Fluid Mechanics I

BDA 20603
Chapter 2 :
Part 2 – Fluid Static

By:
Bukhari Manshoor, PhD CEng MIET PTech
Assoc. Prof.
Dept. of Mechanical Engineering
Faculty of Mechanical & Manufacturing Engineering

© Dr. Bukhari bin Manshoor

Introduction
 Fluid statics deals with problems associated with fluids at rest.
 Fluid statics - generally referred to as hydrostatics when the fluid is a liquid and as
aerostatics when the fluid is a gas.
 In fluid statics - no relative motion between adjacent fluid layers, i.e. no shear (tangential)
stresses in the fluid trying to deform it.
 Stress we deal with in fluid statics is the normal stress – i.e. pressure, and the variation of
pressure is due only to the weight of the fluid. (fluid statics is only relevant in presence of gravity
fields)
 Applications: Floating or submerged bodies, water dams and gates, liquid storage tanks, etc.
 The complete description of the resultant hydrostatic force acting on a submerged surface
requires the determination of the magnitude, the direction, and the line of action of the
force.
 This module - will consider the forces acting on both plane and curved surfaces of
submerged bodies due to pressure.
Force on Submerged Plane Surface
 On a plane surface, the hydrostatic forces form a system of parallel forces.
 For many applications, magnitude (Resulting force, FR) and location of application
(Centre of pressure, CP), must be determined.
 In most cases, the other side of the plate is open to the atmosphere, thus atmospheric pressure
acts on both sides of the plate, yielding a zero resultant - convenient to work with the gage
pressure only.
 Atmospheric pressure Patm can be neglected when it acts on both sides of the surface.
Resulting Force, FR
 Consider the top surface of a flat plate of arbitrary shape completely submerged in a liquid.
 The plane of this surface (normal to the page) intersects the horizontal free surface with an angle θ.
 Absolute pressure above the liquid is P0, (Patm if the liquid is open to the atmosphere)
 The absolute pressure at any point on the plate;

P  Po  gh patm Free surface

 gy sin  θ
  y sin  h
hc dF y
FR yc
yx
- h is the vertical distance of the point from the x
free surface.
- y is the distance of the point from the x-axis
A dA
c
CP
xc c = centroid
y xR CP = Centre of pressure
 FR acting on the surface - integrate the force PdA acting on a differential area dA over the entire
surface area; st
1 moment of

 PdA  gy sin  .dA  g sin   ydA

area
FR 
A A A

 1st moment of area is related to the y-coordinate of the centroid (or center) of the surface by;

 ydA
1
yc 
A
A

 Therefore;
FR  gyc sin  A
 ghc A
 hc A
Centre of Pressure, CP
 Line of action of FR does not pass through the centroid of the surface (generally it lies underneath
where the pressure is higher).
 Vertical location of Cp → equating the moment of the resultant force to the moment of the
distributed pressure force about the x-axis.


2nd moment of area /
FR y R 
 ydF  y  sin  dA   sin   y dA Ix  y 2 dA
2 2
moment of inertia
A
A A A

 sin  I x  sin  I x Ix
yR    yR 
FR  yc sin  A yc A

 The 2nd moments of area about two parallel axes related

to each other by the parallel axis theorem;
I x  I xc  A yc 2 Ixc is the second moment of area about the x-axis
passing through the centroid of the area.

 Therefore;
I xc
yR   yc
yc A
The centroid and the centroidal moments of inertia for some common geometries.
Special Case: Submerged Rectangular Plate
 Consider the tank having vertical walls and holding a liquid density ρ to a depth of h.
 The graphical representation of the pressure change with depth on one of the vertical walls.
 From isometric view, the pressure distribution form a volume of prism as in figure.
 Pressure increases from zero at the surface linearly the maximum at the base with p= γh.
 Resultant force, FR on the vertical wall represents by the volume of the prism.
1
Prisme volume   h  h  b
2 patm

1 2
FR  h b
2
p h
 The force acts through the centroid of the h
pressure diagram (for triangle, the centroid is at FR FR
2/3 its height). CP
h/3
h/3
 FR acts horizontally through the point 2/3h b
from the surface. γh γh
 For the case where the Patm not equal to zero, same method can be use.
 Refer to the graphical of the pressure distribution;
FR  F1  F2

Where, F1  h1  h2  h1  and F2   h2  h1 2

1
2
 Location where the FR acts on the vertical wall can be determine by taking a moment at any
point, i.e. at point A;
patm
FR y A  F1 y1  F2 y2 h1 γh1
B A
F y  F2 y2
 yA  1 1 p y1
yA
FR h2 F1 y2
FR
F2

