C H A P T E R I:

Basic Properties of Fluids

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Fluid Mechanics Is the science of the mechanics of fluids (liquids and gases) and is based on the
same fundamental principles that are employed in the mechanics of solids. It parti-
cularly deals with the actions of fluids at rest or in motion and with the applications
of devices in engineering using fluids.

*Mechanics is the study of the behavior of a physical system under the action of forces.

Three (3) branches of Fluid Mechanics:

1. Fluid Statics -- Is the study of fluids at rest.

2. Fluid Dynamics -- Is the study of fluids in motion and deals with the velocities
(or Kinematics) and streamlines without considering the forces that causes
them to move.

3. Hydrodynamics -- deals with the forces exerted upon liquids in motion including
the relations between velocities and accelerations involved in
such fluid that is in motion.

3.1 Hydraulics -- deals with the application of fluid mechanics to engineering

devices involving liquids usually water or oil. It deals with such
problems as the flow of fluids through pipes, or in open
channels, the designs of storage dams, pumps, and water
turbines. Or with any other devices for the control or use of
liquids such as nozzles, valves, jets, and flow meters.

*** Fluids are substances which owing to the nature of their internal structure offer
comparatively little resistance to a change in form and are divided into liquids
and gases.

FLUID MECHANICS/ ENGR. G.S. ROBLES

Differences between liquids and gases:

For liquids:

1.

2.

3.

For gases:

1.

2.

3.

** Incompressibility

** Compressibility

Distinction between a solid and a liquid:

1.

2.

“ The distinction is that any fluid no matter how viscous , would yield in time to the slightest
stress. But a solid no matter how plastic, requires a certain magnitude of stress to be exerted
before it will flow”….

FLUID MECHANICS/ ENGR. G.S. ROBLES

GENERAL PROPERTIES OF A LIQUID:

1. DENSITY (MASS DENSITY) defined as the ratio between mass and volume.

2. SP. WEIGHT (UNIT WEIGHT defined as the ratio between weight and volume.
or SP. WEIGHT)

Mass Density of Water (H20) at STP:

1000 kgm/ cu.m. = 62.427 lbm/ cu.ft. = 1 gmm/ cu.cm.

where: F or Wt -- force or weight

m -- mass
go -- observed gravitational acceleration

gc -- gravitational constant
= 32.174 lbm-ft/ lbf-s2
= 9.806 kgm-m/ kgf-s2
= 1 kgf -m/ N -s2
gs -- std. gravitational acceleration
= 9.806 m/ s2
= 32.174 ft/ s2

3. Specific Volume is the volume occupied by a unit mass of fluid.

FLUID MECHANICS/ ENGR. G.S. ROBLES

 4. Sp. Gravity or Relative Density is the ratio of the mass density of fluid in question to
the mass density of an equal volume of water.

5. Bulk Modulus of Elasticity is the incremental change in volume when the pressure
is changed by an incremental amount,

6. Viscosity is considered as the property of a fluid which determines its

resistance to shearing stress. Oftentimes, it is also called as
coefficient of viscosity, absolute viscosity, or dynamic viscosity.

= shear stress/ rate of shear strain Pa – s

7. Kinematic Viscosity is the ratio of the dynamic viscosity to its corresponding density.

= dynamic viscosity / mass density m2/ s; ft2/ s

LIQUID PRESSURE

the liquid pressure at any point is equal to the

product of the weight density of the liquid and
the depth of the point in question. That it increases
as the depth also increases..

** Equivalent Pressure Head two pressure heads are said to be equivalent if they cause the
same intensity of pressure. From the liquid pressure formula and by the said
definition….

Sp. Gravity A ( Ht A ) = Sp. Gravity B ( Ht B )

FLUID MECHANICS/ ENGR. G.S. ROBLES

 Absolute pressures, Gage pressures, vacuum pressures:

P abs = P atm + P gage

P abs = P atm - P vacuum

STD. REFERENCE FOR ATMOSPHERIC OR BAROMETRIC PRESSURE (BASED ON SEA LEVEL):

The standard atmospheric pressure Patm changes from 101.325 kPa at sea level to the following
elevations:

89.88 kPa at 1000 m 26.50 kPa at 10,000 m

79.50 kPa at 2000 m 5.530 kPa at 20,000 m
54.05 kPa at 5000 m

Common devices used for measuring pressures (gage pressure):

Conversion values or equivalent identities of units:

1 newton = 1 dyne =
2
1 poise = 1 dyne-s/ cm 1 lb = 444,800 dynes
1 bar = 100 KPa 1 poise = 0.10 Pa-s

Basic Constants for volume:

1 cu. ft. = 7.482 gal 1 drum = 55 gal (petroleum, unrefined)

1 gal = 3.7854 Li 1 barrel = 42 gal ( refined petroleum products and other liquids)
1 cu.m. = 1000 Li 1 stoke = 1 cm2/ s

FLUID MECHANICS/ ENGR. G.S. ROBLES

PROBLEM SOLVING:

1. What is the mass of a liter of saltwater expressed in pounds (lbsm)?.

2. What is the weight of a 45 kg boulder if it is brought to a place where the acceleration due
to gravity is 395 meter per seconds per minute?

