DYNAMICS

CHAPTER 1.0

PRINCIPLES OF DYNAMICS

Dynamics is the branch of mechanics which deals with the study of bodies in motion. Compared with statics, dynamics is
relatively new; it is generally considered to have begun by Galileo (1564 – 1642). Its development was greatly retarded
by the lack of precise methods for measuring time. The experiments which form the foundation of dynamics require the
use of three kinds of units; force, length, and time. Precise methods for measuring force and length are relatively simple
and accounts in part for the early development of statics, in which only these units of measurement are required. No
accurate time-measuring devices, such as the pendulum clock developed by Huygens in 1657 and the balance-wheel
watch developed by Robert Hooke around 1666, were devised until after Galileo’s death.

Dynamics was also retarded by the principles of natural philosophy which were set up by Aristotle and in Galileo's time
were regarded as infallible. Galileo's experimental turn of mind led him to doubt these dogmas of abstract thought. For
example, he did not accept the notion that heavy weights fall more rapidly than light ones. His experiments with
dropping weights from the Leaning Tower of Pisa exploded this theory but precipitated such bitter arguments that he
was forced to leave Pisa.

Galileo's experiments with blocks sliding down inclined planes led to a relation between force and acceleration which Sir
Isaac Newton generalized and incorporated into the laws governing the motion of a particle that are named after him.
Newton's laws of motion are the basis for extending the laws of motion from a particle to a body composed of a system
of particles. This extension is discussed in Arts. 9-7 and 9-8.
At this point definitions of the terms particle and body are pertinent. The term particle usually denotes an object of
point size. The term body denotes a system of particles which form an object of appreciable size. In other words, a
particle is a body so small that any differences in the motions of its parts can be neglected. The criterion of size is only
relative, however; the terms particle and body may apply equally to the same object. For example, in astronomical
calculations the earth may be assumed to be a particle in comparison with the size of its path, whereas to an observer
on the earth, it is obviously a body of appreciable size. In this book, the term particle is used to mean an object whose
dimensions are negligible compared with the size of its path.

Kinematics and Kinetics

Dynamics is divided into two branches called kinematics and kinetics. Kinematics is the geometry of motion. The term is
used to define the motion of a particle or body without consideration of the forces causing the motion. Kinematics is
essentially a treatment of the relations between displacement, velocity, and acceleration.

Kinetics is the branch of mechanics that relates the force acting on a body to its mass and acceleration. When the
acceleration of a body caused by the forces acting on it has been determined, the principles of kinematics may be
applied to determine the displacement or velocity at any instant. In other cases, the kinematic motion of a body may be
used to compute its acceleration; from this, by means of the relations to be developed later, the force or forces required
to produce this motion can be determined.
Motion of a Particle

The kinematic discussion of the motion of a particle depends upon the definitions of displacement, velocity, and
acceleration. The displacement of a particle is the vector distance from an origin to the position occupied by the particle
on its path of travel. The origin may be selected anywhere, as at O in Fig. 9-1a. There the displacement to positions A
and B are the vectors sA and sB which change both in magnitude and inclination. With straight line motion, however, it is
best to select the origin O on the path as in Fig. 9-1b so that only the magnitude of the displacement vector can change
but not its inclination.

Observe carefully the distinction between a change in displacement and the distance travelled along the path. In the
curved path of Fig. 9-1a, the change in displacement Δs is less than the arc distance AB. In the straight path of Fig. 9-1b,
however, the change in displacement Δs and the distance AB are numerically equal for a particle moving from A to B, but
would be unequal if the particle should ever reverse its direction. Thus if the particle in Fig. 9-1b travels from A to B back
to A, its final displacement will be the vector sA, its change in displacement will be zero, but the distance travelled will be
the accumulated length from A to B and back to A. This distinction between displacement (which is a vector measured
from a fixed origin) and distance is important because all the kinematic relations we shall subsequently develop involve
displacement and not distance.

Velocity is defined as the time rate for change of displacement, and acceleration is defined as the time rate of change of
velocity. The meanings of these terms may be clarified by restricting the discussion here to straight-line motion. A more
general discussion is presented in the next chapters.

