9 Lab
9 Lab
9 Lab
Objective
To locate the position of metacenter (M) of a floating body.
Introduction
BUOYANCY
It is the tendency of fluid to lift a submerged body.
FORCE OF BUOYANCY (FB)
It is the resultant upward force or thrust exerted by a fluid on submerged body. According to
Archimedes Principle, FB = weight of volume of liquid displace by the body.
CENTER OF GRAVITY (C)
It is the point where is weight of the body is acting.
CENTER IF BUOYANCY (BO AND B)
It is the point to which force of Buoyancy is acting. Center of Buoyancy is center if gravity of
volume of liquid displace by the body. Or in 2D case, we can say that center if Area if immersed
section.
METACENTER
It is the point of intersection of symmetrical axis of floating body and the new line of action of
force of Buoyancy.
METACENTRIC HEIGHT (CM)
It is the distance between center of gravity (c) and Metacenter. It is the measure if static
stability of floating body. Large the metacentric height more is the stability. Very large
Metacentric height means shorter period of rolling that would be uncomfortable for the
passengers in the ship. That is why ship meant for passengers are designed for relatively small
metacentric height, (but sufficiently metacentric height). So, that both stability and comfort can
be provided.
The point about which a floating body tries to oscillate is called the metacenter of that
body. The distance between metacenter (M) and the center of gravity (G) of the floating
body is known as metacentric height (GM).The laboratory procedure to find out the
metacentric height of a floating body on water is briefly explained in this article.
Metacentric height of a floating body can be found using the following formula:
Where, GM = Metacentric height
w1 = Additional weight added
Y = Distance of w1 from center
W = Weight of floating ship
Methodology
Test procedure to find metacentric height of a floating body is as follows:
Take an empty tank and fill it with water up to 2/3rd of its height and note down the height of water
level (Z1).
Now place the floating ship in the tank and note down the rise in the water level (Z2).
Adjust the floating ship in such a way that the pointer should show zero reading on the graduated
scale.
After adjusting, add weight (w1) to the horizontal beam of floating ship at a known distance (Y) from
the center of the beam.
Now the ship will tilt at some angle on one side and observe the tilt angle on graduated scale and
note it down.
Repeat the same procedure for 4 more times by keeping the load constant and varying the distance
or by keeping the distance constant and varying the load.
In this case, distance is kept constant as (Y) and weight is varied.
Finally, calculate the metacentric height using the given formula
Gm= b2/12di – ( y- di/2) ---- Theoretical Formula
Gm= P/W × cot𝜃 ------- Experimental Formula
B = width = 0.2m
Di = depth of emergence = 0.024 m
Y = vertical height from bottom to g = 0.103m
P = mass = 0.306kg
W = Total body Weight= 1.71 kg
d
No. of obs l (m) b (m) W (kg) P (kg) di (m) y (m) x (m) Theta (deg) Theoretical GMExperimental GM % error
(m)
1 0.112 0.015 4.5 0.034 10%
0.038
2 0.112 0.025 7 0.036 5.26%
3 0.102 0.018 4 0.046 4.16%
0.048
4 0.102 0.027 6.5 0.044 10%
0.35 0.2 0.075 1.71 0.306 0.024
5 0.09 0.015 2.9 0.052987097 12.98
0.060888889
6 0.09 0.025 4.5 0.056843548 6.64
7 0.1 0.025 5.7 0.044820536 11.92471145
0.050888889
8 0.1 0.035 7.7 0.046323315 8.971652068
Conclusion
The procedure of determination of metacentric height, as well as its application to the stability
of floating bodies, has been discussed. For a stable equilibrium, the metacentric height must be
above of its center of gravity. A floating body is said to be in stable equilibrium if its
metacenter coincides with the center of gravity.