Lecture Notes 9.2

COMPOSITE BODIES
Today’s Objective:
Students will be able to determine:
a) The location of the center of
gravity (CG),
In-Class Activities:
b) The location of the center of
mass, and • Check homework, if any
c) The location of the centroid •Applications
using the method of composite
bodies. • Method of Composite Bodies
• Group Problem Solving
Mechanics for Engineers: Statics, 13th SI Edition © Pearson Education South Asia Pte Ltd
R. C. Hibbeler and Kai Beng Yap 2013. All rights reserved.
APPLICATIONS
The I-beam (top) or T-beam

(bottom) shown are
commonly used in building
various types of structures.
When doing a stress or

deflection analysis for a
beam, the location of its
centroid is very important.
How can we easily determine

the location of the centroid
for different beam shapes?
APPLICATIONS (continued)
The compressor is assembled
with many individual
components.
In order to design the ground
support structures, the
reactions at blocks A and B
have to be found. To do this
easily, it is important to
determine the location of the
compressor’s center of gravity
(CG).
If we know the weight and CG of individual components, we

need a simple way to determine the location of the CG of
the assembled unit.
CG / CM OF A COMPOSITE BODY
Consider a composite body which consists of
a series of particles(or bodies) as shown in
the figure. The net or the resultant weight is
given as WR = W.
Summing the moments about the y-axis, we
get
– ~ ~ ~
x WR = x1W1 + x2W2 + ……….. + xnWn
where ~
x represents x coordinate of W , etc..
1 1
Similarly, we can sum moments about the x- and z-axes to

find the coordinates of the CG.
By replacing the W with a M in these equations, the

coordinates of the center of mass can be found.
CONCEPT OF A COMPOSITE BODY
Many industrial objects can be considered as composite

bodies made up of a series of connected “simple” shaped
parts or holes, like a rectangle, triangle, and semicircle.
Knowing the location of the centroid, C, or center of gravity,

CG, of the simple shaped parts, we can easily determine the
location of the C or CG for the more complex composite
body.
CONCEPT OF A COMPOSITE BODY
(continued)
This can be done by considering each part as a “particle” and

following the procedure as described in Section 9.1.
This is a simple, effective, and practical method of determining
the location of the centroid or center of gravity of a complex
part, structure or machine.
STEPS FOR ANALYSIS
1. Divide the body into pieces that are known shapes.

Holes are considered as pieces with negative weight or
size.
2. Make a table with the first column for segment number, the
second column for weight, mass, or size (depending on the
problem), the next set of columns for the moment arms,
and, finally, several columns for recording results of simple
intermediate calculations.
3. Fix the coordinate axes, determine the coordinates of the
center of gravity of centroid of each piece, and then fill in
the table.
4. Sum the columns to get x, y, and z. Use formulas like
x = (x  A ) / (  A ) or x = (  x  W )/(W )
i i i i i i
This approach will become straightforward by doing

examples!
EXAMPLE
Given: The part shown.

Find: The centroid of
the part.
Plan: Follow the steps
for analysis.
Solution:
1. This body can be divided into the following pieces:
rectangle (a) + triangle (b) + quarter circular (c) –
semicircular area (d). Note the negative sign on the hole!
EXAMPLE (continued)
Steps 2 & 3: Make up and fill

the table using parts a,
b, c, and d. Note the
location of the axis
system.
Segment Area A 
x y x A 
yA
(m2) (m) (m) ( m3) ( m3)
Rectangle 18 3 1.5 54 27
Triangle 4.5 7 1 31.5 4.5
Q. Circle 9  / 4 – 4(3) / (3 ) 4(3) / (3 ) – 9 9
Semi-Circle –/2 0 4(1) / (3 ) 0 - 2/3
 28.0 76.5 39.83
EXAMPLE (continued)
4. Now use the table data results and the formulas to find
the coordinates of the centroid.
Area A x A A
y
28.0 76.5 39.83
x = (
x A) / (  A ) = 76.5 m3/ 28.0 m2 = 2.73 m
y = (
y A) / (  A ) = 39.83 m3 / 28.0 m2 = 1.42 m
GROUP PROBLEM SOLVING
Given: Two blocks of different
materials are assembled as
shown.
The densities of the materials are:
A = 30 kN / m3 and
B = 80 kN / m3.
Find: The center of gravity of this
assembly.
Plan: Follow the steps for analysis.
Solution:
1. In this problem, the blocks A and B can be considered as
two pieces (or segments).
GROUP PROBLEM SOLVING (continued)
Weight = w =  (Volume in m3)
wA = 30 (0.5) (0.6) (0.6) (0.2) = 1.08 kN
wB = 80 (0.6) (0.6) (0.2) = 5.76 kN
Segment w  (m)
x  (m)
y  (m)
z 
xW 
yW 
zW
(kN) (kN·m) (kN·m) (lb·in)
A 1.08 0.4 0.1 0.2 0.432 0.108 0.216

B 5.76 0.1 0.3 0.3 0.576 1.728 1.728
 6.84 1.008 1.836 1.944
GROUP PROBLEM SOLVING (continued)
Table Summary
W (kN)
xw yw
 z w
(kN·m) (kN·m) (kN·m)
6.84 1.008 1.836 1.944
Substituting into the Center of Gravity equations:
~ w) / ( w )
x = ( x = 1.008 / 6.84 = 0.147 m
y = ( ~
y w) / ( w ) = 1.836 / 6.84 = 0.268 m
z = ( ~
z w) / ( w ) = 1.944 / 6.84 = 0.284 m

Lecture Notes 9.2

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COMPOSITE BODIES

The I-beam (top) or T-beam

When doing a stress or

How can we easily determine

If we know the weight and CG of individual components, we

Similarly, we can sum moments about the x- and z-axes to

By replacing the W with a M in these equations, the

Many industrial objects can be considered as composite

Knowing the location of the centroid, C, or center of gravity,

This can be done by considering each part as a “particle” and

1. Divide the body into pieces that are known shapes.

This approach will become straightforward by doing

Given: The part shown.

Steps 2 & 3: Make up and fill

 28.0 76.5 39.83

A 1.08 0.4 0.1 0.2 0.432 0.108 0.216

 6.84 1.008 1.836 1.944

Substituting into the Center of Gravity equations:

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