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Pressure in a fluid

1.1
What will be the (a) the gauge pressure and (b) the absolute pressure of water at depth 12m below the
surface? water = 1000 kg/m3, and p atmosphere = 101kN/m2.
[117.72 kN/m2, 218.72 kN/m2]
1.2
At what depth below the surface of oil, relative density 0.8, will produce a pressure of 120 kN/m2? What
depth of water is this equivalent to?
[15.3m, 12.2m]
1.3 What would the pressure in kN/m2 be if the equivalent head is measured as 400mm of (a) mercury =13.6
(b) water ( c) oil specific weight 7.9 kN/m3 (d) a liquid of density 520 kg/m3?
[53.4 kN/m2, 3.92 kN/m2, 3.16 kN/m2, 2.04 kN/m2]
1.4 A manometer connected to a pipe indicates a negative gauge pressure of 50mm of mercury. What is the
absolute pressure in the pipe in Newtons per square metre is the atmospheric pressure is 1 bar?
[93.3 kN/m2]
1.5 What height would a water barometer need to be to measure atmospheric pressure?
1.6
An inclined manometer is required to measure an air pressure of 3mm of water to an accuracy of +/- 3%.
The inclined arm is 8mm in diameter and the larger arm has a diameter of 24mm. The manometric fluid
has density 740 kg/m3 and the scale may be read to +/- 0.5mm.
What is the angle required to ensure the desired accuracy may be achieved?
[12 39]
1.7 A Venturimeter is used for measuring flow of water along a pipe. The diameter of the Venturi throat is
two fifths the diameter of the pipe. The inlet and throat are connected by water filled tubes to a mercury
U-tube manometer. The velocity of flow along the pipe is found to be 2 5 . H m/s, where H is the
manometer reading in metres of mercury. Determine the loss of head between inlet and throat of the
Venturi when H is 0.49m. (Relative density of mercury is 13.6).
[0.23m of water]
1.8
Water is discharging from a tank through a convergent-divergent mouthpiece. The exit from the tank is
rounded so that losses there may be neglected and the minimum diameter is 0.05m.
If the head in the tank above the centre-line of the mouthpiece is 1.83m. a) What is the discharge?
b) What must be the diameter at the exit if the absolute pressure at the minimum area is to be 2.44m of
water? c) What would the discharge be if the divergent part of the mouth piece were removed. (Assume
atmospheric pressure is 10m of water).
[0.0752m, 0.0266m3/s, 0.0118m3/s]
9. The Mindanao Trench, off the coast of the Philippines, is the world's deepest at 11,515 m.
What is the pressure at this depth? How can sea creatures live at this depth? Why is it so
dangerous for submersibles to go to this depth? Sometimes biologists catch fish at this depth and
bring them to the surface. If they raise the fish too quickly, they get instant sushi. How come?
Pressure in a liquid is governed by the formula P = P
0
+ gh. The pressure at the surface,
p
0
, is just atmospheric pressure and the density of seawater is = 1024 kg/m
3
(according
to the table of densities in the text). Thus
p = 1.01 10
5
Pa + (1024 kg/m
3
)(9.81 m/s
2
)(11,515 m) = 1.16 10
8
Pa.
This is over 1100 times atmospheric pressure.

10. A tube contains 12.2 cm of water. A second tube contains 15.8 cm of an unknown fluid.
The pressure at the bottom of both tubes is the same but unknown. What is the density of the
unknown fluid?
The pressure at any depth of fluid is given by p = p
0
+ gh. Since we have two fluids we
write this equation down twice, one for each case
p
W
= p
0W
+
W
gh
W
(1)
p
U
= p
0U
+
U
gh
U
(2)
Both have the same surface pressure, since both are exposed to air, so p
0W
= p
0U
. We are
also told p
W
= p
U
. Thus (1) and (2) combine to become

W
gh
W
=
U
gh
U
.
Eliminating the common factor g and solving for
U
, we get

U
=
W
h
W
/h
U
= (1000 kg/m
3
)(12.2)/(15.8) = 772 kg/m
3
.

