Dr.

David Moxey, Semester 2 (2022/23)

5CCE2THF: Thermofluids
Lecture 2: Fluid Statics
Overview
Quick recap
• Last week we covered the basic concepts of fluid dynamics:

- properties of fluids such as density, viscosity, velocity and pressure;

- the continuum assumption and continuum dynamics;
- forces owing to viscosity, gravity, and pressure.
• This week we're going to continue to introduce new concepts when the fluid
is at rest or, more technically, in static equilibrium.

• This branch of fluid dynamics is called hydrostatics or uid statics.

fl

Why is fluid statics important?

• We know that when objects are
submerged in a fluid, they experience
forces owing to the pressure of the fluid
on the object.

• It is important to quantify this: for

example, building a dam.

• However more broadly, we can use the

principles to e.g. design instrumentation.

• Additionally, understanding effects like

buoyancy can help design stable ships.

The pressure force

The pressure force
• In the previous lecture, we mentioned that
the pressure force imposes an equal force
on e.g. all faces of a small cube.

• It's probably a good idea to quantify this!

To do so, let's start by considering a small
wedge of fluid that is lying at rest.

• Since the fluid is at rest, the only forces that

act on the fluid are gravity and pressure.

• We consider a wedge, because we would

like to be able to vary the angle of the
wedge and see if there is any difference in
the pressure force.

The pressure force

• Assume that the wedge has width b which goes
into the page.

• We set z to be the vertical direction (which typically

denotes depth) and x to be the horizontal
direction.

• From basic geometry, the weight W of the wedge

can readily be calculated using the density of the
fluid and the area of the triangle, so that

(2 )
1
W = ρg ⋅ ΔxΔz

• Moreover, since our volume is 'small', we also W

consider the pressure is uniform across each face of
the wedge.

The pressure force

• Now since this wedge is at rest, we can apply force
balances in the x and the y direction.

∑
Fx = 0 = pxbΔz − pnbΔs sin θ
1
∑
Fz = 0 = pzbΔx − pnbΔs cos θ − ρgbΔxΔz
2
• Trigonometry tells us that

Δs sin θ = Δz and Δs cos θ = Δx

• If we substitute this into the above and simplify, W

1
px = pn and pz = pn + ρgΔz
2

The pressure force

1
px = pn and pz = pn + ρgΔz
2

There is no However there is a pressure

pressure change change in the vertical
in the horizontal direction, proportional to
direction density, gravity and depth
change. W

As we let Δz → 0, then px = pz = pn =: p
i.e. pressure is indeed a scalar at a point.




The hydrostatic equation
Force balances for a fluid volume
• We now know there is some variation of
pressure in depth, how do we calculate it?

• Consider a small cylinder of fluid volume that

is aligned with the depth direction.

• The height is δz, and circular cross-sections of

the cylinder have an area δA.

• If the fluid volume is at rest, then we can apply

our usual technique of force balance.

• But what are the forces? We have three that

we need to consider.

Force balances for a fluid volume

• Weight:

- Volume of cylinder is δV = δAδz

- Mass of the fluid in the cylinder is therefore
ρδV and consequently W = ρgδAδz.

• Pressure at the top:

- First let's pretend that we know the

pressure at the top surface is is p(z)

- Then the force owing to that should be

Ftop = p(z)δA.

Force balances for a fluid volume

• Pressure at the bottom:

- In similar logic to the top, we know this

should be Fbottom = p(z + δz)δA.

- However we can now play some tricks. If

δz is small, then we can approximate this
via Taylor's theorem:
dp
p(z + δz) ≈ p(z) + δz
dz
- Now we can rearrange to try to find p.

Force balances for a fluid volume

• The volume is at rest, so we can balance
forces, i.e.

Fbottom − Ftop − W = 0

• This therefore gives

( dz )
dp
pδA − p + δz δA − ρgδAδz = 0

• Simplifying a bit...

dp
= − ρg the hydrostatic equation
dz

 dp
The hydrostatic equation dz
= − ρg

• This is an ordinary differential equation.

• Solving this allows us to find the pressure p as a function of depth z.

• If we want to calculate pressure p1 = p(z1) and p2 = p(z2) between two points

z1 < z2, we could just try to integrate this:
p2 z2

∫p ∫z
p2 − p1 = dp = − ρ(z)g dz
1 1

• However clearly we need some knowledge of the density as the depth

increases to really have any chance of going further.

 dp
The hydrostatic equation dz
= − ρg

• For the first half of this course, we are going to mostly consider
incompressible uids. Of course they have a nice property: density ρ is
constant!

• Now when we integrate, we can see that:

z2

∫z
p2 − p1 = − ρg dz = − ρg(z2 − z1)
1

• That is, as the difference between the points increases, so too does the
pressure difference.

• In other words: the deeper we go, the more the pressure increases.

fl

Example: diving underwater

−3
A diver in water of density ρ = 1025 kg m is at a depth of 25 m. What pressure
do they experience, relative to surface pressure?
Hydrostatic terminology
Defining coordinate systems air

• Since we typically work with

free surface
problems involving depth from a z=0
free surface, we typically define a
depth h instead.
h z
• At this location h = − z.

