C4.2 Centroids

In statics, another type of “centre” that we’re more interested is the centre of geometry or centroids.

Like centres of mass, centroids refer to the centre point of a geometry be it a line, area or volume. It is also calculated in a similar manner to the centre of mass:

Formula of centroid for a line, area and volume

C4.2 Centroids

In statics, another type of “centre” that we’re more interested is the centre of geometry or centroids.

Like centres of mass, centroids refer to the centre point of a geometry be it a line, area or volume. It is also calculated in a similar manner to the centre of mass:

Formula of centroid for a line, area and volume

In statics, we will pretty much be only using the centroid of area, so don’t worry too much about the line and volume centroids. If the integration formula looks scary, don’t worry as we’ll be looking at a simple example now.

Note that the examples are designed to help you see how the centroids of common shapes are derived using the original integration method. Usually in practical situations, you’ll be given a table of centroids for common shapes to refer to.

In statics, we will pretty much be only using the centroid of area, so don’t worry too much about the line and volume centroids. If the integration formula looks scary, don’t worry as we’ll be looking at a simple example now.

Note that the examples are designed to help you see how the centroids of common shapes are derived using the original integration method. Usually in practical situations, you’ll be given a table of centroids for common shapes to refer to.