3. A cylindrical tank 80 cm in diameter and 90 cm high is filled with a liquid. The tank and the
liquid weighed 420 kgs. The weight of the empty tank is 40 kgs. What is the unit weight of
the liquid?

4. A lead cube has a total mass of 80 kgs. What is the length of its side if the relative density
of lead is 11.3?

5. If the viscosity of water at 70 0C is 0.42 centipoise and its relative density is 0.978,
determine its absolute viscosity in Pa-s and its kinematic viscosity in m2/ s and in stokes.

6. A 10m diameter cylindrical tank has a height of 5m and is full of water at 20 0C. (Unit
weight = 9.879 kN/ cu.m.) If the water is heated to a temperature of 50 0C (Unit weight =
9.689 kN/ cu.m.), solve for:

a. The weight of the water at its initial temperature

b. The volume of the water when heated to its final temperature.
c. The volume of water that will spill over the edge of the tank.

7. Water has a dynamic viscosity of 1 centipoise. Compute its dynamic viscosity in terms of
lbs-s/ sq. ft…

8. At what height in meters would a vertical column of water be supported by standard

atmospheric pressure? When mercury was used instead?

9. A cubic meter of air at barometric pressure weighs 12 Newtons. What is its specific
volume?

10. If the pressure 3m below the free surface of a liquid is 14 KPa, what would be its relative
density?

11. Find the Bulk Modulus of Elasticity of a liquid in ksi, if a pressure of 150 psi applied to 10 cu.
ft. of the liquid causes a volume reduction of 0.02 cu. Ft.

12. A submarine is cruising 600 ft below the ocean’s surface. Determine the absolute pressure
on the submarine’s surface. Assume acceleration due to gravity to be constant even at that
depth.

13. A beer barrel has a mass of 20 lbs and a volume of 5 gallons. Assuming the beer’s density is
like that of water, what would be the total mass and weight of the beer barrel when it is
filled with beer?

14. A city of 6,000 population has an average total consumption per person per day of 100
gallons. Compute the daily total consumption of the city in cu.m. per seconds.

15. A lunar excursion module (LEM) weighs 1500 kgf on earth where go = 9.75 m/ s2. What
would be its weight in the moon’s surface where go = 1.70 m/ s2?

FLUID MECHANICS/ ENGR. G.S. ROBLES

16. The mass of a given airplane at sea level (go = 32.1 fps2) is 10 tons. Find its mass in lbsm,
slugs, and gravitational weight when it is travelling at a 50,000 ft elevation. The
acceleration of gravity, go decreases by 3.33 x 10-6 for each foot of elevation.

17. A fluid moves in a steady flow manner between two (2) sections in a flowline.
At section 1: A1 = 10 ft2 ѵ1 = 100 fpm v1 = 4 ft3/ lbm
2 3
At section 2:` A2 = 2 ft ρ2 = 0.20 lbm/ ft
Calculate the mass flow rate and the speed at section 2…..

18. If a pump discharges 75 gpm of water whose specific weight is 61.5 lbf/ ft3 (go = 31.95 fps2),
find (a) the mass flowrate in lbm/min, and (b) the total time required to fill a vertical
cylindrical tank 10 ft in diameter and 12 ft high.

19. A cargo ship has tanks for carrying fuel oil. The tank dimensions are 1m x 5m x 15m. How
many barrels could be filled by the ship’s tank? In how many gallons.

FLUID MECHANICS/ ENGR. G.S. ROBLES

C H A P T E R I I:
Principles of Hydrostatic Pressure

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LIQUID PROPERTIES/ BEHAVIOUR WITHOUT ANY EXTERNAL FORCE EFFECTS (ONLY ATMOSPHERIC
PRESSURE):

Increases with depth

Does not depend upon the surface

area/ shape of its confining vessel

Acts in all directions

Pressure taken at any point in the

same horizontal level is constant

Pressure of a gas above the free surface

of a confined liquid is transferred
undiminished in every directions.
FBD of a certain volume of liquid
showing the action of forces…

PRESSURE INCREASES WITH DEPTH:

Suppose that a spouting can or

simply a can is poured with water. Drilling
Spouting can Holes for jets
three (3) holes at the side at different
elevations causes the formation of water jet
Weakest jet or streamlines of water to leak at the holes.

With the gravitational force exerted

upon the water, the water’s natural
Strongest jet tendendency would be to “leak” or
“discharge” water into the said holes.

water Taking a closer look, the uppermost

hole would provide the weakest streamline/
table
jet of water as there is less pressure at the
top.