(Curvilinear Motion)
Velocity

In Fig. 9-2, consider a particle traveling in a straight line from A to B, and let points 1 and 2 be two positions a small
distance apart. If the displacement Δs is traversed in the time Δt, it follows from the above definition that the average
velocity over that displacement will be:

∆𝑠
𝑣𝑎𝑣𝑒 =
∆𝑡

And the instantaneous velocity will be found as Δt approaches zero as a limit, i.e.,

∆𝑠 𝑑𝑠
𝑣 = lim | |=
∆𝑡→0 ∆𝑡 𝑑𝑡

Acceleration

Let us now assume that in the preceding discussion the particle starts from A with a velocity vA and arrives at B with a
velocity vB. The average acceleration, or the average rate of change of velocity, will be the difference between v B and vA
divided by the elapsed time. The instantaneous acceleration at any intermediate point cannot be determined from these
data. However, if the velocity at point 1 is v1 and at point 2 is v1 + Δv, the average acceleration during the time Δt will be:

∆𝑣
𝑎𝑎𝑣𝑒 =
∆𝑡

and the instantaneous acceleration will be found as Δt approaches zero as a limit; i.e.,
 ∆𝑣 𝑑𝑣
𝑎 = lim | |=
∆𝑡→0 ∆𝑡 𝑑𝑡
𝑑𝑠
Since 𝑣 = , the instantaneous acceleration may also be written:
𝑑𝑡

𝑑𝑠
𝑑𝑣 𝑑 (𝑑𝑡 ) 𝑑2 𝑠
𝑎= = = 2
𝑑𝑡 𝑑𝑡 𝑑𝑡

Elimination of dt in Equations lead to a third equation:

𝑣 𝑑𝑣 = 𝑎 𝑑𝑠

Three equations just developed are known as the differential kinematic equations of motion. These equations are really
statements of fundamental definitions of instantaneous velocity and instantaneous acceleration. By their proper
application, the kinematic equations of motion for any cases can be determined. This will be done for several cases in
the following chapters. For the sake of compactness, the differential equations of kinematics are here restated:

𝑑𝑠
𝑣=
𝑑𝑡

𝑑𝑣 𝑑2 𝑠
𝑎= =
𝑑𝑡 𝑑𝑡 2

𝑣 𝑑𝑣 = 𝑎 𝑑𝑠

The above definitions of velocity and acceleration include a fact which may not be obvious, the fact that velocity and
acceleration are vector quantities involving direction as well as magnitude. As written here, they consider only variations
in the magnitudes of these quantities. But we have shown earlier that displacement of a particle always takes pace in a
𝑑𝑠
definite direction. Therefore, if the definition of velocity, i.e., the time rate of change of displacement or 𝑣 = 𝑑𝑡, is
1 1
written in the form 𝑣 = (𝑑𝑠), it is apparent that the vector displacement ds is multiplied by a scalar factor which
𝑑𝑡 𝑑𝑡
results a new vector of different length than ds but of the same direction. Obviously, if the displacement is constant in
direction, the velocity will likewise be constant in direction. In cases of rectilinear motion where only the magnitude of
velocity changes, the term speed is often used to describe the velocity. Properly speaking, however, speed refers only to
the magnitude of velocity. The possibility of a change in the direction of velocity must not be overlooked. In this book
the term velocity includes both the magnitude and direction of the rate of change of displacement; speed is used only to
mean the magnitude of velocity.

𝑑𝑣 1
Similarly, the definition of acceleration, i.e., the rate of change of velocity, or 𝑎 = 𝑑𝑡
, may be written 𝑎 = 𝑑𝑡 (𝑑𝑣). It is
1
apparent that the velocity dv is multiplied by a scalar factor 𝑑𝑡, resulting in a new vector of different length but having
the same direction as the velocity variation dv.
Units

The units that define displacement, velocity, and acceleration depend upon the unit chosen to represent length, and
time, such as foot, centimetre, and mile, for length: and second, minute, and hour, for time. Accordingly since
displacement is synonymous with length, velocity with change of length per unit time, and acceleration with change of
velocity per unit time, the common units for these terms are:

𝑫𝒊𝒔𝒑𝒍𝒂𝒄𝒆𝒎𝒆𝒏𝒕: 𝑓𝑜𝑜𝑡, 𝑐𝑒𝑛𝑡𝑖𝑚𝑒𝑡𝑒𝑟, 𝑚𝑖𝑙𝑒

𝑽𝒆𝒍𝒐𝒄𝒊𝒕𝒚: 𝑓𝑜𝑜𝑡 𝑝𝑒𝑟 𝑠𝑒𝑐𝑜𝑛𝑑 (𝑓𝑡 𝑝𝑒𝑟 sec), centimeter per second (cm per sec), mile per hour (mi per hr), etc.

