EBS2313: FLUID MECHANICS

CHAPTER 2- FLUID STATICS

PART - 2

Dr. Nandika Miguntanna

[email protected]
1
 Intended Learning Outcomes
Determine the direction of the hydrostatic force
acting on a submerged surface.

Calculate the magnitude of the hydrostatic force

acting on a submerged plane surface.

Determine the location of the hydrostatic force

acting on a submerged plane surface.

2
 Content
 Hydrostatic Force on a Plane Surface

 Pressure Prism

 The effect of atmospheric pressure on a

submerged area

3
Hydrostatic Force on Plane Surface

• When a surface is submerged in a fluid, forces

develop on the surface due to the fluid.

• The determination of these forces is important

in the design of storage tanks, reservoirs and
other hydraulic structures and devices.

4
Hydrostatic Force on Plane Surface contd.

• For fluids at rest , the force must be

perpendicular to the surface since there are
no shearing stresses present.

• The pressure will vary linearly with depth as

shown in Fig. 1, if the fluid is incompressible.

5
Hydrostatic Force on Plane Surface contd.

Figure 1 (a) Pressure distribution and resultant hydrostatic force on

the bottom of an open tank. (b) Pressure distribution on the ends of
an open tank.
The resultant force of a static fluid on a plane surface is
due to the hydrostatic pressure distribution on the
surface. 6
Hydrostatic Force on Plane Surface contd.
For the horizontal surface (bottom) of the tank

Note that if
atmospheric pressure
acts on both sides of
the bottom, the
resultant force on the
bottom is simply due
to the liquid in the
tank.

7
Hydrostatic Force on Plane Surface contd.
For the horizontal surface (bottom) of the tank contd.

FR=pA p - uniform pressure on the

bottom
A - the area of the bottom
p=h

Since the pressure is constant and uniformly

distributed over the bottom, the resultant force
acts through the centroid of the area.
8
Hydrostatic Force on Plane Surface contd.

For the ends of the tank

the pressure on the

ends of the tank is not
uniformly distributed

How to determine the resultant force for situations

such as this ?.
9
Hydrostatic Force on Plane Surface contd.
Resultant Force and Center of Pressure on a Submerged
Plane Surface in a Liquid

We wish to determine
the direction, location,
and magnitude of the
resultant force acting
on one side of this area
due to the liquid in
contact with the area.
Figure 2. Notation for
hydrostatic force on an inclined
plane surface of arbitrary
10
shape.
Hydrostatic Force on Plane Surface contd.

Assumptions
• Assume that the fluid surface is open to the atmosphere.

• Let the plane in which the surface lies intersect the free
surface at O and make an angle θ with this surface.

• The x–y coordinate system is defined so that O is the

origin and y = 0 (i.e., the x-axis) is directed along the
surface as shown.

• The area can have an arbitrary shape as shown.

11
Hydrostatic Force on Plane Surface contd.
• Consider the differential area dA at any given depth, h,
(See Fig. 2)
the force acting on dA is dF
dF=  hdA
perpendicular to the surface.

• Thus, the magnitude of the resultant force FR

• where h= y sinθ, For constant  and θ

12
Hydrostatic Force on Plane Surface contd.

• The integral is the first moment of the area with

respect to the x axis, so we can write
yc is the y coordinate of the centroid of
area A measured from the x axis which
passes through O.

• Therefore;

FR = hcA
hc is the vertical distance from the
fluid surface to the centroid of the
area. 13
Hydrostatic Force on Plane Surface contd.

• Note that the magnitude of the force is

independent of the angle θ .
• It depends only on the specific weight of the fluid,
the total area, and the depth of the centroid of
the area below the surface.

14
Hydrostatic Force on Plane Surface contd.

Resultant Force Submerged Plane Surface in a

Liquid FR
FR = hcA

The magnitude of the resultant

fluid force is equal to the pressure
acting at the centroid of the area
multiplied by the total area and
perpendicular to the surface.

15
Hydrostatic Force on Plane Surface contd.
• Where this force acts?
Although our intuition might suggest that the
resultant force should pass through the centroid
of the area, this is not actually the case.

16
Hydrostatic Force on Plane Surface contd.
• The y coordinate, yR of the resultant force can be
determined by summation of moments around
the x axis.
• That is, the moment of the resultant force must
equal the moment of the distributed pressure
force, or

• and, therefore, since

17
Hydrostatic Force on Plane Surface contd.
• The integral in the numerator is the second moment of
the area (moment of inertia), Ix with respect to an axis
formed by the intersection of the plane containing the
surface and the free surface (x axis).
• Thus, we can write

• According to the parallel axis theorem,

Ixc is the second moment of the
area with respect to an axis
passing through its centroid
and parallel to the x axis 18
Hydrostatic Force on Plane Surface contd.
• Thus

• That is,
the resultant force does not pass
through the centroid but for
non horizontal surfaces is always
below it, since Ixc/ycA >0

The resultant fluid force does not pass through the

centroid of the area. 19
Hydrostatic Force on Plane Surface contd.
• The x coordinate, for the resultant force can be
determined by summing moments about the y axis.
Thus,

• Ixy - product of inertia with respect to an orthogonal

coordinate system passing through the centroid of the
area and formed by a translation of the x–y coordinate
system.
• If the submerged area is symmetrical with respect to an
axis passing through the centroid and parallel to either
the x or y axes, the resultant force must lie along the line
x=xc since Ixyc is identically zero in this case. 20
Hydrostatic Force on Plane Surface contd.