C D E
γ(h2-h1)

Graphical of the pressure distribution

Exercise 1
Consider a 4 m long, 4 m wide, and 1.5 m high above ground swimming pool that is filled with
water to the rim.
a) Determine the hydrostatic force on each wall and the distance of the line of action of this force
from the ground.
b) If the height of the walls of the pool is doubled and the pool is filled, will the hydrostatic force
on each wall double or quadruple? Why?
Exercise 2
A room in the lower level of a cruise ship has a 30 cm diameter circular window. If the midpoint of
the window is 5 m below the water surface, determine the hydrostatic force acting on the window,
and the pressure center. Take the specific gravity of seawater to be 1.025.
Exercise 3
A 4m high, 5m wide rectangular plate blocks the end of a 4m deep freshwater channel, as
shown in figure. The plate is hinged about a horizontal axis along its upper edge through a point
A and is restrained from opening by a fixed ridge at point B. Determine the force exerted on the
plate by the ridge.
Exercise 4
The two sides of a V-shaped water trough are hinged to each other at the bottom where they meet,
as shown in figure, making an angle of 45° with the ground from both sides. Each side is 0.75 m
wide, and the two parts are held together by a cable and turnbuckle placed every 6 m along the
length of the trough. Calculate the tension in each cable when the trough is filled to the rim.
Exercise 5
The flow of water from a reservoir is controlled by a 5m wide L-shaped gate hinged at point A, as
shown in figure. If it is desired that the gate open when the water height is 12 m, determine the mass
of the required weight W.
Exercise 6
A pressurized tank contains oil (specific gravity = 0.9) and has a square. 0.6 m by 0.6 m plate bolted
to its side, as in figure. When the pressure gage on the top of the tank reads 50 kPa, what is the
magnitude and location of the resultant force on the attached plate? The outside of the tank is at
atmospheric pressure.
Exercise 7
The 4 m diameter circular gate as in figure is located in the inclined wall of a large reservoir
containing water. The gate is mounted on a shaft along its horizontal diameter. For a water depth of
10 m above the shaft, determine:
a) The magnitude and location of the resultant force exerted on the gate by the water.
b) The moment that would have to applied to the shaft to open the gate.
Force on Submerged Curved Surfaces
 FR on a curved surface is more involved since it requires integration of the pressure forces that
change direction along the surface.
 Easiest approach - determine horizontal and vertical components FH and FV separately.
 This is done by considering the free-body diagram of the liquid block enclosed by the curved
surface and the two plane surfaces passing through the two ends of the curved surface, as in figure.
 Horizontal force component on curved surface; FH  Fx
 Line of action on vertical plane gives y-coordinate of center of pressure on curved surface.
 Vertical force component on curved surface; FV  Fy  W where W is the weight of the
liquid in the enclosed block.
 x-coordinate of the center of pressure is a combination of line of action on horizontal plane
(centroid of area) and line of action through volume (centroid of volume).
 Magnitude of force;

FR  FH 2  FV 2

 Angle of force;
  tan1FV / FH 

 The exact location of the line of action of the FR (e.g., its distance from one of the end points of the
curved surface) can be determined by taking a moment about an appropriate point .
 The steps to determine the hydrostatic force, FR on curved surface can be simplify as follows;

1. Take out the section or fluid volume that want to analysis.

2. Draw the free body diagram and determine all the forces involved with the directions.
3. Calculate all the magnitudes that acts on horizontal and vertical direction, Fx, Fy and W.
4. Determine the value of horizontal force, FH and vertical force, FV based on the free
body diagram.
5. Determine the value of hydrostatic force, FR and the direction, θ.
Exercise 8
A long solid cylinder of radius 0.8 m hinged at point A is used as an automatic gate, as shown in
figure. When the water level reaches 5 m, the
gate opens by turning about the hinge at point A. Determine;
a) The hydrostatic force acting on the cylinder and its line of action when the gate opens.
b) The weight of the cylinder per m length of the cylinder. The magnitude and location of the
resultant force exerted on the gate by the water.
Exercise 9
A water trough of semicircular cross section of radius 0.5 m consists of two symmetric parts hinged
to each other at the bottom, as shown in figure. The two parts are held together by a cable and
turnbuckle placed every 3 m along
the length of the trough. Calculate the tension in each cable when the trough is filled to the rim.
Exercise 10
A 4 m long quarter-circular gate of radius 3 m and of negligible weight is hinged about its upper
edge A, as shown in figure. The gate controls the flow of water over the ledge at B, where the gate
is pressed by a spring. Determine the minimum spring force required to keep the gate closed when
the water level rises to A at the upper edge of the gate.