𝑨𝒄𝒄𝒆𝒍𝒆𝒓𝒂𝒕𝒊𝒐𝒏: 𝑓𝑜𝑜𝑟 𝑝𝑒𝑟 𝑠𝑒𝑐𝑜𝑛𝑑 𝑝𝑒𝑟 𝑠𝑒𝑐𝑜𝑛𝑑 (𝑓𝑡 𝑝𝑒𝑟 𝑠𝑒𝑐 2 ), 𝑚𝑖𝑙𝑒 𝑝𝑒𝑟 ℎ𝑜𝑢𝑟 𝑝𝑒𝑟 ℎ𝑜𝑢𝑟 (𝑚𝑖 𝑝𝑒𝑟 ℎ𝑟 2 ), 𝑒𝑡𝑐.

Newton’s Law of Motion for a Particle

From his study of falling bodies, Galileo discovered the first two of what are commonly called Newton’s law of motion
for a particle. Newton’s name is associated with the laws of motion for a particle. Newton’s name is associated with the
laws of motion, however, because it was he who generalized them and demonstrated their truth by his astronomical
predictions based on them.

Newton’s law of motion for a particle have been stated in a variety of ways. For our purposes we shall phrase them as
follows:

1. A particle acted upon by a balanced force system has no acceleration.

2. A particle acted upon by unbalanced force system has an acceleration in line with and directly proportional to the
resultant of the force system.

3. Action and reaction forces between two particles are always equal and oppositely directed.
Fundamental Equation of Kinetics for a Particle

Consider a particle of weight W acted upon by the forces shown in Fig. 9-3a. The resultant of these forces is obtained by
a tip-to-tail addition as in Fig. 9-3b; and because all the forces on a particle are assumed to be concurrent (the size of a
particle is a point), its direction and position are indicated by the dashed vector in Fig. 9-3a. By Newton’s second law of
motion, this resultant causes an acceleration “a” in line with R and directly proportional to it, or:

𝑅 = 𝑘𝑎

(Concurrent Forces)

Where k is some constant of proportionality.

If the same particle is now assumed to be in a vacuum, the resultant force acting upon it is its weight W. By experiment,
the acceleration produced by W is found to be the value of the gravitational constant g which acts in line with W, as
shown in Fig. 9-3c. Again applying Newton’s second law and assuming the same constant of proportionality, we have:

𝑊 = 𝑘𝑔

Dividing the equation:

𝑅 = 𝑘𝑎

𝑊 = 𝑘𝑔

𝑊
𝑘=
𝑔

𝑾
𝑹= (𝒂)
𝒈
𝑊
Comparison with equation discloses the value of the constant of proportionality to be . This ratio of weight divided by
𝑔
the gravitational constant is often called the mass of the particle.
𝑊
Since equation is a vector equation in which each term the scalar term 𝑔
represents direction as well as magnitude, it
may be resolved into components parallel to a set of rectangular coordinate axes yielding as a variation of this equation:
 𝑊
𝑋= 𝑎
𝑔 𝑥

𝑊
𝑌= 𝑎
𝑔 𝑦

𝑊
𝑍= 𝑎
𝑔 𝑧

Here X, Y, and Z represent the components of R, and ax, ay, and az represents the x, y, and z components of the
acceleration.

A point of dispute between engineers and physicists is the system of units to be used in these equations. To the physicist
mass is the basic unit of matter. The engineer considers force as the basic unit. These differences can be reconciled by
noting that the engineer is concerned primarily with problems in which the variation in g is negligible; this makes the
foot-pound-second system of units convenient to use. The physicists, however, requires an absolute system because he
is concerned with problems in which the value of g may vary widely; he accomplishes his purpose by using a system of
unit based on mass, length, and time.

Perhaps the whole difficulty can be eliminated by observing that four quantities are involved – force (F), mass (M),
length (L), and time (T) – which are related by:

𝑀𝐿
𝐹=
𝑇2

To the engineer, the F-L-T system is most convenient, but the physicists refer the M-L-T system. Thus, to the physicist, F
𝑀𝐿
is defined in terms of 𝑇2
; the resulting unit of force is called a dyne in the c.g.s system or a poundal in the English system.
𝐹𝑇 2
To the engineer, M is defined as 𝐿
; the resulting unit of mass is sometimes called a slug. Perhaps as good as concept of
mass as any is to consider that it represents the inertia of a body, i.e., the resistance a body offers to a change in its
motion.

Effective Force on a Particle. Inertia Force

𝑊
The effective force on a particle is defined as the resultant force on the particle. Since the equation of R and 𝑔
(𝑎) are
𝑊
numerically equivalent, either may be said to be effective force on a particle. The use of 𝑔
(𝑎) to represent this force is
especially convenient in cases where the acceleration of the particle is known but the actual force system producing this
acceleration is not known. This concept is used in the following articles to extend the laws of motion for a particle to the
motion of a body composed of a system of particles.

