Pressure effect on fluids
Introduction
• Fluid statics (hydrostatics) is the study of fluids at rest
• When fluids are at rest:
– No relative motion between fluid particles
– No shear stresses
– All fluid elements are at equilibrium: the sum of forces is zero
• The only stress that exists is a normal stress (the pressure). So it is the
pressure that is primary interest in hydrostatics
Consider..
• Consider an element in the interior of a fluid at rest. This element
ABC-DEF is in the form of a right-angled prism.
• In principle, this prismatic element is very small so that every part of
it can be considered at the same depth from the liquid surface and
therefore, the effect of the gravity is the same at all these points.
• The forces on this element are those exerted by the rest of the fluid
and they must be normal to the surfaces of the element .
• Thus, the fluid exerts pressures Pa, Pb and Pc on this element of area
corresponding to the normal forces Fa, Fb and Fc
Importance of Normal Forces (Pressure)
• Overturning of concrete dams
• Bursting of pressure vessels/pipes/storage tanks
• Breaking of lock gates on canals
Pressure in Fluids
• When a fluid is at rest, it exerts a force perpendicular to any surface in
contact with it e.g. a container wall or a body immersed in the fluid
• While the fluid as a whole is at, the molecules that make up the fluid are in
motion; the force exerted by the fluid is due to molecules colliding with
their surroundings rest
• Consider a small surface of area dA centered on a point in the fluid; the
normal force exerted by the fluid on each side is dF
• The pressure p at that point is the normal force dF per unit area dA
• If the pressure is the same at all points of a finite plane surface with
area A, then
Units of Pressure
• Pressure is a scalar with units of Newtons per square meter
• By contrast, force is a vector with units of Newtons.
• The SI unit of pressure is the pascal, where: 1 pascal = 1 Pa = 1 N/m3
• Other units 1 Bar = 105 Pa 1 Millibar = 100 Pa
Atmospheric pressure
• Is the pressure of the earth’s atmosphere, the pressure at the bottom
of this sea of air in which we live – pressure due to the weight of the
atmosphere
• Varies with weather changes and with altitude
• Normal atmospheric pressure at sea level (an average value) is 1
atmosphere (atm.), defined to be exactly 101,325 Pa
Pressure , Depth and Pascal’s law
• Pressure variation with elevation/depth
• Assumptions:
-Uniform density
-Uniform acceleration due to gravity, g
• If the fluid is in equilibrium, every volume element is in equilibrium
• Pressure variation occurs only along a vertical path through the fluid
• No pressure variation occurs along a horizontal path through the fluid
• Pressure changes inversely with elevation i.e. going down increases the
pressure and going up decreases the pressure
• Consider a thin element of fluid with:
Thickness dy
The bottom and top surfaces each have area, A
they are at elevations y and above some reference level
Assuming that density, ρ, is uniform
• If the fluid is in equilibrium, every volume element is in equilibrium
• The fluid element is in equilibrium, so the total y-component of force,
including the weight and the forces at the bottom and top surfaces,
• When we divide out the area A and rearrange, we get
• This equation shows that when y increases, p decreases; that is, as we
move upward in the fluid, pressure decreases
• If p1 and p2 are the pressures at elevations y1 and y2, respectively,
and if ρ and g are constant, then
• p2 - p1 = -ρg(y2 - y1) (pressure in a fluid of uniform density)
• It’s often convenient to express the previous equation in terms of the
depth below the surface of a fluid insert
• p0 - p = -ρg(y2 - y1) = - ρgh or p = p0 + ρgh (pressure in a
fluid of uniform density). The pressure p at a depth h is greater than
the pressure p0 at the surface by an amount ρgh
Piezometric pressure and head
• The general equation for pressure variation in the fluid element
shown:
• Where γ = ρg , z = elevation, height
• Piezometric/hydraulic head is equal to the fluid's potential energy per unit
weight (mgz/mg)
Questions
• 1. A concrete tank with height of 3.0 m is filled with oil of uniform
density of 2300 kg/m3. Calculate the difference in pressure between
floor and ceiling of the tank 2. Find the pressure at the bottom of an
open tank with height 2 m filled with water.
• 3. Find the pressure at the bottom of a sealed tank filled with columns
of water and oil (ρoil = 850 kg/m3 ).
Pressure in the horizontal direction
• Consider the horizontal cylindrical element of fluid in the figure
below, with cross-sectional area A, in a fluid of density ρ , pressure p1
at the left hand end and pressure p2 at the right hand end
• The fluid is at equilibrium so the sum of the forces acting in the x
direction is zero P1A=P2A P1=P2
• Pressure in the horizontal direction is the same for any continuous
fluid
Pascal’s Law
• Pressure applied to an enclosed fluid is transmitted equally to every
portion of the fluid and the walls of the containing vessel
Application of Pascal’s law
• This principle is utilized in the design and development of hydraulic
controls used in a wide range of applications:
• The hydraulic press/lift – used to lift heavy loads
• Hydraulic brake system
Simplified hydraulic lift/press
Hydraulic brake system
Buoyancy and Archimedes' Principle
• Buoyancy phenomena: A body immersed in water seems to weigh
less than when it is in air
• When the body is less dense than the fluid, it floats
• The human body usually floats in water, and a helium-filled balloon
floats in air.
Buoyancy, Flotation and Stability
• When a stationary body is completely submerged in a fluid, or
floating (partially submerged) on it, the resultant fluid force on the
body is the buoyant force
• A net upward force results because buoyant force has a magnitude
equal to the weight of the fluid displaced by body and is directed
vertically upward
Buoyancy and stability
• Buoyancy is due to the fluid displaced by a body
• FB= mg
• FB= ρVg
Practical applications of buoyancy
Hygrometer
• Used to measure the density of liquids
• The calibrated float sinks into the fluid until the weight of the fluid it
displaces is exactly equal to its own weight
• The hydrometer floats higher in denser liquids than in less dense
liquids, and a scale in the top stem permits direct density readings
Revision question
• A 15 kg solid gold statue is raised from the sea bottom . What is the
tension in the hoisting cable (assumed massless) when the statue is:
• (a) at rest and completely under water? (b) at rest and completely
out of the water? Densities -gold = 19300 kg/m3 -
Seawater = 1030 kg/m3
Some Practical applications of buoyancy
1. Hydrometer - used to measure the density of liquids
2. Submarines
3. Hot air balloons
Revision questions
1. A 15.0-kg solid gold statue is raised from the sea bottom. What is the
tension in the hoisting cable (assumed massless) when the statue is (a)
at rest and completely underwater and (b) at rest and completely out
of the water?
2. A body having the dimensions of 1.5m ×1.0m× 3.0m weighs 1962N in
water. Find its weight in air. What will be its specific gravity?
3. A block of steel (specific gravity= 7.85) floats at the mercury-water
interface as shown in figure. What is the ratio (a / b) for this condition?
(Specific gravity of Mercury = 13.57)