The lowermost hole would provide the greatest streamline/ jet of water which is due to the
fact that pressure located beneath is of the greatest value of all.

FLUID MECHANICS/ ENGR. G.S. ROBLES

 PRESSURE DOES NOT DEPEND UPON THE
SURFACE AREA/ SHAPE OF ITS CONFINING
VESSEL:

Irregardless of the shape to which

the liquid is stored/ confined, pressure
brought about by the body of liquid would
not depend upon the shape/ contour of
confining vessel.

Liquid pressure is always a function

of the liquids height/ depth. That is liquid
pressure is directly proportional with the
depth or height of the liquid.

LIQUID PRESSURE ACTS IN ALL DIRECTIONS

The funnel containing liquid shown is

P1 bent at different directions/ angles. With the
presence of a liquid and a certain depth/ height,
liquid pressure could be seen acting in all
directions or parts of the funnel containing the
P2 liquid only.

However, the pressure acting on the

given funnel is of different values at different
P3 locations/ elevations in particular.

Suppose that a point was taken at one

particular portion of the funnel. The pressure
that will be acting on that particular point will be
coming in at all directions or at all portions of the
circumference of the point. And with the point
having a negligible size, pressure in this case
would be the same at all points/ directions
Exploded view of a point taken in a liquid

A spring is a device that can be used to

store energy. If such were to be submerged in a
body of liquid at a particular depth and held in
equilibrium, the spring will be compressed. This
is brought about by the pressure exerted by the
volume of liquid which varies with depth.

Irregardless of its positioning, the spring

will still be deflected… A cylinder with a lid spring mounted on the inside…

FLUID MECHANICS/ ENGR. G.S. ROBLES

 PRESSURE OF A GAS ABOVE THE FREE
SURFACE OF A CONFINED LIQUID IS
TRANSFERRED UNDIMINISHED IN EVERY
DIRECTIONS.

If the pressure of a confined liquid varies

with “depth or height” , the same could not be
said of a confined gas that is hovering above the
free surface of the confined liquid.

As for gases, its pressure does not vary

with the height or depth to which it is confined. It
has the same pressure all throughout its
confining vessel.
Consider Gas Law:

P1V1/ T1 = P2V2/ T2 = P3V3/ T3 with change in condition(P, V, and T)

but without a change in mass, m…..

from General Gas Law Equation: PV = m R T

LIQUID PRESSURE AT THE SAME HORIZONTAL

PLANE IS CONSTANT:

Irregardless of the liquid’s confining

vessel to which it would be contained, pressure
taken along the same horizontal plane is said to
be constant. This even if one space is smaller or
larger than the other.

From the configuration, pressure at the

handle portion is the same with the pressure at Phandle Pwall
the right wall of the water container.

But that the pressure at the container’s

lip is of the largest value as pressure varies
directly with depth…

Such principle is used

so as to indicate the level of
liquid inside liquid storage
tanks…

Photo insert shows

one of the many shapes of a
level gauge…

FLUID MECHANICS/ ENGR. G.S. ROBLES

LIQUID PROPERTIES/ BEHAVIOUR UNDER THE ACTION OF EXTERNAL FORCES:

Liquids can transmit motion and

force

Liquids can increase/ decrease force A confined liquid under pressure/ action
of force has its pressure transferred
undiminished in every direction
(PASCAL’S LAW)

A CONFINED LIQUID UNDER PRESSURE

HAS ITS PRESSURE TRANSFERRED
UNDIMINISHED IN EVERY DIRECTION

FORCE When pressure is exerted on a

confined liquid, it is transmitted
undiminished. Force on the piston has
created a pressure of 50 psi (pounds per
square inch), upon the liquid in the
pressure cylinder. Notice that all gauges
read the same throughout the system.
Pressure is transmitted undiminished to all
parts of the system. If gauge A reads 50 psi,
gauges B, C, D, and E will also read 50 psi.

LIQUID CAN TRANSMIT MOTION AND

FORCE:

In the Figure, you will see that any

movement of piston A will cause piston B to
move an equal amount. This is a
transmission of motion though a liquid. If a
200 lb force is placed on piston A, piston B
will support 200 lbs. Both pistons are the
same size.

Applying an external force besides

the given weight would add force over the
given cross sectional area thus increasing its
pressure at A and then will cause piston B to
move upwards.
FLUID MECHANICS/ ENGR. G.S. ROBLES
 LIQUID CAN INCREASE/ DECREASE
FORCE:

When a force is applied to piston

A, it can be increased if it is transmitted to
a larger piston B. If piston A has a surface
area of 1 sq. inch, the 200 lb force on
piston A represents a pressure of 200
pounds per square inch (psi). According to
Pascal's Law, this 200 psi force will be
transmitted undiminished.