According to Newton’s Third Law, for every force there is an equal but opposite reaction. In the case of a particle
accelerated by a resultant force, this reaction is called the inertia force of the particle. This force is the equal but
oppositely directed reaction to the resultant force acting on a particle.
𝑊
It is convenient to think of the inertia force as a force numerically equal to (𝑎) but directed oppositely to the
𝑔
acceleration.

If the inertia force is considered to act on a particle together with the resultant force, the particle will be in a state of
equilibrium. This will be called dynamics equilibrium to distinguish it from static equilibrium in which the particle is at
rest or is moving with constant velocity.
D’Alembert’s Principle

D’Alembert’s principle expresses the relation between the external forces applied to a system of particles and the
effective force on each particle of the system. It may be stated as follows: The resultant of the external forces applied to
a body (rigid or non-rigid) composed of a system of particles is equivalent to the vector summation of the effective
forces acting on all particles. Both the resultant of the external force system and the summation of effective forces are
vectorial additions and may be summed up in the following vector equation:
𝑤1 𝑤2
𝑅= 𝑎1 +→ 𝑎 +→ ⋯
𝑔 𝑔 2

The truth of this statement may be seen from Fig. 9-4a. The heavy outline denotes the boundary of a body which may
consist of a system of particles either rigidly fastened together or composing a non-rigid body like a gas or a liquid. The
external forces acting on this body are its weight W and several external forces of which two are shown, P 1, and P2.
Three particles of the system composing the body are also shown. (The size of these particles is exaggerated for
convenience in representation.) One of these particles is assumed to be located at the outer boundary of the body
where it is acted upon by the external force P1, its own weight w1, and an internal force A. The second particle is
assumed to be adjacent to the first particle but is drawn at a distance from it to show the forces more clearly. This
second particle is acted upon by an external force due to its own weight w2 and an internal force B due to the action of
the first adjacent particle, as well as by other internal forces caused by other adjacent particles. The third particle is
assumed to be at the right boundary of the body where it is acted upon by the external force P 2, its own weight w3, and
the internal force D transmitted to it from the second particle by the action of intermediate particles. For convenience,
these intermediate particles are not drawn. In fact, the discussion is simplified if we temporarily assume the body to be
composed of just these three particles which act mutually upon each other.

By Newton’s third law of motion, the internal forces A and B are equal and oppositely directed. Hence any summation
involving all the forces acting on these two particles will automatically cancel such internal forces as A and B. It is
obvious therefore that any vectorial summation of forces involving all the particles will cancel out all the internal forces
between particles since they occur in equal, opposite pairs. Figure 9-4b shows such a vectorial summation of both the
impressed forces such as P1, P2, and W (note that W = w1 + w2 + w3 + … ) as well as the effective force of each particle. It
is evident that the resultant R of the impressed forces is equivalent to that of the effective forces. Hence we have:
𝑤1 𝑤2
𝑅 = 𝑊+→ 𝑃1 +→ 𝑃2 +→ ⋯ = 𝑎1 +→ 𝑎 +→ ⋯
𝑔 𝑔 2

This expression in equation form d’Alembert’s principle that the resultant of the impressed forces acting on a body is
equivalent to the vector sum of the effective forces acting on all the particles composing the body.

A useful variation of this principle is obtained by assuming that each particle is acted upon by a force just equal but
opposite to the effective force, thereby resulting in a set of reversed effective forces which will balance the impressed
forces. As discussed in previous articles, these reversed effective forces are the inertia forces of the particles. Thus
d’Alembert’s principle may also be stated as follows: The impressed forces acting on any body are in dynamic
equilibrium with the inertia force of the particles of the body.
Motion of the Center of Gravity of Any Body

The vectorial relation expressed in the previous equation can be conveniently handled by algebraic methods only if each
term is resolved into its components. Considering the X components of each term, for example, we have:
𝑤1 𝑤2 𝑤3
∑𝑋 = 𝑎1 𝑥 + 𝑎2 𝑥 + 𝑎 +⋯
𝑔 𝑔 𝑔 3𝑥

In which ∑ 𝑋 represents the algebraic summation of the X components of the external forces W, P1, P2, etc., acting on
the body, and a1, a2, etc., are the X components of the individual acceleration of each particle. The masses of the
𝑤1 𝑤2 𝑤3
particles composing the body are denoted by, , , ,
𝑔 𝑔 𝑔
etc., Let the position of the particles at any instant be
represented by (x1, y1, z1), (x2, y2, z2), etc. From statics, the X coordinate of the center of gravity of the system (x̄) is given
by the equation:

𝑊 𝑤1 𝑤2 𝑤3
x̄ = 𝑥1 + 𝑥2 + 𝑥 +⋯
𝑔 𝑔 𝑔 𝑔 3

Where W is the total weight of the system.

