ES341 Lab 1

Hydrostatic Forces on Vertical and Inclined Flat Surfaces

Prepared By:
Yan Trindade (ytrindadelisboagome@alaska.edu)




Lab Partners:
Alex Slaymaker (arslaymaker@alaska.edu)
Heather Patterson (hlwalleri@alaska.edu)
Ruth Luna do Nascimento (rlunadonascimentogo@alaska.edu)



Prepared Due Date
09/23/2014 9/30/2014






INTRODUCTION

Hydrostatic pressure is the pressure caused by a fluid in equilibrium due to the gravity
force and the specific weight of this fluid. This concept of pressure was created by Blaise Pascal,
a French mathematician, in 1647. And it shows that the pressure is transmitted by fluids. The
equation below expresses his concept:
P = H + P
atm
Where P is the pressure at an H distance from the surface, is the specific weight, and
P
atm
is the Atmospheric pressure.
When the hydrostatic pressure is on a flat surface, and its not inclined, the center of
pressure matches with the centroid of the flat surface area. But when the flat surface is inclined,
the center of pressure differs from the centroid of surface area.
This type of situation is found in hydroelectric power stations, dams in seaports, etc. Its
vital to locate the center of pressure and the resultant force in order to project gates that support
the weight of water or fluid above. The objective of this experiment is to understand and find
where the center of pressure is, calculate the hydrostatic force a fluid exerts on a submerged
surface, and compare the experimental values to the theoretical values.
The apparatus used to determine the center of pressure and the hydrostatic force is called
center of pressure apparatus. It is consisted of a vessel, a ring segment with constant cross-
section and concentric circular arcs (showed in the equipment section). This equipment was built
in a way that the only the vertical forces on the vessel`s gate is considered. In despite,
hydrostatic forces pass through the pivot point, so the hydrostatic momentum is zero.
The limitations of this experiment are: the problems visualizing the meniscus and
measuring distances, and a necessity to add heavy load after cover the gate surface.


EQUIPMENT and SETUP

Center of Pressure Apparatus
Model: Tecquipament limited Nottingham
Serial Number: 185269
Weights
7X0.05 kg weights
3X0.02 kg weights






Figure 1.1 Experiment Setup, Center of Pressure Apparatus.

PROCEDURE

1. Adjust the weighted screw until the apparatus is balanced in 0.
2. Add a weight to the load arm, the apparatus will tilt as expected.
3. Add water to the tank (slowly) until the angle reaches again 0.
4. Note the added load in the observations section.
5. Read in the rule and record the distance to the water surface (h) in the observations
section.
6. Repeat the steps 2-5 for three more loads, in a way that can be observed two partially
submerged gates, one fully submerged gate, and one filled above the gate.
7. Repeat the entire procedure turning the angle of equilibrium to 10.

RESULTS

In the Table 1, loads and the vertical distance between the pivot point and the water
surface (h) are connected to the incline angle. Its also associated to the height of water in the
gate (G). The Table 2 presents variables that make it possible to calculate Y
CP, exp.
And Y
CP, Theor.
.
For example: submerged area of the gate (A
G
) and resultant force of water against gate (F
W
).

Definitions:
Angle of apparatus
R
L
length of load arm (m)= 0.254 m
R
1
radius to the upper edge (m)= 0.1016 m
R
2
radius to the lower edge (m)= 0.2032 m
B width of gate (m)= 0.0635 m
G height of gate (m)= 0.1016 m

W
specific weight of water (KN/m
3
) =
9.810 KN/m
3

m mass on load (kg)
F
L
force on load arm (KN)
F
W
resultant force of water against gate
(KN)
h vertical distance between the pivot point
and the water surface (m)
h
c
vertical distance from the water surface
to the centroid of the submerged area of the
gate (m)
A
G
submerged area of the gate (m
2
)
Y
CP
distance, along the angle of incline,
from the water surface to the center of
pressure (m)
distance, along the angle of incline,
from the water surface to the centroid of the
submerged area of the gate (m)

Y
G
submerged height of the gate (m)
I
0
second moment area of the submerged
area of the gate (m
4
)
Formulas:
F
L
=mg F
w
=
W
h
c
A
G
F
L
R
L
cos =F
W
((h/ cos )+Y
CP, exp
)

) A
G
= BxY
G
Y
CP, theor.
= + (I
0
/(A
G
))

Observations:
Table 1: Load mass and height for =0 or =10.

