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Angular Momentum and Inertia Tensors

Angular momentum of a system of particles or a continuous distribution of mass can be expressed using integrals over the mass distribution. For a rigid body, the angular momentum depends on the moments and products of inertia, which are integrals over the square of the distances to the x, y, and z axes. The tensor of inertia, written as a matrix, relates the angular momentum and angular velocity vectors. In general, these vectors are not parallel for bodies with three-dimensional motion. The parallel axis theorem allows calculating the tensor of inertia about different axes from the tensor about the center of mass.

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6 views4 pages

Angular Momentum and Inertia Tensors

Angular momentum of a system of particles or a continuous distribution of mass can be expressed using integrals over the mass distribution. For a rigid body, the angular momentum depends on the moments and products of inertia, which are integrals over the square of the distances to the x, y, and z axes. The tensor of inertia, written as a matrix, relates the angular momentum and angular velocity vectors. In general, these vectors are not parallel for bodies with three-dimensional motion. The parallel axis theorem allows calculating the tensor of inertia about different axes from the tensor about the center of mass.

Uploaded by

Vishal Khandelwal
Copyright
© All Rights Reserved
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Download as DOCX, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd

Angular Momentum

We start from the expression of the angular momentum of a system of particles about the center of mass,
HG

(1)

dm (2)




Here,

is the position vector relative to the center of mass,

s the velocity relative to the center of


mass. We note that, in the above expression, an integral is used instead of a summation, since we are
now dealing with a continuum distribution of mass.










For a 3D rigid body, the distance between any particle and the center of mass will remain constant, and
the particle velocity, relative to the center of mass, will be given by

Thus, we have,



Here, we have used the vector identity A (B C) = (A C) B (A B) C . We note that, for planar
bodies

undergoing a 2D motion in its own plane, r0 is perpendicular to , and the term (r0

) is zero. In this case,the


vectors and HG are always parallel. In the three-dimensional case however, this simplification doesnot occur,
and as a consequence, the angular velocity vector, , and the angular momentum vector, HG,are in general, not
parallel. In Cartesian coordinates, we have

and =

, and the
above expression can be expanded to yield,

)

(

)

(

)

= (

)

(

)

(

)

The quantities Ixx, Iyy, and Izz are called moments of inertia with respect to the x, y and z axis, respectively, and
are given by




We observe that the quantity in the integrand is precisely the square of the distance to the x, y and z axis,
respectively. They are analogous to the moment of inertia used in the two dimensional case. It is also
clear, from their expressions, that the moments of inertia are always positive. The quantities Ixy, Ixz, Iyx, Iyz,
Izx and Izy are called products of inertia. They can be positive, negative, or zero, and are given by,


They are a measure of the imbalance in the mass distribution. If we are interested in calculating the angular
momentum with respect to a fixed point O then, the resulting expression would be,

)
((

)
(

)

Here, the moments of products of inertia have expressions which are analogous to those given above but with x0,
y0 and z0 replaced by x, y and z. Thus, we have that

, (


and,



The Tensor of Inertia
The expression for angular momentum given by equation (3), can be written in matrix form as,

[

] [

] [

] (5)



(6)


where [IG] is the tensor of inertia (written in matrix form)
about the center of mass G and with respect to the xyz axes. The tensor of inertia gives us an idea about
how the mass is distributed in a rigid body. Analogously, we can define the tensor of inertia about point O,
by writing equation(4) in matrix form. Thus, we have
HO =[IO] , where the components of [IO] are the moments and products of inertia about point O given
above. It follows from the definition of the products of inertia, that the tensors of inertia are always
symmetric. The implications of equation (5) are that in many situations of importance, even for bodes of
some symmetry, the angular momentum vector H
~
and the angular velocity vector ~ are not parallel.
This introduces considerable complexity into the analysis of the dynamics of rotating bodies in three
dimensions.