𝑑𝑥 𝑑2 𝑥 𝑑𝑣𝑥
Differentiating the previous equation twice with respect to the time and remembering that 𝑑𝑡 = 𝑣𝑥 , and 𝑑𝑡 2 = 𝑑𝑡
= 𝑎𝑥 ,
we have:

𝑊 𝑤1 𝑤2 𝑤3
𝑎𝑥 = 𝑎1 𝑥 + 𝑎2 𝑥 + 𝑎 +⋯
𝑔 𝑔 𝑔 𝑔 3𝑥

In which ax is the X component of the acceleration of the center of gravity.

Comparison of the right-hand term in previous equations shows them to be identical; hence we conclude that the left-
hand terms must be equal, or:

𝑊
∑𝑋 = 𝑎
𝑔 𝑥

Since a similar procedure can be followed with respect to the Y and Z axes, the relations between the external forces
acting on any body, the mass of the body, and the acceleration of its center of gravity may be stated by the following
equations:

𝑊
∑𝑋 = 𝑎
𝑔 𝑥

𝑊
∑𝑌 = 𝑎
𝑔 𝑦

𝑊
∑𝑍 = 𝑎
𝑔 𝑧

In terms of the resultant force R and the resultant acceleration “a” of the center of gravity, this becomes:

𝑊
𝑅= (𝑎)
𝑔

These equations express the acceleration of the center of gravity of any body (rigid or non-rigid) in terms of the applied
external forces. They do not locate the action line of the resultant force.

In conclusion we may say that as far as the relation between the resultant force and the acceleration of the center of
gravity is concerned, any system of particles may be considered equivalent to a single particle, provided that the particle
has the same mass as the mass of the system and the same motion as the center of gravity of the system.

Whenever there is occasion to treat a body as though its mass were squeezed to a point located at its center of gravity,
we shall use the term point diagram to define the diagram of the forces.
Applying the Principles of Dynamics

In this text, we shall apply the laws of dynamics only to bodies that are considered to be particles or to bodies that are
rigid. As we have seen, when the dimensions of a body are small compared with its path, the body may be assumed to
be a particle. The flight of a projectile is an example. It is also permissible to consider that any body is a particle having
the body’s weight and the motion of its center of gravity. This procedure is used in discussing non-rigid bodies.

Although any body may be treated as a particle concentrated at its center of gravity and equations for its motion may be
derived from this concept, in many cases the angular motion of the body must also be considered. This requires
additional equations derived from the separate paths followed by the particles composing the body. Such equations can
be obtained only for rigid bodies in which the particles composing them are fixed in position relative to each other. The
particles of a non-rigid body, such as a jet of water, can and do follow separate, unrelated paths.

Although actual solid bodies are not really rigid, the change in shape under disturbing forces is usually so small that no
appreciable error is made in assuming them to be rigid. In the following chapters we shall discuss the various motions of
an ideal rigid body. These motions are known as translation, rotation, and plane motion. The type of motion produced
on a rigid body by any given force system will be shown in later chapters to depend upon the nature and position of the
resultant of that force system, For the present, we shall merely state the effect produced.

Consider a flat rigid body resting upon a smooth horizontal surface. If the resultant of the applied force system is a single
force passing through the gravity center of body as in Fig. 9-5a, the body will move in the direction of the resultant R,
but it will not rotate. If the direction of R is constant, the motion of the body follows a straight-line path and is called
rectilinear translation. If the direction of R varies, although continuing to pass through the gravity center, so will the
motion of the body, resulting in a curved path motion known as curvilinear translation. In either type of translation,
however, a straight line passing through any two particles will always remain parallel to its initial position.

If the resultant of the applied force system is a couple M as in Fig 9-5b, the body will spin about a vertical axis through its
center of gravity, but the center of gravity will remain stationary. All particles will describe horizontal circular arcs about
the vertical centroidal axis. This type of motion is called centroidal rotation.

Finally, the resultant of the applied force system may be a single force which does not pass through the gravity as in Fig.
9-5c. Recognizing that the resultant can be transformed into a force acting through the gravity center plus a couple, it is
easy to see that the motion in this case will be a combination of translation and centroidal rotation, commonly called
plane motion.

The converse of the preceding discussion is also true, namely, the type of motion specifies the nature and position of the
resultant force. For example, a body that is constrained so that its motion may only be a translation requires that the
applied forces so distribute themselves that their resultant passes through the center of gravity. Or if a body is
constrained so that it can only rotate about its centroidal axis, the resultant of any applied force system must be a
couple.