• We then have a slightly simpler

form of the hydrostatic equation: z=−h

p = ρgh

Gauge vs. absolute pressure air

• In this example, we're actually omitting a critical patm

pressure.

• Typically we are interested in performing our

experiments on Earth! We therefore need to
account for atmospheric pressure!

• Generally taken as mean sea-level pressure at a

standard temperature: patm = 101325 Pa.

• The diver therefore experiences the pressure of

the water p, in addition to the atmospheric
pressure patm.

Gauge vs. absolute pressure air

patm
ptotal = pwater + patm

absolute gauge atmospheric

pressure pressure pressure

• We call the water pressure gauge pressure

because most gauges read a pressure of 0
when open to the atmosphere.






Pressure head
• Another important concept in hydrostatics, and something you might come
across is pressure head.

• This is the rearrangement of the hydrostatic equation for the height h:

p
p = ρgh h=
ρg

• Conceptually the 'head' represents the height of a container of fluid needed to

generate a particular pressure.

• Critical that density of the uid is stated: e.g. a head of 10.1m of water is
equivalent to only 0.75m of mercury at 20°C!

fl

Specific weight and specific gravity

• We can reformulate the pressure head or the hydrostatic equation in terms of the
speci c weight of the fluid γ = ρg:

p
h= p = γh
γ

• It's very easy to confuse this with another, similarly named term: speci c gravity,
written as SG.

• Specific gravity is ratio of density to a known reference fluid: for liquids, this is
−3 −3
water with ρ = 1000 kg m , for gases this is air with ρ = 1.205 kg m .

• e.g. mercury has specific gravity SG = 13600/ρwater = 13.6: this is dimensionless.

fi

fi

 Pressure in a uniform, static fluid varies

only with vertical distance. The pressure
is the same at all points on a given
horizontal plane in the fluid. The pressure
increases with depth in the fluid.

 August 2022

Example: multi-layered fluid

20 cm Oil, SG = 0.8
The tank and the tube on the right are both open
to the atmosphere. Assuming the length of the L
tube L = 2 m, what is the angle of tilt θ? 30 cm
Water
SG = 1.0
✓

Figure 1: Figure for Question A2.

Possible answers:

(a) ✓ = 27
(b) ✓ = 13
(c) ✓ = 51
(d) ✓ = 19
(e) ✓ = 28

Answer
Manometry
What is manometry?
• Manometry concerns the measurement of a
pressure difference in fluid via the use of a
manometer (e.g. a U-bend manometer).

• Inside the U-bend is a manometer fluid, which

is immiscible with the fluid you are trying to
measure pressure of.

• Immiscible: fluids do not mix (e.g. air/water,

water/oil).

• If there is no pressure difference, the

manometer fluid will have the same level on
both sides: if not, there will be a displacement.

The concept
equal pressures pressure difference

air apply pressure Δh

to left tube

water


How does a manometer work?
• Let's use our knowledge of hydrostatics to
figure out how to compute pressure
difference.

• First, choose a reference level: below this

level, we should only see a single fluid.

• Clearly in this picture, this level is point A.

• We know here that pA = p1 + ρgl, because

the pressure is p1 at the top of the
manometer, and we have a column of air
above point A.

How does a manometer work?

• Now let's go to point C. Above this point,
we have a column of water. So in this case,
we have that pC = p2 + ρwgl.

• Finally let's make a critical observation:

points A and C are at the same elevation,
and moreover they are connected by the
same fluid (water).
pA = p1 + ρgl
• Therefore, pA = pC and so

p2 − p1 = gl(ρ − ρw)

A mistake? Fluid Statics 5CCE2THF

• In the previous page I have omitted one

Question 4

small detail...
Water flows upwards in a pipe slanted at
30° as in the figure on the right hand side.
The mercury manometer reads h = 12 cm, (2)
• ...what aboutand
the height
both of the
fluids are at 20fluid fromis the
°C. What
30°
the top of the manometer
pressure di↵erence pto1 the
p2 infree
the pipe? (1)
surface on the right?
h
• Doesn't make a difference! See tutorial
sheet this week for more.

• (Also you get to see how we would use 2m

this to measure pressure difference in a
pipe flow.) Solution 4
Let’s denote point A by the level of the mercury in the left hand tube, and point B by
the same vertical level, but in the right-hand side tube. Then there is a vertical distance
a from A to point 1, and a vertical distance b from B to point 2.

 Any two points at the same elevation in a

continuous mass of the same static fluid will be
at the same pressure.
Forces on submerged bodies
Submerged bodies
• Earlier we talked about dams: a key
question for designers is how thick
the walls need to be to hold back the
water they contain.

• This is more challenging than a point-

mass system: we know that:

- pressure acts over an area (so

dimension is important)

- pressure forces are normal to the

shape (so that's important too)

- and pressure varies with depth.

Visualising surface pressure

• Imagine we submerge some different
bodies underwater. What does the
pressure force 'look like' for these?

