Control and system Engineering Department

University of Technology

Dynamics
Part 2

Assist.lect. Russul A. K.
Curvilinear motion :

The motion of a particle along a curved path which lies in a single

plane.

 Find position velocity and acceleration of a particle as it moves

along a curved line in two or three dimensions
Plane Curvilinear motion
Consider now the continuous of a particle along a plane curve as represented as a
figure. Let the plane of motion be the x-y plane At time t the particle is at position A
which is located by the position vector r measured from fixed origin o. At time t+Δt
the particle is at A` located by the position vector r+Δr. This combination is vector
addition and not scalar addition. The displacement of the particle during time Δt is
the vector Δr which represents the vector change of position . The distance actually
traveled by the particle as it moves along the path from A to A` is to scalar length Δs
measured along the path.

v`
Δv
A`
Δr Δs a
r+Δr A` v v`
A A
v
r Path of a particle A
o
velocity
The average velocity of the particle between A and A` is defined as Δr/ Δt which
is a vector whose direction is that of Δr and whose magnitude is the magnitude
of Δr divided by Δt and the average speed is the scalar Δs/ Δt
The instantaneous velocity of the particle is defined as the limiting value of the
average velocity as the time interval approaches zero.
Δr
V= lim
Δt→0 Δt
The velocity vector is always tangent to the path of motion (t-direction).

To extend the basic definition of the derivative of a scalar quantity to include a

vector quantity write
𝑑𝑑
𝑉 = =𝑟̇
𝑑𝑑

𝑑𝑆
The magnitude of v is called the speed and is the scalar 𝑣= 𝑉 = =𝑠̇
𝑑𝑑
acceleration
The average acceleration of the particle between A and A` is defined as Δv/ Δt
which is a vector whose direction is that of Δv The magnitude of this average
acceleration is the magnitude of Δv divided by Δt.
The instantaneous acceleration a of the particle is defined as the limiting value of
Δv
the average acceleration as the time interval approaches zero. a= lim
Δt→0 Δt
𝑑𝑉
By definition of the derivative 𝑎 = =𝑉̇
𝑑𝑑
A velocity vector tangent to a2
the path corresponding to v3 a3
v2 a1
each position vector and the
relation is 𝑉 = 𝑟̇ . If these r3 v3 v2
velocity vectors are plotted r2
from some point C, v1 v1
a curve called the hodograph O c
r1
is formed and also, the hodograph
acceleration vectors 𝑎 = 𝑉̇
are tangent to the hodograph.
Curvilinear motion : Rectangular coordinates (x-y)
Plane Curvilinear motion is motion in a 2-D plane. To describe the position and
motion of particle used vector.
The location of the object within this coordinate system is given by an x-
coordinate and y-coordinate.
With the aid of the unit vectors i and j we can write the position vector r and
velocity v and acceleration a in terms of x-y components.

Position 𝑟 = 𝑥𝑥 + 𝑦𝑦
Velocity v=𝑟̇ = 𝑥̇ i + 𝑦̇ j
Acceleration a=𝑣̇ =𝑟̈ =𝑥̈ i+𝑦̈ i

The time derivative of the unit vectors are zero because their magnitude and
direction remain constant. The scalar value 𝑣𝑥 = 𝑥̇ , 𝑣𝑦 = 𝑦̇ and 𝑎𝑥 = 𝑥̈ , 𝑎𝑦 = 𝑦̈

𝑣² = 𝑣𝑥 ² + 𝑣𝑦 ² 𝑣= 𝑣𝑥 ² + 𝑣𝑦 ² 𝑣𝑦
tan 𝜃 =
𝑣𝑥
𝑎² = 𝑎𝑥 ² + 𝑎𝑦 ² 𝑎= 𝑎𝑥 ² + 𝑎𝑦 ²
Projectile motion
The problem of projectile motion is an important application of
two dimensional kinematics theory. For a first treatment of the
subject:
 Neglect aerodynamic drag and the curvature and rotational of
the earth.
 The altitude change is small enough so that the acceleration
due to gravity can be considered constant.
 Analyze the free-flight motion of a projectile with rectangular
coordinates.
For the axes (x-y) the acceleration components are:
𝑎𝑥 =0 𝑎𝑦 = -g
For constant acceleration