• The point through which the resultant force acts is called

the center of pressure.

• As yc increases the center of pressure moves closer to

the centroid of the area.

• Since yc= hc/sinθ, the distance yc will increase if the

depth of submergence, increases, or, for a given depth,
the area is rotated so that the angle, θ decreases.

21
Hydrostatic Force on Plane Surface contd.

• Thus, the hydrostatic force on the right-hand side of

the gate shown in figure acts closer to the centroid of
the gate than the force on the left-hand side.

22
Hydrostatic Force on Plane Surface contd.

Figure 3 Centroidal
coordinates and
moments of inertia for
some common areas.
23
Example 1
Hydrostatic Force on a Plane Circular Surface

24
Example 2
Hydrostatic Force on a Plane Circular Surface
The 4-m-diameter circular gate of Fig. 4a is located in the
inclined wall of a large reservoir containing water
(γ= 9.80 kN/m3). The gate is mounted on a shaft along its
horizontal diameter, and the water depth is 10 m above the
shaft. Determine
(a) the magnitude and location of the resultant force
exerted on the gate by the water and
(b) the moment that would have to be applied to the shaft
to open the gate.

25
Figure 4

26
Example 1: Hydrostatic Force on a Plane Circular Surface
Solution
(a) To find the magnitude of the force of the water we can
apply
FR=γhcA
and since the vertical distance from the fluid surface to
the centroid of the area is 10 m, it follows that
FR= (9.80 x 103 N/m3)(10 m) (4π m2)
= 1.23 MN
To locate the point (center of pressure) through which
FR acts, we use

27
Example 1: Hydrostatic Force on a Plane Circular Surface
For the coordinate system shown, xR =0, since the area is
symmetrical, and the center of pressure must lie along the
diameter AA.
To obtain yR, we have

And yc is shown in Figure 4(b). Thus,

𝜋 4
4 2m 10 𝑚
𝑦𝑅 = 0 2
+
10𝑚 𝑠𝑖𝑛60 4𝜋 𝑚 sin 600
𝑦𝑅 = 0.0866 𝑚 + 11.55 𝑚 = 11.6 𝑚
the distance (along the gate) below the shaft to the center
of pressure is yR- yc = 0.0866 m 28
Example 1: Hydrostatic Force on a Plane Circular Surface
Conclusion
 The force on the gate due to the water has a magnitude
of 1.23 MN
 It acts through a point along its diameter A-A at a
distance of 0.0866 m (along the gate) below the shaft.
 The force is perpendicular to the gate surface
(See Fig. 4b).

29
Example 1: Hydrostatic Force on a Plane Circular Surface
Note: By repeating the calculations for various values of
the depth to the centroid, hc (See Fig. 4.d).

Note that as the depth

increases, the distance
between the center of
pressure and the
centroid decreases.

Figure 4. d
30
Example 1: Hydrostatic Force on a Plane Circular Surface
(b) The moment required to open the gate can be
obtained with the aid of the free-body diagram. In this
diagram w is the weight of the gate and Ox and Oy are the
horizontal and vertical reactions of the shaft on the gate.

We can now sum moments about the shaft

∑ Mc = 0
And therefore,
M = FR (yR-yc)
= (1230 x 103 N) (0.0866 m)
= 1.07 x 105 N.m
31
 Pressure Prism
• An informative and useful graphical interpretation can be
made for the force developed by a fluid acting on a plane
rectangular area.

• Consider the pressure distribution along a vertical wall of

a tank of constant width b, which contains a liquid
having a specific weight, γ.

32
Pressure Prism contd.
Pressure varies linearly with depth, (See Fig. 5 a),
where the pressure is equal to zero at the upper
surface and equal to γh at the bottom.

Figure 5

33
Pressure Prism contd.
• The average pressure occurs at the depth h/2
and therefore the resultant force acting on the
rectangular area A=bh is

34
Pressure Prism contd.

• The pressure distribution shown in Fig. 5a

applies across the vertical surface so we can
draw the three-dimensional representation of
the pressure distribution as shown in Fig.5b.
• The base of this “volume” in pressure-area
space is the plane surface of interest, and its
altitude at each point is the pressure.

