ENSC 283 INTRODUCTION TO FLUID MECHANICS

Chapter 2 - Pressure Distribution in a Fluid

Fluid Statics

Peyman Taheri

Fluid at Equilibrium: Hydrostatic Condition

When a volume of a fluid has a constant velocity, the fluid is at equilibrium. The most common case is a volume of fluid at rest, i.e., V = 0 , called the hydrostatic condition; as shown in Fig. 1 (left).

Non-equilibrium state

Equilibrium state

Figure1: Simple presentations of dynamic and static conditions for a liquid.

Note:

At hydrostatic condition the only forces acting on the volume of the fluid are due to gravity (weight) and pressure. Shear forces do not exist in hydrostatic condition sine no velocity is defined inside the fluid. Remember that viscous effects appear when the fluid is in motion.

Pressure Change in Hydrostatic Condition

Consider a small wedge of fluid at rest of size x, z, s and depth y into the paper, as shown in Fig. 2. There is no shear stress by definition, and pressure is assumed not to vary on each face (small element).

Figure 2: Equilibrium of a small wedge of fluid at rest.

Since the element is at rest, summation of all forces must equal zero. At x direction balances of forces is,

F
From geometry, z = s sin , then,

=0

p x y z = pn y s sin

(1)

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F
At z direction balances of forces is,

=0

p x = pn

(2)

=0

pn y s cos +

1 g x y z = pz x y 2

(3)

From geometry, x = s cos , then

F
Equations (2) and (4) mean,

=0

pn +

1 g z = pz 2

(4)

1) There is no pressure change in the horizontal direction. 2) There is a vertical change in pressure proportional to the density, gravity and depth change in the fluid (i.e. the weight of the column of the fluid above the point). Note: In the limit, as the fluid wedge shrinks to a point, z goes to zero, we have,

px = pz = pn = p
Thus, pressure in a static fluid is a point property.

(5)

Pressure Force on a Fluid Element

Assume the pressure vary arbitrarily in a fluid, p = p( x, y , z ) . Consider a fluid element of size x, y, z as shown in Fig. 3.

Figure 3: Net force in the x direction due to pressure variation

The net force in the x direction is given by,

p p dFx = p dy dz p + dx dy dz = dx dy dz x x In a similar manner, net forces acting in y and z directions can be calculated as, (6)

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p p dFy = p dx dz p + dy dx dz = dx dy dz y y p p dFz = p dx dy p + dz dx dy = dx dy dz z z
ure is, The total force vector, due to pressu
p p p dFpress = i + j + k dx dy dz y z x

(7)

(8)

at the term in the parenthes ses is the gra adient of pres ssure. Pressu ure is a scalar but its gradie ent is Notice tha a vector (s shown by bol ld letter Fpress ). The term dx dy dz = dV , is the volum me of the elem ment. Therefo ore, one can write, w
dFpress p p p = i + j + k = p y z dV x

f press =

(9)

e per unit volu ume. where fpre ess is the force Note: Based B on Eq. (9), ( when pres ssure varies in n a fluid (rem member that in n the above ca alculations w we as ssumed p = p( x, y, z ) ) ther re will be a fo orce inside the e fluid, which h potentially c can cause flow w of th he fluid. In su uch a case, equ uilibrium exis sts when the p pressure grad dient force is b balanced with h the weight w of the fluid f (due to gravity g or any y other extern nal acceleratio on).

Hydr rostatic c Pressu ure Dist tributio on

For a fluid d at rest, the summation s of f forces acting g on the elem ment is balance ed by the gra avity force,

p = g
Equation (10) gives the e hydrostatic c distribution and is corre ect for all fluid ds at equilibri ium.

(10)

onally, gravity y direction an nd thus the dir rection of gr ravity force are downwa ard, that is in nz Conventio direction,

g = 0i + 0 j g k

with

m g = 9.807 2 s

to its compon nents gives, Expanding Eq. (10) int

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p p p j + k = (0 i + 0 j g k ) i+ y z x p = 0, x p = 0, y p = g = z

(11)

Since pressure is only a function of z (independent of x and y), we can write,

dp = g = dz p2 p1 = dz
1 2

(12)

We can conclude that pressure varies only with vertical distance (direction of gravity) and is independent of the shape of the container. The pressure is the same at all points on a given horizontal plane in a fluid.