11. A sightseeing balloon can lift a total mass of 500 kg including the balloon material, basket,
and passengers but excluding the helium gas. What volume of helium is needed to lift the
balloon?
The equation of the diagram is F
B
= w
Load
+ w
He
. We know F
B
=
fluid displaced
V
fluid displaced
g.
The weight of the load is w
Load
= (500 kg) (9.81 m/s
2
) = 4905 N. Since we don't know
the mass of helium gas and we only want the volume anyway, w
He
=
He
V
He
g. So our
force equation is

fluid displaced
V
fluid displaced
g = 4905 N +
He
V
He
g.
Now the balloon is totally immersed in air so V
fluid displaced
= V
He
. Our force equation
simplifies to

fluid displaced
V
He
g = 4905 N +
He
V
He
g.
We collect the tems with volume in them to one side. This yields
(
fluid displaced

He
)V
He
g = 4905 N.
Rearranging
V
He
= (4905 N) / (
fluid displaced

He
)g.
The displaced fluid is air which has a density of 1.29 kg/m
3
while the density of helium is
0.179 kg/m
3
(see table in textbook). Using these values V
He
= 450 m
3
.
1. 12 A large balloon, filled with an unknown gas, exerts a 5.25 N force on a spring. If the
volume of the balloon is 1.70 m
3
, what is the density of the gas. Take the density of air to
be 1.21 kg/m
3
.

The problem mentions a force, the spring force F
S
, and we know that the acceleration is
zero since the balloon is not moving. This suggests that we apply Newton's second law.
The others forces acting are the weight of the balloon, F
W
, and the buoyancy force, F
B
.

Apply Newton's Second Law, we find
F
B
- F
S
- F
W
= 0. (1)
The buoyant force is equal to the weight of the displaced air, m
air
g. In turn the mass of the
displaced air is related to the volume of the balloon, F
B
=
air
Vg. The weight of the gas is
F
W
=
gas
Vg. Thus equation (1) becomes

air
Vg - F
S
-
gas
Vg = 0. (2)
Solving for
gas
,

gas
=
air
- F
S
/Vg = 1.21 kg/m
3
- (5.25 N)/(1.70 m
3
)(9.81 m/s
2
) = 0.895 kg/m
3
.
The density of the gas is 0.895 kg.m
3
.

13
1. A class conducts a number of experiments on the behaviour of fluids using an instructor,
a rope, a force scale, and a very large graduated cylinder. The cylinder is 3.00 m deep and
has a diameter of 2.00 m. The 80-kg instructor is completely immersed in the water in the
cylinder and tied to a force scale at the bottom of the cylinder as shown in the diagram
below. The water in the cylinder rises 2.65 cm after the instructor is immersed.
(a) How dense is the instructor?
(b) What is the reading on the scale?

(a) We know that density is given by = M/V. We are given the mass of the instructor so
we need to know his volume. We also know that the volume of fluid displaced by a
submerged object equals the volume of the object Archimedes' Principle. For a cylinder
V = (d/2)
2
h = (1 m)
2
(0.0265 m) = 0.08325 m
3
.
Hence the density of the instructor is
= (80 kg) / (0.08325 m
3
) = 960.9 kg/m
3
.
This is less than the density of water, 1000 kg/m
3
, which is why the instructor is tied to
the bottom to keep him from floating to the top.
(b) The scale reading is a force, call it F
Scale
, and we know that the acceleration is zero
since the instructor is not moving (if the students wait long enough anyway). This
suggests that we apply Newton's second law. The others forces acting are the weight of
the instructor, F
W
, and the buoyancy force, F
B
.