35
Pressure Prism contd.
• This volume is called the pressure prism, and the
magnitude of the resultant force FR acting on the
rectangular surface is equal to the volume of the
pressure prism.

where bh is the area of the

rectangular surface, A.
36
Pressure Prism contd.
• The resultant force must pass through the centroid of the
pressure prism.

• For the volume under consideration the centroid is located

along the vertical axis of symmetry of the surface, and at a
distance of h/3 above the base (since the centroid of a
triangle is located at h/3 above its base).

The magnitude of the resultant fluid force is equal to

the volume of the pressure prism and passes through
its centroid.
37
Pressure Prism contd.
• This same graphical approach can be used for plane
rectangular surfaces that do not extend up to the fluid
surface, as illustrated in Fig. 6a.

Figure 6

• In this instance, the cross section of the pressure prism

is trapezoidal. 38
Pressure Prism contd.
• The resultant force is still equal
in magnitude to the volume of
the pressure prism, and it
passes through the centroid of
the volume.

• F1 and F2 can be obtained by

decomposing the pressure prism
into two parts, ABDE and BCD
(see Fig. 6b).
FR= F1+F2
39
Pressure Prism contd.
• The location of FR can be
determined by summing
moments about some
convenient axis, such as
one passing through A.
FR yA= F1y1+F2y2
y1 and y2 can be determined
by inspection.

40
Pressure Prism contd.
• For inclined plane rectangular surfaces the pressure
prism can still be developed, and the cross section of
the prism will generally be trapezoidal (See Fig. 7).
• Although it is usually convenient to measure distances
along the inclined surface, the pressures developed
depend on the vertical distances as illustrated.

Figure 7
41
Pressure Prism contd.
• The use of pressure prisms for determining the force on
submerged plane areas is convenient if the area is rectangular
so the volume and centroid can be easily determined.

• However, for other nonrectangular shapes, integration would

generally be needed to determine the volume and centroid.

• In these circumstances it is more convenient to use the

equations developed in the previous section, in which the
necessary integrations have been made and the results
presented in a convenient and compact form that is
applicable to submerged plane areas of any shape.
42
The effect of atmospheric pressure on a
submerged area
How the atmospheric pressure will influence the
resultant force ?
• Consider the pressure distribution on a plane vertical
wall, as is shown in Fig. 8a.

Figure 8 Effect of atmospheric pressure on the resultant force acting on

43
a plane vertical wall
The effect of atmospheric pressure on a submerged
area contd.
• The pressure varies from zero at the surface to γh at
the bottom. Since we are setting the surface pressure
equal to zero, we are using atmospheric pressure as
our datum, and thus the pressure used in the
determination of the fluid force is gage pressure.

• If we wish to include atmospheric pressure, the

pressure distribution will be as is shown in Fig. 8b.

44
The effect of atmospheric pressure on a submerged
area contd.
• Note that in this case the force
on one side of the wall now
consists of FR as a result of the
hydrostatic pressure distribution,
plus the contribution of the
atmospheric pressure patmA,
where A is the area of the
surface.

• However, this same pressure acts on the outside surface

(assuming it is exposed to the atmosphere), so that an
equal and opposite force will be developed as illustrated
in the figure. 45
The effect of atmospheric pressure on a submerged
area contd.
 Therefore, the resultant fluid force on the surface is that
due only to the gage pressure contribution of the liquid in
contact with the surface—the atmospheric pressure does
not contribute to this resultant

 Of course, if the surface pressure of the liquid is different

from atmospheric pressure (such as might occur in a
closed tank), the resultant force acting on a submerged
area, A, will be changed in magnitude from that caused
simply by hydrostatic pressure by an amount psA where ps
is the gage pressure at the liquid surface (the outside
surface is assumed to be exposed to atmospheric
pressure). 46
The effect of atmospheric pressure on a submerged
area contd.

The resultant fluid force acting on a

submerged area is affected by the pressure
at the free surface.

47
EXAMPLE 3 Use of the Pressure Prism Concept

A pressurized tank contains oil (SG=0.90) and has a square, 0.6 m

by 0.6 m plate bolted to its side, as is illustrated in Fig. 9a. The
pressure gage on the top of the tank reads 50 kPa, and the
outside of the tank is at atmospheric pressure. What is the
magnitude and location of the resultant force on the attached
plate?

Figure 9
48
SOLUTION

49
SOLUTION

The magnitude of the resultant force, FR is therefore

50
SOLUTION
The vertical location of FR can be obtained by summing
moments around an axis through point O so that

Thus, the force acts at a distance

of 0.296 m above the bottom of
the plate along the vertical axis of
symmetry.
Note that the air pressure used in the calculation of the force
was gage pressure. Atmospheric pressure does not affect the
resultant force (magnitude or location), since it acts on both
sides of the plate, thereby canceling its effect. 51
52