MAKERERE UNIVERSITY

FLUID MECHANICS

CHAPTER THREE
STATIC FORCES ON SURFACES AND BUOYANCY

By
Edmund Tumusiime
Assistant Lecturer: Mechanical Engineering
3.1 Action of fluid pressure on a surface
When pressure ‘p’ acts on a solid boundary or across any plane in the fluid, the force
exerted on each small element of area A is pA , and since the fluid is at rest, this
force will act at right angles to the boundary or plane at the point under consideration.

In the body of the fluid, the pressure may vary from point to point, and the forces on
each element of area will also vary. If the fluid pressure acts on or across a plane
surface, all the forces on the small elements will be parallel and can be represented by
a single force, known as the ‘Resultant force’, acting at right angles to the plane through
a point called the ‘centre of pressure’

p1A1
p1A1
p 2A2 p 2A2
p nAn

Forces on a curved surface

Fig 3.1
Forces on a plane surface

Resultant force = Sum of forces on all elements of area.

R  p1A1  p 2 A2  .........................  p n An   pA

For a curved surface, the elementary forces will all act perpendicular to the surface at
each point and will therefore not be parallel. The resultant of the forces can be found
by resolving or by polygon of forces but will be less than  pA
3.2 Resultant force and centre of pressure on a surface immersed in a fluid
The position of the immersed surface can be either horizontal, vertical or inclined.
Horizontal surface
Free water surface (FWS)

(Fig 3.2) shows a horizontal surface

x
immersed in water. Let

x = depth of surface in meters

 = specific mass of water Area = A

Since the pressure intensity at every

point on the surface will be the same Fig. 3.2 Pressure on immersed
(being at same depth), then horizontal surface

Total force o f the liquid

on the horizontal surface R = (pressure intensity) x (Area of surface)

 
R  g x A = gA x

Thus, R  gA x (Newton)………………………………………(3.1)

Question 3.1
A rectangular surface 3m by 2m is placed horizontally at a depth of 4m below the free
surface of oil of specific gravity 0.8. Find the force exerted by the surface on oil

Vertically drowned surface

In this case, depth is not constant and hence the pressure intensity along the surface
of contact between the liquid and the solid surface.

We thus assume a small vertical strip of thickness ‘dx’ and width ‘b’ at a depth ‘x’ from
the FWS, for which it can safely be assumed that pressure intensity remains constant.

Integrating along the whole length of the surface then gives the total force on the
surface.
 FWS
Total force
on strip = (Pressure) x (Area of strip)
x
x = gx b  dx 
dx

R G
Total force on surface R =  gbxdx
= g  bdx  x

b  bdx  x = 1st moment of area about the FWS

Fig. 3.3 Force on vertical surface = Ax

Thus, R  gA x ………………………………………………………….(3.2)

Question 3.2
A rectangular tank of size 5m x 3m has a partition wall parallel to 3m side. On one
side of the partition wall is filled on oil of specific gravity 0.8 up to the height 1.5m and
on the other side is liquid of specific gravity 0.9 up to the height of 3m. Calculate the
total resultant force on the partition wall.

Inclined Surface
If the surface is inclined at angle ‘  ’ to the FWS, the procedure for finding the
resultant force is the same like for a vertically drowned surface with the pressure
intensity resolved normal to the surface.

C FWS

A
x

b dx
B

x
G

Fig3.4. Force on inclined surface

Taking a small horizontal strip of thickness ‘dx’ at a distance ‘x’ from point C, the
point of intersection of surface ‘AB’ with the free water surface, the pressure intensity
at this small strip normal to the surface is given by
p  g  x sin 
Force on the strip = p x (Area of strip)

= g  x sin  bdx 

Total force on the whole surface R  g bdx  x sin  
= g sin  bdx  x

Now  b  dx  x = 1st moment of area of the surface about point C

Ax
=
sin 

 Ax 
Thus, R  g   gA x ……………………………………(3.3)
 sin   sin  =
 

Question 3.3
A rectangular plate of size 30cm by 15cm is immersed in water such that it makes an
angle of 300C with the free water surface. The 15cm side is parallel to the water
surface and is 1m below it. Find the total force on the plate.

3.3 Centre of pressure

Knowing that the pressure intensity of a liquid increases with depth, the pressure
acting on a vertically immersed surface will be greater over the lower potion of the
surface. It therefore follows that the resultant force will act at some point towards the
lower edge of the surface. This point at which the resultant force acts is known as
‘Centre of pressure’. The centre of pressure will always be below the centre of gravity of
the immersed surface.

