Rigid Body Dynamics

Angular momentum of a rotating rigid body


Consider a rigid body composed of N particles with Z
masses m1, m2, . . . , mj, . . . , mN. One of the points O of
the body is fixed and the body is rotating about an
arbitrary axis passing through the fixed point with an z
rj
y
angular velocity .

Take XYZ and xyz are the fixed and body frames O
Y
X
respectively with common origin at O. Then, the x
coordinates of the jth point mass are same in the body
and fixed frames. Let us tale it as rj.
XYZ: Fixed frame, xyz: Body frame
The velocity vj of the jth particle in the fixed frame is

 drj   drj 
vj          rj     rj
 dt fix  dt rot
 drj 
   0, in a rigid body.
 dt rot
 Calculation details
Let us compute one component of L, say Lx. Temporarily dropping the subscript j,

Hence,
Let us introduce the following symbols:

Ixx is the moment of inertia of the body about the x-axis of the body frame and Ixy and
Ixz are called products of inertia. The products of inertia are symmetrical; for example,
 All the three components of angular momentum are given by:

Details
For fixed axis rotation about the z-direction, , Lz reduces to

However, angular velocity in the z-direction can produce angular momentum about
any of the three coordinate axes. For example, if , then Lx = Ixz and Ly = Iyz.

In fact, the angular momentum about one axis depends on the angular velocity about
all three axes.

Both L and  are ordinary vectors, and L is proportional to  in the sense that
doubling the components of  doubles the components of L.

However, L does not necessarily point in the same direction as .

 An example: Rotating Skew Rod
Consider a simple rigid body consisting of two particles of
mass m separated by a massless rod of length 2l. The
midpoint of the rod is attached to a vertical axis which
rotates at angular speed . The rod is skewed at angle , as
shown in the sketch. The problem is to find the angular
momentum of the system.

Or
Either

 and L are not parallel.

Kinetic energy

The sum in the last term is the angular momentum L. Therefore,

Summary so far….
The nine components of MI can be tabulated In a 3 X 3 array:

 I xx I xy I xz 
 
I   I yx I yy I yz 
 I zx I zy I zz 

I is called the moment of inertia tensor.

Ixx, Iyy, Izz are the MI about the x,y and z-axis of the body frame respectively. Off-
diagonal terms are the product of inertia.

Since Iyx = Ixy , Izx = Ixz, and Iyz = Izy , out of the nine components, only six at most are
different and the matrix is symmetric.

The angular momentum and the kinetic energy can be expressed as

1 1
L  I  and T    L    I 
2 2
Rotation of a square plate
Consider rotation of a square plate of side a and mass M about an axis in the plane
of the plate and making an angle  with the x-axis. What is the angular moment L
about the origin?
Consider a body fixed coordinate system (x,y,z) as shown in
the figure.
z   cos  
 
y L  I   , with     sin  
 0 
 
x  In order to estimate the moment of inertia tensor, one
a needs to calculate the moments of inertia about x, y, and
 z-axis and the products of inertia.
a a
1 4 1 2
I xx     y dxdy   a  Ma  I yy , I zz  I xx  I yy  Ma 2
2 2

x 0 y 0
3 3 3
a a
1 1
I xy    
x 0 y 0
 xydxdy    a 4   Ma 2  I yx , I xz  I zx  I yz  I zy  0
4 4
  2 1 1  
 Ma   cos   sin   
 3 4  
 Ma 3  Ma 4
2 2
0    cos  
    2  1 1 
L    Ma 4 Ma 3
2 2
0    sin     Ma    cos   sin   
 2      4 3 
 0 0 2 Ma 3  0   0 
 
 


For   45 , y L
 2 
 1 1    x
L Ma  ,
2
Ma  , 0  and     2 
2

 12 2 12 2   
 0 
 
For  =45 , they are parallel to each other.
• For a rotation around a principal axis, a vanishing torque
means that if the object is pivoted at the origin and if
origin is the only place where any force is applied
(implying that there is zero torque about it), then the object
can undergo a rotation with constant angular velocity, ω. If
you try it with a non-principal axis, it won’t work.
Principal axes and Moment of Inertia
If the symmetry axes of a uniform symmetric body coincide with the coordinate axes,
the products of inertia are zero. In this case the tensor of inertia takes a simple
diagonal form:

For a body of any shape and mass distribution, it is always possible to find a set of
three orthogonal axes such that the products of inertia vanish. Such axes are called
principal axes. The tensor of inertia with respect to principal axes has a diagonal form.
Principal axes of different symmetric bodies:

In the principal axes system:

Lx  I xx x ,
Ly  I yy y ,
Lz  I zz z ,
Principal axes: Diagonalization of Inertia tensor:
Consider a rigid body with body axes x-y-z, Inertia tensor I is (in general) not diagonal.
But it can be made diagonal by I  RIR †
d

Rotate x-y-z by R to a new body axes x’-y’-z’.

 I1 0 0
   R ,  
Id   0 I2 0
L  RL  RI   RIR† R , R† R  1 0 I 3 
 0
 I d 
One can choose a set of body axes that make the inertia tensor diagonal. These body
axes are the Principal Axes.
How do one can find them?
Consider unit vectors e1, e2, e3 along principal axes : Ieˆi  i eˆi , i  1, 2,3
Express I in any body coordinates, and solve eigenvalue equation
I   I  0,    I1 , I 2 , I 3 ( I is the identity matrix). Eigenvectors corresponding to
each  point the principal axes
One can often find the principal axes by just looking at the object.
Finding eigenvectors
Square lamina:
y
Mass M and side a.
 Ma 2 3  Ma 2 4 0 
 
I    Ma 2 4 Ma 2 3 0 
 0 0 2 Ma 2
3  z x
 
I  I  0
Ma 2 3    Ma 2 4 0
 Ma 2 4 Ma 2 3   0 0
0 0 2 Ma 2 3  

   
2 Ma 3   Ma 3    Ma 4   0
 
2 2
2 2 2
 
7 Ma 2 Ma 2 2 Ma 2
1  , 2  , 3 
12 12 3