DYNAMICS OF RIGID
BODIES
ENGINEERING MECHANICS
CURVILINEAR
MOTION OF A
PARTICLE
WEEK 3- Lesson 2:
R E C TA N G U L A R C O M P O N E N T
RECTANGULAR COMPONENTS
• Occasionally the motion of a particle can best be described along a path that can be expressed in
terms of its 𝑥, 𝑦, 𝑧 coordinates.
• Position. If the particle is at point (𝑥, 𝑦, 𝑧) on the curved path as shown in Fig. a, then its location is
defined by the position vector
𝐫 = 𝑥𝒊 + 𝑦𝒋 + 𝑧𝒌
• When the particle moves, the 𝑥, 𝑦, 𝑧 components of r will be functions of
time; i.e., 𝑥 = 𝑥(𝑡), 𝑦 = 𝑦(𝑡), 𝑧 = 𝑧(𝑡) , so that 𝐫 = 𝐫(𝑡).
• At any instant, the 𝑚𝑎𝑔𝑛𝑖𝑡𝑢𝑑𝑒 of 𝒓 is defined as
𝑟= 𝑥2 + 𝑦2 + 𝑧2
• And the 𝑑𝑖𝑟𝑒𝑐𝑡𝑖𝑜𝑛 of 𝒓 is specified by the unit vector 𝐮𝒓 = 𝐫/𝑟
RECTANGULAR COMPONENTS
• Velocity. The first time derivative of 𝒓 yields the velocity of the particle. Hence,
𝑑𝒓 𝑑 𝑑 𝑑
𝐯= = 𝑥𝒊 + 𝑦𝒋 + 𝑧𝒌
𝑑𝑡 𝑑𝑡 𝑑𝑡 𝑑𝑡
• When taking this derivative, it is necessary to account for changes in both the magnitude and
direction of each of the vector's components. For example, the derivative of the 𝒊 component of r is
𝑑 𝑑𝑥 𝑑𝒊
𝑥𝒊 = 𝒊 + 𝑥
𝑑𝑡 𝑑𝑡 𝑑𝑡
• The second term on the right side is zero, provided that the 𝑥, 𝑦, 𝑧 reference frame is 𝑓𝑖𝑥𝑒𝑑, and
therefore the 𝑑𝑖𝑟𝑒𝑐𝑡𝑖𝑜𝑛 (and the 𝑚𝑎𝑔𝑛𝑖𝑡𝑢𝑑𝑒) of 𝒊 does not change with time.
RECTANGULAR COMPONENTS
• Differentiation of the 𝒋 and 𝒌 components may be carried out in a similar manner, which yields the final result,
𝑑𝒓
𝐯= = 𝑣𝑥 𝒊 + 𝑣𝑦 𝒋 + 𝑣𝑧 𝑘
𝑑𝑡
• Where,
𝑣𝑥 = ẋ, 𝑣𝑦 = ẏ, 𝑣𝑧 = ż
• The "dot" notation 𝑥, 𝑦, 𝑧 represents the first time derivatives of 𝑥 = 𝑥(𝑡), 𝑦 = 𝑦(𝑡), 𝑧 = 𝑧(𝑡), respectively.
• The velocity has a 𝑚𝑎𝑔𝑛𝑖𝑡𝑢𝑑𝑒 that is found from
𝑣= 𝑣𝑥2 + 𝑣𝑦2 + 𝑣𝑧2
• and a 𝑑𝑖𝑟𝑒𝑐𝑡𝑖𝑜𝑛 that is specified by the unit vector u𝑣 =
v/𝑣 . As discussed in previous topic, this direction is
always 𝑡𝑎𝑛𝑔𝑒𝑛𝑡 𝑡𝑜 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑝𝑎𝑡ℎ, as shown in Fig. b.
RECTANGULAR COMPONENTS
• Acceleration. The acceleration of the particle is obtained by taking the first time derivative of the velocity
equation (or the second time derivative of position vector equation). We have
𝑑𝐯
a= = 𝑎𝑥 𝒊 + 𝑎𝑦 𝒋 + 𝑎𝑧 𝒌
𝑑𝑡
• Where,
• Here 𝑎𝑥, 𝑎𝑦, 𝑎𝑧 represent, respectively, the first time derivatives of 𝑣𝑥 = 𝑣𝑥 (𝑡), 𝑣𝑦 = 𝑣𝑦(𝑡), 𝑣𝑧 = 𝑣𝑧(𝑡), or the
second time derivatives of the functions 𝑥 = 𝑥(𝑡), 𝑦 = 𝑦(𝑡), 𝑧 = 𝑧(𝑡)
• The acceleration has a 𝑚𝑎𝑔𝑛𝑖𝑡𝑢𝑑𝑒
𝑎= 𝑎𝑥2 + 𝑎𝑦2 + 𝑎𝑧2
RECTANGULAR COMPONENTS
• and a 𝑑𝑖𝑟𝑒𝑐𝑡𝑖𝑜𝑛 specified by the unit vector u𝑎 = a/𝑎. Since a represents the time rate
of change in both the magnitude and direction of the velocity, in general a will not be
tangent to the path, Fig. c.
RECTANGULAR COMPONENTS
IMPORTANT POINTS
• Curvilinear motion can cause changes in both the magnitude and direction of the position, velocity,
and acceleration vectors.
• The velocity vector is always directed 𝑡𝑎𝑛𝑔𝑒𝑛𝑡 to the path.
• In general, the acceleration vector is 𝑛𝑜𝑡 𝑡𝑎𝑛𝑔𝑒𝑛𝑡 to the path,
• If the motion is described using rectangular coordinates, then the components along each of the
axes do not change direction, only their magnitude and sense (algebraic sign) will change. .
• By considering the component motions, the change in magnitude and direction of the particle's
position and velocity are automatically considered.
SAMPLE PROBLEM: RECTANGULAR COMPONENTS
SAMPLE PROBLEM: RECTANGULAR COMPONENTS
SAMPLE PROBLEM: RECTANGULAR COMPONENTS
SAMPLE PROBLEM: RECTANGULAR COMPONENTS