One of the common descriptions of curvilinear

motion uses path variables, which are

measurements made along the tangent t and
normal n to the path of the particles. t and n
are two orthogonal axes considered separately
for every instant of motion.

These coordinates provide a natural description for

curvilinear motion and are frequently the most
direct and convenient coordinates to use; they move
along the path with the particle.
The positive direction for n at any position is always
taken toward the center of curvature of the path.
Therefore no position vector is required.

We now use the coordinates n and t to describe the

velocity and acceleration. For this purpose, we

introduce unit vectors en in the n-direction and et

in the t-direction.
During a differential
increment of time dt, the
particle moves a
differential distance ds
along the curve from A
to A:
ds=r db

where b is in radians.

It is unnecessary to consider
the differential change in r
between A and A for a
differential time period.

The magnitude of velocity

ds
db
v
r
dt
dt
v rb

db

b
dt

The velocity in vector form is

v vet rbet


dv
The acceleration of the particle is defined as a
,
dt
and we observe that the acceleration is a vector
which reflects both the change in magnitude and the
change in direction of velocity.

We now differentiate the velocity applying the

ordinary rule for the differentiation of the product
of a scalar and a vector and get

dv d vet

vet vet
dt
dt


et

The unit vector

now has a nonzero derivative because
although its magnitude stays the same, its direction
changes. As the
from point A to A , the
particle moves

unit vector et becomes e .

t

det

The vectorial difference is:

et et det

et

et

To find et we analyze the change in et during a

differential increment of motion as the particle moves from

A to A.

In the limit, the magnitude of det will be

det et db db . For a differential

time interval, the direction of det can

be considered perpendicular to
et .
Therefore, the direction of det can be
considered the same as that of e n .

det

et db e
t

en

The derivative of

det dben

et

will be obtained as,

det
en
db

or

By dividing to dt

det db

en
dt
dt

v rbet

et ben

v rb
v
et en

a an en at et

v2
a vet vet vet en

Here,

r 2 b 2
vrb
2

an

rb
vb
r
r
r
an

v2

v2

(Change in direction of the velocity)

rb 2 vb

at v s rb
a an at
2

(Change in magnitude of the velocity)

Radius of curvature (Erilik Yarap):

If trajectory is given as y=f(x), the radius of curvature can be
determined with the following formula:
dy 2
1
dx
r
d2y

3/ 2

dx 2

The absolute value sign is used to guarantee that r will always

be positive +.

The velocity vectors at A and A' are drawn to start at a same

point in order to explain the change in the magnitude and
direction of the veloicty vector and how these changes
generate the normal and tangential components of the
acceleration vector.

d
v
The change in velocity vector is
and it

indicates the direction of the acceleration vector a .

When dv is divided into two components one

normal and the other tangent to the
velocity, the
normal component is defined as dv n and in the limit
it will be equal to the arc length obtained by rotating
the velocity vector with magnitude v for an angle of
db.

dvn vdb

The normal component of acceleration will be equal

to the time derivative of | dv n | .

an

dv n
dt

vb

d
v
The tangential component of dv is t . Its

magnitude is equal to v v dvt or the

change in the length of the velocity vector.
The tangential component of acceleration
will be equal to the time derivative of dvt

at

dvt

dv

v s
dt
dt

The normal component of acceleration an is always directed toward the

center of curvature.
The tangential component of acceleration at, on the other hand, will be in the
positive t-direction of motion if speed v is increasing and in the negative tdirection if the speed is decreasing.
Figure shows the schematic representations of the variation in the
acceleration vector for a particle moving from A to B with (a) increasing
speed and (b) decreasing speed.

At an inflection point on the

curve, the normal acceleration
goes to zero because r becomes
infinite.

v2 v2
an

0
r

Circular motion is an important special case of plane curvilinear motion

where the radius of curvature r becomes the constant radius r of the
circle and the angle b is replaced by the angle measured from any
convenient radial reference to OP.

v2
an
r 2 v
r
a t v r

dt
r = r = constant

dt

(Angular velocity)

(Angular acceleration)

1. Six acceleration vectors are shown for the car whose

velocity vector is directed forward. For each acceleration
vector describe in words the instantaneous motion of the
car.

2. A flywheel rotates with variable velocity. At a certain

time, the tangential acceleration of point A on the
flywheel is 1 m/s2, while the normal acceleration of point
B on the flywheel is 0.6 m/s2. Determine the velocity of
point A and the total acceleration of point B.
200 mm

A
B 150 mm

3. A baseball player releases a ball with the initial

conditions shown in the figure. Determine the radius of
curvature of the trajectory (a) just after release and (b)
at the apex. For each case, compute the time rate of
change of the speed.

4. A marble rolls down a chute which

is bent in the shape of a parabola. Its
equation is given as
y=x2 6x + 9 [m]
The marble passes point A with a
speed of 3 m/s, which is increasing at
the rate of 5 m/s2. Determine the
normal and tangential components an
and at, of the acceleration of the
marble as it passes point A. Also
determine the angle between the
velocity vector and the acceleration
vector at point A.

y (m)
y=f(x)
A

x=5 m

x (m)

5. A ball is thrown horizontally from the top of a 50 m cliff at A

with a speed of 15 m/s and lands at point C. Because of strong
horizontal wind the ball has a constant acceleration in the negative
x-direction. Determine the radius of curvature r of the path of the
ball at B where its trajectory makes an angle of 45o with the
horizontal. Neglect any effect of air resistance in the vertical
direction.

6. During a short interval, the slotted guides are designed to move

according to x = 16 12t + 4t2 and y = 2 + 15t 3t2, where x and y are
in millimeters and t is in seconds. At the instant when t = 2s,
determine the radius of curvature r of the path of the constrained
pin P.

Homework Pin P in the crank PO engages the horizontal slot in the

guide C and controls its motion on the fixed vertical rod.
Determine the velocity y and the acceleration yof guide C for a
given value of the angle is
(a) and 0
(b) if =0 and