If piston B has a surface area of 20 sq. inch, piston A will exert a 200 lb force on each
square inch of piston B. This would produce a mechanical advantage (MA) of twenty, and the
original 200 lb force would be increased to 4000 lbs. The force may be further increased by
either making piston A smaller or piston B larger. Reversing the configuration’s process
decreases the force that is conveyed.

THE HYDRAULIC JACK

The hydraulic jack which is one

tool that every motorists should have is a
powerful yet simple tool. Figure shows
how a fluid can be used to produce a
powerful lifting force using the principles
of hydraulics. When the jack handle raises
piston A, piston A will form a vacuum. This
will draw check valve 1 open and close
check valve 2. When the handle is
depressed with a force that exerts 200 lbs
pressure (or any force) on piston A, check
valve 1 will close, check valve 2 will open
and 200 psi will be transmitted to piston B.
If piston B has a surface area one hundred
times greater than the 1 sq. inch area of A,
piston B will raise a weight of 200,000 lbs.

FLUID MECHANICS/ ENGR. G.S. ROBLES

HYDRAULIC PRINCIPLES IN VEHICLE BRAKE SYSTEMS:

When a driver depresses the brake pedal, force is transmitted undiminished to each caliper or
wheel cylinder. The caliper pistons or wheel cylinders transfer this force (increased or decreased,
depending on piston area) to the friction linings.

When the master cylinder piston moves, the caliper pistons or wheel cylinders will move until
  Maintains even viscosity throughout a wide temperature variation.
 Does not freeze at the coldest possible temperature (hygroscopic has the ability to absorb and
retain moisture) that the vehicle may encounter.
 Boiling point is above the highest operating temperature of the brake system parts.
 Does not corrode the brake system’s metal parts. It acts as a lubricant for pistons, seals, and cups
to reduce internal wear and friction.
 It does not deteriorate (swell) the brake system's plastic and rubber parts.

Under no circumstances put anything but brake fluid into the brake system. Any mineral or
petroleum-based oils such as motor oil, transmission fluid, power steering fluid, kerosene, or gasoline
in even the smallest amounts will swell and destroy the rubber cups and seals in the system.
**Warning: Brake fluid is poison. Keep it away from skin and eyes. Do not allow brake fluid to splash
on painted surfaces.

(a) Pressure applied to a car’s brake pedal is transmitted by the brake fluid
to the car’s wheels.
(b) The same force per unit area is supported by different sized pistons that
are at the same height and are in contact with a static fluid, because the
fluid pressure on each piston is the same. Thus a small force applied to a
small piston balances a large force on a large piston.
(c) The force-multiplying effect shown in (b) is applied in this hydraulic lift.

FLUID MECHANICS/ ENGR. G.S. ROBLES

SCHEMATIC DIAGRAM OF A TYPICAL BRAKE SYSTEM (DISC TYPE):
CROSS SECTION OF A DISC BRAKE:

FLUID MECHANICS/ ENGR. G.S. ROBLES

VARIATION OF PRESSURE WITH DEPTH IN A FLUID:
 Consider a prism with a given cross-sectional area A and a length L that is submerged at
an inclination in a body of water. With the prism considered at rest, equilibrium conditions
apply.

Forces along the length of the prism:

SAMPLE PROBLEMS:
1. The hydraulic press shown contains a confined liquid with a relative density of 0.65. If a force of
190 kgs is applied on a circular lid A with a diameter of 90cm, what maximum load at B maybe
placed on a 1.2m x 6m rectangular platform lid? The difference in elevation between point
A and point B is 0.20 m..

2. A 0.3m diameter pipe is connected to a 0.02m diameter pipe and both are rigidly held in place.
Both pipes are horizontal with pistons at each end. If the space between the pistons is filled with
water, what force will have to be applied to the larger piston to balance a force of 90N applied
to the smaller piston?

FLUID MECHANICS/ ENGR. G.S. ROBLES

3. The bottom of a river is 12m below the water surface. Underneath which is a silt has a specific
gravity of 1.75 and a thickness “t”. If the pressure at the bottom of the silt is 0.450 MPa, what
would be the silt’s thickness?
4. A cylindrical tank having a diameter of 1.5m and height of 4m is open at one end and closed at
the other end. It is placed below the water surface with its open end down. How deep below
the water surface should the tank be placed if the depth of water inside the tank is 1.8m?

5. The hydraulic press shown is filled with oil of 0.82 specific gravity. Neglecting the weight of the
two pistons, what force “F” on the handle is required to support the 10 kN weight?

6. For the configuration shown, what

force directed at piston D is
necessary to cause the system to be
in its equilibrium state??? If gas was
used instead of water, would the
necessary force increase or
decrease???

7. Assuming normal barometric pressure, how deep in the

ocean is the point where an air bubble, upon reaching
the surface, has six times its volume that it had at the
bottom?