Illustration
Consider a water wall having an opening as shown (Fig 3.5). The flow of water through
the opening is prevented by a gate AB which is suspended by a cord at point C.
 C FWS
The water pressure will tend to swing the
A gate AB about the point C. If force ‘F’ is to
be applied to maintain the gate in
H position, it would be equal in magnitude
G and opposite in direction to the water
pressure acting on the gate.
F
There will only be one point of application
B of the force to keep the gate perfectly
closed. This point is known as ‘Centre of
pressure’
Fig 3.5 Centre of pressure

If ‘F’ were applied below this point, the gate would open outwards at the top and vice
versa.

The position of centre of pressure can be found by taking moments of all the forces
acting on the gate about point C; where

Moment of force F Sum of all the moments of water

about point C = pressures on the gate AB about
FWS

Centre of pressure on a vertically immersed area.

Consider a vertically immersed surface (Fig 3.6) with C as a point of application of the
resultant force; i.e. centre of pressure.

FWS
H = depth of C.P below FWS
b x x = depth of centre of gravity
x
H I 0 = 2nd moment of area about FWS
dx
G Considering an elementary strip of
C width ‘b’ and thickness ‘dx’ at a
depth ‘x’ below the FWS,
Fig 3.6. Centre of pressure on a
vertically immersed surface Force on strip F = gx  bdx

Moment of force F on strip about FWS M s  gx  bdx  x = gx 2 b  dx

 2
Total moment of force for the whole surface M T  g bdx  x 
2
Now  bdx  x = 2nd moment of area of the surface about the FWS
= I0

Therefore, Total moment M T  gI 0 ………………………………………(3.4)

Also, Moment of resultant force R about the FWS = RH ……………….(3.5)

For equilibrium to be assured, Equation (3.4) and (3.5) must be equal

Thus, RH  gI 0
gI 0 gI 0 I
OR H    0 ………………………………(3.6)
R gA x A x

i.e. Depth of centre of pressure =

2nd Moment of area
1st Moment of area

But from parallel axes theorem, I 0  I G  A x 

2

Where I G , is the second moment of area of the surface about a horizontal axis through
the centre of gravity,

Equation (3.6) thus becomes,

H 

I0  A x
2

=
IG
 x …………….(3.7)
Ax Ax

Note: It can clearly be noted from the above equation that the centre of pressure is
IG
always below the centre of gravity by an amount
Ax
Table 3.1: Geometrical properties of some common shapes

Surface Area C.G position IG

d
x
d bd 3
G bd I0 
x 2 12

x d
1
bd x
2d bd 3
G I0 
2 3 36
b

x
d  2 d  4
d x IG  d
G 4 2 64

 2 2  4
d x d IG  d
G x 8 3 457
d

Question 3.4
An isosceles triangular plate 3m wide by 4m deep has its base at the water surface
and its top 4m below the centre of the base. Determine the force the water exerts on
the plate and hence locate the centre of pressure.

Centre of pressure on an inclined immersed surface

The location of centre of pressure for an area inclined to the water surface can be
found by taking moments about ‘C’, the point of intersection of the inclined area and
the water surface.
 C FWS

A
x H

b dx
B

x
G
K
Fig 3.7. Centre of pressure on an
inclined surface

Considering an elementary horizontal strip of width ‘b’ and thickness ‘dx’ at a distance
‘x’ from point C, then

Pressure intensity (Normal to the surface) p  gx sin 

Force on element = p x (Area of strip)

= gx sin  b  dx 

Moment of this force about C = gx sin  b  dx   x

2
Total moment of all such forces about C = g sin  bdx  x 

2
Now  bdx  x = 2nd moment of area of the surface about the FWS
= I0

Therefore, Total moment M T  gI 0 sin  …………………………………(3.8)

RH
Also, Moment of resultant force R about the FWS = ……………....(3.9)
sin 

For equilibrium to be assured, Equation (3.8) and (3.9) must be equal

RH
Thus,  gI 0 sin 
sin 
 gI 0 sin 2  gI 0 sin 2  I 0 sin 2 
OR H   …………………………(3.10)
R gA x Ax

But from parallel axes theorem, I 0  I G 

Ax  2

sin 2 

Equation (3.10) thus becomes,



H  IG 
Ax 2
 sin 2 

 sin 2   Ax
 
OR
I G sin 2 
H  x ………………………………………………….(3.11)
Ax

Therefore in case of inclined surfaces, the centre of pressure is always below the
I G sin 2 
centre of gravity by
Ax

Question 3.5
A gate, made of rectangular plate of size 2m width and 3m deep is used to close an
opening made in the upstream face of a dam, which is inclined at 450 to the
horizontal. The 2m side of the plate is parallel to and is 4m from the water surface.
The top part of the plate is hinged, while its bottom edge is connected to a chain. If the
plate weighs 4905 N then calculate the normal force required to open the gate with the
help of the chain.

