Fluid Mechanics-1

Pressure Distribution
in a Fluid

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Roosevelt Dam in Arizona. Hydrostatic pressure, due to the weight of a standing
fluid, can cause enormous forces and moments on large-scale structures such as a
dam. Hydrostatic fluid analysis is the subject of the present chapter

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2.1: Pressure & Pressure Gradient
The normal stress on any plane through a fluid element at rest is equal to a unique
value called the fluid pressure, positive for compression

Figure 2.1 shows a small wedge of fluid at rest of size ∆x by ∆z by ∆s and depth b into
the paper. There is no shear by definition, but we postulate that the pressures px, pz, and
pn may be different on each face. The weight of the element also may be important.
Summation of forces must equal zero (no acceleration) in both the x and z directions.

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2.1: Pressure & Pressure Gradient

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2.1: Pressure in flowing fluid

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2.1: Pressure

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2.1: Hydrostatic pressure distribution

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2.1: Hydrostatic pressure distribution

It is not the pressure but the pressure gradient causing a net force
which must be balanced by gravity or acceleration or some other
effect in the fluid
The pressure gradient is a surface force which acts on the sides of the
element.
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2.1: Hydrostatic pressure distribution
There may also be a body force, due to electromagnetic or
gravitational potentials, acting on the entire mass of the element. Here
we consider only the gravity force, or weight of the element

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2.1: Hydrostatic pressure distribution

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2.3: Hydrostatic pressure distribution

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 2.3: Hydrostatic pressure distribution
Liquids are so nearly incompressible that we can neglect their density
variation in hydrostatics.

For lakes and oceans, the coordinate system is usually chosen as in

Fig. 2.5, with z = 0 at the free surface, where p equals the surface
atmospheric pressure pa

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 2.3: Hydrostatic pressure distribution

For lakes and oceans, the coordinate system is usually chosen as in

Fig. 2.5, with z = 0 at the free surface, where p equals the surface
atmospheric pressure pa

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2.3: Hydrostatic pressure distribution

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Example 2.1

Newfound Lake, a freshwater lake near Bristol, New Hampshire,

has a maximum depth of 60 m, and the mean atmospheric pressure
is 91 kPa. Estimate the absolute pressure in kPa at this maximum
depth.

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Example 2.1

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The Mercury Barometer

The simplest practical application of the hydrostatic formula is the

barometer which measures atmospheric pressure. A tube is filled with
mercury and inverted while submerged in a reservoir. This causes a
near vacuum in the closed upper end because mercury has an
extremely small vapor pressure at room temperatures (0.16 Pa at
20°C). Since atmospheric pressure forces a mercury column to rise a
distance h into the tube, the upper mercury surface is at zero
pressure.

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The Mercury Barometer

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History of Barometer

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Application to Manometry
A static column of one or more liquids or gases can be used to
measure pressure differences between two points.

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Application to Manometry

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P 2.18
The system in Fig. P2.18 is at 20°C. If atmospheric pressure is
101.33 kPa and the pressure at the bottom of the tank is 242 kPa,
what is the specific gravity of fluid X?

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Solution

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Application to Manometry

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Example 2.3
The classic use of a manometer is when two U-tube legs are of
equal length, as in Fig and the measurement involves a pressure
difference across two horizontal points. The typical application is
to measure pressure change across a flow device, as shown. Derive
a formula for the pressure difference Pa Pb in terms of the system
parameters in fig

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Solution

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Application to Manometry

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Example 2.4
Pressure gage B is to measure the pressure at point A in a water
flow. If the pressure at B is 87 kPa, estimate the pressure at A, in
kPa. Assume all fluids are at 20°C. See Fig

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Solution

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Problem
The system in Fig. is at 20°C. Compute the pressure at point A in
lbf/ft2 absolute.

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Solution

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Problem
In Fig. both the tank and the tube are open to the atmosphere. If L
2.13 m, what is the angle of tilt of the tube?

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Solution

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Problem
The inclined manometer in Fig. contains Meriam red manometer
oil, SG 0.827. Assume that the reservoir is very large. If the
inclined arm is fitted with graduations 1 in apart, what should the
angle be if each graduation corresponds to 1 lbf/ft2 gage pressure
for pA?