8. From the composite layers of liquid

stored in a vessel, at which liquid will
a pressure of 0.7 MPa absolute will
be first achieved?

FLUID MECHANICS/ ENGR. G.S. ROBLES

9. The basic elements of a hydraulic press is shown

in the figure below. The plunger has an area of
 1 in2, and a force, F1, can be applied to the plunger through a lever mechanism having a
mechanical advantage of 8 to 1. If the large piston has an area of 150 in2, What pressure is
exerted at the top if the smaller plunger is to be exerted with a 30 lbs of force.

ACTIVITY QUESTIONS TO FURTHER IMPROVE YOUR

UNDERSTANDING OF PRESSURE:
1. A small amount of water is boiled in a 1 gallon metal can. The can is removed from the heat and
the lid put on. Shortly thereafter the can collapses… Explain…

2. A person’s ability to do work is greatly affected when working at very high altitudes/ mountain
ranges. Does the same hold true in the case of automobiles???

Explain how the tube known as a

“SIPHON”, can transfer liquid from one
container to a lower one even though the
liquid must flow uphill for part of its
journey. (Note: The tube must be filled
with liquid to start with).

3. If you dangle two pieces of paper vertically a

few inches apart, and blow between them, how
do you think the papers will move?? Try it and
see… Explain…

4. The two open tanks have the same bottom area,

A but have different shapes. When the depth, h,
of a liquid in the two tanks is the same, the
pressure on the bottom of the two tanks will be
the same. However, the weight of the liquid in
each of the tanks is different. How do you
account for this apparent paradox???

FLUID MECHANICS/ ENGR. G.S. ROBLES

C H A P T E R I I I:
Manometry; Manometers

Manometers are devices or apparatus’ that measure

a change in pressure. It is usually made-up of a clear glass tube
(normally bent in the form of a letter “U”) with one or more
substances of known specific gravity that moves proportionally
to the force that is generated by the pressure it is measuring.

TYPES OF MANOMETERS:

1. Open type manometer: Is a type of manometer whose one

leg is open to the atmosphere and
is capable of measuring gage pressure.

1.a. Piezometers: Is the simplest form of manometer which is tapped into

the wall of a container or conduit and in which the liquid can
freely rise without overflowing. The height of the liquid in
the tube gives the pressure head directly.

Piezometers are limited to measuring small amounts

of pressure due to the impracticability of providing a long
Tube to accommodate higher pressures. Moreover, it can
only be used for liquid pressure measurement since a gas
does not form any free surface.

In measuring pressures of fluids in motion, precautions

should be taken in making connections. The hole must be
drilled exactly normal to the inner surface of the container
or conduit wall and the piezometer tube must not project
beyond this surface. All burrs and roughness on the inner
surface must be removed for this will have an effect on the
piezometric head.

To reduce the error due to capillarity, the tube diameter

should be at least 1.25 cm.

The disadvantages of a piezometer could be overcomed by

using a more complex form of manometer. This makes
use of a bent tube (or loop) that’s makes use of more than
type fluid. As such fluids used should be immiscible so as
to form a meniscus between them.

FLUID MECHANICS/ ENGR. G.S. ROBLES

A differential manometer tapped
into a conduit:

2. Differential manometers: Is a type of manometer whose ends are both closed to the
atmosphere and thus is not subjected to atmospheric pressure. Its
purpose is to determine the pressure difference between pipes,
vessels, or tanks with known internal pressures.

2.a. Micromanometer: Is a special type of differential manometer that is used

for measuring difference in gas pressures. One example
is illustrated wherein this type provides a higher precision
and is used when the pressure difference is too small a
value that cannot be measured by a typical differential
manometer. Obviously, the primary purpose of this gage or
device is to magnify the reading to permit a greater accuracy.

FLUID MECHANICS/ ENGR. G.S. ROBLES

PROCEDURE OF COMPUTATION IN SOLVING MANOMETRY PROBLEMS:

1. Draw a sketch of the manometer approximately to scale.

2. Starting with one end of the Manometer (left or right maybe taken), label the contact points of fluids
of different specific gravity.
3. After the labeling process, add the pressure heads of the liquids as the elevation decreases and or
subtract the pressure heads of the liquids as the elevation increases.
4. Using the liquid pressure formula, you may now obtain unknown values from the derived equation.

SAMPLE PROBLEMS:

1. For the differential manometer shown, 2. A U-tube manometer of 10 mm diameter

what would be the new mercury deflection is to contain mercury thereby occupying it
If the pressure at point A is increased by 40 inside. Supposedly, 12 mL of water is
kPa. Initial mercury deflection is 250 mm. poured unto the right-hand leg, what
would be the new heights at both legs?

