FORCES ON

SUBMERGED
SURFACES IN STATIC
FLUIDS
OBJECTIVE
This chapter is designed to help students
achieve the following :
- Understand the concept of forces on submerged
surfaces on static fluids .
- Prove that the value of the surface submerged
directly proportional to the depth.
- Show how the analysis of submerged on the surface
can solving problems in engineering
LEARNING OUTCOME
At the end of this chapter, students will be able to
use knowledge and skills to :
- Defining the submerged surface.
- Express the basic equations in submerged
surface.
- Calculate the magnitude of the force on the
submerged surface
- Determine the point of action.
- Solve simple problems related submerged on
the surface.
SUB TOPIC
CHAPTER 3
FORCES ON
SUBMERGED
SURFACES
PRESSURE AT
SUBMERGED
SURFACE
FORCE AND
CENTRE OF
PRESSURE
FORCE ON
CURVED
SURFACE
FORCE ON
THE
VERTICAL
SURFACE
HOOVER DAM
For an incompressible fluid at rest the pressure
increases linearly with the fluid depth. As a
consequence, large forces can be developed on
plane and curved surfaces in contact with the
fluid.
Hoover dam, on the Colorado river, is the highest
concrete arch-gravity type of dam in the United
States. The water behind Hoover dam is
approximately 715 feet deep and at this depth the
pressure is 310 psi. To withstand the large
pressure forces on the face of the dam, its
thickness varies from 45 feet at the top to 660
feet at the base.
FLUID PRESSURE ON A SURFACE
Pressure is force per unit area.
Pressure,p acting on a small area A exerted force
will be:


F = pA


Due to the fluid is in a static, the force is
perpendicular to the surface of the object.
RESULTANT FORCE AND CENTRE OF
PRESSURE ON A GENERAL PLANE SURFACE
IN A LIQUID
Consider plate embedded in a fluid like the
diagram below;
Assumes
= fluid density
= inclined at an angle on the water surface
A = area of the small surface
F = forces acting on the small surface A
h = vertical distance to the centroid of area A
h
C
= vertical distance to the centroid of the area
of the point submerged surface
CONT
The pressure on an element A,
p = gh

So force on element,
F = pA
= ghA
CONT
Resultant force can be found by summing all of
these forces
F
R
= ghA

hA is known as the (1st Moment of Area) of the
plane O.
hA = h
C
A

CONT
The resultant force on a plane
F
R
= gh
C
A

The point at which the force F
R
acts named center
of pressure, CP
CONT
Determination of CP points
The moment of F
R
will be equal to the sum of the
moments of the forces on all the elements A
about the same point.

CONT
Moment of F about O
Moment = ghAy
= g(ysin)Ay
= gy
2
sinA

Sum of moments = gsiny
2
A
CONT
Moment of force F about O
Moment = gh
C
Ay
R

= gy
C
sinAy
R


Sum of moments is the same
gsiny
2
A = gy
C
sinAy
R

y
R
= (y
2
A )/(y
C
A)
CONT
y
R
= (y
2
A )/(y
C
A)
= I
X
/y
C
A

where
I
X
= This term is known as 2
nd
Moment of

Area of the plane (about the axis
through O)
CONT
I
X
= I
XC
+ Ay
C
2

So
y
R
= (I
XC
/y
C
A) + y
C


where
I
XC
= 2nd moment of area about an axis
through the centroid c of the plane


CONT
If measured vertically,

h
R
= y
R
sin
CONT
THE 2
ND
MOMENT OF AREA
SUBMERGED VERTICAL SURFACE
Method- PRESSURE DIAGRAM
The magnitude of the force is equal to the volume of
the pressure prism.
Consider the tank in the diagram below
Assumes;
= fluid density
h = submerged surface height
h = the pressure at the base of the prism

Area of the triangle represents the resultant of
force per unit width (N/m).
CONT
Area = (1/2)ghh
= (1/2) gh
2

Resultant force per unit width
= (1/2) gh
2
(b)
= gh
C

A
where
h
C
= h/2
h x b = A
CONT
The force acts through the centroid of the pressure
diagram.
Example;
For a triangle the centroid is at = (2/3) h

For some circumstances, the concept of pressure
prism can still be used but some adjustments need
to be done.
CONT
CONT
SUBMERGED CURVED SURFACE
The resultant force must be found by combining
the elemental forces obtain from the vertical and
horizontal components.
Consider the diagram below;
Horizontal forces forces acting on projection of
the curved surface.
Vertical force weight of fluid directly above the
curved surface
The total force, FT = (F
H
2
+ F
V
2
)
1/2
angle the resultant force, = tan
-1
(F
V
/F
H
)




CONT
EXAMPLE
Example 1
Example 2
Example 3
Example 4
Example 5
EXERCISE
Determine the cable tension(assume b = 4 ft)
Weight,W is 2000 lb. Define h.
Define h (assume long horizontal plate is 6 ft).
Define h if force P = 0
EXERCISE
Reference
B. R Munson, D. F Young, T H. Okiishi,
Fundamentals of Fluid Mechanics, John
Wiley, 2002

Chap 2, page 92, 93, 94 & 95
Question 2.58, 2.61, 2.62, 2.68, 2.70