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Solution

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Hydrostatic forces on plane surfaces

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Hydrostatic forces on plane surfaces

Free surface P = Pa

hCG h(x,y)

F=pCG A
y

CG x
w   h
v i e 𝜉=
p sin 𝜃
To w
i e
ev dA=dxdy
Sid
CP

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Hydrostatic forces on plane surfaces

The force on one side of any plane submerged surface in a uniform

fluid equals the pressure at the plate centroid times the plate area,
independent of the shape of the plate or the angle at which it is
slanted.
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Hydrostatic forces on plane surfaces
To find the co-ordinates of center of pressure, sum the moments of
the elements

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Hydrostatic forces on plane surfaces
To find the co-ordinates of center of pressure, sum the moments of
the elements

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Moment of Inertia

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Gage Pressure Formulas
In most cases the ambient pressure pa is neglected because it acts on
both sides of the plate; e.g., the other side of the plate is inside a ship
or on the dry side of a gate or dam. In this case pCG =hCG, and the
center of pressure becomes independent of specific weight

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Example 2.5
The gate in Fig. is 5 ft wide,
is hinged at point B, and
rests against a smooth wall
at point A. Compute (a) the
force on the gate due to
seawater pressure, (b) the
horizontal force P exerted
by the wall at point A, and
(c) the reactions at the hinge
B.

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 Solution
Part (a)
By geometry the gate is 10 ft long from A to B, and its centroid is
halfway between, or at elevation 3 ft above point B. The depth hCG is
thus 15 3 12 ft. The gate area is 5(10) 50 ft2. Neglect pa as acting on
both sides of the gate. From Eq. (2.38) the hydrostatic force on the gate
is

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Solution
Part (b)

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Solution
The distance from point B to force F is thus 10 – l-5 = 4.583 ft.
Summing moments counterclockwise about B gives

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Example 2.6
A tank of oil has a right triangular panel near the bottom, as in Fig.
Omitting pa, find the (a) hydrostatic force and (b) CP on the panel.

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 Solution
Part (a)

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 Solution
Part (b)

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Hydrostatic Forces on Curved Surfaces

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 Hydrostatic Forces on Curved Surfaces
The horizontal component of force on a curved surface equals the force
on the plane area formed by the projection of the curved surface onto a
vertical plane normal to the component.

The vertical component of pressure force on a curved surface equals in

magnitude and direction the weight of the entire column of fluid, both
liquid and atmosphere, above the curved surface.

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Example 2.6
A dam has a parabolic shape
z/z0 (x/x0)2 as shown in Fig. ,
with x0=10 ft and z0=24 ft.
The fluid is water,
62.4lbf/ft3, and atmospheric
pressure may be omitted.
Compute the forces FH and
FV on the dam and the
position CP where they act.
The width of the dam is
50 ft.

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Solution

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Solution

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Solution

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Buoyancy And Stability
Object feels lighter and weighs less in a liquid than it does in air

Objects made of wood or other light materials float on water. These

and other observations suggest that a fluid exerts an upward force on
a body immersed in it
A body immersed in a fluid
experiences a vertical buoyant force
equal to the weight of the fluid it
displaces.

A floating body displaces its own

weight in the fluid in which it
floats.

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 Buoyancy And Stability

The buoyant force is

independent of the distance of
the body from the free surface

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Buoyancy And Stability
The line of action of the buoyant force passes through the center of
volume of the displaced body

The point through which buoyant force acts is known as center of

buoyancy

Since liquids are relatively heavy, we are conscious of their buoyant

forces, but gases also exert buoyancy on any body immersed in them.

Not only does the buoyant force equal the body weight, but also they
are collinear since there can be no net moments for static equilibrium.

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Buoyancy And Stability

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Buoyancy And Stability

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Buoyancy And Stability

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Buoyancy And Stability

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Buoyancy And Stability

A measure of stability for floating bodies is the metacentric height

GM, which is the distance between the center of gravity G and the
metacenter M—the intersection point of the lines of action of the
buoyant force through the body before and after rotation.

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