  r
 
In these relationships, w is the angular velocity and a is the
angular
 acceleration of the body. The vector locating A from B
is r . It is important to observe that the relative acceleration
terms depend on the respective absolute angular velocity and
the absolute angular acceleration.

The relative acceleration equation, thus, becomes

      
a A  a B  w  w  r   a  r
Interpretation of the
Relative Acceleration
Equation

The meaning of relative

acceleration equation is indicated in
the figure which shows a rigid body
in plane motion with points A and B
moving along separate curved paths

with absolute accelerations a A

and a B .

Contrary to the case with velocities,

 
the accelerations A and B are,
a a
in general, not tangent to the paths
described by A and B when these
paths are curvilinear.
The figure shows the acceleration of A to be
composed of two parts: the acceleration of B and the
acceleration of A with respect to B. A sketch showing
the reference point as fixed is useful in disclosing
the correct sense of the two components of the
relative acceleration term.
Alternatively, we may express the acceleration of B
in terms of the acceleration of A, which puts the
nonrotating reference axes on A rather than B. This
order gives
  
aB  a A  aB / A


Here a B / A and its n and t components are the

negatives of a A / B and its n and t components
 
( aA/ B  aB / A ).
Solution of the Relative Acceleration Equation

As in the case of the relative velocity equation, the

relative acceleration equation may be carried out by
scalar or vector algebra or by graphical construction.

Because the normal acceleration components depend

on velocities, it is generally necessary to solve for
the velocities before the acceleration calculations
can be made.