Figure .4: Hydrostatic pressure is only a function of the depth of the fluid, pa = pb = pc = pd . However,
p A = pB = pC pD , because point D, although at the same level, lies beneath a different fluid (mercury with a

different density than water). The free surface of the container is atmospheric and forms a horizontal line.

For liquids, which are incompressible, = const. , we have,

p2 p1 = ( z2 z1 )
Note:

z1 z2 =

p2 p1

(13)

The quantity p / is a length called the pressure head of the fluid.

Gage Pressure and Vacuum Pressure

The actual pressure at a given position is called the absolute pressure, and it is measured relative to absolute vacuum. The measured pressure may be either lower (called vacuum pressure) or higher (gage pressure) than the local atmosphere.

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Figure 5: Absolute, gage, and vacuum pressures.

Barometer: A Device to Measure Atmosphere Pressure

Figure 6: A barometer measures local absolute atmospheric pressure.

Mercury has an extremely small vapor pressure at room temperature (almost vacuum), thus p1  0 . Based on Eq. (13) we can write,
p2 p1 = Hg ( z2 z1 ) or patm 0 = Hg ( 0 h ) and h=

Hg

patm

(14)

At the sea level, the atmospheric pressure reads, 761 mmHg.

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Hydrostatic Pressure in Gases

Gases are compressible, thus the variation in density must be considered in hydrostatic calculations. Using the ideal gas equation of state, p = RT ,
p p g = g = z RT

(15)

After integration between points 1 and 2 and also assuming a constant temperature at both points T1 = T2 = T0 (isothermal atmosphere), we find,

dp g dz = p RT0

or

g ( z2 z1 ) p2 = p1 exp RT0

(16)

The isothermal assumption is a fair assumption for low altitudes. However, for higher altitudes the atmospheric temperature drops linearly with z, i.e., T  T0 B z , where T0 is the sea-level temperature (in Kelvin) and B = 0.00650 K/m, then,

Bz p = patm 1 T0 Note:

g / RB

and

g = 5.26 (for air) RB

(17)

The atmospheric pressure is nearly zero (vacuum condition) at z = 30 km.

Manometer
A change of elevation in a liquid is equivalent to a change in the pressure, h = p / . Thus a static column of one or multiple fluids can be used to measure pressure difference between 2 points. Such a device is called manometer.
Example: A U-tube manometer is attached to tank A to measure the gas pressure inside the tank. Specific weight of the gas and the liquid inside the manometer are 1 and 2 , respectively. Find the gage and absolute

pressure of the tank.

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Pressure at point 1 is pA (tank pressure) p1 = p A . From point 1 to point 2 pressure increases by 1h1 . From point 2 to 3 there is no pressure change p2 = p3 From point 3 to point 4 pressure decreases by 2 h2 While moving from point A to the open end of the tube, we can write,

pA + 1h1 2 h2 = patm

or

pA = patm 1h1 + 2 h2

When patm is omitted from the above calculation then the pressure is gage pressure, otherwise it is absolute pressure (as presented above).

Two roles for manometer analysis: 1) Adding/ subtracting z as moving down/up in a fluid column.

2) Jumping across U-tubes between any two points at the same elevation in a continuous mass of the same fluid.
Example: Find the pressure difference between tank A and B.

Pressure at point 1 is p A (tank pressure) p1 = p A . From point 1 to point 2 pressure increases by 1h1 . From point 2 to 3 there is no pressure change p2 = p3 From point 3 to point 4 pressure decreases by 2 h2 From point 4 to 5 pressure decreases by 3 h3 While moving from point A to point B, we can write,

pA + 1h1 2 h2 3 h3 = pB

or

pA pB = 3 h3 + 2 h2 1h1

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Example: In the figure an inclined manometer is shown, which are used to measure very small pressure differences. Find the pressure difference between tank A and tank B.

Pressure at point 1 is p A (tank pressure) p1 = p A . From point 1 to point 2 pressure increases by 1h1 . From point 2 to 3 there is no pressure change p2 = p3 From point 3 to point 4 pressure decreases by 2 h2 = 2 L2 sin From point 4 to 5 pressure decreases by 3 h3 = 3 L3 sin While moving from point A to point B, we can write,

pA + 1h1 2 L2 sin 3 L3 sin = pB

or

p A pB = 3 L3 sin + 2 L2 sin 1h1

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