Part A (=0) Part B (=10)
m (kg) h (m) m (kg) h (m)
Partial 1 0.05 0.1544 0.05 0.1506
Partial 2 0.07 0.1448 0.07 0.1410
Full 0.19 0.1041 0.20 0.1016
Above 0.24 0.09271 0.34 0.06604







Table 2: Calculated variables to find Y
CP,theor.
and Y
CP,exp
, for =0 or =10.
Part A (=0)
m (kg) F
L
(KN) Y
G
(m) h
C
(m) A
G
(m
2
) F
W
(KN) Y
CP, theor.
(m) Y
CP, exp.
(m)
0.05 0.0004905 0.04877 0.02438 0.003097 0.000741 0.03251 0.01756
0.07 0.0006867 0.05842 0.02921 0.003710 0.001063 0.03895 0.02311
0.19 0.0018639 0.09906 0.04953 0.006290 0.00306 0.06604 0.05330
0.24 0.0023544 0.1016 0.05969 0.006452 0.00378 0.07410 0.09226
Part B (=10)
m (kg) F
L
(KN) Y
G
(m) h
C
(m) A
G
(m
2
) F
W
(KN) Y
CP, theor.
(m) Y
CP, exp.
(m)
0.05 0.0004905 0.05025 0.02475 0.003191 0.000775 0.03350 0.005439
0.07 0.0006867 0.06006 0.02957 0.003814 0.00111 0.04004 0.01212
0.20 0.001962 0.1016 0.04846 0.006452 0.00307 0.06669 0.05685
0.34 0.0033354 0.1016 0.08457 0.006452 0.00535 0.09589 0.08882


DISCUSSION

Based on the Table 1, Table 2, and the graph below, it can be inferred that the theoretical
center of pressure and the experimental center of pressure didnt match, big errors occurred.
Using the incline angle as 0 the results were unexpected, the linear tendency in the graph shows
that difference.
The values that came from the incline angle as 10 were better than the first. The linear
tendency is shown in the graph below.
Assuming that the Table 2 is the most accurate, its visible that the experimental center of
pressure was always lower than the theoretical center of pressure. It could be due to the incorrect
calibration of the length of load arm, at beginning of the experiment. This means that the
recorded length of load arm was not the correct one.
Other problem that could affect the results was the difficult to record the correct h
value, in the correct incline angle.

Figure 1.2

Questions:
1. Could this apparatus be used for other fluids to determine their center of pressure?
Answer: Yes. The only requirement is to know the specific weight of this new fluid. The centers
of pressure will be different than those found in the water experiment, but itll be proportional to
the values recorded using the new fluid.

2. What are the important forces to consider in your analysis?
Answer: The hydrostatic force in the centroid of the submerged gate and the force due to the
load, which is in the load arm.
0.00000
0.02000
0.04000
0.06000
0.08000
0.10000
0.12000
0.00000 0.02000 0.04000 0.06000 0.08000 0.10000
Y
C
P
,

T
h
e
o
r
.

(
m
)

YCP, exp. (m)
Y
CP, theor.
X Y
CP,

exp

=0
=10
Linear (=0)
Linear (=10)

3. List sources of error.
Answer: Due to misreading in the rule, adding more loads makes the system less stable, the
density of the water could differ from the one used in the lab; the density depends on the
temperature. The density/specific weight used in the calculations was the one related to 4 C, but
the temperature in the lab was higher than that.

4. Discuss your experimental and theoretical results.
Answer: Discussed above.

5. Would this experiment be suitable for two immiscible fluids? Explain.
Answer: No. Using this setup there will be two specific weights, so there will be two different
centers of pressure. Further, two layers of fluid would not fit the correct geometry to distribute
the pressure into the gate surface.

CONCLUSION

In conclusion, the objective was achieved. The center of pressure was found for different
situations, the hydrostatic force expressed its dependency on the height of water in the vessel,
and the relationships between theoretical and experimental values were stated and evaluated
through tables and a graph.

REFERENCES

Elger, D. F., Williams, B. C., Crowe, C. T., Roberson, J. A. Engineering Fluid Mechanics. 10
th

Edition. John Wiley & Sons, Inc.