3. Three different liquids with properties as indicated fill the tank and manometer tubes as
shown. Determine the specific gravity of fluid #3…

FLUID MECHANICS/ ENGR. G.S. ROBLES

4. Determine the elevation difference, ΔH between the water levels in the two open tanks shown..

5. Determine the angle, Ø of the inclined tube shown if the pressure at pt A is 1 psi greater than pt. B…

6. The closed tank is filled with water and is 5 ft. long. The pressure gage on the tank reads 7 psi. Find
(a) the height, h in the open water column; (b) the pressure acting on the bottom tank surface AB.

FLUID MECHANICS/ ENGR. G.S. ROBLES

7. A mercury manometer is used to measure
the pressure difference in the in the two
pipelines. Fuel oil has a unit weight of 53
lbs/ ft3 and is flowing in A and SAE 30 lube
oil, unit weight of 57 lbs/ ft3 is flowing in B.
An air pocket has become entrapped in the
lube oil as indicated. Determine the
pressure in pipe B, if the pressure in pipe A
is 15.3 psi.
9. Water, oil, and an unknown fluid are
contained in the vertical tubes as shown.
Determine the density of the unknown fluid.
8. A closed cylindrical tank filled with water
has a hemispherical dome and is connected
to an inverted piping system. The liquid in
the top part of the piping system has a
specific gravity of 0.8 and the remaining
parts of the system are filled with water. If
the pressure gage reading at pt. A is 60 kPa,
determine: (a) the pressure in pipe B, and
(b) the pressure head in mm of mercury at
the top of the dome (point C)..
10. Compartments A and B of the tank are
closed and filled with air and a liquid with a
specific gravity equal to 0.6. Determine the
manometer reading, h, if the barometric
pressure is of standard value, and that the
gage pressure reads 0.5 psi…
FLUID MECHANICS/ ENGR. G.S. ROBLES
CHAPTER IV
Buoyancy and Archimedes Principle

INTRODUCTION:
It is a common experience that an object feels lighter and weigh less in a liquid that it does in air.
This could be demonstrated by weighing a heavy object in water by a spring scale. Also, objects made of wood
or other light materials float on water but at times there are instances wherein very heavy objects also tend to
float on water (consider cases of ships and submarines).
These are observations suggesting that fluids (liquids in particular) exert an upward component
of a force on a body immersed in it. The force that tends to lift the “body” is called the “BUOYANT FORCE”.
This buoyant force is caused by the increase of pressure in a fluid (liquid) with respect to depth.

Referring to the configuration shown, It would be noted

that liquid pressure increases with depth and since force is directly
proportional with pressure, thus F2 > F1. The buoyant force, BF
provided by the liquid is merely a summation of all acting forces
(vertical)….

BF = F2 - F 1
Consider P = F/A and P = γ h, thus:

= P2A2 - P1A1
= γ2 h2 A2 - γ1 h1 A1
where: Δh = h2 - h1; A1 = A2 = A; γ1 = γ2 = γ

Δh A = V, volume of object immersed in the fluid (liquid)

= V, volume of fluid (liquid) displaced by the object
BF = γliquid Vdisplaced
BF = γ (Δh) A

** Experimentally, the buoyant force that is given-off by a liquid could be determined. That is by
weighing the object to which is to be subjected to the said buoyant force initially in air. And
then weighing the same object when it is immersed in the body of liquid that will provide the
buoyant force…

ARCHIMEDES’ PRINCIPLE:
“ The buoyant force on an object immersed in a fluid is equal to the weight of the fluid
displaced** by that object”…

** By the term “fluid displaced”, we mean a volume of fluid equal to the volume of the submerged
object, or that part of the object submerged if it floats or is only partially submerged (the fluid that used
to be where the object is)….

Weight of displaced liquid is the

BUOYANT FORCE

FLUID MECHANICS/ ENGR. G.S. ROBLES

HOW SUCH PRINCIPLE WAS ACTUALLY DISCOVERED:

Archimedes’ discovery of such law was accidental, he was given an order by his king in which he
had to devise a way of determining whether his king’s blacksmith was actually lulling the king into
believing that the crown he had made was actually made-up of pure gold.

As he was thinking of ways to solve such mystery, he was actually taking a bath in a bathtub. This
he noticed that he was actually displacing some water as some parts of his body lay submerged in water.
As he finally was able to found some evidence, he even run naked out of the tub shouting “EUREKA!”
EUREKA! (meaning he finally found it)..

Archimedes’ devised an experiment in

which he weighed the king’s supposedly gold crown
and a actual pure gold having the same weight in air.
Then weighed both objects in water. At that time it
is already known that materials such as solid have
this property called “density”. Gold has a relative
density of 19.3 higher than most metals. As such if
one was the pure gold (consider weight and
volume), it would produce a greater or heavier
“density”. In the end, it was proven that the king was
actually being fooled, made into believing that the
crown was actually a “pure gold” where it was not.

