Physics: Pascal Principles

Copyright R. Janow Spring 2010

 Physics 106 Lecture 13
Fluid Mechanics
SJ 8th Ed.: Chap 14.1 to 14.5

• What is a fluid?
• Pressure
• Pressure varies with depth
• Pascal’s principle
• Methods for measuring pressure
• Buoyant forces
• Archimedes principle
• Fluid dynamics assumptions
• An ideal fluid
• Continuity Equation
• Bernoulli’s Equation

Copyright R. Janow Spring 2010

 What is a fluid?
Solids: strong intermolecular forces
▪ definite volume and shape
▪ rigid crystal lattices, as if atoms on stiff springs
▪ deforms elastically (strain) due to moderate stress
(pressure) in any direction

Fluids: substances that can “flow”

▪ no definite shape
▪ molecules are randomly arranged, held by weak cohesive intermolecular
forces and by the walls of a container
▪ liquids and gases are both fluids

Liquids: definite volume but no definite shape

▪ often almost incompressible under pressure (from all sides)
▪ can not resist tension or shearing (crosswise) stress
▪ no long range ordering but near neighbor molecules can be held weakly together
Gases: neither volume nor shape are fixed
▪ molecules move independently of each other
▪ comparatively easy to compress: density depends on temperature and pressure

Fluid Statics - fluids at rest (mechanical equilibrium)

Fluid Dynamics – fluid flow (continuity, energy Copyright
conservation)
R. Janow Spring 2010
Mass and Density
• Density is mass per unit volume at a point:
• scalar
• units are kg/m3, gm/cm3..
• ρwater= 1000 kg/m3= 1.0 gm/cm3
• Volume and density vary with temperature - slightly in liquids
• The average molecular spacing in gases is much greater than in liquids.

Copyright R. Janow Spring 2010

Force & Pressure
• The pressure P on a “small” area ΔA is the ratio of the
magnitude of the net force to the area

PΔA

• Pressure is a scalar while force is a vector

• The direction of the force producing a pressure is perpendicular
to some area of interest

• At a point in a fluid (in mechanical

equilibrium) the pressure is the same in
h any direction

Pressure units:
▪ 1 Pascal (Pa) = 1 Newton/m2 (SI)
▪ 1 PSI (Pound/sq. in) = 6894 Pa.
▪ 1 milli-bar = 100 Pa.
Copyright R. Janow Spring 2010
 Forces/Stresses in Fluids
• Fluids do not allow shearing stresses or tensile stresses.

Tension Shear Compression

• The only stress that can be exerted on an object submerged in a
static fluid is one that tends to compress the object from all sides
• The force exerted by a static fluid on an object is always
perpendicular to the surfaces of the object

Question: Why can you push a pin easily into a potato, say, using
very little force, but your finger alone can not push into the skin even
if you push very hard?
Copyright R. Janow Spring 2010
 Pressure in a fluid varies with depth
Fluid is in static equilibrium y=0
The net force on the shaded volume = 0
• Incompressible liquid - constant density ρ
y1 F1 P1
• Horizontal surface areas = A
h
• Forces on the shaded region:
F2 P2
– Weight of shaded fluid: Mg y2
Mg
– Downward force on top: F1 =P1A
– Upward force on bottom: F2 = P2A

• In terms of density, the mass of the The extra pressure at

shaded fluid is:
extra depth h is:

Copyright R. Janow Spring 2010

Pressure relative to the surface of a liquid
air
Example: The pressure at depth h is:
P0

h
▪ P0 is the local atmospheric (or ambient)
pressure
▪ Ph is the absolute pressure at depth h Ph
▪ The difference is called the gauge pressure

▪ All points at the same depth are at the liquid

same pressure; otherwise, the fluid could
not be in equilibrium
▪ The pressure at depth h does not depend Preceding equations also
on the shape of the container holding the hold approximately for
fluid gases such as air if the
density does not vary
P0
much across h
Ph
Copyright R. Janow Spring 2010
 Atmospheric pressure and units conversions