𝑣𝑥 =𝑣𝑥𝑥 𝑣𝑦 =𝑣𝑦𝑜 - gt

𝑥 = 𝑥𝑜 + 𝑣𝑥𝑥 t 𝑦 = 𝑦𝑜 + 𝑣𝑦𝑜 t – ½ gt²

𝑣𝑦 ² = 𝑣𝑦 𝑜 ² - 2g(𝑦 − 𝑦𝑜 )
𝑦
𝑣𝑦
𝑣
𝑣𝑜 𝑣𝑥
𝑣𝑥
𝑣𝑦𝑦 = 𝑣𝑜 sin θ
𝑔 𝑣𝑦 𝑣
θ
𝑥
𝑣𝑥𝑜 = 𝑣𝑜 cos θ
Curvilinear motion : Normal and Tangential components (n-t)
When a particle moves along a curved path, it is sometimes
convenient to describe its motion using coordinates other than
Cartesian. When the path of motion is known, normal (n)and
tangential (t) coordinates are often used.

In the n-t coordinate system, the origin is located on the

particle(the origin moves with the particle).
𝐶 𝑡
𝑛
𝑛 𝑠
𝐴 𝑛
𝑡
𝑡
𝐵

The t-axis is tangent to the path (curve) at the instant

considered, positive in the direction of the particle’s motion.
The n-axis is perpendicular to the t-axis with the positive
direction toward the center of curvature of the curve.
The positive n and t directions are defined by the unit vectors 𝒖𝒏
and 𝒖𝒕 , respectively.
The center of curvature, O’, always lies on the concave side of the
curve.
The radius of curvature, ρ, is defined as the perpendicular distance
from the curve to the center of curvature at that point.
The position of the particle at any instant is defined by the distance, s,
along the curve from a fixed reference point.

O’ O’
𝒖𝒏 ρ
𝑛

𝑡 ds
𝒖𝒕
 The velocity vector is always tangent to the path of motion (t-
direction).
The magnitude is determined by taking the time derivative of the
path function, s(t).
v= v 𝑢𝑡 where v = 𝑠̇ = ds/dt
Here
v = the magnitude of the velocity (speed).
𝑢𝑡 = the direction of the velocity vector. O’
ρ dθ
𝒖𝒏
Acceleration is the time rate of
change of velocity: ds
𝒖𝒕
a= dv/dt= d(v𝑢𝑡 )/dt= 𝑉̇𝑢𝑡 + v𝑢̇ t 𝒖𝒕 ’

𝒖𝒏
Here 𝒂𝒏
𝑉̇ = the change in the magnitude of velocity. a 𝒖𝒕 ’
dθ
𝑢𝑡 = the rate of change in the direction of 𝑢𝑡 . 𝒖𝒕
𝒂𝒕 d𝒖𝒕
After mathematical manipulation, the acceleration vector can be
expressed as:
a= 𝑉̇𝑢𝑡 + (v²/ρ) 𝑢𝑛 = 𝑎𝑡 𝑢𝑡 + 𝑎𝑛 𝑢𝑛

 The tangential component is tangent to the curve and in the

direction of increasing or decreasing velocity.

𝑎𝑡 = 𝑉̇ or 𝑎𝑡 ds= v dv

 The normal or centripetal component is always directed toward

the center of curvature of the curve.

𝑎𝑛 = v²/ρ
 The magnitude of the acceleration vector is

a= 𝑎𝑡 ² + 𝑎𝑛 ²
There are some special cases of motion to consider.

1)The particle moves along a straight line.

ρ=∞ 𝑎𝑛 = v²/ ρ = 0 a = 𝑎𝑡 = 𝑉̇

The tangential component represents the time rate of change in the

magnitude of the velocity.

2)The particle moves along a curve at constant speed.

𝑎𝑡 = 𝑉̇ = 0 a = 𝑎𝑛 = v²/ ρ
.
The normal component represents the time rate of change in the direction
of the velocity.
End of the lecture