Parallel Axis Theorem
It will often be easier to obtain the tensor of inertia with respect to axis passing through the center of
mass. In some problems however, we will need to calculate the tensor of inertia about different axes. The
parallel axis theorem introduced in lecture L22 for the two dimensional moments of inertia can be
extended and applied to each of the components of the tensor of inertia.

Common questions

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Complexity arises in the calculation of angular momentum for three-dimensional bodies due to non-alignment of angular velocity and angular momentum vectors and the influence of products of inertia. Variations in mass distribution lead to non-zero cross products. Strategies to manage this complexity include using the tensor of inertia to encapsulate these variations symmetrically and employing computational tools to numerically resolve the dynamics with better precision, enabling effective handling of complex real-world applications .

In three-dimensional cases, particularly for bodies that lack symmetry, the angular velocity vector (ω) and the angular momentum vector (HG) do not align. This occurs because the cross-products due to products of inertia have non-zero contributions, making the two vectors non-parallel. The implication is that it complicates the mathematical analysis of the body's dynamics, requiring sophisticated tools like the tensor of inertia to fully understand and predict rotational behavior .

Choosing different reference points affects the calculation of angular momentum by changing the reference axes around which moments and products of inertia are calculated. When calculated about the center of mass, the moments of inertia are typically minimal, simplifying dynamics equations. For other points, the parallel axis theorem must be employed, which adds terms involving the mass and distance squared between the center of mass and the new reference point, thus complicating calculations and affecting resulting dynamics .

The angular momentum of a system of particles about the center of mass is initially expressed in a summation form, but for a rigid body with a continuum distribution of mass, the expression uses an integral instead. In this context, the position and velocity vectors are defined relative to the center of mass, and for 3D rigid bodies, the distance between any particle and the center of mass remains constant, which simplifies the expression .

The tensor of inertia is useful for describing the mass distribution in a rigid body and its impact on angular momentum. It is represented as a symmetric matrix containing both moments and products of inertia, which provides a comprehensive understanding of mass distribution. The symmetry of the tensor implies that while the angular momentum and angular velocity are not parallel, especially in asymmetric bodies, the tensor simplifies the calculation by relating these vectors in all three dimensions. This makes it an essential tool in analyzing rotational dynamics .

Products of inertia, like Ixy and Ixz, quantify the extent of mass distribution imbalance about the reference axes. They play a significant role in the dynamics of rigid body rotation by contributing to the non-parallel relationship between the angular momentum and angular velocity vectors. These terms can be positive, negative, or zero, affecting the dynamics by influencing the rotational stability and the complexity of kinetic equations. Their presence requires additional calculations when predicting rotational behavior, especially in non-principal axes .

The moments of inertia Ixx, Iyy, and Izz represent the distribution of mass relative to the x, y, and z axes, respectively. These quantities are the integrals of the square of the distance from each axis, which means they measure the mass distribution's resistance to angular acceleration about the respective axes. The moments of inertia are always positive and are crucial for determining the rotational dynamics of the body .

Moments of inertia are always positive because they are integrals of squared distances from an axis, which cannot be negative. This ensures that they consistently quantify the body's resistance to rotational acceleration without ambiguity of direction. This property simplifies the analysis of rotational motion as it ensures stability and predictability in how the body responds to applied torques, especially around principal axes .

The parallel axis theorem for three-dimensional bodies allows the calculation of the tensor of inertia about any axis when it is known about a parallel axis through the center of mass. This is achieved by adjusting the tensor to account for the shift in the axis using the mass and square of the distance between the axes. Thus, each component of the tensor is adjusted similarly to the two-dimensional case, thereby facilitating the dynamics analysis for complex shapes and non-central axes .

Symmetry in a body simplifies the tensor of inertia, often reducing the off-diagonal elements (products of inertia) to zero, which means angular momentum and velocity vectors can now be aligned. This simplification aids in easy calculation and control of rotational dynamics, which is critical in engineering applications such as designing balanced rotating machinery or predicting satellite orientations, where symmetrical mass distribution enhances stability and predictability .

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