• P0 is the atmospheric pressure if the liquid is open to the

atmosphere.
• Atmospheric pressure varies locally due to altitude,
temperature, motion of air masses, other factors.
• Sea level atmospheric pressure P0 = 1.00 atm
= 1.01325 x 105 Pa = 101.325 kPa = 1013.25 mb (millibars)
= 29.9213” Hg = 760.00 mmHg ~ 760.00 Torr
= 14.696 psi (pounds per square inch)

Pascal bar (bar) atmosphere torr pound-force per

(Pa) (atm) (Torr) square inch (psi)
1 Pa ≡ 1 N/m2 10−5 9.8692×10−6 7.5006×10−3 145.04×10−6

1 bar 100,000 ≡ 106 dyn/cm2 0.98692 750.06 14.5037744

1 atm 101,325 1.01325 ≡ 1 atm 760 14.696

1 torr 133.322 1.3332×10−3 1.3158×10−3 ≡ 1 Torr; 19.337×10−3
≈ 1 mmHg
1 psi 6.894×103 68.948×10−3 68.046×10−3 51.715 ≡ 1 lbf/in2
Copyright R. Janow Spring 2010
Pressure Measurement: Barometer
• Invented by Torricelli (1608-47)
near-vacuum • Measures atmospheric pressure P0 as it varies
with the weather
• The closed end is nearly a vacuum (P = 0)
• One standard atm = 1.013 x 105 Pa.

Mercury (Hg)
How high is the Mercury column?

One 1 atm = 760 mm of Hg

= 29.92 inches of Hg

How high would a water column be?

Height limit for a suction pump

Copyright R. Janow Spring 2010
 Pascal’s Principle
A change in the pressure applied to an enclosed incompressible fluid
is transmitted undiminished to every point of the fluid and to the walls
of the container.

ΔF
ΔP

Example: open container

• The pressure in a fluid depends on depth h and on the
p0
value of P0 at the surface
• All points at the same depth have the same pressure.
ph

• Add piston of area A with lead balls on it & weight W.

Pressure at surface increases by ΔP = W/A

• Pressure at every other point in the fluid (Pascal’s law),

increases by the same amount, including all locations at
Ph depth h. Copyright R. Janow Spring 2010
 Pascal’s Law Device - Hydraulic press
A small input force generates a large output force
• Assume the working fluid is incompressible
• Neglect the (small here) effect of height on pressure

• The volume of liquid pushed down on

the left equals the volume pushed up
on the right, so:

• Assume no loss of energy in the

fluid, no friction, etc.
Other hydraulic lever devices
using Pascal’s Law:
• Squeezing a toothpaste tube
mechanical advantage
• Hydraulic brakes
• Hydraulic jacks
• Forklifts, backhoes
Copyright R. Janow Spring 2010
 Archimedes Principle C. 287 – 212 BC
• Greek mathematician, physicist and engineer
• Computed π and volumes of solids
• Inventor of catapults, levers, screws, etc.
• Discovered nature of buoyant force – Eureka!

Why do ships float and sometimes sink?

Why do objects weigh less when submerged in a fluid?
identical pressures at every point

hollow ball
ball of liquid same
in equilibrium upward force

• An object immersed in a fluid feels an upward buoyant force that equals

the weight of the fluid displaced by the object. Archimedes’s Principle
– The fluid pressure increases with depth and exerts forces that are the same
whether the submerged object is there or not.
– Buoyant forces do not depend on the composition of submerged objects.
– Buoyant forces depend on the density of the liquid and g.
Copyright R. Janow Spring 2010
 Archimedes’s principle - submerged cube
A cube that may be hollow or made of some material is submerged in a fluid
Does it float up or sink down in the liquid?
• The extra pressure at the lower surface
compared to the top is:

• The pressure at the top of the cube causes

a downward force of Ptop A
• The larger pressure at the bottom of the
cube causes an upward force of Pbot A
• The upward buoyant force B is the weight
of the fluid displaced by the cube:

• The weight of the actual cube is:

The cube rises if B > Fg (ρfl > ρcube)

Similarly for irregularly shaped
The cube sinks if Fg> B (ρcube > ρfl) objects
is the R.
ρcubeCopyright average density
Janow Spring 2010
 Archimedes's Principle: totally submerged object
Object – any shape - is totally submerged in a fluid of density ρfluid
The upward buoyant force is the weight
of displaced fluid:

The downward gravitational force on the

object is:

The volume of fluid displaced and the

object’s volume are equal for a totally
submerged object. The net force is:

The direction of the motion of an object

in a fluid is determined only by the
densities of the fluid and the object The apparent weight is the
– If the density of the object is less than external force needed to
the density of the fluid, the unsupported
object accelerates upward restore equilibrium, i.e.
– If the density of the object is more than
the density of the fluid, the unsupported
object sinks
Copyright R. Janow Spring 2010
 Archimedes’s Principle: floating object
An object sinks or rises in the fluid until it reaches equilibrium.
The fluid displaced is a fraction of the object’s volume.

At equilibrium the upward buoyant

force is balanced by the downward
weight of the object:

The volume of fluid displaced Vfluid corresponds to

the portion of the object’s volume below the fluid
level and is always less than the object’s volume.
Equate:

Solving: ❑ Objects float when their average

density is less than the density of
the fluid they are in.
❑ The ratio of densities equals the
fraction of the object’s volume that
is below the surface
Copyright R. Janow Spring 2010
 Example: What fraction of an iceberg is underwater?
Apply Archimedes’ Principle
displaced seawater

glacial fresh water ice

From table:

Water expands when it freezes. If not....

...ponds, lakes, seas freeze to the bottom in
winter

What if iceberg is in a freshwater lake?

Floating objects are more buoyant in

saltwater Copyright R. Janow Spring 2010
Freshwater tends to float on top of seawater...
Fluids’ Flow is affected by their viscosity

• Viscosity measures the internal friction in a fluid.

Low viscosity Medium viscosity High viscosity

• gases • water • honey
• other fluids that pour • oil and grease
and flow easily • glass
• Viscous forces depend on the resistance that two adjacent
layers of fluid have to relative motion.
• Part of the kinetic energy of a fluid is converted to internal
energy, analogous to friction for sliding surfaces

Ideal Fluids – four approximations to simplify the

analysis of fluid flow:
• The fluid is nonviscous – internal friction is neglected
• The flow is laminar (steady, streamline flow) – all particles
passing through a point have the same velocity at any time.
• The fluid is incompressible – the density remains constant
• The flow is irrotational – the fluid has no angular momentum
about any point. A small paddle wheel placed anywhere does
not feel a torque and rotate Copyright R. Janow Spring 2010
 Flow of an ideal fluid through a short section of pipe
Constant density and velocity within volume element dV
Incompressible fluid means dρ/dt = 0
Mass flow rate = amount of mass crossing area A per unit time
= a “current”sometimes called a “mass flux”

cross-section area A

velocity v

length dx

Copyright R. Janow Spring 2010

Equation of Continuity: conservation of mass
• An ideal fluid is moving through a pipe of nonuniform diameter
• The particles move along streamlines in steady-state flow
• The mass entering at point 1 cannot disappear or collect in the pipe
• The mass that crosses A1 in some time interval is the same as the mass that
crosses A2 in the same time interval.

• The fluid is incompressible so:

ρ2

• This is called the equation of continuity

for an incompressible fluid ρ1
• The product of the area and the fluid
speed (volume flux) at all points along a
pipe is constant.

The rate of fluid volume entering one end equals the volume leaving at the other end
Where the pipe narrows (constriction), the fluid moves faster, and vice versa
Copyright R. Janow Spring 2010