3.4 Pressure Diagrams

The resultant force and centre of pressure can be found graphically for a wall and
other surfaces of constant vertical height for which it is convenient to calculate the
horizontal force per unit width.
Consider a vertical wall of a tank (Fig 3.8) containing a liquid. The pressure diagram is
plotted with pressure on the horizontal axis and depth on the vertical axis.
 FWS A
p  gy
y
2
H H
Liquid
3
Density  R
P
B C

Fig 3.8 Pressure diagram for a

gH
vertical wall

At the free surface ‘A’, the (gauge) pressure is zero. At depth ‘y’, p  gy . Since the
relationship between ‘p’ and ‘y’ is linear, it can be represented by the triangle ABC
whose area gives to scale the resultant force ‘R’ on unit width of the immersed surface
perpendicular to the plane of the diagram (in Newton per metre)

1 1
Area of pressure diagram = AB  BC = H  gH
2 2

Therefore,
1
Resultant force, gH 2 (per unit width)…………………..(3.12)
2

2
Note: ‘R’ acts through the centroid P of the pressure diagram, which is at a depth H
3
from ‘A’

If the plane surface is inclined and submerged below the surface, the pressure
diagram is drawn perpendicular to the immersed surface (Fig 3.9) and will be a
straight line extending from p  0 at the free surface to p  gH at depth ‘H’.

Question
A vertical wall 5m long divides a storage tank. On one side of the wall is filled with oil
of specific gravity 0.9 to a depth of 2m, while on the other side is gasoline of specific
gravity 0.8 up to the height of 4m. Calculate the total force on the wall and also find
the position of its centre of pressure.
 3.5 Force on curved surfaces due to hydrostatic pressure
When a curved surface is immersed in a liquid, the total pressure due to liquid on the
surface and the position of C.P can not be directly obtained by the methods explained
in the previous articles. The method adopted for the computation of the resultant force
is by drawing the force polygon for the forces causing equilibrium.

FWS

Liquid
Density  As the immersed surface does not
H extend to the FWS, the resultant
force R is represented by the
P
quardrateral shown instead of the
whole triangle, and acts through
the centroid ‘P’ of the quardrateral.
p  gH R

Fig 3.9 Pressure diagram for a

inclined submerged surface

Consider a curved surface AB (Fig 3.10). The resultant force and its point of
application can be obtained by considering the volume ABC of water which is in
equilibrium under the action of three forces, PH, PV, and R.

PV = Total vertical force on AB

PH = total horizontal force on rectangular area CB, a projection of surface
AB

A p v  w = Weight of water of volume

C FWS
ABC acting through G, the
centre of gravity
G
F = Total reaction to water pressure
H
pH pH of Surface AB
a  b
H
3
R pv
F
B
c d
Fig 3.10 Hydrostatic force on curved surface
pv  w
As these three forces maintain the volume ABC of water in equilibrium, they will meet
at a common point ‘a’ the point of intersection of ‘PH’ and ‘PV’. from the geometry of the
figure,

2 2
The resultant force R  p H  pV

 pV 
Acting at angle   tan 1  
 pH 

Note: If the water pressure acts below the curved surface AB, the weight will be equal
to the weight of the imaginary volume of water above the surface up to the FWS
 3.6 Buoyancy
The method of calculating the forces on curved surfaces applies to all shapes and
therefore to the surface of a totally submerged object. (Fig 3.11)

F H
G Plan

F F
B
C
A
D
Fig 3.11 Buoyancy

E v

Considering any vertical plane ‘vv’ through the body, the projected area of each of the
two sides on this plane will be equal, and as a result, the horizontal force ‘F’ will be
equal and opposite. There is therefore no resultant horizontal force on the body due to
the pressure of the surrounding fluid.