• If the body is flat, then this is quite

easy: the force is always normal to
the surface, and it increases with
depth.

• However for curved surfaces this is

substantially different: pressure is
normal at each point on the surface,
and also varies with depth.
curved surfaces

Visualising surface pressure

• However, we can reuse many of the
core mechanics concepts that we
understand (e.g. from 4CCE1MEC)
by applying our knowledge of the
hydrostatics judiciously!

• If we compute resultant force of

the pressure on the surface, then
finding its magnitude, point of
application and direction turn into
problems of resolving forces &
moments.

curved surfaces

Resultant force on a flat plate

• Let us consider a submerged flat plate that is inclined at some angle θ.

• For now, we'll consider that the plate could have an arbitrary shape, as we see
on the plan view.

Resultant force on a flat plate

• First let's go back to basics. On a small area δA, the force owing to pressure is
pδA. Sum all contributions and let δA → 0, to get a surface integral:

∫A
F= p dA

Resultant force on a flat plate

• We know that pressure can be written as ρgh(x, y), where x and y denote
locations on the surface of the plate. Therefore,

∫A ∫A ∫A
F= p dA = ρgh dA = ρg h dA

Resultant force on a flat plate

• Now define a coordinate ξ = h/sin θ, which runs from the surface down the
line of the plate. Then h = ξ sin θ and our integral now becomes

∫A ∫A
F = ρg h dA = ρg sin θ ξ dA (almost) centre
of mass of plate

h
ξ=
sin θ



Resultant force on a flat plate

• Since we know the centre of mass of the plate is at a position ξCG and
1
A ∫A
ξCG = ξ dA

• This gives: F = ρg sin θAξCG = ρghCG A = pCG A.

ξCG

Resultant force on a flat plate

• Two important takeaways:

- The force is independent of the shape of the plate.

- The force is independent of the angle of submersion.
• This might well seem counter-intuitive in some sense, but it does both:

- validate the approach we'd like to take in terms of thinking of this

problem as a simpler force-balance problem;

- give us an easy way to compute the magnitude of the resultant force, as

long as we know where the centroid of the shape is.

Where does the force act?

• Since the pressure varies as a function of depth, the force doesn't necessarily
act through the centre of gravity (CG).

• For a flat plate, the force F will be applied at a position that we will call the
centre of pressure, CP.

Where does the force act?

• Assume that CP lies at a displacement (xCP, yCP) from the centroid CG. Let's
compute moments about CG. First in the y-direction, we have

∫A ∫A ∫A
FyCP = yp dA = y ⋅ ρgξ sin θ dA = ρg sin θ yξ dA

Where does the force act?

• Now if we let ξ = ξCG − y, we have that

( ∫A ∫A )
2
FyCP = ρg sin θ ξCG y dA − y dA = − ρg sin θIxx

• Ixx is the area moment of inertia of the plate area around the centroidal x-axis.

Where does the force act?

Ixx
• Finally we get that: yCP = − ρg sin θ
F
Ixx
• This can be rearranged to give yCP = − ρg sin θ
pCG A

Checking against intuition Ixx

yCP = − ρg sin θ
• There are a few points to think about here: pCG A

- The negative sign in the equation above indicates that yCP will lie
somewhere below the centroid, owing to the pressure forces being
located at a deeper level than the centre of gravity.

- Moreover, the location now depends on the angle θ, as we might expect.

- Finally, we note that if we were to increase the depth of the plate, then
yCP will move closer to the centroid, since every term in the equation
above remains constant expect for pCG, which increases.

Where does the force act?

• The calculation for xCP is done in precisely the same manner, and yields

Ixy
xCP = − ρg sin θ
pG A

• where Ixy is the product of inertia of the plane.

Area/product moments of inertia

• If you can't remember these
L
area & product moments of y
2
A = bL y A = π R2
bL3 R4
inertia, do take a peek back x Ixx = x Ixx =
π
12 R 4

at your mechanics notes

L R
Ixy = 0 Ixy = 0
2

from next year! b b

2 2

• However there's a table of

(a) (b)

some common shapes below s

and their centroids, which

A = bL π R2

you can find in the lecture y

2L
3
2 A=
2

notes too. x
Ixx =
bL3
36
Ixx = 0.10976R 4
y Ixy = 0
L b(b –2s)L 2

∫A ∫A
Ix y = x
3
2
Iyy = y dA, Ixy = xy dA
72
4R
b b R R 3π
2 2
(c) (d)

 Example: pressure on a gate

Consider the problem in the figure on the right,
where a gate AB rests against two solid walls.
The gate is hinged at B and is in static
equilibrium. The gate is wide (into the page).
We want to compute:

• the force on the gate due to seawater

pressure;

• the horizontal force P exerted by the wall at

A;

• the reactions at the hinge B.

Summary
Summary
In today's lecture we've seen:

• validation of the pressure force as a point force;

• derivation of the hydrostatic equation and its use in basic calculations for
pressure in fluid statics problems;

• the use of manometry;

• how to calculate forces on submerged bodies;

• and the basic principles governing buoyancy.

Next week: fluids in motion, i.e. fluid dynamics!