CHAPTER 2

Fluid Statics

27

Observe that the heights must be in meters. The pressure at point 4 is essentially
the same as that at point 5 since the specic weight of air is negligible compared
to that of the oil. So,
p4 = p5
= poil oil 0.06
Finally,
pwater poil = water 0.04 + Hg 0.08 oil 0.06
= 9800 0.04 + (13.6 9800) 0.08 (0.86 9800) 0.06
= 9760 Pa

2.3 Forces on Plane

and Curved Surfaces
When a liquid is contained by a surface, such as a dam, the side of a ship, a water
tank, or a levee, it is necessary to calculate the force and its location due to the liquid.
The liquid is most often water but it could be oil or some other liquid. We will
develop equations for forces on plane surfaces, but forces on curved surfaces can
be determined using the same equations. Examples will illustrate.
Consider the general surface shown in Fig. 2.4. The liquid acts on the plane area
shown as a section of the wall; a view from the top gives additional detail of the
geometry. The force on the plane surface is due to the pressure p = h acting over
the area, that is,
F = pdA = hdA
A

= sin ydA = yA sin

(2.16)

where y is the distance3 to the centroid of the plane area; the centroid is identied
as the point C. Equation (2.16) can also be expressed as
F = hA
Recall that yA =

ydA.

(2.17)

Fluid Mechanics Demystied

28

Free surface p = 0

O
a
x

F
h

ghdA
O

Inclined
plane area

dy
dA
C

y
y

c.p.
Inclined
plane area
(top view)

Figure 2.4

yp

The force on an inclined plane area.

where h is the vertical distance to the centroid. Since h is the pressure at the centroid we see that the magnitude of the force is the area times the pressure that acts
at the centroid of the area. It does not depend on the angle a of inclination. But, the
force does not, in general, act at the centroid.
Lets assume that the force acts at some point called the center of pressure (c.p.),
located by the point (xp, yp). To determine where this point is, we must recognize
that the sum of the moments of all the innitesimal forces must equal the moment
of the resultant force, that is,
y p F = yh dA
A

= sin y 2 dA = I x sin
A

(2.18)

where Ix is the second moment4 of the area about the x-axis. The parallel-axis-transfer
theorem states that
I x = I + Ay 2
Recall the second moment of a rectangle about its centroidal axis is bh 3 /12.

(2.19)

CHAPTER 2

Fluid Statics

29

where I is the moment of the area about its centroidal axis. So, substituting into
Eq. (2.18) and using the expression for F from Eq. (2.16) results in
yp = y +

I
Ay

(2.20)

This allows us to locate where the force acts. For a horizontal surface, the pressure
is uniform over the area so that the pressure force acts at the centroid of the area. In
general, yp is greater than y. The centroids and second moments of various areas are
presented in books on statics or strength of materials. They will be given in the
problems in this book.
If the top of the inclined area in Fig. 2.4 were at the free surface, the pressure
distribution on that area would be triangular and the force F due to that pressure
would act through the centroid of that triangular distribution, i.e., two-third the
distance from the top of the inclined area.
To locate the x-coordinate xp of the center of pressure, we use
x p F = sin xydA
A

= I xy sin

(2.21)

where Ixy is the product of inertia of the area. Using the transfer theorem for the
product of inertia, the x-location of the center of pressure is
xp = x +

I xy
Ay

(2.22)

The above equations also allow us to calculate the forces acting on curved surfaces. Consider the curved gate shown in Fig. 2.5a. The objective in this problem
would be to nd the force P of the gate on the vertical wall and the forces Fx and Fy
on the hinge. From the free-body diagrams in parts (b) and (c), the desired forces
can be calculated providing the force FW, which acts through the center of gravity
of the area, can be found. The forces F1 and F2 can be found using Eq. (2.17). The
forces FH and FV are the horizontal and vertical components of the force of the
water acting on the gate. If a free-body diagram of only the water above the gate
were identied, we would see that
FH = F1

and

FV = F2 + FW

(2.23)

Fluid Mechanics Demystied

30

F2

Water

Figure 2.5

FV
FH

Curved
surface

(a)

FW

F1

Hinge

Fx

Fx

Fy

Fy

(b)

(c)

Forces on a curved surface: (a) the gate, (b) the water and the gate, and (c) the gate only.

Often, the gate is composed of a quarter circle. In this case, the problem can be
greatly simplied by recognizing that the forces FH and FV , when added together
as a vector, must act through the center of the quarter circle since all the innitesimal forces due to the water pressure on the gate that make up FH and FV act through
the center. So, for a gate that has the form of a part of a circle, the force components FH and FV can be located at the center of the circular arc. An example will
illustrate.
A nal application of forces on surfaces involves buoyancy, i.e., forces on oating bodies. Archimedes principle states that there is a buoyancy force on a oating
object equal to the weight of the displaced liquid, written as
FB = V

displaced liquid

(2.24)

Since there are only two forces acting on a oating body, they must be equal and
opposite and act through the center of gravity of the body (the body could have
density variations) and the centroid of the liquid volume. The body would position
itself so the center of gravity of the body and centroid of the liquid volume would
be on a vertical line. Questions of stability arise (does the body tend to tip?) but are
not considered here.

CHAPTER 2

Fluid Statics

31

EXAMPLE 2.3
A 60-cm square gate has its top edge 12 m below the water surface. It is on a 45
angle and its bottom edge is hinged as shown in (a). What force P is needed to
just open the gate?

Water

P
P
y

yp
Hinge

Fx
45

d
Fy

(a)

(b)

Solution
The rst step is to sketch a free-body diagram of the gate so the forces and distances are clearly identied. It is provided in (b). The force F is calculated to be
F = hA
= 9810 (12 + 0.3 sin 45) (0.6 0.6) = 43 130 N
We will take moments about the hinge so it will not be necessary to calculate the
forces Fx and Fy. Lets nd the distance d, the force F acts from the hinge:
h
12 + 0.3 sin 45
=
= 17.27 m
sin 45
sin 45
I
0.6 0.63 /12
= 17.27 +
yp = y +
= 17.272 m
(0.6 0.6) 17.27
Ay
d = y + 0.3 y p 0.3 m
y=

Note: The distance y p y is very small and can be neglected because of the
relatively large 12 m height compared to the 0.6 m dimension. So, the force P is
calculated to be
P=

0.3 F
= 21 600 N
0.6

Note also that all dimensions are converted to meters.

Fluid Mechanics Demystied

32

EXAMPLE 2.4
Consider the gate shown to be a quarter circle of radius 80 cm with the hinge 8 m
below the water surface (see Fig. 2.5). If the gate is 1 m wide, what force P is
needed to hold the gate in the position shown?
Solution
Lets move the forces FH and FV to the center of the circular arc, as shown. This
is allowed since all the innitesimal force components that make up the resultant
vector force FH + FV pass through the center of the arc. The forces that act on the
gate are displayed. If moments are taken about the hinge, Fx , Fy , and FV produce
no moments. So, there results
P = FH

FV
FH

Water
Hinge
Fx
Fy

a rather simple result compared to the situation if we used Fig. 2.5c. The force P is
P = hA = 9810 (8 0.4) (0.8 1)
= 59600 N
where FH = F1, and F1 is the force on the vertical area shown in Fig. 2.5b.

2.4 Accelerating Containers

The pressure in a container accelerating with components ax and ay is found by
integrating Eq. (2.8) between selected points 1 and 2 in Fig 2.6 to obtain
p2 p1 = ax ( x 2 x1 ) (az + g)( z2 z1 )

(2.25)