The only force exerted by the fluid on the body is vertical, and is called ‘Buoyancy’ or
‘Upthrust’

If ABCD is a horizontal plane,

Upward force on lower Downward force on upper

Upthrust = -
surface of ADEC surface of ABCD

Weight of volume of Weight of volume of

= -
fluid AECDGFH fluid ABCDGFH

Weight of volume of
=
fluid ABCDE
Therefore,
Upthrust = Weight of fluid displaced by the body

This will act through the centre of the volume of fluid displaced, i.e. ‘centre of buoyancy’.
This result is known as ‘Archimedes Principle’

If the body is immersed so that part of its volume V1 is immersed in fluid of density 1
and the rest of its volume V2 in another immiscible fluid of mass density  2 (Fig 3.12)

R1
Fluid of density 1
v1 G1
G2 v2

Fig 3.12 Body immersed in two R2 Fluid of Density 2

fluids

Upthrust on upper part R1   1 gv1 acting through G1 the centre of V1

Upthrust on lower part R2   2 gv 2 acting through G2 the centre of V2

Therefore,
Total Upthrust, R  g  1 v1   2 v 2  ………………………..(3.13)

Note: The positions of G1 and G2 are not necessarily on the same vertical line, and the
centre of buoyancy of the whole body is therefore not bound to pass through the
centre of the whole body.

Question 3.6
A rectangular body has a width of 6m, length of 12m and draught of 1.5m in fresh
water. Calculate the draught of the body in sea water of density 1025kg/m3. Find also
the load that can be supported by the body in fresh water if the maximum draught
permissible is 2m

Exercise
A rectangular open box, 7.6m by 3.0m in plan, 4m deep, and of mass 40 tonnes is
launched in fresh water. Determine how deep the box will sink. If the water is 4m
deep, what mass of stone if placed in the box will cause it to rest at the bottom?
3.7 Equilibrium of Floating Bodies
When a body floats in vertical equilibrium in a liquid, the forces present are:
Upthrust ‘R’ acting through the centre of buoyancy (Fig 3.13) and
Weight of the body ‘W = mg’ acting through the centre of gravity.

For equilibrium, ‘R’ and ‘W’ must be equal and act in the same straight line.

W = mg The equilibrium of a body may be

stable, unstable or neutral,
FWS depending upon whether, when
G given a small displacement it tends
to return to its equilibrium position,
Volume B
displace = V move from it, or remain in the
displaced position.
R
Fig 3.13 Body floating in Note: For floating bodies, such as
equilibrium
ships, stability is of major importance

3.8 Stability of a Submerged Body

For a submerged body, what ever the orientation, the centre of buoyancy and the
centre of gravity remain in the same position relative to the body (Fig 3.14)

A small angular displacement  from equilibrium position will generate a moment

w  BG   . If the centre of gravity ‘G’ is below the centre of buoyancy ‘B’ (Fig 3.14 (a)),
this will be a ‘righting moment’ and the body will tend to return to its equilibrium
position

However, if the centre of gravity is above the centre of buoyancy, (as in fig (b)), an
overturning moment is produced and the body is unstable

R
R w  mg

B B G R G

G G B B w  mg
R
 
w  mg w  mg

(b) Unstable
(a) Stable
Fig 3.14 Stability of a submerged body
Note: When the body is totally immersed, the shape of the displaced fluid is not
altered when the body is tilted and so the centre of buoyancy remains unchanged
relative to the body.

3.9 Stability of Floating Bodies

Consider a body floating in equilibrium as shown in (Fig 3.15). The weight ‘W’ acts
through the centre o f gravity ‘G’ and the upthrust ‘R’ acts through the centre of
buoyancy B of the displaced fluid in the same straight line as ‘W’

When the body is displaced through an angle  (Fig b), ‘W’ continues to act through
‘G’ and the volume of the liquid remains unchanged since R  W , but the shape of this
volume changes and its centre of gravity, which is the centre of buoyancy moves
relative to the body from B to B1.

Since R and W are no longer in the same straight line, a turning moment proportional
to W is produced. In Fig (b), it is a righting moment and an overturning moment in
Fig (d).

w  mg
w  mg 
x
G G
B
B1
Rw
(a) (b)
Stable Rw

w  mg w  mg

G G
B B1
(c) x (d)
Rw Unstable Rw

Fig 3.15 Stability of a floating Body

If M is a point at which the line of intersection of the upthrust R cuts the original
vertical through the centre of gravity of the body G, then for small angles,
x  GM  

Point M is called the ‘Metacentre’ and the distance GM is the ‘Metacentric height’.

Comparison of Fig (b) and Fig (d)

If ‘M’ lies above ‘G’, a righting moment W  GM   is produced, equilibrium is stable
and ‘GM’ is regarded positive
If ‘M’ lies below ‘G’, an overturning moment W  GM   is produced, equilibrium is
unstable and ‘GM’ is regarded negative
If ‘M’ coincides with ‘G’, the body is in neutral equilibrium.