The catch here was that although both the

said materials had the same weight, they had
different volumes as suggested by the displaced
water.

BUOYANT FORCE IN ACTION:

Supposedly a solid body was dropped into a body

of liquid, it will sink, float, or remain at rest at any point in
the fluid depending on the materials density. A

A. POSITIVELY BUOYED
B
B. NEUTRALLY BUOYED

C. NEGATIVELY BUOYED C

Other contributing factors:

1.

2.

ACTIVITY QUESTIONS:

1. Buoyancy may also be considered as the ability of objects to float along a liquid, does sinking at the very
bottom of a liquid indicate that there is no buoyant force acting along the object?
2. At where would you weigh more? In air? Or in water?
3. Supposed that you had a ball of cork and a lead cube having the same amount of volume, are they
subjected to the same buoyant force when totally immersed in a same body of liquid? At what instance
are they the same? At what instance are they not the same?

FLUID MECHANICS/ ENGR. G.S. ROBLES

 4. If a pound of coin was accidentally dropped in ditch full of mercury, would you still be able to see that
pound of coin?
5. Do heavier objects sink all the time? If not how and why?
6. Submarines employ the principles of buoyancy to travel up or down beneath the ocean’s water.
How is this made possible?
7. As in the case of fish or other marine mammals, how are they able to float effortlessly in water?
8. Does buoyancy only apply to objects immersed/ submerged in a body of liquid?
9. A piece of grape dropped in a glass of water would settle at the bottom. Can you make that piece of grape
to float with using any mechanical devices?

SAMPLE PROBLEMS:

1. A scuba diver and her gear displaces a volume of 65 Li and have a total mass of 68 kgs. Is the diver
sinking? Or floating?

2. A 0.48 kg piece of wood floats in water but is found to sink in alcohol (specific gravity = 0.79), in which it
has an apparent mass of 0.047 kg. What is the relative density of wood?

3. An iceberg having a relative density of 0.92 is

floating on saltwater of 1.03 relative density.
If the volume of the iceberg above the seawater
surface is 1000 cu.m., what is the total volume
of the iceberg?

4. A wooden spherical ball with a specific gravity of 0.42

and a diameter of 300mm is dropped from a height of
4.3m above the surface of water in a pool of unknown
depth. This ball barely touched the bottom of the pool
before it began to float. Determine the depth of the
pool.

5. A block of wood requires a force of 40 N to keep it immersed in water and a force of 100 N to keep it
immersed in glycerine (sp. Gr. = 1.3), what would be the relative density of wood?

FLUID MECHANICS/ ENGR. G.S. ROBLES

 6. If a 5 kg steel plate is attached to one end of a 0.1 m
x 0.3m x 1.2m wooden pole, what is the length of
pole above water? Consider specific gravities of
0wood and steel to be 0.5 and 7.85 respectively

7. A ship travels from the sea and onto a lake.

As it went from salt water into fresh water,
it sinks by 7.62 cm. To compensate for the
“sagging” it uses the 72, 730 kg coal
onboard rising to a height 15.24 cm.
a. Find the original draft in salt water.
b. Find the original draft in fresh water
c. Find the weight of displaced seawater.

8. An open cylindrical tank 350 mm in diameter and 1.8

m high is inserted with its open end down into a
body of water. For stabilization, a 1,300 N block of
concrete is tied at the bottom having a specific
gravity of 2.4. To what depth will the open end be
submerged in water?

9. A concrete cube having 0.5 m sides is to be held

in equilibrium underwater by attaching a light
foam buoy to it. If the unit weights of concrete
3 3
and foam are 23.58 kN/ m and 0.79 kN/ m
respectively, What is their total weight?

10. A composite cubical block having an edge equal to

Sg = 0.90
3m has its upper half of sp. gravity = 0.80 and its
Sg = 0.0
lower half of sp. gravity 1.4. It is resting on two
layers fluid with an upper sp. gravity of 0.90 and a
lower sp. gravity of 1.2. Find the height of the top
1.5m Sg = 1.40
of the cube above the interface of the two layer
Sg = 1.20 fluid.

FLUID MECHANICS/ ENGR. G.S. ROBLES

C H A P T E R V:
Hydrostatic Force on Surfaces

INTRODUCTION:
Any object exposed to a liquid, say a gate valve mechanism in a piping system, the wall of
a liquid storage tank, or even the hull of a ship at rest, are all subjected to fluid pressure distributed over
its surface. That when there is pressure acting, it will also mean that forces are acting in the form of
“hydrostatic forces”.
Water flowing in long stretches of
piping are pressurized by pumps
(prime mover). As such, the internal
side is subject to pressure with the
portion restricting/ stopping the flow
of water having the highest pressure.

Photo inset of a gate mechanism/

stopper inside a gate valve being
subjected to hydrostatic /
pressureforce while the water is not
moving.

