STABILITY

A body immersed in a fluid of specific

weight
If ratio of its weight and volume =
specific weight of fluid
Neutrally buoyant
Remain at rest at any point where it
is immersed
Small particles - used in flow
visualization
For example Swallow float used to
track ocean currents
A submarine achieves positive,
neutral or negative buoyancy by
pumping water in or out of its ballast
tanks
A floating body may be statically
unstable in the position in which it is
floating
Will overturn at the first opportunity
e.g. pencil balanced on its point
The least disturbance will cause it to
seek another equilibrium position
Engineers must design to avoid floating
instability
How?

 Disturb the body by a slight amount

mathematically
See whether the body develops a
RESTORING MOMENT to return to its
original position.
Application in naval architecture
Outline of basic principle of static
stability calculation:
1. Calculate basic floating position
Fb = (displaced volume) = floating
body weight
Compute bodys center of mass (C)
and center of buoyancy (B)
2. Tilt the body by a small angle
and establish new water line.
Calculate the new position B of the
center of buoyancy. Draw a vertical
line upward from B to intersect line
of symmetry at a point M, called the
metacenter, which is independent
of for small angles
3. If point M is above G, that is the
metacentric height MG is positive, a
restoring moment is present and
the original position is STABLE. If M

is below G (negative MG), the body

is UNSTABLE and will overturn when
disturbed.

Calculation of the metacenter M of the floating

body shown in (a).
Tilt the body a small angle
(b) B moves far out (point M above G denotes
stability)

(c) B moves slightly (point M below G denotes

instability)