SIMPLE FLUID MECHANICS EXPERIMENTS

AND CALCULATIONS
This article tells you the concept of a simple fluid
mechanics experiment and its calculation as its application
in the marine field and other fields involving hydraulics.
This simple fluid mechanics experiment is based on the
principle of Pascal’s law.
Fluid Mechanics Experiment:
Let there be a fluid system consisting of two cylinders
of different diameters. One cylinder is of larger
diameter and contains a ram in it that can be moved
up and down. Another cylinder is of smaller and
contains a plunger that can move as well. The large
cylinder and small cylinder are connected by a pipe of
suitable thickness in order to withstand the pressure
created inside. The cylinders and pipe contain liquid or
hydraulic oil via which pressure can be transmitted.
On application of a small force on the plunger in a
downward direction, a pressure is produced on the
liquid in contact with the plunger. This pressure is
transmitted equally in all the directions and acts on the
large cylinder ram to move it.
It is observed that the movement of the plunger in the small
cylinder due to the small force applied displaces the hydraulic
fluid in it. Since the hydraulic fluid or oil cannot be compressed,
pressure builds up inside the cylinder which depends upon the
force applied and the size of the plunger. The pressure created
inside the cylinder will act equally in all directions as stated by
pascal’s law. The same pressure acts on the ram that is in
contact with the hydraulic fluid. This will exert a force on the ram
and moves the ram in the desired direction. The force which
that moves the ram depend on the diameter of the ram and the
pressure developed in the hydraulic fluid due to the force
applied manually on the plunger. Finally, the force applied
manually on the plunger is converted into the desired motion on
the ram which is the system output.
Calculations Related to above Experiment

Let f1 be the force applied on the plunger

f2 be the force acting on the ram
Let A1 be the area of the plunger
A2 be the area of the ram
p will be the intensity of pressure produced by the force f1
Therefore
Pressure intensity produced by the force f1 = (force applied on the plunger
f1) / (area of the plunger A1)
As per Pascal’s law, the pressure intensity in a static fluid is transmitted
equally in all directions, so the above intensity of pressure produced by the
plunger will be equally transmitted in all directions. Therefore the pressure
intensity at the ram will be equal to the force applied on the plunger f1
divided by area of the plunger A1.
Also pressure intensity on the ram = (force acting on ram f2) / (area of the
ram A2).
Equating the pressure intensity on the ram, we get
(f1 / A1) = (f2 / A2).
The total force acting on the ram f2 = (force applied on the plunger f1 ×
area of the ram A2) / area of the plunger A1
Example for the above Derivation
Let us consider a ram with 300 mm diameter to be moved, the diameter of plunger is 20mm, and th
force applied on the plunger is 100N.

Next the Force available at the ram = (Force applied on the plunger × Area of the ram) / Area of the
plunger

Area of the ram = ( 3.14×0.32 ) / 4

Area of the ram=0.07068 mm2

Area of the plunger or piston = ( 3.14 ×.022 ) / 4

Area of the plunger or piston =0.00031 mm2

Force available at the ram = (100 × 0.07068 ) / 0.00031

Force available at the ram =22509.55 N

From the above example, it is proved that the force applied manually on the system is only 100N
and which gets converted to 22510N and can be able to operate the heavy system that cannot be
Application
The above explained simple experiment is used in
hydraulic steering gear. The small movement of the
steering wheel in the navigation bridge might actuate
the rudder to turn towards starboard or port side due to
oil pressure acting on the ram.
● Hydraulic Steering Gear
● Working
● When wheel 1 is turned anticlockwise, the pinion 2 moves
the toothed rack 3 downward and moves the toothed rack
4 upward. As it is fixed to the two pistons 5 and 6, the
piston also moves correspondingly. As these two
cylinders 7 & 8 are filled with oil, the movement of the
pistons yields in oil pressure being applied to the bottom
of the piston 10 and moves it upward and these forces the
oil in upper part of cylinder 9 up in to the cylinder 8.
Piston 10 has a piston rod connected to a slide valve 11. In its middle
position, the slide valve just closes the ports 12, 13, 14 in the slide valve
housing 15. As the piston 10 moves upward, the slide valve 11 moves
along with it and opens port 12 and 14. These results oil from the pressure
vessel to come under side of the piston 20 and the oil above piston 20 is
forced in to the slide valve housing 15 and out through the port 12 to the
discharge tank 16. As a result the piston 21 moves upward along with the
piston 20 since both these piston are connected together by piston rod.
These upward movements of the two pistons impart movement to the tiller
arm which is mounted on the rudder stock and hence moves the rudder.
Thank You