Water tanks or any tanks used to hold other types

of fluids are examples of pressure vessels in that
they are used to store fluids before they are
diverted for their respective uses.

Photo inset shows a water tank with a certain

cross-section being shown, with liquid pressure
being a function of the liquid’s height/ depth, the
depth of liquid on such types of pressure vessels
can no longer be neglected. The length of arrows
indicating where the largest pressure/ force can be
located,.

Liquid pressure could be seen acting on

the ship’s hull (as well as buoyant force) in
two (2) different cases.

On plane surfaces they act perpendicular,

while on curved surfaces, they act at the
point of tangency….

The designs of many engineering systems such as water dams, and liquid storage tanks are mostly
based on the determination of such forces acting on various surfaces (plane & curved surfaces) that
requires the understanding of fluid statics (that deals with problems associated with fluids at rest; or
where there is no relative motion between adjacent fluid layers.
FLUID MECHANICS/ ENGR. G.S. ROBLES
 A. HYDROSTATIC FORCE ON PLANE SURFACES:

“The hydrostatic force on any plane surface of Area A, submerged in a body of fluid of Unit
Weight δ, is equal to the product of the area and intensity of pressure at its centroid
(center of gravity)”

F = A P centroid
= A δfluid ђ

Water/ liquid surface

F -- hydrostatic force
A -- submerged area
δfluid -- unit weight of fluid
ђ -- vertical distance of the centroid with respect to the fluid surface
ÿ -- inclined distance of the centroid with respect to the fluid surface
hp -- vertical distance of the center of pressure with respect to the fluid surface
yp -- inclined distance of the center of pressure with respect to the fluid surface
c.g. -- centroid(center of gravity)
-- portion where concentration of weight is to be located
c.p. -- center of pressure
-- portion where the hydrostatic force is to be located
e -- eccentricity(distance between centroid and center of pressure), m

Location of center of pressure:

…from water surface “o”

yp = Io / A ў
where:

Io = I g + A ў2

…from center of gravity or

centroid “g”

e = Ig / A ў

FLUID MECHANICS/ ENGR. G.S. ROBLES

where: A -- area of submerged object or body
ў -- distance from the water surface to centroid along the y-axis
e -- eccentricity
Ig -- moment of inertia of the submerged surface about the centroidal axis

“ for any vertically submerged object ђ = ў ”

TABLE A: Moment of Inertia, Areas, location of centers of

gravity of plane figures.

FLUID MECHANICS/ ENGR. G.S. ROBLES

SAMPLE PROBLEMS:

1. A vertical rectangular sluice gate at the

bottom of the dam is 0.6m wide and 1.8m
high and is exposed to water pressure on
one side corresponding to a head of 15m
above its center. Assuming the gate on stem
to weigh 2.23 kN and the coefficient of friction
of gate on runners to be 0.25, find the
hydrostatic force acting on the depth, the
frictional force between the gate and runners,
and the force necessary to raise the gate.

2. A gate with a circular cross-section is held

closed by a lever 1m in length attached to a
buoyant cylinder. The cylinder is 25 cm in
diameter and weighs 0.2 kN. The gate is
attached to a horizontal shaft so it can pivot
about the center. The liquid is water. The chain
and the lever attached to the gate have
negligible weight. The depth of water above
the gate hinge is 10m. Compute the length of
the chain such that the gate is just on the verge
of opening.

3. In the figure shown, the gate is 1.2m square and

weighs 6.69 kN. Neglecting the thickness of the
gate and the weight of the chain, compute the
minimum force required to open the gate
provided that the water exerts a force of
12, 714 N on the gate.

FLUID MECHANICS/ ENGR. G.S. ROBLES

4. From the figure shown, the gate is 1m wide and
is hinged at the bottom of the gate. Determine
the minimum volume of concrete with unit
weight of 23.6 kN/ cu.m. needed to keep the
gate in a closed position.

5. Gate AB is connected by a vertical rod to which a

spherical ball is attached by a cable. The gate is
4m wide and the spherical ball has a relative
density of 2.40. Compute the radius of the
spherical ball needed to maintain the gate AB in
its current position.

6. Compute the height of water for which the gate AB will start to fail if it has a length of 16 ft and
width of 8 ft. The gate supports a load of 11 kips. Neglect the weight of the gate which is inclined
at 600 with the horizontal and hinged at B and pulley friction.

FLUID MECHANICS/ ENGR. G.S. ROBLES

7. The gate in the figure shown is 1.5 m wide, and
is hinged at point A, and rests against a smooth
wall at B. Suppose that the minimum stress on
the pin used at point A is at 20 MPa, would a pin
of 10 cm diameter be possible to be used?

8. From the composite layers of fluids stored on a

vessel shown,, how far along the rectangular
gate’s surface is the hydrostatic force acting?