Apply Newton's Second Law, we find
F
B
- F
Scale
- F
W
= 0 . (1)
The buoyant force is equal to the weight of the displaced water, m
water
g. In turn the mass
of the displaced water is related to the volume of the instructor, F
B
=
water
Vg. The
weight of the instructor is F
W
= Vg. Thus equation (1) becomes

water
Vg - F
Scale
- Vg = 0. (2)
Solving for F
Scale
,
F
Scale
= (
water
)Vg = (1000 kg/m
3
960.9 kg/m
3
)( 0.08325 m
3
)(9.81 m/s
2
) = 31.9 N

14. An aluminum box is 1.00 m on each side with only air inside. The aluminum is 4.0 mm thick.
What is the density of the box? How deep will it sink if placed in water?
A box has six sides, so the volume of aluminum is V = 6 (1.00 m)(1.00 m)(0.0040 m) =
0.0240 m
3
. Using the density given in the text book, the mass of aluminum is m = V =
(2700 kg/m
3
)(0.0240 m
3
) = 64.8 kg. The cubic metre of air in the box has a mass of 1.29
kg. The total mass of the box is therefore 66.09 kg. The density of the box is thus
Al
= m
/ V = ( 66.09 kg) / ( 1 m
3
) = 66.09 kg/m
3
. To find the depth of the box in water, recall
first that the density of the box is less than that of water so it will float. Next recall
Archimedes' Principle that the to float, the box will displace a volume of water with the
equivalent weight (or mass). Mathematically this is
water
V
water
= m
box
. As a result the
volume of water displaced is V
water
= m
box
/
water
= ( 66.09 kg) / ( 1000 kg/m
3
) =
0.06609 m
3
. The shape of the water is a 1.00 m by 1.00 m bottom with a height of h. We
can solve for the height, so the box sinks 0.066 m or 6.6 cm.
15 .Find the pressure increase in the fluid in a syringe when a nurse applies a
force of 42 N to the syringe's circular piston, which has a radius of 1.1 cm.

Solution:

P
F
A



F

2



42
0011
2

Pa

110500 Pa

11 atm(Answer)
16. An office window has dimensions 3.4 m by 2.1 m. As a result of the passage
of a storm, the outside air pressure drops to 0.96 atm, but inside the pressure
is held at 1.0 atm.
What net force pushes out on the window?

Solution:
The air inside pushes outward with a force given by piA,where pi is the pressure
inside the room and A is the area of the window. Similarly, the air on the outside
pushes inward with a force given by poA, where po is the pressure outside. The
magnitude of the net force is

F =(Pi- Po)A. [Since 1atm = 1.013 105 Pa,]
Here,
Po=0.96 atm
Pi=1.0 atm
A= 3.4m X 2.1m34m 21m

F =(1.0atm - 0.96 atm)(1.013 105 Pa/atm)(3.4 m)(2.1m)
= 2.9 104 N (Answer)



17.An airtight container having a lid with negligible mass and an area of

is partially evacuated. If a 480 N force is required to pull the lid


off the container and the atmospheric pressure is 1.0 x 10^5P a,
what is the air pressure in the container before it is opened?

Solution: The magnitude F of the force required to pull the lid off is
F = (Po Pi)A, where Po is the pressure outside the box, Pi is the pressure inside,
and A is the area of the lid.
Recalling that 1N/m2 = 1 Pa, we obtain
pi = po - = 1.0 105 Pa - = 3.8 104 Pa.



18.Calculate the hydrostatic difference in blood pressure between the brain
and the foot in a person of height 1.83 m. The density of blood is 1.06 x 103
kg/m3.

Solution : We estimate the pressure difference (specifically due to hydrostatic
effects) as follows:
p gh
106 10
3
kgm
3
98ms
2
183m
190 10
4
Pa
(Answer)




19. To flow lemonade of density 1000kg/m^3up a straw to a maximum height
of 4.0cm, what minimum gauge pressure must be needed?
To suck lemonade of density 1000 kg/m^3 up a straw to a maximum height of
4.0 cm, what minimum gauge pressure (in atmospheres) must you produce in
your lungs?


Sol. The gauge pressure you can produce is
P gh


1000kgm
3
98ms
2
40 10
2
m
10110
5 Paatm


39 10
3
atm

where the minus sign indicates that the pressure inside your lung is less than the
outside pressure.





20.
1. (10 points)
The practical depth limit for a suited diver is about 185 meters. What is the gage pressure in sea
water at that depth? Assume that the specific gravity of sea water is constant at 1.025.
Solution

0
0 =
=1.025 1000 /3 9.8 /2 185 =1.861062=1.86106

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